Do you trust the tdee calculators?

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Famof72015
Famof72015 Posts: 393 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
The tdee calculator So it says my maintenance calories are 2,052 and I should be eating 1552 for cutting. That seems like so many calories for my maintenance. 5'6 weight 134 age 35. Workout 5-6 hours a week and fitbit counts my steps averages between 10,000-17,000 a day. I'm scared to try it out at maintenance in fear of gaining so be kind with your replies. And I'm not at maintenance yet, would like to lose 5 more lbs. then I guess increase100 calories a week until 2000? Thanks!
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  • jasummers76
    jasummers76 Posts: 225 Member
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    I have two different ones I have gotten from MFP and they are different by about 200 kcals. So it can be a bit frustrating I just go with the lower and monitor my progress.
  • amandacalories
    amandacalories Posts: 107 Member
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    The calculators are just an estimate. So no I don't have 100% trust in them. That being said 1500 calories is not that much. Is the maintenance number you're getting from the web or your Fitbit?
  • Famof72015
    Famof72015 Posts: 393 Member
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    amandacalories wrote: »
    The calculators are just an estimate. So no I don't have 100% trust in them. That being said 1500 calories is not that much. Is the maintenance number you're getting from the web or your Fitbit?

    Web.

  • Famof72015
    Famof72015 Posts: 393 Member
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    And how does anyone know their real weight when water weight fluctuates my "real" weight all the time
  • amandacalories
    amandacalories Posts: 107 Member
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    Famof72015 wrote: »
    amandacalories wrote: »
    The calculators are just an estimate. So no I don't have 100% trust in them. That being said 1500 calories is not that much. Is the maintenance number you're getting from the web or your Fitbit?

    Web.

    What does your Fitbit tell you? It MIGHT be more accurate then a website. The only way to really know is through experience. If you're losing weight then it's working. You should be aiming for a small loss with only five pounds to go, no more then half a pound a week. When you increase calories even a small amount you will gain water weight so don't be shocked.
  • katnadreau
    katnadreau Posts: 149 Member
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    2000 calories is a pretty average maintenance number. Yes, some will need a bit more or less, but even if it is high it's not likely high enough to cause a huge amount of weight gain in the month or so it will take to determine.
  • MegaMooseEsq
    MegaMooseEsq Posts: 3,118 Member
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    Famof72015 wrote: »
    And how does anyone know their real weight when water weight fluctuates my "real" weight all the time

    You really just have to look at trends when you’re losing (or gaining) and then settle on a range when you’re in maintenance. If you’ve got enough data, you can probably flag your main water weight triggers and get a sense of about how big those fluctuations are. Set maintenance to allow for that range, and you should be good.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    Famof72015 wrote: »
    The tdee calculator So it says my maintenance calories are 2,052 and I should be eating 1552 for cutting. That seems like so many calories for my maintenance. 5'6 weight 134 age 35. Workout 5-6 hours a week and fitbit counts my steps averages between 10,000-17,000 a day. I'm scared to try it out at maintenance in fear of gaining so be kind with your replies. And I'm not at maintenance yet, would like to lose 5 more lbs. then I guess increase100 calories a week until 2000? Thanks!

    All the calculators are just estimates, so you just have to pick a number, try it for 4-6 weeks to give your body a chance to settle in and go through a whole hormonal cycle, and tweak from there.

    Having said that, considering your workout time and steps, 2000 doesn't sound high at all. I'm 44, 5'5 130, I don't work out as much as you and I do more like 8000 steps, and I maintain at 1700-1800.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    Famof72015 wrote: »
    And how does anyone know their real weight when water weight fluctuates my "real" weight all the time

    At least pick a valid time to minimize known water weight fluctuations:
    Morning after rest day eating normal sodium levels, not sore from last workout.

    And even then, you'll need a month of time to discern anything by the weight changes seen on valid days.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    edited October 2017
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    Famof72015 wrote: »
    The tdee calculator So it says my maintenance calories are 2,052 and I should be eating 1552 for cutting. That seems like so many calories for my maintenance. 5'6 weight 134 age 35. Workout 5-6 hours a week and fitbit counts my steps averages between 10,000-17,000 a day. I'm scared to try it out at maintenance in fear of gaining so be kind with your replies. And I'm not at maintenance yet, would like to lose 5 more lbs. then I guess increase100 calories a week until 2000? Thanks!

    Most on the web use the same tired old Harris (of the BMR fame) version from his 1919 study.
    (later studies have shown better BMR calculations, and TDEE estimates)

    The one that only mentions exercise, not daily activity.

    Some sites use original "days" (so 3 days of 3 hrs each is the same as 3 days of 1 hr each?) for 5 levels to select from.
    Some sites changed to "hours" (so 5 hrs of walking is same as 5 hrs of cross-country skiiing?) to select from.

    And then since daily life isn't mentioned - it appears 2 men of equal age, weight, height doing 5 hrs weekly exercise have the same TDEE - even if one is a desk jockey and gamer at home nights & weekends, and one is a mailman with 2 kids.
    Not.

    While it's true you can wait some time and see how the calorie level you are eating is causing in weight change - for women it takes more than a month to figure out then, and if seasonal changes or life changes - back to figuring it out after observing for some time again.

    Why not try to nail it best you can from the get go, and when changes occur?

    Just TDEE Please spreadsheet - better than rough 5 level TDEE charts from 1919 study.
    https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1G7FgNzPq3v5WMjDtH0n93LXSMRY_hjmzNTMJb3aZSxM/edit?usp=sharing


    And why are you attempting to estimate from 5 levels when you have an almost infinite level device that MFP is trying to correct itself to?
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,978 Member
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    TDEE calculators over-estimated my maintenance level by 10-15%.

    Got estimates of 2200-2300 cals but found that I only needed 1800-1900 cals to maintain my weight at 158 (+/-5), which I've been doing for the past 12 months.

    That was a 400-500 cal difference and it didn't take long to discover that the TDEE estimates were wrong.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    c. 2000 doesn't sound a lot at all to maintain with your stats and activity. That's a pretty average number and you seem more active than average.

    You could use your own data rather than an estimate. The biggest advantage of that method is that it corrects for your logging inaccuracy.
    Add up your total calories for last the 28 days, add 3500 for each pound lost in that four week period, divide by 28.

    Don't be afraid - maintenance is great!
    The same maths that have resulted in your weight loss work for maintenance and weight gain, you can't gain the weight you lost without a sustained period of overeating and not intervening.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    Famof72015 wrote: »
    The tdee calculator So it says my maintenance calories are 2,052 and I should be eating 1552 for cutting. That seems like so many calories for my maintenance. 5'6 weight 134 age 35. Workout 5-6 hours a week and fitbit counts my steps averages between 10,000-17,000 a day. I'm scared to try it out at maintenance in fear of gaining so be kind with your replies. And I'm not at maintenance yet, would like to lose 5 more lbs. then I guess increase100 calories a week until 2000? Thanks!

    use your actual data from losing weight...
  • Nony_Mouse
    Nony_Mouse Posts: 5,646 Member
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    I'm 10 years older than you, same height, and a few lbs heavier, and I would easily maintain on more than 2000 at that activity level. I let my Fitbit do all the work for me, and comparing it with my real world data (weight loss and maintenance), it's very accurate. Trust the gadget you paid lots of money for.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    edited October 2017
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    I absolutely trust TDEE calculators as a starting point because that's the closest you can get to a reasonable estimate. If I find my results don't fit the estimate neatly it's very easy to adjust. For me, personally, I have certain health confounders that make me burn less than calculators expect me to burn. Some people find they burn more than expected and others are bang on close to what is estimated. No way of knowing unless you start somewhere, and that somewhere is more accurate to get from calculators than to randomly decide you won't lose on 1500 calories. As for your estimate, it sounds quite reasonable for your stats and activity level. Even though I'm more efficient with calories (burn less energy), I'm fully capable of losing weight on 1500 (guaranteed), 1800 (if not inactive) and even 2000 (if more active than usual).
  • onthefitdisc
    onthefitdisc Posts: 24 Member
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    @heybales - can you provide a link for a downloadable worksheet like the one you referenced? I would like to use that to get closer to my actual TDEE, it looks really helpful.

    "While it's true you can wait some time and see how the calorie level you are eating is causing in weight change - for women it takes more than a month to figure out then, and if seasonal changes or life changes - back to figuring it out after observing for some time again.

    Why not try to nail it best you can from the get go, and when changes occur?

    Just TDEE Please spreadsheet - better than rough 5 level TDEE charts from 1919 study.
    https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1G7FgNzPq3v5WMjDtH0n93LXSMRY_hjmzNTMJb3aZSxM/edit?usp=sharing"
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    When you are viewing the one at that link - just have to use the page option to download as personal copy, either kept in Google sheets format in your own Google Drive space, or Excel or such.

    I know after I created this Google made it possible to tag a file as download only and it auto-copied to your space when you clicked on it - I'll have to have some time to look at how to do that to current linked spreadsheet.

    Right now only option is to share - and that doesn't work or next person to use it changes your settings.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,190 Member
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    Trust them? I trust them to do what they do, which is spit out an estimate based on a particular research-based formula(s) that rely on data from large-group research studies. Basically, what they give you is an average from the study population, for your age/weight/etc.

    Do I trust that the results will be exactly correct for every individual? No, of course not. Most people are close to average with respect to these data, but a few aren't.

    So, you use the calculators to get an estimate when starting to lose weight, then adjust based on your actual experience, as so many others have said.

    Or, if you weren't logging during weight loss, you do the same thing in maintenance: Use the calculator estimate for maybe 6 weeks so you have enough time that random weight fluctuations average out, then adjust (unless things are obviously crazy sooner, but not as soon as a few days craziness).

    I'm 5'5", weight in the 120s, sedentary outside of intentional exercise, rowing or spinning 6 days a week for 45-90 minutes each time, and my TDEE is in the mid 2000s, much higher than the calculators estimate. Oh, and I'm 61 years old.

    Your calculator estimate is plausible. Experiment.

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