TDEE Questions for the experienced

MegsHutch90

So, keeping in mind that I have a working knowledge of nutrition and fitness and how the 2 are entwined these are my questions for those of you experienced TDEE peeps:

Current stats:
Female
280lbs
5'10"
Desk Job (mostly)
BMR: 2084
TDEE: 2501 (little/no exercise)
TDEE: 2866 (light exercise)

So, I am restarting weight loss after some unavoidable setbacks. I am a believer in the TDEE method as a theory, however I would like some input to start.

This is week one of "being back on the band wagon", if you can call it that. I am eating around 1600cals per day. I do not have a scale at the moment, so I cannot gauge my progress that way, but I can tell you that (after day 1 detox) I am feeling better: more alert and with more energy. Progress. ( I will have my scale back in a week or so).

That being said, I know that the morbidly obese can and are often advised to eat below BMR, but for how long? When is a good time to up my intake? Should it correlate with when I up my exercise? Anyone with personal experience? Note that as of right now, I am content with 1600 cals and rarely feel hungry.

Macro ratios: are they really THAT important? As in, is there a huge variation in progress with a 50/20/30 ratio instead of a 40/30/30?

And yes, I have read The Road 3.0.

I do not want to just lose weight. Rather, I want to gain my health and maintain a healthly lifestyle. 1600cal is my minimum; I am unwilling to go lower and risk my health just to lose weight more quickly.

Thanks much!

WBB55

If your goal isn't to lose weight, why are you eating at a deficit?

Honestly, for you right now, 1600-1800 is a great target. Are you planning on eating back exercise calories?

MegsHutch90

I do want to lose weight, but more importantly, I want to be health. Sorry for the miscommunication!

Right now, I do not eat back exercise calories. At the moment, my exercise level is low (due to injury) and it is really only a variation of 200-300 cals.

meshashesha2012

If your goal isn't to lose weight, why are you eating at a deficit?

Honestly, for you right now, 1600-1800 is a great target. Are you planning on eating back exercise calories?

with TDEE you shouldnt be eating back exercise calories as they are already accounted for in your needs.

OP, usually how TDEE method is done is that you consider a weekly average of all your activities including workouts and dividing your calories up over a 7 day period so that you are eating the same amount each day.

for instance, if you know you are sedentary except for 5 days a week of exercise then you account for those exercise calories in your weekly totals and divide it out among the 7 days.

i do TDEE method and it's so much easier especially if you have made manual changes to your macros. i keep track of my workouts as well but just log the calories burned as 1

MegsHutch90

[for instance, if you know you are sedentary except for 5 days a week of exercise then you account for those exercise calories in your weekly totals and divide it out among the 7 days.

I'm not sure that I'm fully understanding. Could you clarify please?

mymodernbabylon

Have you checked out the Scooby calculator? With 30 lb to lose I would not go below TDEE-15%...maybe 20% at the most. At 20% from your lightly active TDEE, you would want to eat around 2293 calories, so 1600-1800 calories is way to low. And you DON'T want to eat below BMR - that is the lowest calories you need if you are in a coma.

MegsHutch90

Note: I have MUCH more than 30lb to lose. That's an initial goal

yarwell

[for instance, if you know you are sedentary except for 5 days a week of exercise then you account for those exercise calories in your weekly totals and divide it out among the 7 days.

I'm not sure that I'm fully understanding. Could you clarify please?

5 days of 300 cal exercise = 1500 cals divide by 7 = 215 calories per day added to TDEE.

yarwell

There is no specific issue with eating below your BMR. The ability of fat reserves to provide calories is limited, and as you get thinner the rate at which you can pull fuel from storage reduces.

A figure of about 30 cals/day per lb of fat has been proposed, so a 150 lb woman at 20% body fat can provide about 900 calories a day from reserves, implying a maximum deficit of 900 at that stage.

WBB55

There is no specific issue with eating below your BMR. The ability of fat reserves to provide calories is limited, and as you get thinner the rate at which you can pull fuel from storage reduces.

A figure of about 30 cals/day per lb of fat has been proposed, so a 150 lb woman at 20% body fat can provide about 900 calories a day from reserves, implying a maximum deficit of 900 at that stage.

Can I make sure I understand. So if I were said 150 lb woman, and my TDEE was 2200, the lowest I'd want to consume is 1300 total calories?

MegsHutch90

[for instance, if you know you are sedentary except for 5 days a week of exercise then you account for those exercise calories in your weekly totals and divide it out among the 7 days.

I'm not sure that I'm fully understanding. Could you clarify please?

5 days of 300 cal exercise = 1500 cals divide by 7 = 215 calories per day added to TDEE.

Thanks! I understand now. Makes eating back exercise calories more managable.

CorlissaEats

If your sedentary TDEE is around 2500 then I would eat at 2000 cals. Why? Because its sustainable at only 1lb per week, and if you do chose to do some light exercise you could get yourself up to 1000 cal deficit without stressing your body or harming your internal functions. Its enough food to keep your self control where it belongs and it allows for treats and life! I'm 5'8" and fairly active right now and I'm losing weight at 2300 cals per day so I am confident that you should see success without cutting too many calories. Sure its slower to eat more, but you have fewer moments that try to crush you and that keeps you going for longer. Success at weight loss is addictive.

You could cycle your calorie goal if you wanted but I wouldnt eat near my BMR for long. Maybe something like 2 weeks near BMR and then 2 weeks at 2300 cals? If you are going to exercise then eat back some of the calories, especially if you have a deficit larger than 500 cals. My opinions, I am not a medical doctor. I have lost 43lbs in 46 weeks trying my hardest to stick to a 500 cal deficit only! I eat like nobody's business when I am too low for the day. Its working though!

aleggett321

If you are using the TDEE method, you do NOT add any exercise calories back in. They are included in the calculation of your TDEE,
There is a good online calculator at

http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

Enter your stats and at what deficit you want. If you have more than 30 pounds to lose, I would select TDEE minus 20%. The calculator will give you your approximate TDEE. This is your daily goal, again, no adding exercise back. This is only an estimate. Try it for a month. If you are not losing, try decreasing by 100-200 cal/day and reassess.

Hope this is clear. Good luck

Edited for spelling

Morgaath

[for instance, if you know you are sedentary except for 5 days a week of exercise then you account for those exercise calories in your weekly totals and divide it out among the 7 days.

I'm not sure that I'm fully understanding. Could you clarify please?

Using their example and your numbers:
2 days x 2501 (little/no exercise) + 5 days x 2866 (light exercise) = 19332 cals/week total

Now we take that total and find your daily average (19332 / 7 = 2761) so your average TDEE is 2761.

Since you want to lose fat, we take your average TDEE and reduce it by 20% (2761 * 0.8) and find that your daily goal should be 2209cals, for a 552/day deficit, or 3866/week...giving you around 1.1lbs per week of loss.

Being in the obese category, you can likely handle a larger reduction (25% would give you a daily goal of 2071 = 690/day deficit) if you think you need it.

yarwell

There is no specific issue with eating below your BMR. The ability of fat reserves to provide calories is limited, and as you get thinner the rate at which you can pull fuel from storage reduces.

A figure of about 30 cals/day per lb of fat has been proposed, so a 150 lb woman at 20% body fat can provide about 900 calories a day from reserves, implying a maximum deficit of 900 at that stage.

Can I make sure I understand. So if I were said 150 lb woman, and my TDEE was 2200, the lowest I'd want to consume is 1300 total calories?

yep, thereabouts, otherwise you might struggle at times to get enough fuel (especially as you don't use calories at the average rate all day but more in the day and less when asleep).