Understanding Macros

mandy6113

Hi everyone

Mandy here from South Africa. I have been using this app for the last 4-5 months now and one thing that confuses me is how best to calculate my TDEE and calorie deficit, I have used a number of different online calculators now so I think I have a good guideline so far and it seems to be working in terms of keeping weight off and staying in a calorie deficit.

Please let me know what TDEE calculators you all use and what's working for you and also which model you use for ideal weight etc? ie Miller formula etc?

AnnPT77

Pick one to start, it doesn't matter. Use that estimate for 4-6 weeks (whole menstrual cycles if you're female of relevant age/stage, so you can compare body weight at the same relative point in at least two different cycles).

After you have that much logging data (eating and body weight), compare your weight loss results to what you targeted to lose using your calculator (so called) of choice, and adjust your intake. Going forward, use your own data.

That's my method (and not mine alone ).

Obviously, if the calculator gave you a spot on estimate, it would be fine to use that calculator going forward, too, at least until there's an objective reason to do otherwise.

Any calculator is just going to spit out what amounts to a population average for people with characteristics similar to you, and just those characteristics the calculator asks you about. Most people are close to average. A few are farther off (in either direction), and there may be no obvious reason why. A very few people will be quite surprisingly far off. That's just how statistics work. (For the stats geeks out there, the BMR estimate data that's the basis of these has a fairly small standard deviation - i.e., tall, narrow bell curve. That's why I'm asserting that most people are close to average. If the distribution were more spread out, I wouldn't say that.)

Mostly, you want to pick a starting method that will work for you: MFP tries to estimate your before-exercise calorie needs, then expects you to log your exercise and eat those calories, too. Actual TDEE calculators average in your planned exercise. One method or the other will work better for individuals. I'm on team "add exercise when I do it", but that's not everyone's ideal choice. (I like it because my main exercise modes are seasonal and weather dependent; and because I vary exercise significantly by pure whim, as well.)

I started with MFP's estimate, did the "reality test" thing, and found I was one of the relatively rare people: I had to eat way more than MFP estimated, to accomplish any given loss rate (or now, maintenance). After that first experimental month or so, what MFP estimated became irrelevant, and my body weight change trends have been very predictable from my logging for 7+ years since.

A nice thing about MFP is that you can synch a fitness tracker. A good brand/model will produce a more personalized estimate, differing day by day . . . but it's still an estimate. My good brand/model - one that works well for others here, based on posts I've read - is extremely far off for me. It estimates low, by about the same amount - a whopping 25-30% low - as does MFP. (That's as compared with 7+ years now of logging data, BTW.)

For people who like the TDEE method, I usually recommend Sailrabbit, because it has more activity levels, with better descriptions of them, compared to most so-called calculators (should be called "estimators"). It also lets the user compare multiple research-based estimating formulas, some of which take into account body fat percent (useful only if the person has a good estimate). As a consequence of all that detail, the user interface looks complicated at first glance, maybe scary. It's easy enough to understand though, with moderate examination.

https://www.sailrabbit.com/bmr/

If you're not afraid of spreadsheets from strangers, MFP user @heybales has a really good one for making these estimates, here:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1G7FgNzPq3v5WMjDtH0n93LXSMRY_hjmzNTMJb3aZSxM/edit?usp=sharing

cwolfman13

I used sailrabbit and it worked out pretty accurate for me compared to my real world results. Any and all of these calculators just give you an estimate based on population statistics and various algorithms. The best way to to pick one and be consistent and as accurate as possible with monitoring your calories and then compare your actual real world results with the number the calculator gave you and adjust accordingly.