Eating TDEE for your GOAL weight

shed50kg

If I am aiming to change my lifestyle of eating habits and exercise, then would it be possible to just eat at the TDEE of my goal weight? Would I not eventually end up at my goal weight?

symonspatrick

Yes you would. But it is your personal choice of how you want to lose weight. The best way to lose weight is the way that works best for you. Congratulations on your weight loss already, it looks like whatever you are doing is working for you!

mockchoc

It's a great way to lose weight as you are more likely to get all your nutrition but just realise it'll be a bit slower. Add in some exercise if you aren't already to speed it up.

Oishii

I've heard that fat2fit radio advocates this approach, and it makes perfect sense to me. If you start as you mean to go on there will never be that tricky switch to maintenance calories.

taso42

yep

grimendale

This is effective if you don't have much weight to lose, but can be problematic with larger weight loss goals. Depending on the difference between your current TDEE and your goal TDEE, it could be a shock to your psyche and/or your body. It would have been difficult for me to immediately transition from eating the way I ate 90 lbs ago to the way I do now; I would have felt deprived had I not learned to adjust my brain to what my body actually needs in small increments along the way. It can also lead to more hunger, making it harder to maintain over the long term. I would personally advocate a moderate deficit and exercise as a more sustainable method, but if you have the will power, it should work.

mimieon

I agree that it will depend on how much weight/fat you have to lose. I guess you should also check the BMR and TDEE for your current weight, to make sure you won't set too large a deficit by eating your goal weight calories.

shed50kg

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the feedback.

I am 43yrs old, 6ft 3 inches and currently 310 lbs. This gives me a current TDEE of 3188 calories and my goal weight is 210 lbs which is a TDEE of 2441 calories (I think this is right). This is without exercise. Once I start exercising then I will be able to increase my calories?

This is only a deficit of 747 calories which is very doable for me, in fact I probably can drop to 2,200 calories quite easily. I have changed my eating habits for nearly the last 3 months now, and if anything, I am finding it easier as I am learning to find new foods to add to my daily food intake.

I have no worries about will power, once I decide I want do something then I generally do it. However, I am not ready to add exercises to my lifestyle yet, I do not want to start exercises that I will not be able to continue as a lifestyle change so would prefer to lose a bit more weight before I start. I am listening to my body, and it is not asking me to start exercises yet ; - )..

Have I calculated my TDEE numbers correctly?

Thanks guys.

shed50kg

Has anyone else tried eating their tdee goal weight?

jbirkett7

Sounds like you have a good plan there. "In Place of a road Map"'s spreadsheet offers an option to eat "for future you". Which is at 5% lower than your goal TDEE if I remember rightly. The spreadsheet also helped me in calculating my TDEE and future TDEE. You might want to check out the group at https://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/974888-in-place-of-a-road-map-2k13