TDEE IIFYM Help!

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eautrey124
eautrey124 Posts: 60 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So, I want to switch to TDEE - 20%. I think I have been eating approximately this much on a daily basis anyways, but I want to make sure my macros are set right. I have my macros set to 25c/40p/35f here, but I was wondering if anyone has advice on sticking to them. I typically eat a lot of carbs (mainly from fruit and starchy veggies, but sometimes elsewhere). Does anyone have a better recommendation for my macros or how to cut back on carbs? I typically struggle to cut back on carbs even without the small number. I want to keep all of my lean mass(110 lbs), Should I lower my protein to 110 g, and adjust from there? I'm not really sure what steps I should take. Any help would be appreciated. I will open my diary.

Note: The past week has been a bit strange in that I was unable to log during the 4th of July and I had a team lunch today that I failed to eat well during, but other than that, advice would be much appreciated!
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Replies

  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
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    Protein - .82g per lb of body weight
    Fat - .4g per lb of body weight
    Carbs - rest of your calories after fat and protein
  • Danni3ll3
    Danni3ll3 Posts: 365 Member
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    Trying using this spreadsheet. It gives you a lot of info that is helpful on setting things up.

    https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Amt7QBR9-c6MdGVTbGswLUUzUHNVVUlNSW9wZWloeUE#gid=14

    The author is Heybales and will help you if needed.

    I hope this helps.
  • RoyBeck
    RoyBeck Posts: 947 Member
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    Protein - .82g per lb of body weight
    Fat - .4g per lb of body weight
    Carbs - rest of your calories after fat and protein

    Sorry I never understand this. I'm 240 LB so based on this my protein is 197g, fat is 96g and carbs are what?
  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
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    Protein - .82g per lb of body weight
    Fat - .4g per lb of body weight
    Carbs - rest of your calories after fat and protein

    Sorry I never understand this. I'm 240 LB so based on this my protein is 197g, fat is 96g and carbs are what?

    I'm not sure how many calories you're aiming to eat every day, but let's suppose for you it's 2500 calories, to pick a round number

    Protein is 197g and each gram of protein is 4 calories, so that comes out to 788 calories from protein.

    Fat is 96g and each gram of fat is 9 calories, so that comes out to 864 calories from fat.

    So from fat and protein together, that's 1652 calories, so subtracted from the original 2500 calories that leaves you with 848 calories remaining.

    Carbs are also 4 calories per gram, so if you want all those remaining calories to go to carbs, then that would be 848/4 = 212g of carbs.

    So your totals would be:

    197g of protein
    96g of fat
    212g of carbs
    2500 calories

    Now as an option, you can choose to add more protein or fat as opposed to using all your remaining calories for carbs, because the protein and fat guidelines are minimums and it's perfectly fine to eat more than those amounts. Carbs do not have a minimum as they are not essential to bodily function. Hope that helps
  • RoyBeck
    RoyBeck Posts: 947 Member
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    Wow thanks for your speedy reply! It was the x4 and x9 I wasn't sure of.

    My calorie target is 2000 so that makes mine p776 f864 c360. Does this seem reasonable?
  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
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    Wow thanks for your speedy reply! It was the x4 and x9 I wasn't sure of.

    My calorie target is 2000 so that makes mine p776 f864 c360. Does this seem reasonable?

    There's no way you should be eating as low as 2000 calories if you weigh 240.

    I weigh 185 and I eat 2100 calories a day and I'm on a 20% deficit right now...

    The only way you should be eating 2000 calories at 240 lbs is if you have a body fat percentage of over 40% which I highly doubt.
  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
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    .
  • RoyBeck
    RoyBeck Posts: 947 Member
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    Firstly I hope the OP has got the info she wanted and doesn't mind me taking advantage of your knowledge and goodwill :)

    Secondly, 2000 is what MFP says I need for a 2lb weekly loss. I'm now comfortable eating at 2000 after a month or so. I'm losing 2lb per week steadily with no cravings yet. What would you do?
  • tamson72
    tamson72 Posts: 7 Member
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    Hi I'm currently 272lbs and MFP has my calorie intake at 1710 per day is this too low for me? I've been trying to work out my TDEE but don't understand what it means so I'm not sure how much calories I can eat per day as I want to try and lose more than 2lbs pw can you help.
  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
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    Firstly I hope the OP has got the info she wanted and doesn't mind me taking advantage of your knowledge and goodwill :)

    Secondly, 2000 is what MFP says I need for a 2lb weekly loss. I'm now comfortable eating at 2000 after a month or so. I'm losing 2lb per week steadily with no cravings yet. What would you do?

    If you have an estimate of your body fat percentage, I can help you estimate a good calorie intake. The problem with eating too few calories is that you will break down muscle which is not what you want. Also, your metabolism adapts to your calorie intake overtime, and the higher the deficit you are eating at, the more your metabolism will want to bridge the gap because your body is worried about survival, not about being skinny. The best advice I can give you is don't worry about losing weight fast, worry about losing the right kind of weight (fat). You do not want to eat at a deficit of more than 20% because you will break down muscle at that point, and at 2000 calories a day, you are definitely eating at a greater than 20% deficit.
  • RoyBeck
    RoyBeck Posts: 947 Member
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    Right. My TDEE is 3100 apparently and my BMI is 34%. Thanks for your time man I see what your saying.
  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
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    Hi I'm currently 272lbs and MFP has my calorie intake at 1710 per day is this too low for me? I've been trying to work out my TDEE but don't understand what it means so I'm not sure how much calories I can eat per day as I want to try and lose more than 2lbs pw can you help.

    Give me an estimate of your body fat percentage, you can look at pictures online or something, and just give me a guess and I can help you find a good calorie intake.

    The other piece of information I need from you is your activity level. Pick one from the list below:

    1.2 = Sedentary (Desk job, & Little Formal Exercise)
    1.3 - 1.4 = Lightly Active (Light daily activity & light exercise 1-3 days a week)
    1.5 - 1.6 = Moderately Active (Moderately daily Activity & Moderate exercise 3-5 days a week)
    1.7 - 1.8 = Very Active (Physically demanding lifestyle & Hard exercise 6-7 days a week)
    1.9 - 2.2 = Extremely Active (Athlete in ENDURANCE training or VERY HARD physical job)
  • tamson72
    tamson72 Posts: 7 Member
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    Not sure what my body fat percentage is but my b.m.i. Is about 38.5 (is this the same thing) I'm a bus driver so daily it's sedentary but I'm walking at least 3 miles every other day and doing about 20-30 mins on the exercise bike every other day too
  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
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    Not sure what my body fat percentage is but my b.m.i. Is about 38.5 (is this the same thing) I'm a bus driver so daily it's sedentary but I'm walking at least 3 miles every other day and doing about 20-30 mins on the exercise bike every other day too

    BMI and body fat percentage are two different things. Do a Google image search for body fat percentage and find one that looks closest to you
  • RoyBeck
    RoyBeck Posts: 947 Member
    Options
    Hi I'm currently 272lbs and MFP has my calorie intake at 1710 per day is this too low for me? I've been trying to work out my TDEE but don't understand what it means so I'm not sure how much calories I can eat per day as I want to try and lose more than 2lbs pw can you help.

    Give me an estimate of your body fat percentage, you can look at pictures online or something, and just give me a guess and I can help you find a good calorie intake.

    The other piece of information I need from you is your activity level. Pick one from the list below:

    1.2 = Sedentary (Desk job, & Little Formal Exercise)
    1.3 - 1.4 = Lightly Active (Light daily activity & light exercise 1-3 days a week)
    1.5 - 1.6 = Moderately Active (Moderately daily Activity & Moderate exercise 3-5 days a week)
    1.7 - 1.8 = Very Active (Physically demanding lifestyle & Hard exercise 6-7 days a week)
    1.9 - 2.2 = Extremely Active (Athlete in ENDURANCE training or VERY HARD physical job)

    Mine is 1.5-1.6 and body fat 35%
  • tamson72
    tamson72 Posts: 7 Member
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    Mine would be about 38% and 1.5 roughly
  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
    Options
    Hi I'm currently 272lbs and MFP has my calorie intake at 1710 per day is this too low for me? I've been trying to work out my TDEE but don't understand what it means so I'm not sure how much calories I can eat per day as I want to try and lose more than 2lbs pw can you help.

    Give me an estimate of your body fat percentage, you can look at pictures online or something, and just give me a guess and I can help you find a good calorie intake.

    The other piece of information I need from you is your activity level. Pick one from the list below:

    1.2 = Sedentary (Desk job, & Little Formal Exercise)
    1.3 - 1.4 = Lightly Active (Light daily activity & light exercise 1-3 days a week)
    1.5 - 1.6 = Moderately Active (Moderately daily Activity & Moderate exercise 3-5 days a week)
    1.7 - 1.8 = Very Active (Physically demanding lifestyle & Hard exercise 6-7 days a week)
    1.9 - 2.2 = Extremely Active (Athlete in ENDURANCE training or VERY HARD physical job)

    Mine is 1.5-1.6 and body fat 35%

    Based on all that info, your TDEE estimate is 2850 calories.

    Lose weight, eat 2280 calories a day and don't input exercise calories into my fitness pal.
  • SassyCalyGirl
    SassyCalyGirl Posts: 1,932 Member
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    if you are a cardio junkie you need to up your carbs
    if you lift you need to up your protein
  • bumblebums
    bumblebums Posts: 2,181 Member
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    OP, read these:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/817188-iifym
  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
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    Mine would be about 38% and 1.5 roughly

    Based on your info, your TDEE estimate is 3025 calories.

    To lose weight eat 2420 calories a day and don't input exercise calories into my fitness pal.

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