Tdee question- 20% lower than my bmr

underthecherrytree

I started my weight loss journey on 10/6. I was eating between 1200-1500 calories. I lost 22 lbs. the past 3 weeks I have maintained. I did some research and read about eating 20% below your tdee. So I understand I need to up my calories. I calculated and my bmr is 1850 while my tdee is 2112 (sedentary). Problem is, 20% below that puts me below my bmr. Is that ok? When I start incorporating exercise within the next week, I will be eating back most of the calories as I know my tdee would change. Thanks for your help.

p4ulmiller

Don't overly stress about it. Try eating at 1850 for a few weeks and see what happens.

You'll lose weight at that intake - but you'll need to check whether you're happy with the rate and whether you are hungry.

Online calculators are notoriously inaccurate so you'll just have to judge for yourself.

underthecherrytree

Thank you!

nikilis

Online calculators are notoriously inaccurate so you'll just have to judge for yourself.

yah this is the truth. probably at your start weight the calculators will be off as your BMI is too high, so its over estimating your muscle mass. the calculators are only really accurate at relatively lean BMI's.

so just keep going! it is recommended that you eat a week or two of maintenance every 3 months, but you don't have to do that, I didn't cause I didn't want to loose my resolve.

so yeh, don't worry!

michellekicks

Yeah if you net over your BMR you're generally safe. So eat BMR + all your exercise calories and then your deficit will come from all your non-exercise activity in a day and you won't be at as high a risk for causing hormonal and metabolic adaptations that can slow weight loss.

scottkjar

It is common to lose weight faster at the beginning because you lose water, muscle, and glycogen in addition to losing fat. You have gone through those things now, so later weight loss will likely be much slower. Don't compare your first 3 weeks result with any later results.

There are some who insist that 20% below TDEE is the only way to go. Others have different views. In part, it depends on your starting point. The more you have to lose, the more you can go below your TDEE.

Keep in mind a few other key numbers as well.

3500 calories = 1 pound
To lose 1 pound in 1 week, you need a deficit of 500 calories per day
To lose 2 pounds in 1 week, you need a deficit of 1,000 calories per day


If you start eating 20% below your TDEE, that's only about 420 calories daily deficit. That means you will expect to lose less than 1 pound per week. People who start heavier (like you and me) can lose faster than that.

When MFP sets your target, it does NOT subscribe to the TDEE - 20% idea. Instead, it relies on your target weight loss pace. So if you tell MFP that you want to lose 2 pounds per week, and your TDEE is, say, 2500 calories, MFP will tell you to eat 1500 calories per day. That gives you a 7000 calorie deficit per week, which should equate to 2 pounds. (If your TDEE is less than 2200, MFP will set you at 1200 calories as the minimum healthy intake.)

But as P4 commented, the online calculators disagree about what your BMR and TDEE are, and about what deficit you should have. In the end, your best bet is to track everything and see what level of consumption and what level of activity give you the weight loss pace that is right for you.

underthecherrytree

Thanks for all the answers. I am still slightly confused to be honest. Scott, If I followed what you said, I would be eating where I am now which is between 1200-1400 calories and I am thinking that it may be too low since I haven't lost in 3 weeks

underthecherrytree

bump

trudijoy

DO NOT eat under BMR. If TDEE - 20% puts you under BMR then your goal is too aggressive. TDEE is not meant to have exercise calories eaten back for the most part. Try TDEE - 15% or even 10% to bring your intake over BMR and don't eat back exercise cals.

Francl27

You have a lot to lose so it's not a big deal, I think.