1300 or 1800 (a.k.a Special Snowflake or TDEE)?

bflytilidy

I finally accessed heybale's spreadsheet (wow) and my TDEG is 1539 based on 4 days of moderate gym cardio (160 min) and 40 minutes of weekly strength training. If I do 1300 calories daily and eat back my estimated 350 exercise cals on the 4 days I work out, then I average 1500 per day (1300x3 + 1650x4 = 10500/7 = 1500). So the TDEE method is very similar to the MFP approach if you set your activity level correctly and select the slower weight loss goal (I know this has been pointed out and I'm just now understanding) but different in that I'd be eating the same calories every day versus only eating back exercise calories on days I work out. Is there a reason that it's better to eat consistently each day versus only eating back exercise calories on days I work out, or just a preference?

Docpremie

I finally accessed heybale's spreadsheet (wow) and my TDEG is 1539 based on 4 days of moderate gym cardio (160 min) and 40 minutes of weekly strength training. If I do 1300 calories daily and eat back my estimated 350 exercise cals on the 4 days I work out, then I average 1500 per day (1300x3 + 1650x4 = 10500/7 = 1500). So the TDEE method is very similar to the MFP approach if you set your activity level correctly and select the slower weight loss goal (I know this has been pointed out and I'm just now understanding) but different in that I'd be eating the same calories every day versus only eating back exercise calories on days I work out. Is there a reason that it's better to eat consistently each day versus only eating back exercise calories on days I work out, or just a preference?

I prefer the consistency, because I know exactly what to eat everyday. It's very easy to plan my meals & snacks to meet my calorie & macro goals. Some folks alter it to eat lighter during the week & leave extra calories for the weekend. As long as your total over the 5-7 day period is equal, it doesn't really matter in the day to day, although I don't think you want to get too low, or you might find you don't have energy you need for your work out. If you subtracted 100 cal/day for 5 days, you'd have an extra 500 calories to play with on the weekend. I'm a intensive care physician & work 55-60 hours at the hospital every weekend. I take my meals with me, so I like that I know exactly what I need to eat.

SLLRunner

@smc864 I know what you mean about learning what a normal portion is!! It's so important not just for weigh loss but to make a lifestyle change permanent. Oh and I totally agree, I'd like a boyfriend who will count the weight of strawberries for me, cute!

My boyfriend does that too, and he even started using MFP a few months ago. He loves the it and is very happy with the results.

ThatSoundsHard

TDEE- deficit FTW!