Is my TDEE higher than myfitnesspal says?

x1v16

The last time I was on a diet I lost about 4.4 pounds a week at a weight of 270. My goal was 1.5 pounds and I exercised 500 calories a day on average. I only stayed on the diet 5 weeks though and have since gained it all back, except for 5 pounds. Now I've been dieting for 2.5 weeks and am losing similarly fast again. My goal is 1 pound a week this time. Is it possible my TDEE is higher than myfitnesspal is saying it is or do most people at my weight lose this fast in the first 5 weeks?

contingencyplan

MFP is not based on TDEE. It does not take into account exercise, which TDEE does.

x1v16

oh ok, so is it possible my bmr is 500-1000 calories higher than normal?

neandermagnon

calculators give you an estimate

it's unlikely that your BMR is 500-1000 calories higher than a good estimate using a scientific formula, if your TDEE is out by that much the most likely thing is you've miscalculated your activity factor

your TDEE is your BMR + activity calories. your BMR is the amount of calories your body needs to keep your cells alive and your organs running, i.e. how much energy your body would need if you were in a coma. Then your activity calories are all the calories you burn doing anything other than lying flat on your back unconscious.

Your BMR depends on how many cells you have, the best estimates are based on lean body mass, or on weight and height, because the bigger you are the more cells you have, and muscle cells burn more than fat cells. So the calculators for predicting BMR are not usually that far off.... but they are not going to be exact either. So you probably have an error margin of 100-200 cals either way with BMR... assuming it's a decent calculator and measuring the right thing and inputting the data in right. Some calculators/formulas are better than others.

Your activity calories are much harder to calculate, because it's a lot more subjective than inputting your weight, height, body fat percentage, etc. people can over or underestimate their activity levels by quite a lot. So if someone's first attempt at calculating TDEE is off by 500 cals, then it's more likely they under or overestimated their activity calories, than their BMI being so radically different from the calculators

Ultimately, you have to go by real world results. A calculator only gives you a starting point, if you are getting excessively hungry or having other symptoms of undereating (obsessing about food, binge eating, losing weight too fast, feeling tired, grumpy and run down) then you need to raise your calorie goal. If you're not losing weight, then you need to lower your calorie goal (although there could be other issues like not measuring food carefully so you are eating more than you think, and the calorie goal is fine)

jonnythan

oh ok, so is it possible my bmr is 500-1000 calories higher than normal?

Probably not, no.

How much do you actually eat?

It would be very helpful if you opened your diary.

It would also be very helpful if you understood why you gained all that weight back if you want to avoid doing it again.

Mokey41

It's easy to lose large amounts of weight for the first few weeks. Some of that is just water weight plus if you've been over eating and suddenly drop your calories to where they should be weight will come off. If your BMR is so much higher than predicted you probably wouldn't be looking to lose weight.

BeachIron

It's possible, but unlikely.

The weight comes off very rapidly in the first few weeks of a diet, but much of it is glycogen depletion and water, not fat. Keep going as you are, and carefully track your weight loss and calorie intake (by weighing and logging everything). Then, if you are still losing too quickly after a month or so, slowly increase your daily calories in 100-200 calorie increments. Don't make sudden swings.

x1v16

OK, my food diary is public now. I eat a lot as you can see. I eat every last calorie, including those i exercise off.

As far as why I gained it back, I just went back to old habits. My girlfriend and I eat a lot of unhealthy food, partly because it's cheap and partly because we just like it, and we don't hold back on how much we eat unless we are dieting. When I stopped my diet I had intentions to keep recording my calories and trying to maintain at 245 because I just got tired of dieting, but I just was too bored of it all so I didn't record and just started eatting like normal.

This time I have more motivation though....I have to get a CPAP machine for sleep apnea unless I can get rid of the apnea through weight loss and they are expensive. I don't earn a lot of money, and what I do earn I like to give to my girlfriend's kids on birthdays, christmas, etc.... so buying a 1500 dollar machine would REALLY piss me off.

jonnythan

OK, my food diary is public now. I eat a lot as you can see. I eat every last calorie, including those i exercise off.

As far as why I gained it back, I just went back to old habits. My girlfriend and I eat a lot of unhealthy food, partly because it's cheap and partly because we just like it, and we don't hold back on how much we eat unless we are dieting. When I stopped my diet I had intentions to keep recording my calories and trying to maintain at 245 because I just got tired of dieting, but I just was too bored of it all so I didn't record and just started eatting like normal.

This time I have more motivation though....I have to get a CPAP machine for sleep apnea unless I can get rid of the apnea through weight loss and they are expensive. I don't earn a lot of money, and what I do earn I like to give to my girlfriend's kids on birthdays, christmas, etc.... so buying a 1500 dollar machine would REALLY piss me off.

The reason you're losing weight quickly is because you're running a decently large calorie deficit and exercising. A lot of the loss is water and glycogen and so forth. It will slow down over time. I'd recommend you up your protein goal btw.

Most people gain back by going back to old habits. I see you make room for things like pizza and ice cream occasionally, which is great. Keep that up. You could even do it more.

hookilau

calculators give you an estimate

it's unlikely that your BMR is 500-1000 calories higher than a good estimate using a scientific formula, if your TDEE is out by that much the most likely thing is you've miscalculated your activity factor

your TDEE is your BMR + activity calories. your BMR is the amount of calories your body needs to keep your cells alive and your organs running, i.e. how much energy your body would need if you were in a coma. Then your activity calories are all the calories you burn doing anything other than lying flat on your back unconscious.

Your BMR depends on how many cells you have, the best estimates are based on lean body mass, or on weight and height, because the bigger you are the more cells you have, and muscle cells burn more than fat cells. So the calculators for predicting BMR are not usually that far off.... but they are not going to be exact either. So you probably have an error margin of 100-200 cals either way with BMR... assuming it's a decent calculator and measuring the right thing and inputting the data in right. Some calculators/formulas are better than others.

Your activity calories are much harder to calculate, because it's a lot more subjective than inputting your weight, height, body fat percentage, etc. people can over or underestimate their activity levels by quite a lot. So if someone's first attempt at calculating TDEE is off by 500 cals, then it's more likely they under or overestimated their activity calories, than their BMI being so radically different from the calculators

Ultimately, you have to go by real world results. A calculator only gives you a starting point, if you are getting excessively hungry or having other symptoms of undereating (obsessing about food, binge eating, losing weight too fast, feeling tired, grumpy and run down) then you need to raise your calorie goal. If you're not losing weight, then you need to lower your calorie goal (although there could be other issues like not measuring food carefully so you are eating more than you think, and the calorie goal is fine)

Thank you for this explanation. I had the same question and was starting to feel the pull to that ridiculous cycle that has me doubting my calorie goals & not knowing which metrics could be suspect. There's just so much going on that it's easy to lose faith, get turned around & panic when things are not going predictably.

Your explanation is one I can understand & apply...half the battle right there buddy! :drinker: