Can I *know* my TDEE?

424a57

With all the talk about TDEE and BMR, I get a bit confused. My understanding is TDEE is all the calories your body burns during the day, and BMR is the calories it burns laying about in bed. If I decrease what I eat to some value between these two values, I will lose weight.

Okay, good.

Most of the posts I've seen point to estimating these values at two sites (iifym.com and scoobysworkshop.com). This, I agree, is a good starting point but is there a way to know what the values are for *me* after a few months of tracking?

My stats: Male, 51 yo, 68", 170 lbs (today, 191 lbs 3 months ago)

During the 3 months from 2013-12-28 to 2014-03-28, I lost 1.6 lbs/week (802 cal deficit)

Calories (170 days):
Total: 373230 (2195 Cal/day)
CHO/FAT/PRO: 52/30/18
Chol: 260mg Sodium: 3485mg Fiber: 34g

Exercise (164 days):
Total Cal: 93963 (572 Cal/day)
Total Min: 11608 (8.1 Cal/min)

Net: (373230-93963)/170 = 1642
Daily - surplus/deficit: 2195-(-802) = 2997

So obviously, this is working for me but that isn't the point. Given these numbers, is 2997 my TDEE? I need to know this because I am trying to plan my shift to maintenance mode and want to know whether the goal MFP comes up with is appropriate.

qtgonewild

this is nice. wish i had kept track of mine. cause i cant figure this out for the life of me.

krennie8

Hi, no your TDEE is 1642+802 = 2444.

424a57

Hi, no your TDEE is 1642+802 = 2444.

Can you provide a reference? Or, if not, explain how you came up with this answer?

424a57

this is nice. wish i had kept track of mine. cause i cant figure this out for the life of me.

You log your food/exrecise in MFP, right? That is where this comes from.

krennie8

Hi, no your TDEE is 1642+802 = 2444.

Can you provide a reference? Or, if not, explain how you came up with this answer?

whoops, nevermind, I never add my exercise in (b/c it's so random). If you keep at the same exercise level, your correct in your first post.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

You can figure it out with math but it's only as good as the accuracy of your tracking.

jonnythan

Realistically, a Fitbit will get you closer than trying to calculate BMR and then adding activity on top of it manually.

Then, after a few months of meticulous food logging, you can use math to figure out an average TDEE.

Alidecker

Hi, no your TDEE is 1642+802 = 2444.

Can you provide a reference? Or, if not, explain how you came up with this answer?

I agree with OP, wouldn't you have to include your exercis in your TDEE as part of your activity.

SuperSexyDork

Realistically, a Fitbit will get you closer than trying to calculate BMR and then adding activity on top of it manually.

Then, after a few months of meticulous food logging, you can use math to figure out an average TDEE.

This. There are a lot of activity monitors out there. I use a BodyMedia Link.

DavPul

i was just about to say that 3K seems high for your weight but then i noticed the almost 600 in exercise calories. seems legit. no one *knows* their exact TDEE but you've got enough data that you're probably right on top of it. the only way to know for sure is to try it out, keep tracking the way you've been doing and then adjust from there when you have enough data.

ETA: disagree with the "getting an activity tracker is better" advice. it makes it easier, but it's not any better. once you have enough data you don't need the device at all.

SezxyStef

You can figure it out with math but it's only as good as the accuracy of your tracking.

This...I don't rely on estimates from websites and do the math in an excel spreadsheet...

424a57

Thanks for the input. Several have said, "you can use math".

Yes, please provide the formulas.

Hondo_Man

I believe 2997 is too high. How many times per week are you exercising and how strenuous? For a 51 years-old male, 5'8" and 170 lbs, 2997 is high. Please give a better idea of your weekly and daily work-outs and I can provide a better number for you.

EDIT: Here is a website for the math:

http://www.emma-leigh.com/basics_calorie_needs.html

DavPul

i feel like i'm missing something here. did not the OP arrive at his numbers via his on experiences and tracking? that's what i got from it. that he has his own data from the last 3 months of logging, not that he got the 2997 number from scooby or some such and is taking the word of an internet estimate as gospel. i'm in a deficit some maybe my carbs are too low and my brain isn't functioning properly right now

wonderbeard101

The only real way is kind of a trial and error process. You track what you eat and if your weight doesn't change over a period of several weeks/months, then you're eating at your TDEE (maintenance) level.

Of course, that's a really simplified way of looking at it, as it doesn't include body comp changes, water retention, etc., but it's basically how you find out.

No internet calculator, MFP included, is going to be able to give you a 100% accurate representation of your actual calorie expenditure.

joan23_us

With all the talk about TDEE and BMR, I get a bit confused. My understanding is TDEE is all the calories your body burns during the day, and BMR is the calories it burns laying about in bed. If I decrease what I eat to some value between these two values, I will lose weight.

Okay, good.

Most of the posts I've seen point to estimating these values at two sites (iifym.com and scoobysworkshop.com). This, I agree, is a good starting point but is there a way to know what the values are for *me* after a few months of tracking?

My stats: Male, 51 yo, 68", 170 lbs (today, 191 lbs 3 months ago)

During the 3 months from 2013-12-28 to 2014-03-28, I lost 1.6 lbs/week (802 cal deficit)

Calories (170 days):
Total: 373230 (2195 Cal/day)
CHO/FAT/PRO: 52/30/18
Chol: 260mg Sodium: 3485mg Fiber: 34g

Exercise (164 days):
Total Cal: 93963 (572 Cal/day)
Total Min: 11608 (8.1 Cal/min)

Net: (373230-93963)/170 = 1642
Daily - surplus/deficit: 2195-(-802) = 2997

So obviously, this is working for me but that isn't the point. Given these numbers, is 2997 my TDEE? I need to know this because I am trying to plan my shift to maintenance mode and want to know whether the goal MFP comes up with is appropriate.

these numbers are just reference.... work your calorie intake up to 2997, dont jump up at that intake, start with slowly adding in calories while tracking your activity level and see how your weight changes, research on reverse dieting to understand more, this should help you understand a little bit of it, please watch

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3gTGLulLnI

424a57

I believe 2997 is too high. How many times per week are you exercising and how strenuous? For a 51 years-old male, 5'8" and 170 lbs, 2997 is high. Please give a better idea of your weekly and daily work-outs and I can provide a better number for you.

Exercise (164 days):
Total Cal: 93963 (572 Cal/day)
Total Min: 11608 (8.1 Cal/min)

I exercised 164 days out of past 170 days. How strenuous, 8.1 cal/min = 6.3 METs, so moderate exercise.

Latronibus

Technically, no, both because all your weight measurements contain fluctuations like water weight and because your TDEE is not actually constant in time. For example, your TDEE almost certainly dropped when your weight went down from 191 lbs to 170 lbs, unless you increased your exercise load considerably over that period.

The difficulty in measuring TDEE is that the different techniques to handle these two sources of error are at odds. Using a longer tracking period reduces the impact of the fluctuations, but increases the impact of the change in the true number.

likitisplit

I'm math stupid, but when I figured out my TDEE, it was after eating at maintenance for 6 weeks, so I KNEW that I was maintaining.

The number of calories I consumed that week was my TDEE. Divide that by 7 and you have your daily TDEE.

If you are losing, you'd need to add in your deficit. If you are losing a pound a week, that's roughly 3500 calories in a week.

Weekly consumption + 3500 = weekly TDEE /7 = Daily TDEE

Exercise is accounted for because I wouldn't be at maintenance unless I ate back the calories I burn through exercise.

jonnythan

Thanks for the input. Several have said, "you can use math".

Yes, please provide the formulas.

(calories burned) = (weight lost in pounds) * 3500 + (calories consumed)

TDEE = (calories burned) / (number of days over which you measured)