Just want to beat a dead horse...

techteachergirl

TDEE? BMR? Huh? I'm so confused! Everybody seems to be posting about this today and how many calories is too few/too many....

If I go here: http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm and calculate my BMR then it says 1724. Is that what I should be eating or subtract 500 a day for 1 lb loss a week. If I set that for desk job it tells me 1800 for fat loss. MFP has me at 1640....

If I go here: http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html It says my TDEE is 2146. So do I subtract 500 from that for a 1lb loss for a week. That puts me at 1646 which is close to MFP settings!

What do I do? I always have wondered if I have my activity level set correctly? Am I eating too little? Too much? :sad: :frown: :noway: :explode:

jenniet04

BMR = the minimum amount of calories you need to eat in order for your body to operate each and every day if you were to do absolutely nothing.
TDEE = the total amount of calories you burn in a day for your activity level - if you eat this many calories you should maintain your current weight. This should take into consideration your sedentary job plus exercise you do during the week.

Not sure what you put as your activity level on the fitness frog website to calculate your TDEE - if you accounted for your exercise that you do, then you would eat 500 less than the 2146 for a total of 1646. However if your BMR is really 1724 then that should be the minimum amount you are eating. It's really all just an estimation, so you should follow one plan for at least one month and see how your body reacts. If you are not losing, then you need to re-evaluate and either increase or decrease your calories. Yes, I said increase - since it's an estimation, you could still be too low eating around 1700 calories.

yesthistime

Start here:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/538381-in-place-of-a-road-map?error_user_id=1362324&error_username=yesthistime&hl=In+place+of+road+map

lizzzylou

bump Thanks for the informative replies!

techteachergirl

Thank you. That helps a bit

psuLemon

http://www.shapefit.com/basal-metabolic-rate.html

This is eduational.

techteachergirl

BMR = the minimum amount of calories you need to eat in order for your body to operate each and every day if you were to do absolutely nothing.
TDEE = the total amount of calories you burn in a day for your activity level - if you eat this many calories you should maintain your current weight. This should take into consideration your sedentary job plus exercise you do during the week.

Not sure what you put as your activity level on the fitness frog website to calculate your TDEE - if you accounted for your exercise that you do, then you would eat 500 less than the 2146 for a total of 1646. However if your BMR is really 1724 then that should be the minimum amount you are eating. It's really all just an estimation, so you should follow one plan for at least one month and see how your body reacts. If you are not losing, then you need to re-evaluate and either increase or decrease your calories. Yes, I said increase - since it's an estimation, you could still be too low eating around 1700 calories.

I didn't put exercise in to calculate my TDEE because my exercise isn't consistent. I have lost 17 lbs in 105 days so I am loosing with MFP settings. I also have my settings on sedentary. I am a teacher and I do walk students to other classes, run up to the office for things, walk around the room to monitor, and stand to teach at times. I am also a mom of a 2 year old along with a wife and I cook, do laundry, and pick up (typical mom/wife stuff). I am not sure if I should up it to the next level for a bit and see if that changes anything....