In place of a road map!

tistal

bump because I am gonna have to read that several times to get it. but it makes sense. i have been over my MFP cals almost all week with little exercise (spring break and little time) and only gained .4lb. I thought for sure I would have a huge gain but surprisingly not.

K-M says 1440
Mod. Act level says 2342

So I set MFP at 2342? Yikes that is gonna be hard to hit.

ladyraven68

essential reading

vingogly

bump

jen1127

I'm so confused on what I should have my calories set at.
Based off the website from helloitsdan my numbers are:
BMR: 1283
Number in activity chart: 1816.

So to clarify, I should set cals at 1816 and never eat below BMR? If I set it at 1816 then I shouldn't eat my exercise cals back?? Thanks in advance!!

th2much

saving for later reading

MB_Positif

Excellent post! I know I need to ask some more questions, but my mind is blank at the moment!

DonM46

You are saying I can visit several websites, wear out the batteries in my calculator, and do it your way
OR
I can follow MFP's way.
I've lost 33 #, reached my goal in November 2011, and have maintained since then.
I'm sure you mean well, but if it ain't broke, don't fix it. If you don't like MFP's way, build your own site.
Thanks anyway.

smbh45

Bump

starcatcher1975

Going to have to read it a few times to understand it but I think you just answered all my questions

Amanwall3

bump

rjsbdsjas

Thanks for the info! It lines up well with what I've FINALLY been getting through my head - I have to eat enough to meet body's daily metabolic and activity needs or my weight loss efforts will backfire - probably sooner rather than later. I wish I had known this when I first dieted at age 15. I lost 25 pounds in 2 months by decreasing my caloric intake to 1000 per day while running 3 miles a day and riding a bike 5-6 miles daily most days of the week. Then within 2 years I gained it all back plus 20 pounds and have been yo-yoing my weight back and forth in the same manner, always eventually going even higher than I started at, for almost 29 years! This time I want to do it and be done - learn once and for all how to live life with a healthy, energetic body and stable weight. Thanks again!

Shannonbayer

saving

Yori1

Bump

nermal6873

Saving to read later

Blueberry09

My main confusion in calculating TDEE and the deficit is whether or not to eat my exercise calories back. I have a sedentry lifestyle (desk job) but work out four times a week.

If my BMR is 1500 my TDEE is 1800 at sedentry and 2100 for more active. I would think at sedentry I would eat them back but not if I've already calculated them into my TDEE, is that right?

So if I ate 1800 cals a day and didn't eat any exercise calories back (about 350/session) would that create a big enough deficit for weight loss? Or should I create a 20% deficit from that number and eat all the exercise cals? I would think eating at 2100 there would be no deficit at all?

I understand the concept - it's just all the possibilities I find so confusing!

SafireBleu

It really is pretty simple if you follow the info on the site he provided. First calculate your BF% unless you know it. Then just calculate your BMR number using the link he provided and set MFP to the number on the chart that correlates to the amount of exercise you do. You never eat back your exercise calories unless your net goes under your BMR. You need to always net at least BMR. As long as you eat between BMR and the amount on the chart you will have enough of a deficit to lose weight and body fat steadily.

Some of you have done it and the number is higher than you expected but that is okay. You will lose if you follow that formula. Try it for a month and see what happens. What do you have to lose?

Sarauk2sf

My main confusion in calculating TDEE and the deficit is whether or not to eat my exercise calories back. I have a sedentry lifestyle (desk job) but work out four times a week.

If my BMR is 1500 my TDEE is 1800 at sedentry and 2100 for more active. I would think at sedentry I would eat them back but not if I've already calculated them into my TDEE, is that right?

So if I ate 1800 cals a day and didn't eat any exercise calories back (about 350/session) would that create a big enough deficit for weight loss? Or should I create a 20% deficit from that number and eat all the exercise cals? I would think eating at 2100 there would be no deficit at all?

I understand the concept - it's just all the possibilities I find so confusing!

If you are using the site provided by the OP - it already bakes in a deficit in the table - I would double check that as the numbers look like they do - your non workout TDEE is probably higher than 1800 by 20%. Assuming that the 1800 aldeady is adjusted for the deficit and if you like to track your calories burned in MFP - use your non workout activity level, say your 1800 - and eat back your exercise calories. If you do not track, then use the 2100 (assuming this is the right level) and do not eat them back.

mdebbie1026

Wow, thank you for sharing! Bump!


Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Calorie Counter

Pauline3290

This is the best I can do!

I'll hand you the tools for a successful and sustainable diet that you can use and manipulate to achieve your goals.
If you are looking to lose weight, you just eat the calories given by doing the simple math and following the directions on the page.
If you are looking to maintain weight, you add 20% to the number given and youll know approximately what your TDEE is.
The link is at the bottom of this grand post!

I've said it several times here on this forum and i'll say it again and again:

True dieting needs the knowledge of 3 very important numbers.

1) TDEE or Total Daily Energy Expenditure.
This is the amount of calories you burn all day.
From before you wake up in the morning and pee to the time you lay your head down at night to sleep and into the night.
One of my biggest pet peeves is seeing a post on the forum or on someones Diary "Ugh! I feel sooo guilty because I went over calories today!" when the person went over a few cals over a 40% cut from TDEE.

Knowing TDEE allows you to understand that anything above TDEE is a surplus and you will "eventually" gain weight.
Anything at TDEE you maintain weight.
Anything below TDEE you lose weight to an extent. (see BMR)

2) BMR or Basal Metabolic Rate or RMR Resting Metabolic Rate.
If you were in a coma and in the hospital, the doctors would feed you your BMR in calories.
This ensures you have enough nutrients for vital organs to function.
http://www.brighthubeducation.com/science-homework-help/107443-ten-essential-organs-in-the-human-body/
This is just a small list of vital organs in the human body.
Eating at BMR and staying in bed should maintain things as long as you do nothing at all.
Most people who start using MFP dont really understand the importance of this BMR number.
They jump in with both feet thinking "I'm going to lose soooooo much weight and be fantastic!"
What they dont understand is by not eating back calories from working out, they are netting below BMR.
The only people who should be eating below BMR are folks who have had Gastric Bypass, 500-700 cals/day, or people who are morbidly obese and only for an extremely short time and only prescribed by their "Nutritionist".

Most people who eat at or below BMR will lose weight for a short time.
20-50% of most weight lost on a Very Low Calorie Diet is from Lean Mass.
This is the opposite of true dieting.
Most people who diet want to have better looking bodies and live a healthy life.
They want to reduce fat mass and raise lean mass.
Eating at BMR or lower actually maintains fat mass while dropping lean mass.

If the body does not get enough energy from calories in, it will seek ways to slow itself down.
Leptin levels drop, cortisol levels rise.
Anabolism stops and catabolism begins.
The body switches gears hormonally and tries to maintain fat, a non active tissue that stores energy, by burning lean mass, an active tissue that uses calories.
So in essence fat mass starts to stay the same while lean mass drops.
You can see how this can extend your dietary lifestyle right?

Eating at or below BMR with intentions to eat back calories from working out is a convoluted way of thinking.
We should be eating the proper amount of nutrients first, then creating a deficit with our workouts!
That way if you miss a workout, you still have the proper nutrients in your system.
Youll actually have more energy eating right and sleeping right than if you jumped into a VLCD.
This has been proven!

3) Body Fat%
So many people dont really know what their body fat% is.
I'm shocked every time I ask a member and they dont have a clue!
Some people dont even know what a safe BF% should be!

Athletes (6-13% for men, 16-20% for women)
Fitness (14-17% for men, 21-24% for women)
Acceptable (18-25% for men, 25-31% for women)
Obese (25%+ for men, 32%+ for women)

A good way to diet correctly is to set a body fat% goal as opposed to a weight goal.
The human body fluctuates up to 5lbs on average daily!
That would drive any person crazy who likes jumping on the scale every 30 mins!
Measuring body fat is a more sane approach to the diet.
Expecting a 2-5% change in a month is certainly acceptable in the lower ranges.
In the higher ranges it really depends on your BF%, macronutrients and workout routine.
An interesting paper written by Martin Berkhan, creator of www.LeanGains.com talks about the amount of fat the human body can burn in a day. After reading it I started working out 3 times a week and had better results than working out 5 days a week.
https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=160054937436250

Understanding body fat and how you lose it will certainly keep you from hopping on the scale every day and probably have you running up to GNC for a handy set of calipers $20.

So now that I have given you the 3 most important numbers to always know while dieting, i'll give you a good source to figure all this information out on your own.
This was the first source I used to help myself and countless others to lose weight.
Once you have this link you can keep using it as you drop weight and body fat to recalculate your numbers.
Remember that as lean mass rises and fat mass drops, youll have different nutritional needs!

To truly benefit from a FAT BURNING program you will need to have some type of resistance training.
If you are not lifting weights or doing body weight workouts, you will have a very hard time maintaining lean mass while in a caloric deficit.
I always suggest for gym goers, the Stronglifts 5x5 or Starting Strength programs.
Both teach basic compound moves and can help catapult your strength.
I'm sure you can find many other lifting programs but do keep in mind, if you lift Minnie Mouse dumbbells youll have Minnie Mouse muscles. =D

Cardio is great for accelerated fat loss but if you are overweight or obese I would only recommend a brisk walk.
Every pound of fat on your stomach is 8 on the knees and 10 on the upper back.
Once you get down to an acceptable BF level then run to your hearts content.

So here is the link.
Use it in good health!

visit http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/
Do the Military Body Fat Calc first, then the BMR tool.
The Military BF calc is accurate up to about 2%.
The BMR tool will give EXACT calories to eat on a daily basis.
This number is static and I only recommend eating back so your NET is at least 200 above BMR.
Add 20% to suggested calories to know your TDEE.
Use the Katch McGardle BMR number to know your BMR.
Never eat at or below BMR.
For Fat loss plans set up macros at 30% Protein/Fat.
This % is only because MFP wont allow single %.

For more fine tuned macronutrients.....
1g Protein per lean body mass or total goal weight.
.35-.60g Fat per LBM or total goal weight.

Most of the time these numbers are close to 30% of total daily cals.

If anyone has any questions feel free to ask.
If I missed something important please let me know.

Hugs!
=D

"Great bodies are built in the kitchen and while we sleep! Everything else is secondary."

Great post - thanks!!

jlambert77

you're absolutely right...it's quite simple, and laid out--if we don't overthink it!