Help me figure out my tdee- pls...

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jerb00
jerb00 Posts: 155 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I have been going strong curves for ~6 mos and now I am trying out StrongLifts. I'd like to get a bit more serious about losing the layer of fat that is covering my s-l-o-w-l-y growing muscles. I have been eating in the 1500 calorie range, give or take, but I want to be more diligent in that area. I have tried to figure it out but the multiple sites differ by sometimes 300 cals! My stats: 38 y.o. Female, 4'10" 96 lbs. strong lifts 4x a week (I know it says 3 but I am sticking to 4 till I can't anymore) 1 day of cardio. On my feet all day. Can anyone help???

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  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
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    I thought you said you were going to do Strong Lifts as it was written - but that's not what you just said here. Well, OK - good luck with that.

    In any case, pick one of those Calorie goals. Follow it for a month. See what your weight does. Adjust as necessary.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    Last week you said that you have been eating around 1500 a lot and have maintained for a few months. If that is the case, your TDEE is around 1500. You don't need to be more exact than that.
  • KickboxFanatic
    KickboxFanatic Posts: 184 Member
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    I like to use this calculator as it averages out 5 of the calculations: http://zstrengthfit.com/tools/calculator.html What is your goal? Are you currently cutting weight or trying to build muscle? If cutting, use "Light", if adding muscle use "Moderate". Use those numbers for 4 weeks and tweak as necessary.
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
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    jemhh wrote: »
    Last week you said that you have been eating around 1500 a lot and have maintained for a few months. If that is the case, your TDEE is around 1500. You don't need to be more exact than that.

    Missed/forgot that. But, yeah - your TDEE is then ~1500.
  • jerb00
    jerb00 Posts: 155 Member
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    TR0berts wrote: »
    I thought you said you were going to do Strong Lifts as it was written - but that's not what you just said here. Well, OK - good luck with that.

    I did but I changed my mind. I did some more reading and decided to add in another day in the beginning cuz I am not lifting super duper heavy right now. When it gets too tough I'll go to the three day plan. Love the advice but I can totally live without the condescending tone.
  • jerb00
    jerb00 Posts: 155 Member
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    jemhh wrote: »
    Last week you said that you have been eating around 1500 a lot and have maintained for a few months. If that is the case, your TDEE is around 1500. You don't need to be more exact than that.
    I know but for the past 2 weeks I have been seeing an upward trend. Didn't mention it - cuz - ebbs and flows and all-
    But today I am at 99.6lbs and have been for a couple of days. This is highly unusual. I know in your response to my initial post a couple weeks ago that you said ~1500, but with the scale creeping up slightly I wanted to do a new calculation.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    jerb00 wrote: »
    jemhh wrote: »
    Last week you said that you have been eating around 1500 a lot and have maintained for a few months. If that is the case, your TDEE is around 1500. You don't need to be more exact than that.
    I know but for the past 2 weeks I have been seeing an upward trend. Didn't mention it - cuz - ebbs and flows and all-
    But today I am at 99.6lbs and have been for a couple of days. This is highly unusual. I know in your response to my initial post a couple weeks ago that you said ~1500, but with the scale creeping up slightly I wanted to do a new calculation.

    If you have been logging your calories you can back into your TDEE.
  • jerb00
    jerb00 Posts: 155 Member
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    KickboxFanatic wrote: »
    I like to use this calculator as it averages out 5 of the calculations: http://zstrengthfit.com/tools/calculator.html What is your goal? Are you currently cutting weight or trying to build muscle? If cutting, use "Light", if adding muscle use "Moderate". Use those numbers for 4 weeks and tweak as necessary.

    Thanks! ~1100 on non exercise days and ~1600 on days I do exercise
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    There's no reason to do a new calculation. All the calculators/formulas are estimates. They are a starting point. You already have better info than any calculation will give you. If you are maintaining weight, your TDEE is what you are currently eating. If you are very slowly gaining weight, then you are a touch over your TDEE, eat 100 cals less and see what happens!
  • jerb00
    jerb00 Posts: 155 Member
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    jemhh wrote: »
    jerb00 wrote: »
    jemhh wrote: »
    Last week you said that you have been eating around 1500 a lot and have maintained for a few months. If that is the case, your TDEE is around 1500. You don't need to be more exact than that.
    I know but for the past 2 weeks I have been seeing an upward trend. Didn't mention it - cuz - ebbs and flows and all-
    But today I am at 99.6lbs and have been for a couple of days. This is highly unusual. I know in your response to my initial post a couple weeks ago that you said ~1500, but with the scale creeping up slightly I wanted to do a new calculation.

    If you have been logging your calories you can back into your TDEE.

    Sorry- I know this is a stupid question but what do you mean back into my tdee? I have been logging better lately and I am in the 1500s almost all days. A few days a bit over, some days lower.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    Take your change in weight, convert it to calories, divide by the number of days over which the change occurred, subtract it from the average number of daily calories eaten during that time period.

    Example:
    8 a.m. November 1 - 95 lbs
    8 a.m. November 30 - 100 lbs
    5 lbs difference in 29 days
    5 lbs = 17,500 calories
    17,500/29 = 603.44 = 603 calories eaten above maintenance each day
    Daily calories averaged during time period above = 2000
    2000-603 = 1397 maintenance calories

    That's a rough starting point for figuring out your calories. But if you are talking about a weight gain over "a couple of days", I'm going to roll my eyes and say that's not something that requires you to recalculate your TDEE. How long is "a couple of days" and what was your weight a couple of days ago?

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