Help with TDEE

elothen
elothen Posts: 155 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So this TDEE thing is driving me a little nuts. 4 different calculators give me a WIDE range of calories per day. I'm sure it comes down to how they factor in the activity. I read the descriptions and tried to select the best option that matches me but still came up with a pretty broad range. Here it is.

Gender: Male
Age: 38
Weight: 210 lbs
Height: 6'4"

https://tdeecalculator.net/
Moderate Exercise 3-5 days/week
3,060 calories per day

https://damnripped.com/tdee-calculator/
Daily Activity: Lightly Active
Exercise: Moderate
2,868 calories per day

https://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/calculate-your-total-daily-energy-expenditure-tdee.html
Lightly active (moderate exercise but sedentary job)
2,171 calories per day

https://healthyeater.com/important-tool-weight-loss
Light activity
2,717 calories per day

Min: 2,171
Max: 3,060
Avg: 2,704

Now I'm a programmer/sys admin so although it's a desk job I really am on my feet alot. Enough that I wear tennis shoes rather than dress shoes. Activity wise I play competitive indoor soccer 2 nights a week and hit the gym 4 days (only rest day is Sat). At the gym I take around 60 seconds between sets and maybe 2-3 minutes between exercises with just a brief 5 min eliptical warm up. At this stage of the game (first week back to gym) my number 1 priority is injury prevention so I it's reasonable weight, focus on form, slow and steady.

I don't care what the number is. At this point food is just a tool. I'm just confused with how much exactly I should be eating. I'm afraid I'm undereating. Goal wise I'm looking for a slow, lean bulk/recomp. Not in any particular rush. I don't want to waste time but I think with my shoulder issues and inexperience going for a hard bulk then cut routine would be too risky.

What are your thoughts?
Thanks!

Replies

  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    edited May 2018
    Lean bulk and recomp are two different calorie intakes. You will need to choose to eat in a 250 calorie surplus or recomp at maintenance calorie intake.

    You can try one other TDEE calculator scooby calulator/ which is pretty accurate for me.

    Pick one of the TDEE's or the average if want, this is just a base line starting point, you will want to trend your weight (gain or maintain) over 4+ weeks, adjust/tweak according to your goal.

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,204 Member
    mywayroche wrote: »
    If you're that bothered then set it to inactive and buy a hrm for exercise

    HRM won't be an accurate calorie estimator for weight training, and not super good for soccer (more interval-like than steady state, at a rec/amateur level especially).
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
    Based on your exercise routine I would question your lightly active assessment as well
  • mywayroche
    mywayroche Posts: 218 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    mywayroche wrote: »
    If you're that bothered then set it to inactive and buy a hrm for exercise

    HRM won't be an accurate calorie estimator for weight training, and not super good for soccer (more interval-like than steady state, at a rec/amateur level especially).

    "Not super good" vs what this guy is trying to do currently
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Why not just use MFP?
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,997 Member
    elothen wrote: »
    What are your thoughts?

    TDEE calculators just give you a rough estimate -- a starting point, if you will -- based on your gender, weight and reported activity level but you will have to play w/the numbers in order to find out what level of consumption will actually work best for you.

    You could average the TDEE calculations and try eating that amount for at least a couple of weeks to see if your weight goes up, drops or stays the same and then adjust the caloric intake accordingly depending on whether your goal is to lose, gain or maintain your weight.

    Good luck!
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    elothen wrote: »
    I don't care what the number is.

    Quite right too!
    It's just a start point from which to make adjustments based on actual results (weight change) over time.

    You could use the sailrabbit calculator which gives numbers from six different TDEE formulae, pick the middle value and get started.

    By the way you might want to consider increasing your rest periods between sets, a minute isn't really enough to recover fully between sets so you are compromising your lifts a little.
    The other thing to avoid "wasting time" is to pick a really good lifting program rather than create your own (if that's what you have done).
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    edited May 2018
    mywayroche wrote: »
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    mywayroche wrote: »
    If you're that bothered then set it to inactive and buy a hrm for exercise

    HRM won't be an accurate calorie estimator for weight training, and not super good for soccer (more interval-like than steady state, at a rec/amateur level especially).

    "Not super good" vs what this guy is trying to do currently

    Apart from a HRM being unsuitable/inaccurate for the exercises stated you also don't estimate individual exercise sessions when you follow the TDEE method.
    OP also isn't inactive so that would be the wrong activity setting too.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    You could get a fitbit to give you an idea of what your TDEE really is and how many steps you actually take during the day.

    But it's going to be trial and error. Pick a number, log accurately, and see where you are in 6 weeks. Then adjust.
  • elothen
    elothen Posts: 155 Member
    Thanks for the thoughts gang, good stuff. Sijomial, specifically because of your response I watched the clock and did 2 min between sets today.

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