Is my TDEE more than the calculator says it is ?

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pinkste78
pinkste78 Posts: 54 Member
edited November 2016 in Health and Weight Loss
Ok, so I actually LOST a pound yesterday after I ate over 2300 calories. I know it has nothing to do with my period because that was a week and a half ago. I work on my feet almost all day and im constantly walking (I feel like I'm power walking), my bosses consider me as a hard worker. I'm thinkin maybe I should be eating more ... I dont know is 1600 calories enough? I'm 5'2 at 199 ... thanks !

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  • DebSozo
    DebSozo Posts: 2,578 Member
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    Weight gain or loss seems to be a delayed reaction sometimes and not imediately apparent. You might have lost weight because over the last week you cut down overall rather than just looking at one day?
  • leanjogreen18
    leanjogreen18 Posts: 2,492 Member
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    I also have lost after weeks of a deficit and then eating over maintenance. I would say its a fluke but its happened twice now.

    Someone mentioned the Starvation Study in the 50's I believe (too lazy to look it up) and the men on the low calorie diet also lost a larger amount after feeding them a higher calorie reward meal.

    I say enjoy the loss but don't be upset if it goes back up because fluctuations happen too.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    pinkste78 wrote: »
    Ok, so I actually LOST a pound yesterday after I ate over 2300 calories. I know it has nothing to do with my period because that was a week and a half ago. I work on my feet almost all day and im constantly walking (I feel like I'm power walking), my bosses consider me as a hard worker. I'm thinkin maybe I should be eating more ... I dont know is 1600 calories enough? I'm 5'2 at 199 ... thanks !

    The way to tell is over 6-8 weeks with accurate logging estimates for both intake and expenditure

    1 pound is not directly related to your intake that day or even the preceding week..weight loss is not linear and is not instantaneous
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    Sorry meant to say but yes calculators are estimates...guidelines for starting out..your own data trumps the estimate every time

    But only over sufficient time e.g. 6-8 weeks
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
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    Daily fluctuations. Move on.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    if you're trying to lose weight you want to be eating less than your tdee?
  • Meghanebk
    Meghanebk Posts: 321 Member
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    A single day is far too short a time to base a calorie change on.

    I'd wait at least several weeks before altering your current amount. There are dozens of things that cause small daily fluctuations like that. Sodium amounts, hydration, stress hormones, reproductive hormones, muscles water storage amounts, there's even theories that fat cells fill up with water as fat is used and then empty out at random intervals causing weight loss that is actually still water loss.
  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
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    You will eventually be the weight you deserve. Just not necessarily on the day you deserve it. ;)
  • CooCooPuff
    CooCooPuff Posts: 4,374 Member
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    Even with normal flucuations, it is possible to have a higher TDEE. It's also possible to have a lower TDEE than reportes.
    Keep track of your weight for a month or more to get a better pictute
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,978 Member
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    The TDEE is just an estimate.

    My calcuated TDEE is around 2100/day but I am in maintenance by eating just 1800/day. I know this because I log everything I eat and all of my workouts, weigh myself daily and record everything on Excel.

    The unknown or variable factors are your metabolism and activity rate. These can vary widely from the TDEE calculations. So, you cannot rely entirely on them and may have to make individual adjustments.
  • SusanMFindlay
    SusanMFindlay Posts: 1,804 Member
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    It's pretty normal to have your weight drop after a single high-calorie day. When you're restricting calories, your cortisol levels can increase and cortisol makes you retain water. You have the high calorie day, the cortisol levels drop and you drop some water weight. That's no reason to adjust caloric intake.

    It's certainly possible that your TDEE is different from what the calculators say. Closely monitor your weight and intake for a couple of months and you can back-calculate your true TDEE based on your intake and how much weight you lose. But you need to look at a reasonably long time span so that you're not fooled by fluctuations.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
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    You can get an accurate read of your TDEE from months and months of consistant logging, but not from a single day.

    To estimate TDEE you should log very consistantly for at least 2 months preferably longer and then assess over that length of time. Doing it from a single day of data is pointless. I guarentee you if you kept doing that there would be a day where you ate 2300 calories and GAINED a pound.

    I net basically the same every day and eat very similar things every day (i like my routinues) and my weight varies day to day by a good +/- 3 pounds. I can have one day where the next day I weigh 3 pounds less then that day have the exact same meals and do the exact same workout and the net day weight 3 pounds more.

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