What is your actual TDEE?

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Replies

  • Docpremie
    Docpremie Posts: 228 Member
    Not sure about the accuracy of your calculation method, but funny thing is, mine is dead on with Haybales' spreadsheet! I used a 28 day period of time during the summer when my losses were more consistent (I'm now at a much lower deficit, since close to goal) & came up with a TDEE 0f 2180. I then looked back at my spreadsheet from the included dates, which happened to be calculated for the exact time period, and my TDEE according to LBM, % BF and activity was 2180! I've always sworn by Haybales' spreadsheet & send others to download it for TDEE & macros, but this info really makes me happy!!! :)

    My FitBit One for the same time period gave me 2190, so all are really close! Amazing!!!!!
  • Cindyinpg
    Cindyinpg Posts: 3,902 Member
    I track mine with my Bodymedia too. Lately, I average around 2700 with a bit of moderate exercise, eat around 2000. Lose about 1lb a week, so yeah, it's off a bit, on one estimate or the other. *shrugs* I allow for it.
  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
    So if I use this calculation my TDEE for Sep was 4065 and for Oct was 3503 and so far for Nov it is 3436. That's an average of 3679.

    September (28 days)
    Calories = 73,222
    Loss (11.6lbs) = 40,600
    TDEE = 4065

    October (28 days)
    Calories = 68,001
    Loss (8.6lbs) = 30,100
    TDEE = 3503

    November (21 days)
    Calories = 51157
    Loss (6lbs) = 21,000
    TDEE = 3436

    Unless I'm doing something wrong with my math, this isn't even close to being accurate.

    Maybe I'm totally wrong.....
    Your TDEE goes down as you lose weight. It takes less energy to maintain and also less energy to move it around.

    If you just started in August, you probably dropped a lot of water weight at the beginning too, which would skew your results making your TDEE look higher.
  • Confuzzled4ever
    Confuzzled4ever Posts: 2,860 Member
    I get over 3,000 TDEE most days.. ... wayyy more then any calculator ever told me..

    2800 is a low day for me apparently.

    Your method only works if you are actually losing weight.. I'm losing inches not weight.. there is no way i'm eating 3000 calories per day.. i weigh and log everything.
  • GadgetGuy2
    GadgetGuy2 Posts: 291 Member
    I'm confused. You say calculators aren't that accurate, and then you provide calculations to get it accurate.

    Calculators can be automated (computer based including simple hand held calculators) or done with paper and pencil (i.e. long hand). They are still just calculations.

    I thought to really get an accurate estimate of TDEE, you have to capture all the CO2 you breath out. Even then, a chemical calculation is used to translate the weight of the CO2 into kilocalories.

    Where does the fat go, when you lose it? Answer: You breath the fat out as CO2. (note water is also a byproduct of the burn).
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    Around 2500-2600 during the summer and 2300-2400 during the winter.
  • Cindyinpg
    Cindyinpg Posts: 3,902 Member
    I get over 3,000 TDEE most days.. ... wayyy more then any calculator ever told me..

    2800 is a low day for me apparently.

    Your method only works if you are actually losing weight.. I'm losing inches not weight.. there is no way i'm eating 3000 calories per day.. i weigh and log everything.
    I'm confused. If you are taking 28 days worth of calories (and not adding or deducting for pounds lost or gained) dividing them by 28 and getting 3,000, then you're eating 3,000 calories day. Or are you looking at a different way of calculating this?
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    I get over 3,000 TDEE most days.. ... wayyy more then any calculator ever told me..

    2800 is a low day for me apparently.

    Your method only works if you are actually losing weight.. I'm losing inches not weight.. there is no way i'm eating 3000 calories per day.. i weigh and log everything.

    You think you burn over 3000 calories a day.... but you're eating way less than 3000 calories a day..... and you're not losing weight?

    I've got some news for you..
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
    I'm confused. You say calculators aren't that accurate, and then you provide calculations to get it accurate.

    Calculators can be automated (computer based including simple hand held calculators) or done with paper and pencil (i.e. long hand). They are still just calculations.

    I thought to really get an accurate estimate of TDEE, you have to capture all the CO2 you breath out. Even then, a chemical calculation is used to translate the weight of the CO2 into kilocalories.

    Where does the fat go, when you lose it? Answer: You breath the fat out as CO2. (note water is also a byproduct of the burn).

    A computer generated estimate isn't going to be quite as perfect as data generated by your own body though.
  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
    I get over 3,000 TDEE most days.. ... wayyy more then any calculator ever told me..

    2800 is a low day for me apparently.

    Your method only works if you are actually losing weight.. I'm losing inches not weight.. there is no way i'm eating 3000 calories per day.. i weigh and log everything.

    You think you burn over 3000 calories a day.... but you're eating way less than 3000 calories a day..... and you're not losing weight?

    I've got some news for you..
    Exactly. And this is why you take the actual, measured amount of food that went down your gullet, and use THAT to determine the amount of food that is needed to maintain your weight.

    The calculators are simply generalized predictions. It's impossible for them to be accurate for everyone.
  • GadgetGuy2
    GadgetGuy2 Posts: 291 Member
    I'm confused. You say calculators aren't that accurate, and then you provide calculations to get it accurate.

    Calculators can be automated (computer based including simple hand held calculators) or done with paper and pencil (i.e. long hand). They are still just calculations.

    I thought to really get an accurate estimate of TDEE, you have to capture all the CO2 you breath out. Even then, a chemical calculation is used to translate the weight of the CO2 into kilocalories.

    Where does the fat go, when you lose it? Answer: You breath the fat out as CO2. (note water is also a byproduct of the burn).

    A computer generated estimate isn't going to be quite as perfect as data generated by your own body though.

    Which is why CO2 respiration is the best data to calculate the total burn. Even if you use a computer to do the chemical calculation.

    It doesn't matter whether the formula (i.e. calculation) is done by hand or done by computer chips. If both hand and computer are done accurately, they are no different. What is important is the formula. A formula based on imprecise data, what you eat, what the HRM says, what your "average activity level" is, etc., has sources of error that make the result of the formula less accurate.
  • bkw99508
    bkw99508 Posts: 204 Member
    So if I use this calculation my TDEE for Sep was 4065 and for Oct was 3503 and so far for Nov it is 3436. That's an average of 3679.

    September (28 days)
    Calories = 73,222
    Loss (11.6lbs) = 40,600
    TDEE = 4065

    October (28 days)
    Calories = 68,001
    Loss (8.6lbs) = 30,100
    TDEE = 3503

    November (21 days)
    Calories = 51157
    Loss (6lbs) = 21,000
    TDEE = 3436

    Unless I'm doing something wrong with my math, this isn't even close to being accurate.

    Maybe I'm totally wrong.....
    Your TDEE goes down as you lose weight. It takes less energy to maintain and also less energy to move it around.

    If you just started in August, you probably dropped a lot of water weight at the beginning too, which would skew your results making your TDEE look higher.


    I will give you that my initial weight loss was water.....but November's TDEE? FWIW I'm currently at 190.
  • michable
    michable Posts: 312 Member
    Thanks for putting this up. I have just entered maintenance.

    Based on the calculation: TDEE for me is 1910 cal / day.

    This is very close to the Scooby calculator estimate (1936) for a woman of my height, weight, and age, doing a moderate level of exercise.

    However, on the Scooby calculator, if I reduce my exercise to 1-3 hours of light exercise, then my TDEE estimate goes down to 1717. I will have to make sure I also reduce my cals if I reduce my exercise.
  • Ang108
    Ang108 Posts: 1,711 Member
    Interesting theory on getting a better estimate for TDEE. I may have to try that since I think the online calculators are very conservative for me. I am sure there are tons of factors that influence TDEE throughout the month, but interesting concept.

    I need to be on mfp longer to test this however.
    They are not only conservative but some must be plain wrong. I just did my TDEE with five different calculators, all with the same data and they varied from 1847 down to 1611. That's a lot of difference on which to base my daily calories on.
  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
    I'm confused. You say calculators aren't that accurate, and then you provide calculations to get it accurate.

    Calculators can be automated (computer based including simple hand held calculators) or done with paper and pencil (i.e. long hand). They are still just calculations.

    I thought to really get an accurate estimate of TDEE, you have to capture all the CO2 you breath out. Even then, a chemical calculation is used to translate the weight of the CO2 into kilocalories.

    Where does the fat go, when you lose it? Answer: You breath the fat out as CO2. (note water is also a byproduct of the burn).
    What?

    I can buy a car that says on the sticker that it gets 30 MPG, and then empty the gas tank, out in 5 gallons, and run out of gas at 120 miles, or run out of gas at 180 miles. It depends on how I drive, weather/road conditions, and individual variations between vehicles.

    The number on the sticker is just an estimate based on a test under certain conditions which may or may not match reality. The number I get from dividing "miles driven / 5" is the actual gas mileage for that trip.

    I don't need to measure the exhaust because I already measured the amount of gas I put in.

    The point is to get a reasonable estimate of, "how much food do I need to eat in order to stay the same weight?"

    ETA: how much do "I" need to eat, as opposed to "a fictional idealized statistically average 175 lb 43 year old 6'1" male"
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    [I will give you that my initial weight loss was water.....but November's TDEE? FWIW I'm currently at 190.

    October and November numbers agree with each other - I'd go with that until more data demonstrates otherwise.

    EDIT: Although that does seem high. I run 10km/cycle 30km several times a week and I'm a large-boned male and I only get to 3500.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    It's tough to really say how many calories it takes to build or lose a pound of body mass because there are so many factors involved. You really only know your TDEE if you're maintaining your weight and counting every calorie you eat.

    But you can get pretty close assuming it takes 3000 or 3500 calories for a pound.
  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
    I'm confused. You say calculators aren't that accurate, and then you provide calculations to get it accurate.

    Calculators can be automated (computer based including simple hand held calculators) or done with paper and pencil (i.e. long hand). They are still just calculations.

    I thought to really get an accurate estimate of TDEE, you have to capture all the CO2 you breath out. Even then, a chemical calculation is used to translate the weight of the CO2 into kilocalories.

    Where does the fat go, when you lose it? Answer: You breath the fat out as CO2. (note water is also a byproduct of the burn).

    A computer generated estimate isn't going to be quite as perfect as data generated by your own body though.

    Which is why CO2 respiration is the best data to calculate the total burn. Even if you use a computer to do the chemical calculation.

    It doesn't matter whether the formula (i.e. calculation) is done by hand or done by computer chips. If both hand and computer are done accurately, they are no different. What is important is the formula. A formula based on imprecise data, what you eat, what the HRM says, what your "average activity level" is, etc., has sources of error that make the result of the formula less accurate.
    I disagree. Even if you were to get it accurate to the last CO2 molecule, that number is still not calibrated to your weighing/logging techniques.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    It's tough to really say how many calories it takes to build or lose a pound of body mass because there are so many factors involved. You really only know your TDEE if you're maintaining your weight and counting every calorie you eat.

    But you can get pretty close assuming it takes 3000 or 3500 calories for a pound.

    I just did the calculation for the past month and got 2285 calories.

    According to my Fitbit, I've burned 2308 calories per day.

    That's pretty awesome.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    I disagree. Even if you were to get it accurate to the last CO2 molecule, that number is still not calibrated to your weighing/logging techniques.

    Actually, oxygen consumption is the gold standard way to measure calorie burn. There's a direct relationship between oxygen consumption (and therefore CO2 production) and energy consumption, because oxygen is a component of the reactions.

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