Love the theory but still confused...would love some help

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jeby8
jeby8 Posts: 41 Member
Hi all!
So I've been on/off MFP for about a year, I haven't had hardly any success (much of which I attribute to the birth control/hormone problems I've had-you can read my profile for more info) but I also think I haven't been doing things the right way like eating too few calories or eating too many. Then I found this group and while I'm interested, I have to admit I'm a little confused how it works.

I'm 23
5'4
187 lbs
*I'm considering myself as light activity as I do about 2.5-3 hrs of exercise a week.

According to the scooby calculator:
BMR= 1655
TDEE= 2276

This is my understanding of things so far- I should be at least eating 1655 calories (BMR) but not above 2276 (TDEE) a day? So if on a day that I exercise and burn 300 calories I need to eat 1955? I'm confused where the small deficit comes in to provide the weight loss?

Replies

  • swingkid1975
    swingkid1975 Posts: 105 Member
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    Okay, I re-ran your numbers just to double check. You were correct.

    Your TDEE (2276) - 15% cut = 1934. This is the amount you eat EVERY DAY, whether you work out or not. On a workout day if you ever see that you NET less than your BMR of 1655 you want to eat back some of those calories to get back to BMR.

    It's really as simple as that. On my homepage the only two numbers I look at are "food" and "net". As long as NET is higher than BMR you're good to go.
  • twinmomtwice4
    twinmomtwice4 Posts: 1,069 Member
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    Okay, I re-ran your numbers just to double check. You were correct.

    Your TDEE (2276) - 15% cut = 1934. This is the amount you eat EVERY DAY, whether you work out or not. On a workout day if you ever see that you NET less than your BMR of 1655 you want to eat back some of those calories to get back to BMR.

    It's really as simple as that. On my homepage the only two numbers I look at are "food" and "net". As long as NET is higher than BMR you're good to go.

    What she said! Just follow exactly what she suggested and you'll be good!!