TDEE Help

illgresive

Hi there

I'm currently using MFP's EAT calculator to estimate calories burned (and therefore eating back my exercise calories for the most part), but have seen quite a few people around here say that TDEE works better for them. However, when I go to calculate my TDEE, the calorie recommendation it gives me seems like a bit of an overestimation.

A bit of background on my activity: I go to the gym for 40 - 60 minutes 5 or 6 times a week (resistance & at least moderate cardio), walk 3 - 4km a day to, from and around university, and have just started the Couch to 5k program. Outside of this, though, I spend most of my time studying, playing video games, drawing, playing guitar, all that good inactive stuff. First question: would it be reasonable of me to estimate my activity level as "moderate" (3 - 5 days of moderate exercise per week) on the calculators, giving me a BMR multiplier of around 1.55?

Next up: according to BMR calculators/the official equation, my BMR is around 2142, which gives me a TDEE of around 3320 with the above activity level, but MFP recommends that I eat around 1600 calories per day. My gross recorded calories are usually between 1700 - 2100 per day - with exercise factored in, most days I land at around 1300 - 1600 (I usually like to leave a bit of wiggle room). I've seen a lot of people say you shouldn't net (or maybe it was gross?) below your BMR, but I do this all the time in accordance with MFP's recommendations. Should I be eating more than I currently am? Secondly, how on earth is TDEE calculated? I don't feel like I burn enough for it to be equivalent. If I want to lose 2 pounds per week, should I be eating 1000 gross calories less than my TDEE per day (~2300)? I can't help but to feel like that's way too much. I feel like I've missed out some questions/details and this is a little incoherent but if someone could help me figure this out it would be great! Thanks :-)

KarenJanine

TDEE essentially factors in your exercise calories and spreads them evenly across the week. You have a higher goal, but you do not eat back exercise calories.

With MFP you start at a lower calorie goal but earn more by exercising. For most people, their TDEE estimation gives a very similar gross number to MFP+exercise.

If the difference between yours is large, it may be because your MFP activity level setting is too low.


Ultimately, they are all estimates and some trial and error is required.

KnitOrMiss

What little research I've done, which is some but not a ton, shows that TDEE calculations are kind of an average type of effect. Because you and I each have so many individual factors that play into our own metabolisms, it's very difficult to say that even if we weighed the exact same, had similar physio characteristics, comparable activity and exercise levels, similar food consumption, etc., etc., etc., that we would have the same or similar TDEE. Without going to a metabolic specialist, it is really difficult to say. (I use google to understand most calculations, just for the nerd part of my brain that wants to know details.)

That all being said, what I have read indicates that the best way to take an average system and somewhat personalize it is to use the TDEE with ZERO ACTIVITY and add your own exercise information back in, etc. But again, this includes so many factors! As KarenJanine mentions below, trial and error is required.

A friend has been playing with upping her calories according to TDEE calculations. Just remember that any changes of 200 calories or more consistently usually need a full week or two to show up in your total pounds/inches lost/gone situation. So you need to commit to whatever change your are making, and stick with it to see the changes! Of course, if you feel immediately miserable or weighed down or if the scale JUMPS ten pounds in two days or something, I might reconsider that commitment. But everything takes time!

You might look in forums regarding people similar to you to see what types of tweaks have worked for them. Be sure to isolate any changes so you can lather, rinse, repeat, etc. Good luck finding what works best for you!

terbusha

Calculators are a great place to start, but they make assumptions about you that may not be true. I think it is best to determine your optimal calorie range for yourself. Start by trying a specific calorie range for a week or 2 (~1600-1800 calories/day). If you don't lose enough weight/body fat, reduce it some and repeat. If you are lose too much, add some in. This will take some time, but you'll find the best range for you to lose 1-2 lbs/week. This will also take into account your exercise routines.

Allan

WBB55

my BMR is around 2142,

Some of the advice for "netting your BMR" is really aimed at people who are closer to an ideal weight. But I did want to give you my thoughts. I myself lost 100 lbs over a two year period. Healthy rate, right?

Well, 6 years later I'm still trying to recover from all the muscle and bone loss I put myself thru. I've had 4 surgeries, two bone grafts, three metal plates to fix the damage I did to myself. At the end of my weight loss, I lost so much muscle, I could barely stand. I fell and ran into door jambs every day, and I couldn't keep my balance. Don't be me.

Since then, my studies and experience with people here and in the clinical and athletic setting has led me to always recommend to people that a caloric deficit of greater than an average of 1000 calories per day over the long term (meaning 6 months or more) is counterproductive to sane, predictable, weight loss that doesn't negatively effect your overall long-term health.

Each of your cells sends messages to your brain that say "give me energy." Some of them send that message more frequently. The amount of those messages in your bloodstream is one of the things that your brain monitors to change some of the switches in your hormone production system. Your goal is to convince your brain to cannibalize certain cells in your body (your fat cells) to feed the needs of other cells (your brain, nerve, skin, bone, and muscle cells). Luckily most healthy bodies can do this! We're designed to!

But what happens if your average daily caloric deficit is TOO large, then your brain says "ok body, sorry, but cannibalizing fat cells isn't enough to feed the needs of our important brain, nerve cells and heart muscle cells. Sorry bone, sorry arm muscle cells, sorry hair cells, I'm gonna have to cannibalize you guys, too. The brain and heart needs the energy from you."

So by "netting" your BMR every day, your brain never in particular needs to cannibalize your bones and arm muscles in order to do the daily work it has to do. That being said, since you have more than 100 lbs to lose, you can net below your BMR for a while without too much worry. But I personally wouldn't go much below 1000 total average calories less than your average TDEE. You'll still lose weight, it just becomes harder and harder to NOT end up losing important body tissues.

You're doing a good job. Just be smart. Do it slow. Lift weights. Walk. Take a multivitamin.