Bmr / tdee / target query

puzzledstill

New to MFP.
CW 150 lbs
Target 133 - 140 lbs
Age 60 , female
Height 5' 1"
Just discovered bmr and tdee
BMR 1310
TDEE 2031
MFP daily calories 1400
I'm aiming to lose 1/2 - 1lb each week. I am using some - up to 50% of exercise calories.
I do 7000 + steps each day and exercise (horseriding mostly) 4+ times a week.
Really just want someone to look at all of the above and say if it looks realistic.

TavistockToad

If your tdee is 2031 then to lose a half a pound to a pound a week you would want to eat between 1781 and 1531 a day.

puzzledstill

Thank you for comment.
You've hit the nail on the head.
I thought the 1400 calculated by MFP was low - based on what I had read here and elsewhere. This is all new to me so wanted another view. Time will tell.
I'd be happy to lose more each week (wouldn't we all !) - but what I do needs to be sustainable.
I seem to earn a lot of calories from horse riding. Feels too high - but not based on any real info. If I ride for an hour I may trot for half of that and walk for half. I do get sweaty (dripping sometimes) so it's moderate at least.

malibu927

puzzledstill wrote: »

Thank you for comment.
You've hit the nail on the head.
I thought the 1400 calculated by MFP was low - based on what I had read here and elsewhere. This is all new to me so wanted another view. Time will tell.
I'd be happy to lose more each week (wouldn't we all !) - but what I do needs to be sustainable.
I seem to earn a lot of calories from horse riding. Feels too high - but not based on any real info. If I ride for an hour I may trot for half of that and walk for half. I do get sweaty (dripping sometimes) so it's moderate at least.

Remember that MFP's calorie calculations don't include exercise in them, whereas TDEE calculators do include it. That's the reason for the discrepancy.

lynn_glenmont

puzzledstill wrote: »

Thank you for comment.
You've hit the nail on the head.
I thought the 1400 calculated by MFP was low - based on what I had read here and elsewhere. This is all new to me so wanted another view. Time will tell.
I'd be happy to lose more each week (wouldn't we all !) - but what I do needs to be sustainable.
I seem to earn a lot of calories from horse riding. Feels too high - but not based on any real info. If I ride for an hour I may trot for half of that and walk for half. I do get sweaty (dripping sometimes) so it's moderate at least.

If you are going to base your calorie goal on your TDEE, you don't eat back your exercise calories. TDEE (if you've calculated it correctly) already includes your exercise. As @malibu927 said, that is the difference between TDEE and the NEAT figure calculated by MFP.

puzzledstill

malibu927 wrote: »

puzzledstill wrote: »

Thank you for comment.
You've hit the nail on the head.
I thought the 1400 calculated by MFP was low - based on what I had read here and elsewhere. This is all new to me so wanted another view. Time will tell.
I'd be happy to lose more each week (wouldn't we all !) - but what I do needs to be sustainable.
I seem to earn a lot of calories from horse riding. Feels too high - but not based on any real info. If I ride for an hour I may trot for half of that and walk for half. I do get sweaty (dripping sometimes) so it's moderate at least.

Remember that MFP's calorie calculations don't include exercise in them, whereas TDEE calculators do include it. That's the reason for the discrepancy.

puzzledstill

Thank you for various replies. And yes I hadn't taken account of which calculations do and don't take account of exercise. Time to use my brain cell. (Do I get extra calories for brain power ?

JeromeBarry1

40% of your calories are burned by your brain, which can go higher in periods of intense thought effort. This shows up in world-class chess competitors, but I'm not sure that it's going to be something we can log for our mundane concerns.

AnnPT77

puzzledstill wrote: »

New to MFP.
CW 150 lbs
Target 133 - 140 lbs
Age 60 , female
Height 5' 1"
Just discovered bmr and tdee
BMR 1310
TDEE 2031
MFP daily calories 1400
I'm aiming to lose 1/2 - 1lb each week. I am using some - up to 50% of exercise calories.
I do 7000 + steps each day and exercise (horseriding mostly) 4+ times a week.
Really just want someone to look at all of the above and say if it looks realistic.

It looks reasonable to me, as a starting point, assuming you estimate and eat back at least some of your exercise calories. (I lost at age 59-61, BTW.)

Try it for a month, then adjust based on results to a healthy loss rate. (I'm assuming you're menopausal, otherwise I'd suggest 6 weeks.) Your 0.5-1 pound weekly goal sounds sensible.

After the month, ignore the first couple of weeks (because many people experience whacky water-weight fluctuation at first), then look at the average from the latter two weeks. Adjust calories eaten if necessary to target your desired rate, using the 500 calories = 1 pound per week approximation.

Obviously, if you experience negative symptoms (fatigue, dizziness, weakness, etc) along with rapid weight loss, adjust calories upward sooner.

Best wishes!