Please check my work

ZhivagosGirl

Hi,

I read the "sticky" about BMR and TDEE and used the suggested calculators to come up with numbers for myself. I came up with a TDEE of 2112 and a BMR of 1637.

I have more than 20 lbs to lose so I used 20% and multiplied that by 2112 an came up with 422. I subtracted that from the 2112 and got 1690.

All that to say I can eat 1690 calories a day, maintain my BMR and be under my TDEE?

I ask this because MFP has me at 1230 calories a day and I'm wondering if that's too low.

Feedback is appreciated.

Thank you.
Lara

AliceDark

Did MFP give you 1230 because you selected "lose 2 pounds a week"? If you're taking 422 calories off of your TDEE, that gives you a weekly deficit of 2954 calories, and you'll lose 0.8 pounds per week. That sounds very achievable to me, but it's also not comparing apples-to-apples with the number that MFP gave you.

Ready2Rock206

MFP gives you 1230 PLUS exercise calories. Did you include exercise in your TDEE? If so, then the numbers are closer than they look. She who eats the most and still loses wins - I'd try the 1690 and see how it goes and then after a few weeks adjust if needed.

ZhivagosGirl

Yes - I chose 2 lbs. I mean I have the weight to lose 2 lbs a week.

ZhivagosGirl

I did not include exercise.

RoxieDawn

The MFP method would be + Exercise. For example 1230 + 300 (exercise) = 1530

Since you are wanting to do TDEE, try the 1690 for 4-5 weeks and check against your rate of loss. You can tweak the calories up or down if you lose to fast or too slow.

Its not advisable to eat below your BMR unless you have a lot of weight to lose, so I believe your thinking is correct with how you are choosing your calorie goal.

nowine4me

Are you new to MFP? Why not just enter your stats, choose to lose 1# per week and do as it says?

AliceDark

If you're using TDEE to calculate your goals, you'd want to accurately account for exercise, then create a deficit of 500 calories per day for every 1 pound you want to lose (3500 calories = 1 pound). If your TDEE really is 2112 and you want to lose 2 pounds per week, you'd need to create a deficit of 1000 calories per day, which is going to be inadvisable with your current TDEE.

Tacklewasher

ZhivagosGirl wrote: »

Yes - I chose 2 lbs. I mean I have the weight to lose 2 lbs a week.

You won't be able to lose 2 lbs per week. Probably 1 will be max, and that would be 500 cals, so close to what the TDEE calc is giving you.

ZhivagosGirl

Should my TDEE be something else? I tried 2 other websites, one of them was about the same. Another was about 2200. But that site gave me a BMR of 1835.

AliceDark

Your TDEE is what it is. You can do things to raise it, like doing more dedicated exercise or being more active in small ways throughout the day. Anything that makes you use more energy in the normal course of the day will raise your TDEE.

It sounds like you think that if you have more than 20 pounds to lose, you can lose at a rate of 2 pounds per week. This really isn't true, although a LOT of MFP users probably wish it were. This chart outlines the general recommendations you'll see floating around MFP:

75+ lbs set to lose 2 lb range
Between 40 - 75 lbs set to lose 1.5 lb range
Between 25-40 lbs set to lose 1 lb range
Between 15-25 lbs set to lose 1 -.50 lb range
Less than 15 lbs set to lose 0.5 lbs range

ZhivagosGirl

Thanks for the info - I'm firmly in the 40-75 lb range. So if I want to lose 1.5 a week what calorie count should I be eating then?

Ready2Rock206

What does MFP give you as a goal?

ZhivagosGirl

It was giving me the 1230 for 2 lbs. I just did it again at 1.5 lbs and it gave me 1460.

Ready2Rock206

ZhivagosGirl wrote: »

It was giving me the 1230 for 2 lbs. I just did it again at 1.5 lbs and it gave me 1460.

So try eating 1460 and see how it goes. Everything is just an estimate anyway. You have a starting point - so start. If you're losing too fast in a few weeks up your calories. If you're losing slower than expected either work on your logging accuracy or drop your calories.