What is your actual TDEE?
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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.0 -
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.0 -
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.
The respiratory method eliminates weighing/logging from the BMR/TDEE equation.
It is correct that any calculation involving weight loss expectations will depend on that, but not BMR/TDEE.0 -
How much activity do you have? Not just "purposeful exercise" but non-exercise activity like standing or walking or fidgeting?
Your TDEE goes down as you lose weight. It takes less energy to maintain and also less energy to move it around.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.....
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.
How do you measure your portions? (Everything with a food scale? Do you eyeball and overestimate to be on the safe side? etc)0 -
I did that a few days ago. Calculated my actual deficit compared to predicted deficit by calories in my diary. I only had 3 weeks of data but MFP was off by 300 cals per day. I should be eating more than I am to support only 1lbs per week loss.
At my current exercise level, 5-6 days a week, my TDEE is around 2600. I am sure my maintenance # number will go down since I added extra exercise to work on changing my body composition and going down in body fat %. Once I reach my goal I will have to scale back my fitness and adjust my calories.0 -
By eliminating weighing/logging, it doesn't tell me how much I need to actually eat.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.
The respiratory method eliminates weighing/logging from the BMR/TDEE equation.
It is correct that any calculation involving weight loss expectations will depend on that, but not BMR/TDEE.0 -
By eliminating weighing/logging, it doesn't tell me how much I need to actually eat.
Sure it does. Once you know your BMR/TDEE and set a weight loss goal, you know exactly how much to eat.0 -
[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.
That's what I was thinking. I'm fairly active....but not THAT active. My BM Core gives me an average of 2495 so I am a little suspect.
Edited to say that since I'm losing consistently doing what I'm doing I'm not planning on changing anything anytime soon.
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I just started logging and exercising the first of September.
Sept 1 - Sept 29 (29 days, started at 430 lbs)
47,574 calories eaten
13 lbs lost (+45,500 = 93,074)
TDEE = 3,209 (93,074/29)
Oct 1 - Oct 29 (29 days, started at 418.2 lbs)
51,397 eaten
6.2 lbs lost (+21,700 = 73,097)
TDEE = 2,520 (73,097/29)
My starting weight was 430. My current weight is 403.
I just started MPF the first of September. I think my initial
weight loss was water. I was measured the middle of October after eating healthy and exercising for a month and a half.
I lost 17 inches in the first 45 days. I won't get remeasured again until December 5th.0 -
What?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).
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"
You forgot to mention that an empty gas tank was a measurement also.
In other words, you measured the amount of food you put into the car, measured the amount of exercise the car was able to do, until your gas gauge measurement said the gas was gone.
Had you measured the exhaust you would be able to calculate how much gas you burned, even though the average burn at any point along the way varied base on topography, rate of acceleration, how much you coast, standing on the break..etc.0 -
By eliminating weighing/logging, it doesn't tell me how much I need to actually eat.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.
The respiratory method eliminates weighing/logging from the BMR/TDEE equation.
It is correct that any calculation involving weight loss expectations will depend on that, but not BMR/TDEE.
It tells you exactly how much you need to eat. You then need to weigh and log your food to make sure you eat that amount.
Measuring oxygen consumption literally tells you how many calories you are burning. It's extremely impractical, of course.0 -
Bump.0
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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..
I measure and log everything. Good, Bad or in between. I leave out nothing. So unless the calories are way off in the database (which since everyone uses the database I doubt that) It should be fairly accurate. My body bugg might over estimate a little, but I cant' imagine it's over estimating that much. I don't think I burn that much, it's what it tells me. But I am super active. Even if it's off by a few hundred I'm still way under what it says I should be eating. I did gain some weight back a few weeks ago, but it's gone now. I've also changed my workout routine and increased what I was eating, so that might have messed with things?0 -
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..
I measure and log everything. Good, Bad or in between. I leave out nothing. So unless the calories are way off in the database (which since everyone uses the database I doubt that) It should be fairly accurate. My body bugg might over estimate a little, but I cant' imagine it's over estimating that much. I don't think I burn that much, it's what it tells me. But I am super active. Even if it's off by a few hundred I'm still way under what it says I should be eating. I did gain some weight back a few weeks ago, but it's gone now. I've also changed my workout routine and increased what I was eating, so that might have messed with things?
Where did you get the 3000/2700 from?
If you're not losing weight, you are eating at maintenance. Whatever you are eating now is your TDEE.0 -
How much activity do you have? Not just "purposeful exercise" but non-exercise activity like standing or walking or fidgeting?
Your TDEE goes down as you lose weight. It takes less energy to maintain and also less energy to move it around.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.....
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.
How do you measure your portions? (Everything with a food scale? Do you eyeball and overestimate to be on the safe side? etc)
My job is pretty sedintary but I do make it to the gym 4-5x week. I weigh 90% of everything. I do tend to overestimate on the 10% just to be safe. I have not missed a day since I have started in early August.0 -
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..
I measure and log everything. Good, Bad or in between. I leave out nothing. So unless the calories are way off in the database (which since everyone uses the database I doubt that) It should be fairly accurate. My body bugg might over estimate a little, but I cant' imagine it's over estimating that much. I don't think I burn that much, it's what it tells me. But I am super active. Even if it's off by a few hundred I'm still way under what it says I should be eating. I did gain some weight back a few weeks ago, but it's gone now. I've also changed my workout routine and increased what I was eating, so that might have messed with things?
Where did you get the 3000/2700 from?
If you're not losing weight, you are eating at maintenance. Whatever you are eating now is your TDEE.
from my body bugg. That is only off my body for 15/20 minutes a day. - I doubt my TDEE is 1700 or less.. gives me a reading of more like 3500 on the weekends,. because I am more active when not working.0 -
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..
I measure and log everything. Good, Bad or in between. I leave out nothing. So unless the calories are way off in the database (which since everyone uses the database I doubt that) It should be fairly accurate. My body bugg might over estimate a little, but I cant' imagine it's over estimating that much. I don't think I burn that much, it's what it tells me. But I am super active. Even if it's off by a few hundred I'm still way under what it says I should be eating. I did gain some weight back a few weeks ago, but it's gone now. I've also changed my workout routine and increased what I was eating, so that might have messed with things?
Where did you get the 3000/2700 from?
If you're not losing weight, you are eating at maintenance. Whatever you are eating now is your TDEE.
from my body bugg. That is only off my body for 15/20 minutes a day. - I doubt my TDEE is 1700 or less..
Sounds like it's rather impressively inaccurate then. Interesting. I just posted that, for the past 3 months, the OP's calculation method and my Fitbit's calorie estimate are extremely close.0 -
You're getting it from your BodyBugg right? Then it's definitely overestimating. Mine gives me 2750-3000 a day and I am very active too. But if I use Liftallthepizza's calculation, which I just went and did for October, I am really at 2500 on the button. That's a big discrepancy, but I was already aware of it, through my results being lesser than predicted.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..
I measure and log everything. Good, Bad or in between. I leave out nothing. So unless the calories are way off in the database (which since everyone uses the database I doubt that) It should be fairly accurate. My body bugg might over estimate a little, but I cant' imagine it's over estimating that much. I don't think I burn that much, it's what it tells me. But I am super active. Even if it's off by a few hundred I'm still way under what it says I should be eating. I did gain some weight back a few weeks ago, but it's gone now. I've also changed my workout routine and increased what I was eating, so that might have messed with things?
Where did you get the 3000/2700 from?
If you're not losing weight, you are eating at maintenance. Whatever you are eating now is your TDEE.0 -
It's one thing to have a calculator tell you, another to see the real results. :happy:
Take the amount of calories you ate in a 28 day period, and add 3500 for each pound you lost during that period (or subtract 3500 for each pound gained) and divide that total by 28.
Here are mine:
Feb 1 - March 1 (29 days, started at 188 lbs)
77630 eaten
2 lbs lost (+7000 = 84630)
TDEE = 2918 (84630 / 29)
Sep 1 - Sep 29 (29 days, started at 178 lbs)
76626 calories eaten
1.8 lbs lost (+6300 = 82926)
TDEE = 2859 (82926 / 29)
What's your TDEE?
Excellent method, the only couple of problems with the method for many are that they started from the wrong side of the range from good to bad level of deficit amounts.
If the loss included muscle mass because deficit was too great, not enough protein, and no resistance training - then the 3500 assumption doesn't work.
If the logging had enough inaccuracies in it, not the food, but the meals or days, then TDEE is actually higher than calculated.
If you had 6 days of binges in there (easily could be done if undereating and hangry) where you logged nothing, that's 14% of the days missing data.
If you have 2 or 3 meals every weekend where you have no idea of the calorie count so don't even bother estimating, incomplete data.
If you started a new routine the last week before the month weigh-in, and were falsely retaining water weight.
If you just started a diet and had big water weight drop, false starting number.
Most of those things would cause the TDEE given to be artificially low, and would actually result in under-eating even more likely.
That kind of incomplete data requires longer than a month to drown out in the general noise.
So I agree a great idea, but for good application, the more incomplete the data, the longer it must be for decently correct calculation.0 -
You're getting it from your BodyBugg right? Then it's definitely overestimating. Mine gives me 2750-3000 a day and I am very active too. But if I use Liftallthepizza's calculation, which I just went and did for October, I am really at 2500 on the button. That's a big discrepancy, but I was already aware of it, through my results being lesser than predicted.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..
I measure and log everything. Good, Bad or in between. I leave out nothing. So unless the calories are way off in the database (which since everyone uses the database I doubt that) It should be fairly accurate. My body bugg might over estimate a little, but I cant' imagine it's over estimating that much. I don't think I burn that much, it's what it tells me. But I am super active. Even if it's off by a few hundred I'm still way under what it says I should be eating. I did gain some weight back a few weeks ago, but it's gone now. I've also changed my workout routine and increased what I was eating, so that might have messed with things?
Where did you get the 3000/2700 from?
If you're not losing weight, you are eating at maintenance. Whatever you are eating now is your TDEE.
It could be inaccurate. I really don't know how it works exactly. but I am super active. 2 hours or more physical activity on workdays plus walking at lunch and running at night and on the weekends I play 2-4 hours of sports plus lifting and running and my cardio classes.0
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