Question about TDEE vs exercise level

Woolooloo
Woolooloo Posts: 82
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm looking to move to a maintenance calorie level and I have a question about TDEE.

One way of thinking would be that you calculate your TDEE using sedentary/little or no exercise as an input to get your baseline calories, then you calculate and eat back your actual exercise calories whenever you work out.

The other way of thinking would be to say that I have moderate exercise 3-5 days/week. If I do that, it gives me a TDEE that is 650 calories higher per day, so an extra 4500 calories per week. So say that I am working out 5 times a week, I would have to burn almost 1000 per workout to justify those extra calories. If I only workout 3 times per week, that is 1500 calories per workout! I don't burn that many on a 10 mile run.

Does anyone understand why the TDEE calculations are providing so many more calories? I'm trying to figure out the best approach here.

Replies

  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
    Nothing is exact. Really you have to pick a way (which ever you like) then try it. If you lose, start eating more. If you gain, eat less.
  • googsgirl
    googsgirl Posts: 76 Member
    I am no expert, but remember that TDEE is EVERYTHING that you do: exercise, work, moving about the day in every way. It adds up. This includes making dinner, walking to pick up the mail, doing the 4 loads of laundry I do every day around here ( or at least it seems that way), running up and down the stairs to get it, bring it up and fold it, then put it away....ah, but I digress....:happy:
  • therealangd
    therealangd Posts: 1,861 Member
    That's a really good question. I have never done the math before.

    I guess you'd have to adjust for your own activity level.
  • Woolooloo
    Woolooloo Posts: 82
    Nothing is exact. Really you have to pick a way (which ever you like) then try it. If you lose, start eating more. If you gain, eat less.

    I think this is a good point. I think I will calculate using sedentary, add in my average number of exercise calories per week, and try that for a while. Then I'll adjust depending on how it goes. It's going to be quite a jump in calories for me, I'm a little concerned about how to fit in this many calories. Eating it with fast or junk food - easy. Eating with good foods - hard :)

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