Confused between TDEE and MFP :(

Shalini_15
Shalini_15 Posts: 160 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey all.. Happy new year to all of you :)

I guess this would have been raised numerous times but I still fail to understand, my bad :embarassed:

I will directly come to my question-

I want to lose weight (so do most of the people here :tongue: ). As per TDEE my maintenance cals is approx -2200 per day. At TDEE -15% to 20%, it comes to approx 1700 cals. This is what I try to eat everyday.

1. If I follow TDEE then my diet is of max 1700cals and should I eat only that much irrespective of how much I workout? For eg: I burn 500cals, then should I eat 1700cals or 1700 + 500 = 2200 cals?

2. If I follow MFP - My target calories is lets say again 1700 (is it too high of weight loss?), and I burn 500 again so I should eat 1700 only or 2200 again?

Any suggestions are welcomed :)

Replies

  • _SABOTEUR_
    _SABOTEUR_ Posts: 6,833 Member
    TDEE you do not eat back your exercise calories.

    MFP you eat back your exercise calories. Just be careful MFP does not overestimate the calorie burn. Many people only eat back about 75% of what MFP tells them.
  • parkscs
    parkscs Posts: 1,639 Member
    It depends on how you calculated your TDEE. :-) To give you an example, I would calculate mine as sedentary because my job involves many hours of sitting in front of a computer. However, I also exercise quite frequently and so I log these calories separately - because I selected a TDEE that doesn't include any exercise/activity. The trick is to be as accurate as possible with logging exercise calories, but that's another topic.

    You can also think of it this way. You calculated your caloric target based on how fast you want to lose on average per week (e.g., 500 deficit is roughly 1 lb/week). If you then exercise and burn 500 calories, you've changed the equation. If you don't eat those calories back, you're actually consuming fewer nutrients on the days your body needs them most (i.e., your workout days) and you have a more aggressive deficit than you originally planned (i.e., now you're over 1 lb/week).

    On the other hand, if you calculated your TDEE as active because you exercise a few times/week, then you should not eat them back.

    But, given your TDEE calculation matches MFP's recommendation, I'd suggest you eat them back (or at least some of them) and really try to be careful in estimating them.
  • sillyvalentine
    sillyvalentine Posts: 460 Member
    Some people eat back their exercise calories, some don't.

    As for your TDEE.... the online calculators are too generic and can be way off. I had mine tested at the hospital - BMR and TDEE. The online calc's said my BMR was 1800 and it was actually between 800 - 900. Online calc's said my TDEE was 2500 (ish) and really it was just over 1000.

    If you can, get your BMR and TDEE professionally tested. I think the online calculators estimate it much much higher than it actually is.
  • The_Enginerd
    The_Enginerd Posts: 3,982 Member
    The TDEE method already includes your exercise activity into your calorie goal, so if you follow that, you would not eat back exercise calories.

    If you follow the MFP method, you would eat your exercise calories. MFP includes your daily activity (non-exercise) into your calorie goal, but not your exercise. In your given example, your MFP calorie goal would be lower than your TDEE calculated calorie goal for the same weight loss rate.

    It's six of one, half a dozen of the other. Your average calorie goal is going to be identical for the same weight loss rate.
  • The_Enginerd
    The_Enginerd Posts: 3,982 Member
    Some people eat back their exercise calories, some don't.

    As for your TDEE.... the online calculators are too generic and can be way off. I had mine tested at the hospital - BMR and TDEE. The online calc's said my BMR was 1800 and it was actually between 800 - 900. Online calc's said my TDEE was 2500 (ish) and really it was just over 1000.

    If you can, get your BMR and TDEE professionally tested. I think the online calculators estimate it much much higher than it actually is.
    The online calculators are just an estimate, yes, but they shouldn't be THAT far off. If your's is literally half of estimated, you must have a medical condition such a thyroid issue affecting your metabolism (and even then... half?!). Or the test wasn't done right.
  • Shalini_15
    Shalini_15 Posts: 160 Member
    I do have hypothyroidism and guess even that affects weightloss. But I am not sure if they do TDEE or BMR tests here, will check anyways. Any more suggestions or advice?
  • Azurite27
    Azurite27 Posts: 554 Member
    I do have hypothyroidism and guess even that affects weightloss. But I am not sure if they do TDEE or BMR tests here, will check anyways. Any more suggestions or advice?

    If you are on medication for your hypothyroidism, your metabolism should be the same as a normal person. If you are not on medication, I highly suggest talking a doctor to get put on something, but in the meantime your metabolism may be 100-200 calories less than estimates.
  • Shalini_15
    Shalini_15 Posts: 160 Member
    If you are on medication for your hypothyroidism, your metabolism should be the same as a normal person. If you are not on medication, I highly suggest talking a doctor to get put on something, but in the meantime your metabolism may be 100-200 calories less than estimates.

    Yeah I do take medications on a daily basis - Thyronorme - 50mcg. So will my metabolism be like 1500 cals?
  • Azurite27
    Azurite27 Posts: 554 Member
    If you are on medication for your hypothyroidism, your metabolism should be the same as a normal person. If you are not on medication, I highly suggest talking a doctor to get put on something, but in the meantime your metabolism may be 100-200 calories less than estimates.

    Yeah I do take medications on a daily basis - Thyronorme - 50mcg. So will my metabolism be like 1500 cals?

    Your metabolism should be close to what MFP and other calculators estimate. As others have said, if you eat back exercise calories be conservative on what you eat back. Personally I have hypothyroidism as well and I eat back 70% of what my HRM says and I've been losing steadily.
  • sillyvalentine
    sillyvalentine Posts: 460 Member
    Some people eat back their exercise calories, some don't.

    As for your TDEE.... the online calculators are too generic and can be way off. I had mine tested at the hospital - BMR and TDEE. The online calc's said my BMR was 1800 and it was actually between 800 - 900. Online calc's said my TDEE was 2500 (ish) and really it was just over 1000.

    If you can, get your BMR and TDEE professionally tested. I think the online calculators estimate it much much higher than it actually is.
    The online calculators are just an estimate, yes, but they shouldn't be THAT far off. If your's is literally half of estimated, you must have a medical condition such a thyroid issue affecting your metabolism (and even then... half?!). Or the test wasn't done right.

    Nope. No medical conditions...that I am currently aware of :) I did the tests right, many times. I even did it with my doctor in his office.

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