TDEE vs Calories Burned

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willjean
willjean Posts: 29 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi,

I used a calculator to figure out my TDEE, which I had never heard of until yesterday, and the tool gave me a number of 2068. Then, I used a Sportline exercise watch to assess how many calories I burned in 24-hour period, including a 40-minute work out and the watch said I burned 2631 calories for the day.

So, which number do I believe? And, if I use the TDEE number, how do I use this number to manage my calories, subtract it by 500?

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  • Starlage
    Starlage Posts: 1,709 Member
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    which tdee tool did you use? Some of them underestimate. My favorite's this one: http://www.health-calc.com/diet/energy-expenditure-advanced be super honest with your numbers and include exercising. I have a Bodymedia Fit- it calculates my TDEE for me and when I first got it I wanted to compare to the calculator number I was using at that website and it wasn't far off! Most people take their TDEE and take off 20% for their intake, or to make it easier just take off 500 cals from it- 500 deficit a day will equal 3500 deficit a week which equals a pound lost. (no one needs to be at 2lbs a week unless you're over 250lbs. A pound a week's healthy.)

    Then, take the tdee you get from the calculator and change your calorie goal manually here in mfp and DONT eat your exercise calories back since they're calculated in the TDEE number and you'll be eating them back over the course of a week's time.
  • willjean
    willjean Posts: 29 Member
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    Okay. Thanks, this information helps. The calculator I used is http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html

    I used the calculator you suggested and I tried to be honest....I don't like how much time it seems I'm sitting around doing nothing. :)

    BMR = 1594
    TDEE = 2987

    So, I should be eating roughly 2487 calories a day with my exercise?
  • Starlage
    Starlage Posts: 1,709 Member
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    if you're super active, yeah that sounds about right. I exercise 3-4 times a week and have a 50% active job, other than that I sit on my butt a lot so my tdee's around 2600-2700 so I shoot to eat 2100-2250 a day. It took a good month and a half for my body to adjust and I did have an initial 4lb gain but I dropped that and more once I was in about a month and a half. You have to be super dedicated to the calorie increase otherwise it's pointless. The longer you stick to it the better off your metabolism will be in the long run. good luck!
  • willjean
    willjean Posts: 29 Member
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    Yikes! I might be in trouble...I've been eating 5 times a day and equaling around 1500 calories. The good news is I'm not starving and I rarely get hungry. I've also lost 3 lbs in 10 days...does this sound bad? Maybe I should eat more so my body doesn't go into shock / starvation mode?

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