It just doesn't add up...

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Ronnie715
Ronnie715 Posts: 29
in Getting Started
I never understood the whole TDEE-20%. I just did a quick calculation and it doesn't add up. I know TDEE is to maintain.
My TDEE WITHOUT exercise is 2636. My TDEE with with exercise 3x per week is 3021. That's a 385 calorie per day difference.
If I workout 3x per week, figure that's roughly 500 calories burned each workout, totaling 1500 calories burned for the week.
That 385 calorie difference in a weeks time is 2695. Now take 1500 away from that and you have 1195 extra calories. You are eating an extra 385 calories four days a week because you are not working out on those days. How are you supposed to lose weight? Eating back the calories you burned make sense to me because if you don't exercise, you don't eat anything back but if you do exercise, you eat them back and you are in control of that. With the TDEE-20%, you don't eat anything back and you are eating more on the days you don't exercise. Can someone PLEASE explain this to me?

Replies

  • _Resolve_
    _Resolve_ Posts: 735 Member
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    TDEE -20% should roughly equal the same as eating back your exercise calories. It's just that MFP tried to make it easy and do the math for you :smile:
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,220 Member
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    TDEE includes your workout calories. It isn't TDEE+workout. Those of us who use the TDEE-20% method log our workouts as 1 calorie burns. We go off of the weekly average, not the daily.

    If your TDEE is 3000 calories average for the week you would eat a flat rate of 2400 calories every day. That's a deficit of 4200 for the entire week. As you lose weight your TDEE decreases and your deficit decreases.
  • kittyr77
    kittyr77 Posts: 419 Member
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    is it because its Not just about cal burned exercising, its that your metabolic rate is higher after exercise too.
  • indunna
    indunna Posts: 221 Member
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    TDEE includes your workout calories. It isn't TDEE+workout. Those of us who use the TDEE-20% method log our workouts as 1 calorie burns. We go off of the weekly average, not the daily.

    If your TDEE is 3000 calories average for the week you would eat a flat rate of 2400 calories every day. That's a deficit of 4200 for the entire week. As you lose weight your TDEE decreases and your deficit decreases.

    ^^This. Since my exercise is sporadic (at least it was in the beginning) I prefer to use the default method. This way I ensure that I eat calories as I earn them rather than eating in a way that presupposes I am going to work out tomorrow. Either method can work but as the poster above explains you can't mix them.
  • Ronnie715
    Ronnie715 Posts: 29
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    Maybe I am just not understanding. I know it obviously works because people are using the method successfully but if just seems on the days you are not exercising, you are eating the extra calories. It also doesn't know how many calories you are actually burning. Some one can work out 3 days per week but one person for 30 min and the other for 1.5 hrs. There is obviously a substantial difference in the amount of calories burned through exercise so can't is have a negative effect as having too little calories?
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
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    It's all an estimation. You have to play with your calorie counts to find out your exact numbers.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    TDEE averages your exercise out over the week, even if you do not exercise every day.

    But yes, it is an estimate, and assuming you choose the correct multiplier for your activity level.
  • Dnarules
    Dnarules Posts: 2,081 Member
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    Maybe I am just not understanding. I know it obviously works because people are using the method successfully but if just seems on the days you are not exercising, you are eating the extra calories. It also doesn't know how many calories you are actually burning. Some one can work out 3 days per week but one person for 30 min and the other for 1.5 hrs. There is obviously a substantial difference in the amount of calories burned through exercise so can't is have a negative effect as having too little calories?

    Here is where being honest about your activity level comes in. If you work out 3 times a week for 30 minutes, you would want to go with the lower activity level than someone working out 1.5 hours 3X a week. Plus these are estimates, so it does take some trial and error sometimes. And you need to reevaluate over time. If your activity level changes, you need to change your goal accordingly.
  • omma_to_3
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
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    Maybe I am just not understanding. I know it obviously works because people are using the method successfully but if just seems on the days you are not exercising, you are eating the extra calories. It also doesn't know how many calories you are actually burning. Some one can work out 3 days per week but one person for 30 min and the other for 1.5 hrs. There is obviously a substantial difference in the amount of calories burned through exercise so can't is have a negative effect as having too little calories?

    You are eating more on your non-workout days, but you're eating less than the typical MFP calories on your workout days.

    I prefer to use MFP's methods where I only get extra after I've earned them. The daily average ends up within 100 calories with either method for me.

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