TDEE, logging, ect... Questions

Oni_Akua

I need suggestions or help. I want to make sure I understand things properly so I can accurately start my goals to losing some weight.

I've been doing a handful of research over the past couple of days, reading the forums to attempt to understand the best way to lose weight. From what I understand 1200 calories is definitely not enough, so I decided to look into the TDEE method.

Correct me here if I’m wrong. I’m currently 177 lbs my BMR is 1754 cal/day and my TDEE is 2565 cal/day. So at 20% loss I should be eating 2052 cal/day (another calculator showed 2440 cal/day)? This is where my confusion sets in. That seems like a lot of calories to me. I've been monitoring over the past couple of days, doing my normal day to day meals, without changing much. And I’m hitting around that 2052 mark just fine (sometimes over – oops, bad choices), and that’s where I’m concerned. I've been slowly gaining weight doing that, and not losing.

So I’m trying to figure if I'm doing something wrong, or misunderstanding, or if I've got it properly and I just need to be patient. My diary is open to the public so you’re more than welcome to look and see if I’m just recording things wrong.

yarwell

if you can eat and live consistently for a period and your weight is constant then you found your TDEE and it's matched by your intake.

Take your % cut from that starting point.

Estimators for BMR are +/- 10% at best, unless you're an Italian conscript.

Branstin

It’s less confusing if you stick with one calculator. It is also extremely helpful to track all of your activities (food, exercise, water, and measurements). The problem is usually the food. If you are not accurately and consistently tracking then it’s very easy to go over your calories limit.

deksgrl

Do you use a food scale and weigh your food? Most people are eating more than they think if they are not using a scale.

Oni_Akua

I don't use a scale, at least not yet. I know sometimes I am off with my food logging. But, I also take it as a 'in the general vicinity of' type thing. It may not be the best idea, but as of right now, it's what I've got to go with. I feel I am logging honestly and when in question of how much I ate, I usually try to overestimate so I don't fool myself into thinking I should be eating more. Could a difference of 400 calories or so make a significant difference?

Mischievous_Rascal

Does that TDEE include your exercise calories or did you use a sedentary modifier? 2600 is my TDEE, including workouts.

Oni_Akua

I do include exercise in the calculator. About 3-5 hours/week is what I put in.

cwolfman13

Could a difference of 400 calories or so make a significant difference?

Yeah...if you're thinking you're eating at a deficit that would result in roughly a 1 Lb per week loss that would be a 500 calorie deficit...if you had a 400 calorie underestimation error you are essentially wiping out the deficit you thought you had.

I was reluctant to get a food scale initially but finally gave in to all of the advice I was getting to use one...I found out pretty quickly that I was underestimating my intake by a good 400 - 600 calories per day which is why I wasn't losing weight. The scale was a big time wake up call as to how poorly I was estimating my portions and serving sizes. Once I started weighing everything out and getting really religious about consistently logging pretty much everything, everyday the weight started to come off pretty easily.

I've been maintaining now for almost a year and still use that food scale to some extent, but it has been invaluable in helping me visualize serving sizes...I'm a much better guestimator now.

By the by, I'm 5'10" and oldish and I lose steadily at 2200 - 2300 calories and maintain around 2700 - 2800...I am pretty active though.

adipace815

In my honest opinion it all comes down to how you want to use MFP. I agree with Branstan, if you bounce back and forth it gets confusing. For me, I have found success setting my goals based on my weight, height, age profile and using "sedentary activity". The closer you get to your weight range you will bottom out at 1200 calories (the lowest MFP considers healthy). A sedentary setting uses BMR and deducts calories necessary to reach your weight loss goals (500 calorie deficit per day = 1 pound lost per week). For example, my BMR (no activity) is 1716 and in order for me to lose one pound per week with little or no activity, I can only consume approximately 1216 calories per day. Looking at my pedometer (without workouts) my actual BMR is something more like an average of 2300 calories per day. So to get that same pound per week loss I really can consume something more like 1816 calories. I have actually done the math with all of the statistics that I am tracking (calories consumed vs calories burned) and interestingly enough the math works out pretty close for me, a 500 calorie deficit results in about a pound lost.

So what I do is let the setting be what MFP calculates for me at the "sedentary activity" and I only add exercise that I burn over and above my true BMR. I use a HRM during cardio workouts to collect that information and that gives me a pretty close calorie burn number. If I eat back anything, it is a portion of that number. I still wear a pedometer for the rest of the day to make sure I am not being lazy, but I don't use that information for much else. It works for me, hope it helps...