Another TDEE question...

CorlissaEats

So I have been on MFP for just over 3 months. In that time I have been slowly increasing my activity level. I just started c25k training 3 days a week in addition to the other classes and activities I have picked up. I am working towards losing weight and body fat.

My fitness schedule looks like this:
Monday - lunch stretching yoga class, 30 min c25k running
Tuesday - Function fitness class, 50 min of reps with 2&3lb hand weights
Wednesday - c25k running, 30 min walking/light jogging
Thursday - Pure Muscle class, 50 min of reps with 2&3lb hand weights
Friday - Ashtanga Yoga (flow yoga), 55 minutes
Saturday - c25k training, 30 min walking, light jogging.
Sunday - rest

Female, 204lbs, 5'8" with reasonable amount of lean muscle mass

Here is the TDEE part: My sedentary TDEE with only my office job has me around 2072 calories burned per day. I have been logging my exercise but most only add up to 300 calories per day bringing me to 2372 on a high output day. When I enter my exercise as a 6 day pattern, my predicted TDEE is around 2550-2600 calories. I have looked at 3 diff calculators.

I eat my entered TDEE+exercise less 20% which puts me between 1750-1990 calories most days. This is usually just under a 500 cal deficit which I am comfortable with. (I weigh most of my food intake these days for accuracy) HOWEVER, if I am wrong about my projected TDEE then my deficit is actually closer to 700-800 calories. I want body fat loss, not muscle loss.

I am most curious to hear from those with HRM or other gadgets about where their TDEE number hits and how close it comes to the online calculators. Is your output higher than expected? Should I increase my base calorie burn or leave it at 2072?

Edit: No I do not have a HRM or a Fit Bit. Its on my Christmas list though...

JustJennie13

In for the info....

cwolfman13

Trial and error...nobody has exactly a TDEE of XXXX calories. Also, you can't just say 6 days per week so TDEE = XXXX. The descriptors are vague and you need to take into account other things...as you've stated, your workouts generally burn around 300 calories per...that wouldn't jive with the TDEE estimate you're coming up with because, while you're exercising 6 days per week, your level of effort isn't "vigorous" or whatever. Maybe try an average of that and the level below that...or just go with the level below that and see how it goes...that's pretty much where mine is at...between light and moderate exercise. Obviously I have days at a smaller deficit and days at a bigger deficit...but it nets out at the end of the week pretty much.

Like I said, trial and error. You're not going to just start burning a ton of muscle up experimenting with different calorie intakes for a matter of weeks. You're going to burn up muscle when you just arbitrarily select 1200 calories and then go work off another 500 and do that for months.

Also, when you do TDEE - 20% your exercise is already included in the formula for your daily required calories and thus your deficit...you do NOT eat back exercise calories with TDEE.

CorlissaEats

You're right there is an element of trial and error, but I am also not wanting to undereat. I don't want to end up being skinny fat. Using muscle boosts the metabolism all day long so to some degree the difference between my logging and the calculators makes logical sense. My Tu and Th classes are strength training classes. Its basically a weight routine with a class instructor- we do squats, lunges, ab and core work, upper body, etc. Running is also supposed to be a great metabolism booster, with the impact affecting your calorie burn for hours after a workout. I don't want to be over training for the amount I am eating. Food is fuel, its good for us in the right amount.

I eat back 80% of my exercise calories and I am still losing weight and/or inches. I've never actually heard before that you arent supposed to on TDEE minus 20%. Maybe it has to do with how you have your diary set up? Mine is set up so that I can see the supposed deficit daily. I never eat all my calories because that would be maintenance with my set up. I get to eat more when I workout and never eat less than my BMR.

cmriverside

You are making this way harder than it needs to be. You have 22+ lbs to lose. Just set up your Goals here to lose 1/2 or 1 pound per week, give yourself 300-500 calories extra per hour of moderate exercise, and eat those calories - don't underestimate on your Activity Level (your daily routine). If you are using this tool, why not actually try by the tool's rules? Use those numbers for a month. Tweak if you don't get the results you are expecting.

It's your experiment to perform. There is quite a bit of trial and error involved - for everyone.

cmriverside

They are two different methods.

Either use TDEE minus a percent ( I think 20% is too high for you). If you use TDEE method, you don't eat back the exercise calories.

Or use MFP, which would ask you to add in and eat back additional exercise. I like it better because you eat more on the days you expend more energy.

Confuzzled4ever

i have a body bugg and have a huge range of calories burned anywhere from 2400-3500 So I just used 2600 as my TDEE and eat below that. You can't be 100% on what it is. but you can be close and take an average. I play sports for 2 hours on Sunday so I have a ridiculous burn on Sundays. So even if I do overeat the other days of the week I can usually make up for it. lol

CorlissaEats

Ok thanks. I think that helps.

I originally set it up the way MFP said to but it was WAY too few calories for me even with eating back the exercise. My BMR is around 1735 alone. MFP doesnt account for Lean Body Mass, I am not a tiny or average woman for my height. I am trying to take my body fat from around 32% down to low to mid 20s. Weightloss is part of that goal, but I'd much rather see my core strength go up than see the scale dance. Too much of a deficit is bad, especially since I am active and doing moderate strength training. Body composition matters, I am losing weight where I am at I just want it to be the right kind.

Even TDEE -20% at my current exercise level is still around 150-200 calories more than I am currently consuming. Which plays into my original question- are the calculators pretty accurate when estimating burn?

endoftheside

Have you tried to calculate your actual TDEE based on your own data? If you have a month's worth of food/exercise data you can use this--

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/EvgeniZyntx/view/mfp-extractor-and-trend-watcher-the-program-post-589839

As long as you are self-consistent, any systematic errors in food/exercise will be accounted for.

Are you losing too much weight?

cmriverside

When I was tracking daily, I didn't trust any of them, to be honest. Some people say MFP numbers are too high, some say they are right on. I have a heart rate monitor, but I don't use it anymore. Waste of money, really.

You can search several databases for estimates, but nothing is 100%. Now I use 300-500 calories per hour to estimate exercise, depending on what I've done for the hour.

It's all an estimate.

CorlissaEats

It's only 3 weeks of data- but I upped my numbers and increased both my fitness and intake on Oct 28th and so far I have lost 5.5lbs. MFP projects my loss per week around 0.8lbs/wk or less but thats a rate of 1.6/week. Which actually means my deficit is 300-400 calories greater per day than predicted. I am aiming for 1lb per week. I think I might be on the right track with increasing my TDEE base number and eating a little more to compensate for the increased fitness activity.

I'll keep watching it though to see if it levels off before I start adding calories to my day.