TDEE not accurate?
elliej
Posts: 466 Member
As I neared my goal I've increased calories slightly (from 1300 to 1400) but am now not losing at all even though I'm still eating 250cal a day below what I have worked out as maintenance (1660)
It has only been 3 weeks, which I appreciate is not a plateau yet but I'm no longer convinced that TDEE is right, maybe my maintenance is much lower than expected? Or am I just having a little rut/slow down?
It has only been 3 weeks, which I appreciate is not a plateau yet but I'm no longer convinced that TDEE is right, maybe my maintenance is much lower than expected? Or am I just having a little rut/slow down?
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Replies
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Try the calc on here: http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/
I havent lost much in while and I think my calories were too low, now im upping it too see if it makes a difference.0 -
Open your diary.
How do you measure your food? Do you log everything? What is your activity level like?
1400 would be pretty low for a TDEE. It is likely the issue lies elsewhere.0 -
IIFYM calculates TDEE at 1550, so still under. Why are Scooby's calc and IIFYM's so different?!
My diary is open to friends. I weigh what I eat on a dig scale, I log everything.
I work out about 3 times a week with varying intensity so would rather work out my desk job TDEE and then eat extra workout cals.0 -
I checked your diary for the last several days and it does look like you are under-eating. Your net calories have been closer to 1100 most days. Remember, your calorie goal is a target you are meant to hit, not a limit you should stay under.0
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Your TDEE should include exercise but I get the impression you aren't including it hence the low number?
Remember though that you can calculate TDEE from your actual calorie intake over time needed to maintain but you can only estimate using the various web sites like Scooby's, IIFIYM etc.0 -
Remember though that you can calculate TDEE from your actual calorie intake over time needed to maintain but you can only estimate using the various web sites like Scooby's, IIFIYM etc.
Could you explain this further please Si?0 -
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/10067-eat-train-progress-
Read the sticky notes in this group to understand TDEE.0 -
Only 1 day in the last couple of weeks has come in under 1200, and that was by no means intentional.
But I take your point in trying to hit it as a goal, I suppose over the last couple of weeks I've started lowering cal intake to try and restart weight loss.
I also appreciate that it's an estimate but I don't /want/ maintenance at 1400 cals, that would be tragic and worth getting fat for. I will try eating all the way up to my goal and see if that helps.0 -
there's a really brilliant post lurking around the site somewhere explaining why you shouldn't creep back up to your tdee.
What it says is you need to overshoot your goal by a couple of kilos, and then go straight into eating your tdee. When you're on a diet you have about 2kg of 'loss' bound up in glycogen and glycogen stores, so the moment you start eating normally again it gets packed on and you gain it back. It's just the price of doing business.
it explains (far better than I can) how you can get into a neverending loop if you don't know to do this.0 -
Remember though that you can calculate TDEE from your actual calorie intake over time needed to maintain but you can only estimate using the various web sites like Scooby's, IIFIYM etc.
Could you explain this further please Si?
Simon hit it right on the head -- exactly what I was going to say. To calculate your TDEE using your actual data, you need to first make sure that you have been logging EVERYTYHING. Then choose two points in time with weight measurements, say the 1st and 7th of the month, as an example. During those 7 days, you lost one pound. And during those 7 days, you averaged 1550 calories intake of food per day. That means you ate a total of 10850 calories. Add that to the 3500 calories lost (1 pound of weight loss). Your total calories consumed, hence your TDEE is (10850 + 3500) / 7 = 2050. Is that clear? If you have any questions, please ask. I calculate my own TDEE. It's the only way to get an accurate reading. The online sources are okay but they are gross approximations at best anyway.0 -
Only 1 day in the last couple of weeks has come in under 1200, and that was by no means intentional.
But I take your point in trying to hit it as a goal, I suppose over the last couple of weeks I've started lowering cal intake to try and restart weight loss.
I also appreciate that it's an estimate but I don't /want/ maintenance at 1400 cals, that would be tragic and worth getting fat for. I will try eating all the way up to my goal and see if that helps.
Trial and error
Its the only way0 -
there's a really brilliant post lurking around the site somewhere explaining why you shouldn't creep back up to your tdee.
What it says is you need to overshoot your goal by a couple of kilos, and then go straight into eating your tdee. When you're on a diet you have about 2kg of 'loss' bound up in glycogen and glycogen stores, so the moment you start eating normally again it gets packed on and you gain it back. It's just the price of doing business.
it explains (far better than I can) how you can get into a neverending loop if you don't know to do this.
This is very helpful because other posters have said you should work your way up. I will try and find the actual post but thank you!0 -
Keep in mind that TDEE estimates reflect the maximum amount of calories persons of your stats and activity level could consume to maintain relative weight homeostasis when NOT assuming a chronic calorie-restrictive state.
In other words, as you chronically restrict calories, TDEE decreases because your metabolism is burning a percentage of this maximum. Part of this is a result of leptin serum concentration values declining which affect energy balance as well as loss of lean mass. Thus, you start to burn less calories from RMR, TEF, NEAT and exercise activity.
It is ideal, before cutting calories, to weigh and log all food intake for at least a month to assess current caloric intake as well as any fluctuations in body weight. When one eats the maximum amount of calories to satisfy the above definition, they are then eating their TDEE.0 -
Remember though that you can calculate TDEE from your actual calorie intake over time needed to maintain but you can only estimate using the various web sites like Scooby's, IIFIYM etc.
Could you explain this further please Si?
Simon hit it right on the head -- exactly what I was going to say. To calculate your TDEE using your actual data, you need to first make sure that you have been logging EVERYTYHING. Then choose two points in time with weight measurements, say the 1st and 7th of the month, as an example. During those 7 days, you lost one pound. And during those 7 days, you averaged 1550 calories intake of food per day. That means you ate a total of 10850 calories. Add that to the 3500 calories lost (1 pound of weight loss). Your total calories consumed, hence your TDEE is (10850 + 3500) / 7 = 2050. Is that clear? If you have any questions, please ask. I calculate my own TDEE. It's the only way to get an accurate reading. The online sources are okay but they are gross approximations at best anyway.
This...so this.
I used that calculation too...over a 1 month period and follow that number...and as I lose weight adjust based on actuals.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/10118-eat-train-progress0 -
Remember though that you can calculate TDEE from your actual calorie intake over time needed to maintain but you can only estimate using the various web sites like Scooby's, IIFIYM etc.
Could you explain this further please Si?
Simon hit it right on the head -- exactly what I was going to say. To calculate your TDEE using your actual data, you need to first make sure that you have been logging EVERYTYHING. Then choose two points in time with weight measurements, say the 1st and 7th of the month, as an example. During those 7 days, you lost one pound. And during those 7 days, you averaged 1550 calories intake of food per day. That means you ate a total of 10850 calories. Add that to the 3500 calories lost (1 pound of weight loss). Your total calories consumed, hence your TDEE is (10850 + 3500) / 7 = 2050. Is that clear? If you have any questions, please ask. I calculate my own TDEE. It's the only way to get an accurate reading. The online sources are okay but they are gross approximations at best anyway.
This...so this.
I used that calculation too...over a 1 month period and follow that number...and as I lose weight adjust based on actuals.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/10118-eat-train-progress
I love how we linked to the same group :flowerforyou:0 -
Here's my currrent numbers:
Remember though that you can calculate TDEE from your actual calorie intake over time needed to maintain but you can only estimate using the various web sites like Scooby's, IIFIYM etc.
Could you explain this further please Si?
As I've been maintaining weight for 6 weeks (42 days) then I just add up calories eaten and divide by 42.
109,327 / 42 = 2,602 (TDEE for for 6 weeks maintaining)
Subject to the usual concerns over food logging of course.
As Lee says when your weight has changed you need to factor that in.
My average TDEE for the year (during which time I've lost 10lbs) is 2,551. The reason for my recent maintenance TDEE being higher is that my activity has increased to more than compensate for the usual assumption that a lighter person should have a smaller TDEE than a heavier person.
An illustration that you shouldn't take estimates as absolute truth.0 -
And it is a constant re-evaluation. It isn't like it is number set in stone. Every few weeks or a month or so I'll recalculate it. It is a lagging indicator, but it is by far more accurate than the on-line calculators. And it will put you no further than a hundred calories or so per day away once you get near maintenance. Just re-evaluate based upon current data.0
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I just used three different TDEE calculators. One said 2003 calories per day, the other two said 2235 calories per day. The lesson here being that what the internet tells you to do is not gospel. They don't know you, don't know how many steps you take in a day, what type of exercising you do, etc. I say the best way is how Si mentioned earlier, calculate it out yourself. When you're using YOUR own data, it will give you the most realistic number and will by far be the most accurate.0
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IIFYM calculates TDEE at 1550, so still under. Why are Scooby's calc and IIFYM's so different?!
My diary is open to friends. I weigh what I eat on a dig scale, I log everything.
I work out about 3 times a week with varying intensity so would rather work out my desk job TDEE and then eat extra workout cals.
TDEE calculators are just that, calculators. They are estimates based on a mathematical formula and there is no way that they will be 100% accurate. You really just need to be weighing yourself and see how your body responds. If you increased 100 and are not losing then decrease by 50 and see how that works...the scale does not lie...
You should probably weight yourself three times a week and take a weekly average to account for any fluctuations...0 -
I think for me, the biggest problem with the on-line calculators is the "fuzzy" definitions, especially on the exercise front. Take 2 people who "work out 3 days a week". One does light resistance training and some cardio 3 times a week. The other goes on 100 plus mile bike rides 3 times a week. They both fit the same category and both might make the choice. But they hardly are burning the same number of calories during those 3 workouts. Not even close. And that is why calculating your own TDEE based on your own data is clearly the best option. Assuming your food diary is logging everything. The more accurate your food diary, the more accurate your TDEE calculation will be.0
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Simon hit it right on the head -- exactly what I was going to say. To calculate your TDEE using your actual data, you need to first make sure that you have been logging EVERYTYHING. Then choose two points in time with weight measurements, say the 1st and 7th of the month, as an example. During those 7 days, you lost one pound. And during those 7 days, you averaged 1550 calories intake of food per day. That means you ate a total of 10850 calories. Add that to the 3500 calories lost (1 pound of weight loss). Your total calories consumed, hence your TDEE is (10850 + 3500) / 7 = 2050. Is that clear? If you have any questions, please ask. I calculate my own TDEE. It's the only way to get an accurate reading. The online sources are okay but they are gross approximations at best anyway.
Interesting...
I did the calculation doing the formula which gave me a TDEE of 1763...
This is quite close to the Scooby score of 1706 but quite a way off the IIFYM score of 1867.0 -
I think for me, the biggest problem with the on-line calculators is the "fuzzy" definitions, especially on the exercise front. Take 2 people who "work out 3 days a week". One does light resistance training and some cardio 3 times a week. The other goes on 100 plus mile bike rides 3 times a week. They both fit the same category and both might make the choice. But they hardly are burning the same number of calories during those 3 workouts. Not even close. And that is why calculating your own TDEE based on your own data is clearly the best option. Assuming your food diary is logging everything. The more accurate your food diary, the more accurate your TDEE calculation will be.
I've always wondered this whenever I go and input my activity level in any TDEE calculator--for me, being 5'1 (and now 100 lbs I feel like I have to be accurate). Ironically, I just did the average over 32 days per Lee's suggestion--and that TDEE is actually 10 calories away from the IIFYM estimate!0 -
IIFYM calculates TDEE at 1550, so still under. Why are Scooby's calc and IIFYM's so different?!
My diary is open to friends. I weigh what I eat on a dig scale, I log everything.
I work out about 3 times a week with varying intensity so would rather work out my desk job TDEE and then eat extra workout cals.
When you do TDEE, you're supposed to include all of your activity...that seem incredibly low, especially for someone who works out. If it is, you might want to get some blood work done...possible medical issue or vitamin deficiency going on there. The average female who just goes about her day maintains on roughly 1800 - 2000 calories per day.
Also, a 250 calorie deficit from TDEE is only about 1/2 Lb per week...given that scales are hardly accurate to a whole number, they are even more inaccurate when you're talking fractions...add to that normal body weight fluctuations, and 1/2 Lb loss is almost impossible to see on the scale in the short term. When I was losing 1/2 Lb per week, I really had to look at it in 4-6 week trends to see anything.0 -
TDEE is always an estimate. Each of us has a different body composition. Some are heavy boned, some are fine boned. We carry around different amounts of water, fat, and lean tissue. Our heart rates vary. Calculations of calories in foods are estimates based on estimates and assumptions. Our measurements are not scientifically precise. So, you and I may enter the same figures into a TDEE calculator and get the same result but that TDEE estimate may be high for you and low for me or vice versa.
That being said, using estimates is better than not using them. You will only know what works for you by finding it. If you are trying to maintain but are still losing, your TDEE estimate may be low. If you are trying to maintain but are gaining, your TDEE estimate may be high.0 -
Try the calc on here: http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/
I havent lost much in while and I think my calories were too low, now im upping it too see if it makes a difference.
I can personally attest to the calculators at this site. I upped my cals to these suggestions and it helped me bust through. It also almost perfectly matched what my bodymedia told me I was already doing.0 -
Yeah don't bother using mfp's calculator.. it's pretty useless+ inaccurate. Just use another site.. Use MFP for tracking only0
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Remember though that you can calculate TDEE from your actual calorie intake over time needed to maintain but you can only estimate using the various web sites like Scooby's, IIFIYM etc.
Could you explain this further please Si?
Simon hit it right on the head -- exactly what I was going to say. To calculate your TDEE using your actual data, you need to first make sure that you have been logging EVERYTYHING. Then choose two points in time with weight measurements, say the 1st and 7th of the month, as an example. During those 7 days, you lost one pound. And during those 7 days, you averaged 1550 calories intake of food per day. That means you ate a total of 10850 calories. Add that to the 3500 calories lost (1 pound of weight loss). Your total calories consumed, hence your TDEE is (10850 + 3500) / 7 = 2050. Is that clear? If you have any questions, please ask. I calculate my own TDEE. It's the only way to get an accurate reading. The online sources are okay but they are gross approximations at best anyway.
^ except you should use the data from at least a month, and not your first month either.0 -
Also, a 250 calorie deficit from TDEE is only about 1/2 Lb per week...given that scales are hardly accurate to a whole number, they are even more inaccurate when you're talking fractions...add to that normal body weight fluctuations, and 1/2 Lb loss is almost impossible to see on the scale in the short term. When I was losing 1/2 Lb per week, I really had to look at it in 4-6 week trends to see anything.
This exactly. I am at a 1/2 lb per week loss now that I am within 10 lbs of my goal weight. It was very hard to see progress on the scale given the natural weight fluctuations and scale inaccuracies. I am now doing monthly weigh-ins and as long as the trend is going in the right direction I am happy. Yes, it's slow and sometimes frustrating but that's how it is. And also, thanks for those links & explanations. I'm going to try to figure out my TDEE using my own numbers.0 -
TDEE is just an educated guess. Everyone is different, so you have to tweak it for you. I prefer tracking body fat and not depending as much on the scale. Body fat is tracked about once a month. That way you know if your nutrition is really working (i.e. muscle loss or fat loss).0
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Remember though that you can calculate TDEE from your actual calorie intake over time needed to maintain but you can only estimate using the various web sites like Scooby's, IIFIYM etc.
Could you explain this further please Si?
Simon hit it right on the head -- exactly what I was going to say. To calculate your TDEE using your actual data, you need to first make sure that you have been logging EVERYTYHING. Then choose two points in time with weight measurements, say the 1st and 7th of the month, as an example. During those 7 days, you lost one pound. And during those 7 days, you averaged 1550 calories intake of food per day. That means you ate a total of 10850 calories. Add that to the 3500 calories lost (1 pound of weight loss). Your total calories consumed, hence your TDEE is (10850 + 3500) / 7 = 2050. Is that clear? If you have any questions, please ask. I calculate my own TDEE. It's the only way to get an accurate reading. The online sources are okay but they are gross approximations at best anyway.
Do you calculate using the total number of calories you ate per day (including exercise) or only the actual food calories that you ate?0
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