TDEE is everything

astroub

Nice post!!! Very well said

LastMinuteMama

saving for later, thanks for taking the time to put this info together!

gaia3rd

i think the way MFP sets up weight loss for the beginner is atrocious. Eating back poorly estimated exercise calories and setting most peoples daily calorie goal below BMR is terrible. No wonder 1/3 posts on this site is about stalling out. People leave themselves no where to go. Most of them exercise 5 times a week so its tough to add another day of exercise, and you sure as hell can reduce their calories anymore.

I don't know. From what I've been reading, albeit I'm a bit of a newbie, many people are refusing to eat back their exercise calories and then wonder why they're stalling. Even when it's explained to them that they're only netting maybe 500-850 calories a day, most resist the idea of eating more.

UsedToBeHusky

i think the way MFP sets up weight loss for the beginner is atrocious. Eating back poorly estimated exercise calories and setting most peoples daily calorie goal below BMR is terrible. No wonder 1/3 posts on this site is about stalling out. People leave themselves no where to go. Most of them exercise 5 times a week so its tough to add another day of exercise, and you sure as hell can reduce their calories anymore.

I don't know. From what I've been reading, albeit I'm a bit of a newbie, are people refusing to eat back their exercise calories and then wondering why they're stalling. Even when it's explained to them that they're only netting maybe 500-850 calories a day, most still resist the idea of eating more.

That is not the problem. The problem is that MFP is set up to eat back exercise calories, but then overestimates calories burned. Therefore, to accurately know how many calories to eat back you must spend money on a fitness device like HRM's, BodyBuggs, BodyMediaFit, or the presently sponsored FitBits.

Obviously, if your calories burned is overestimated and then you eat them back then you remove the calorie deficit that is supposed to help you with weight loss. I have lost a ton of weight. I didn't eat back my exercise calories and because I was obese (I'm 15 lbs away from an overweight BMI) I had excess stores of fat for my body to draw upon. I lost a ton of weight. Since then, I added in weight training and my body composition has changed. Now I am not losing as fast. And to be fair, I eat back my exercise calories now and the only difference I see is in inches, not on the scale. (Yes, I know that is still progress.)

JMarigold

Well according to my calculations based on the equations for TDEE I have been eating TOO much. MFP estimated my TDEE to be 2020 calories a day but based on the equations it comes out to 1608 calories a day.

CallmeSbo

Bump

tameko2

According to this I should be eating 1500 calories a day to maintain my weight. That is way lower than MFP says.
This may be a stupid question, but at 1500 a day would I NOT eat back my exercise calories, because that doesnt sound right, but I entered in the days I would be working out.

Anyone? Because if I am suppose to net 1500, I am way over eating

1500 a day is NOT way over eating.... read this thread below.....

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/506349-women-who-eat-more-than-1800-calories-a-day

I mean I am over eating. I am set to 1470 a day, but I eat back my calories and workout hard everyday. So I eat like 1700-1900 calories a day. If I am only suppose to be at 1500 even though I workout then no wonder I am gaining weight. However 1500 total no matter how hard I workout seems kinda low.

No no - NET means your total calories MINUS your exercise calories.

So if you workout and burn 300 calories then you should be eating at least 1800 that day becuase 1800-300 = 1500.

tameko2

Well according to my calculations based on the equations for TDEE I have been eating TOO much. MFP estimated my TDEE to be 2020 calories a day but based on the equations it comes out to 1608 calories a day.

I think you might have gotten your BMR calculation confused with your TDEE. Or else you did the calcs wrong - use the calculator I linked a few pages back.

sassylilmama

Well according to my calculations based on the equations for TDEE I have been eating TOO much. MFP estimated my TDEE to be 2020 calories a day but based on the equations it comes out to 1608 calories a day.

MFP does not have a TDEE calculator

AntWrig

http://www.1percentedge.com/ifcalc/

Or what I suggest is everyone out there educate themselves on how to calculate your TDEE and Macronutrients the manual way. This is the best write up I've seen on how to do it.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=121703981

That IF calculator is pure trash.

Here is the problem with calculators. People think they are facts. They are just guesses, you have to take the time to modify and adjust. It will take a few weeks to determine your maintenance. Yes, that includes the scale going up and down for a few weeks.

Get over that and succeed.

This calculator is much better.

http://www.fatceliac.com/calculators/

Funny, I have been posting this since I got here. Finally I am glad people are catching on.

AntWrig

Well according to my calculations based on the equations for TDEE I have been eating TOO much. MFP estimated my TDEE to be 2020 calories a day but based on the equations it comes out to 1608 calories a day.

I doubt that.

cmriverside

Well according to my calculations based on the equations for TDEE I have been eating TOO much. MFP estimated my TDEE to be 2020 calories a day but based on the equations it comes out to 1608 calories a day.

MFP does not have a TDEE calculator

If you are honest in the Activity Calculator AND you choose "Maintain My Weight" as your GOAL, you will be given your (approximate) TDEE as your calorie goal.

JMarigold

Well according to my calculations based on the equations for TDEE I have been eating TOO much. MFP estimated my TDEE to be 2020 calories a day but based on the equations it comes out to 1608 calories a day.

MFP does not have a TDEE calculator

If you are honest in the Activity Calculator AND you choose "Maintain My Weight" as your GOAL, you will be given your (approximate) TDEE as your calorie goal.

Right, it calls it "Calories burned from normal daily activity" and assumes you have been honest with your activity estimate. It shows you this when you go in to change your goals.

Well using various calculators, not the equations provided, my BMR did tend to be in the 1600 range, while my TDEE estimate (and I know its an estimate) ranged wildly anywhere from 1850 to 2600 calories. The 2 more popular ones--Mifflin-St. Jour and Harris Benedict--estimated my TDEE to be 2500 and 2600 in that order (This includes my workouts).

trysha1231

Thank you for posting this!

sarahnicole218

Bump

joeykat16

bump

joejccva71

http://www.1percentedge.com/ifcalc/

Or what I suggest is everyone out there educate themselves on how to calculate your TDEE and Macronutrients the manual way. This is the best write up I've seen on how to do it.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=121703981

That IF calculator is pure trash.

Here is the problem with calculators. People think they are facts. They are just guesses, you have to take the time to modify and adjust. It will take a few weeks to determine your maintenance. Yes, that includes the scale going up and down for a few weeks.

Get over that and succeed.

This calculator is much better.

http://www.fatceliac.com/calculators/

Funny, I have been posting this since I got here. Finally I am glad people are catching on.

I wouldn't say the IF calculator at http://www.1percentedge.com/ifcalc/ is pure trash but it's roughly 90% accurate. Nothing is 100%, not even a Bodybugg or BM Fit. The calculator you posted is decent but it's also not 100%. It also instructs people to eat less on a rest day, and more on a training day which isn't necessary.

You can take the weekly TDEE average, do the quick math, and then eat the same amount every day and it will be just as effective as switching your calorie intake depending on rest/training days.

chicpeach

TOO MANY ACRONYMS, TOO MUCH MATH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can I not just accurately measure and record my food and accurately record my exercise and just trust that MFP is doing the right math? If I do that and eat the calories they tell me to, I should lose weight right?

ArroganceInStep

I wouldn't say the IF calculator at http://www.1percentedge.com/ifcalc/ is pure trash but it's roughly 90% accurate. Nothing is 100%, not even a Bodybugg or BM Fit. The calculator you posted is decent but it's also not 100%. It also instructs people to eat less on a rest day, and more on a training day which isn't necessary.

You can take the weekly TDEE average, do the quick math, and then eat the same amount every day and it will be just as effective as switching your calorie intake depending on rest/training days.

How often do you recalculate this figure? Is it time based, weight loss/gain based intervals or what?

SmallerBecky

BUMP for my friends