Anxiety at eating TDEE

nykismile

I've been trying to transition into maintenance, as it's something I've never done before. I calculated my TDEE and it says I'm at 1,950 calories for each day.

I got to 1,900, which is great, but now I'm just kind of freaking out. I want to go burn off the calories from the last meal I ate because that's what I'm used to doing. I even feel sick now, in a nauseous, queasy sort of way. The reason I feel this way is because I'm afraid that the online TDEE calculator I used isn't accurate and I'll end up gaining weight if 1,900 is too much for me.

I'm 5'5.5" and I weigh 110 lbs, so it's probably a good idea to not lose any more weight. I'm considering body recomp but I'm hesitant to do that because I'd have to gain weight. I like where I'm at - I don't love it, but I like it and that's the most I've been able to say in years. I don't want to change at all, hence why maintenance is the best option, but I'm just ... terrified of doing it wrong and gaining weight as a result.

Has anyone else experienced bad results from trusting online BMR/TDEE calculators? Or have they given you accurate numbers?

Himejii

Try it for a week or two. You'll know soon enough if it's too much, and you can adjust accordingly. You lost all that weight once -- whatever you put on in two weeks won't be hard to take back off, especially since losing is what you're used to!

Online calculators are generic and based on averages. They'll never be 100% accurate, so you're right to be skeptical. If you're really that anxious, it might be worth paying for a fitness and nutritional assessment. They'll measure your body fat %, resting heart rate, max heart rate, VO2, etc. and give you a very good estimate of your TDEE, based on your real body and not a generic 5'5 110 woman.

As for recomp, sounds like you're hung up on the number on the scale rather than the shape and composition of your body. So what if you gain 10 lbs of muscle? It'll look great and you'll be stronger too!

nykismile

Try it for a week or two. You'll know soon enough if it's too much, and you can adjust accordingly. You lost all that weight once -- whatever you put on in two weeks won't be hard to take back off, especially since losing is what you're used to!

Online calculators are generic and based on averages. They'll never be 100% accurate, so you're right to be skeptical. If you're really that anxious, it might be worth paying for a fitness and nutritional assessment. They'll measure your body fat %, resting heart rate, max heart rate, VO2, etc. and give you a very good estimate of your TDEE, based on your real body and not a generic 5'5 110 woman.

As for recomp, sounds like you're hung up on the number on the scale rather than the shape and composition of your body. So what if you gain 10 lbs of muscle? It'll look great and you'll be stronger too!

You're right, two weeks isn't that long and it would be easy to erase damage.. That's probably what I'm going to do, actually.

Where can you get those exams done at (it sounds great) like a doctor's office I presume? That is something I'm definitely going to look into; an accurate measurement of my true TDEE would be wonderful.

As for adding muscle, I know that if I did a bulk, I would add fat as well and I'm not so great at tolerating that

SideSteel

Try it for a week or two. You'll know soon enough if it's too much, and you can adjust accordingly. You lost all that weight once -- whatever you put on in two weeks won't be hard to take back off, especially since losing is what you're used to!

Online calculators are generic and based on averages. They'll never be 100% accurate, so you're right to be skeptical. If you're really that anxious, it might be worth paying for a fitness and nutritional assessment. They'll measure your body fat %, resting heart rate, max heart rate, VO2, etc. and give you a very good estimate of your TDEE, based on your real body and not a generic 5'5 110 woman.

As for recomp, sounds like you're hung up on the number on the scale rather than the shape and composition of your body. So what if you gain 10 lbs of muscle? It'll look great and you'll be stronger too!

You're right, two weeks isn't that long and it would be easy to erase damage.. That's probably what I'm going to do, actually.

Where can you get those exams done at (it sounds great) like a doctor's office I presume? That is something I'm definitely going to look into; an accurate measurement of my true TDEE would be wonderful.

As for adding muscle, I know that if I did a bulk, I would add fat as well and I'm not so great at tolerating that

TDEE is a moving target and not a set number.

You really should be doing the following things:

Set your goal intake, eat near that intake without necessarily trying to nail your targets to the gram, and monitor your change in average bodyweight (keep a rolling 7 day average) along with your average calorie and macronutrient intake.

If for example, over 3 weeks you remain weight stable, then congrats, you're maintaining weight and theoretically eating at TDEE. If your average weight goes up or down over a few weeks, make a slight nudge to your calorie intake and repeat.

Being observant and tracking accurately will lead you to a range of calories at which you roughly maintain weight without you ever needing any metabolic testing.

dakotababy

I find the scooby TDEE calculator to be the closest to my bodymedia armband.

Dont be nervous. If you have been eating low calorie, you will probably end up losing weight. You may experience a bit of bloat or temporary weight gain within the next month - then it should go back down. Reevaluate in a month.

Unfortunately, this whole process is trial and error.

itsbasschick

how many calories were you eating per day just before maintenance, and what speed were you losing at that point?

nykismile

how many calories were you eating per day just before maintenance, and what speed were you losing at that point?

Around 1,300 to 1,700, ranging anywhere in-between with a couple of 2,500 indulgent days sprinkled here and there (around once or twice a month). I was losing actually kind of fast, around 1 lb per week, despite being so close to my goal.

nykismile

Okay, so I calculated my BMR and TDEE using the iifym calculator and it said that my BMR was 1,286 and my TDEE was 1,937.

I also calculated my BMR and TDEE using the scooby workshop calculator and it said that my BMR was 1,460 and my TDEE was 2,520.

what.

Those are very different numbers even though I typed in the same information for both...

Now I'm even more concerned about it all.

JeanCricket

1200 cal/day pre-maintenance. List weight at an average of 1 pound per week...

Just starting maintenance. MFP approximates my maintenance daily cals to be at 1530...anxious about eating more, but know it's part of the program...

SideSteel

Okay, so I calculated my BMR and TDEE using the iifym calculator and it said that my BMR was 1,286 and my TDEE was 1,937.

I also calculated my BMR and TDEE using the scooby workshop calculator and it said that my BMR was 1,460 and my TDEE was 2,520.

what.

Those are very different numbers even though I typed in the same information for both...

Now I'm even more concerned about it all.

Do you have intake and weigh in data? Then use that as a baseline and start adding calories, monitor and adjust.

That's really all you need to do.

itsbasschick

since a 500 calorie per day deficit equals the loss of about 1 pound per week, add 500 calories per day to what you were eating if you were losing a pound a week, so between 1800 and 2200 calories per day. call it 2000 per day, and that should be maintenance as long as you don't lower or raise your activity level.

how many calories were you eating per day just before maintenance, and what speed were you losing at that point?

Around 1,300 to 1,700, ranging anywhere in-between with a couple of 2,500 indulgent days sprinkled here and there (around once or twice a month). I was losing actually kind of fast, around 1 lb per week, despite being so close to my goal.

Himejii

Where can you get those exams done at (it sounds great) like a doctor's office I presume? That is something I'm definitely going to look into; an accurate measurement of my true TDEE would be wonderful.

As for adding muscle, I know that if I did a bulk, I would add fat as well and I'm not so great at tolerating that

I got mine done at the University gym. They didn't actually calculate my TDEE, but I'm sure that would have been trivial with all the data they collected. Some private gyms might offer it as well, just call around and ask about fitness assessments. I think mine was about $150 including a workout plan and a training session to teach me how to use it.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong (I'm new at this), but I think there are calorie calculations that you can use for when you want to tone up, i.e. stay the same weight but convert fat to muscle. It involves more strength training than cardio, but it doesn't change your weight, just your fat/muscle ratio. I think the "bulking up" part only comes in when you're basically body building, and it doesn't sound like you want to go that extreme.