NEW HERE - help! What is TDEE & BMR

juliegurel
juliegurel Posts: 2 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Just wondering if someone could explain what TDEE & BMR is. I'm new to weight loss and this program and I don't know where to go to figure out what these things stand for and how to figure out my numbers. I'm really small at 5'0", and I eat right to 1200 calories everyday. However, for the last 8 days, my weight hasn't budged a bit. I'm scared to add more calories in, but that is what alot of people are suggesting? I never eat back my exercise calories, because I'm already so small I don't think I need more than 1200 a day. I only have 4 more pounds to lose. HELP! I'm thinking about exercising more?

Replies

  • leahartmann
    leahartmann Posts: 415
    Go to fitnessfrog.com and calculate your numbers. It will show what it means at the top. When you calculate your TDEE, withdraw 500 from the calorie intake mentioned. That should make you lose a pound a week, estimated. And eat your exercise calories, your body needs the fuel. :smile:
  • JeSuisPrest
    JeSuisPrest Posts: 2,005 Member
    Google is your friend, there is tons of info out there to educate yourself. Check out the group Eat More To Weigh Less, tons of info there and use the search function here too!!
  • RunnerLisa1
    RunnerLisa1 Posts: 84 Member
    I'm not new to MFP but for the life of me can't figure out what NSV stands for. Sorry, I'm stealing your thread to answer my question. :smile:
  • meggonkgonk
    meggonkgonk Posts: 2,066 Member
    Non- Scale Victory
  • JeSuisPrest
    JeSuisPrest Posts: 2,005 Member
    I'm not new to MFP but for the life of me can't figure out what NSV stands for. Sorry, I'm stealing your thread to answer my question. :smile:

    Non Scale Victory
  • seardefilip
    seardefilip Posts: 96
    I'm not new to MFP but for the life of me can't figure out what NSV stands for. Sorry, I'm stealing your thread to answer my question. :smile:

    nsv= NoN SCALE VICTORY :)
  • Kristy0728
    Kristy0728 Posts: 63
    NSV = Non-Scale Victory... a success that doesnt specifically involve your weight... :)
  • MZNIKKIBOO
    MZNIKKIBOO Posts: 190
    bump
  • ladyluch99
    ladyluch99 Posts: 264 Member
    TDEE = Total Daily Energy Expenditure

    BMR = Basal Metabolic Rate
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Just wondering if someone could explain what TDEE & BMR is. I'm new to weight loss and this program and I don't know where to go to figure out what these things stand for and how to figure out my numbers. I'm really small at 5'0", and I eat right to 1200 calories everyday. However, for the last 8 days, my weight hasn't budged a bit. I'm scared to add more calories in, but that is what alot of people are suggesting? I never eat back my exercise calories, because I'm already so small I don't think I need more than 1200 a day. I only have 4 more pounds to lose. HELP! I'm thinking about exercising more?

    Besides Google for definitions, here is spreadsheet in this link to find and record your own stats and see your own numbers.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/620206-spreadsheet-for-bmr-tdee-deficit-calcs-mfp-tweaks-hrm
  • lambertj
    lambertj Posts: 675 Member
    Your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the amount of calories that you body uses on a daily basis while in a coma like state. It is the calories used by the body for your heart to pump, your lungs to breath, your vital organs to work. Your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) is the amount of calories you burn by your daily activity level. If you eat at your TDEE level (which is your BMR times your TDEE) you will maintain your weight. You never want to eat below your BMR because that is what causes metabolic damage. Many people think that they will lose weight faster if they eat under their BMR and they will initially but they will also lose precious muscle with body fat and will cause their metabolism to slow way down. Just like a fire needs wood to keep burning, your body needs food to keep your metabolism high. Years and years of yo-yo dieting with low calories plans and you will keep gaining the weight back two-fold and with it, increase your body fat. To lose weight and preserve muscle you want to eat at a 15-20% cut (and even less of a cut as you get closer to your goal weight) from your TDEE level every day. So, you take your BMR and you times it by your TDEE and then you choose your activity level. Now you minus of 20% (if you have a lot of weight to lose) and 15% (if you have less weight to lose). By doing this, you are preserving muscle, giving your body enough nutrients and you will lose weight. I love the free calculators at fat2fit (http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/). You enter your age, sex, high, current weight and goal weight and it gives you your BMR (an average). It then lists out the different activity range for you to determine your TDEE. For instance, my BMR is 1305 but with my TDEE set at Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk), my TDEE is 1956. As I've gotten closer to my goal I have lowered my deficit from TDEE to 13% so I eat 1700 calories every single day, even non-workout days. This continuously fuels my body to burn fat and maintains muscle.
  • timd50
    timd50 Posts: 19 Member
    If you want to track your exercise calories, and especially if you want to eat them back MAKE SURE YOU SET YOUR ACTIVITY LEVEL TO SEDENTARY. If you set it to active, the calorie readout for you every day already takes into account the calories you burn while exercising so you shouldn't even track the calories you burn at the gym.
  • friend2cptsolo
    friend2cptsolo Posts: 29 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    This will help.
    So I did the method listed in the above link and MFP is very close to this. I think I will switch over to this method when I lose more and want to go at a slower rate.
  • autumnk921
    autumnk921 Posts: 1,374 Member
    I made a blog (for myself) with all of this info and it would be great if it helped others as well!! :flowerforyou:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/autumnk921
  • friend2cptsolo
    friend2cptsolo Posts: 29 Member
    not true for me Timd50!
  • leahartmann
    leahartmann Posts: 415
    There is a lot of other good posts about the subject. Try to search for them. (By the way, it´s not just 500 below your TDEE, it´s 20%. And if you use the MFP calculation, eat your exercise calories. If you use the TDEE-20% calculation, your exercise calories are already included.)
  • JeSuisPrest
    JeSuisPrest Posts: 2,005 Member
    If you want to track your exercise calories, and especially if you want to eat them back MAKE SURE YOU SET YOUR ACTIVITY LEVEL TO SEDENTARY. If you set it to active, the calorie readout for you every day already takes into account the calories you burn while exercising so you shouldn't even track the calories you burn at the gym.

    It should be set to exactly how MFP explains it. They give you a calorie deficit before exercise.
  • autumnk921
    autumnk921 Posts: 1,374 Member
    I'm not new to MFP but for the life of me can't figure out what NSV stands for. Sorry, I'm stealing your thread to answer my question. :smile:


    NSV= Non-Scale Victory!!! :)
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    If you want to track your exercise calories, and especially if you want to eat them back MAKE SURE YOU SET YOUR ACTIVITY LEVEL TO SEDENTARY. If you set it to active, the calorie readout for you every day already takes into account the calories you burn while exercising so you shouldn't even track the calories you burn at the gym.

    Ditto's to being careful with MFP's activity calculator.
    Now if your job and daily activity not including exercise is indeed higher levels, than by all means select higher level. Most folks with BodyMediaFit and FitBit discover that their non-exercise days are indeed higher than sedentary, so that's great.

    But the MFP's activity levels don't include exercise at all, because they don't have multiplier's big enough to equate to exercise being included.
    Hence the reason you log it later and only eat it back when done.
  • leahartmann
    leahartmann Posts: 415
    Your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the amount of calories that you body uses on a daily basis while in a coma like state. It is the calories used by the body for your heart to pump, your lungs to breath, your vital organs to work. Your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) is the amount of calories you burn by your daily activity level. If you eat at your TDEE level (which is your BMR times your TDEE) you will maintain your weight. You never want to eat below your BMR because that is what causes metabolic damage. Many people think that they will lose weight faster if they eat under their BMR and they will initially but they will also lose precious muscle with body fat and will cause their metabolism to slow way down. Just like a fire needs wood to keep burning, your body needs food to keep your metabolism high. Years and years of yo-yo dieting with low calories plans and you will keep gaining the weight back two-fold and with it, increase your body fat. To lose weight and preserve muscle you want to eat at a 15-20% cut (and even less of a cut as you get closer to your goal weight) from your TDEE level every day. So, you take your BMR and you times it by your TDEE and then you choose your activity level. Now you minus of 20% (if you have a lot of weight to lose) and 15% (if you have less weight to lose). By doing this, you are preserving muscle, giving your body enough nutrients and you will lose weight. I love the free calculators at fat2fit (http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/). You enter your age, sex, high, current weight and goal weight and it gives you your BMR (an average). It then lists out the different activity range for you to determine your TDEE. For instance, my BMR is 1305 but with my TDEE set at Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk), my TDEE is 1956. As I've gotten closer to my goal I have lowered my deficit from TDEE to 13% so I eat 1700 calories every single day, even non-workout days. This continuously fuels my body to burn fat and maintains muscle.
    This^^
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    I love the free calculators at fat2fit (http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/). You enter your age, sex, high, current weight and goal weight and it gives you your BMR (an average). It then lists out the different activity range for you to determine your TDEE. For instance, my BMR is 1305 but with my TDEE set at Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk), my TDEE is 1956. As I've gotten closer to my goal I have lowered my deficit from TDEE to 13% so I eat 1700 calories every single day, even non-workout days. This continuously fuels my body to burn fat and maintains muscle.

    Actually, the fat2fit method is at goal weight, if you input goal weight.

    And those activity level calories already has a deficit in them - you don't take an additional deficit on top of the one that is there.

    You have in essence accomplished what you are saying should not be done.

    Now, if you did not use goal weight, but current weight in both fields, that's fine. In which case a different site that does straight current weight TDEE would be a whole lot less confusing on a subject that can be in the first place.

    Just a thought.
  • lambertj
    lambertj Posts: 675 Member
    I love the free calculators at fat2fit (http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/). You enter your age, sex, high, current weight and goal weight and it gives you your BMR (an average). It then lists out the different activity range for you to determine your TDEE. For instance, my BMR is 1305 but with my TDEE set at Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk), my TDEE is 1956. As I've gotten closer to my goal I have lowered my deficit from TDEE to 13% so I eat 1700 calories every single day, even non-workout days. This continuously fuels my body to burn fat and maintains muscle.

    Actually, the fat2fit method is at goal weight, if you input goal weight.

    And those activity level calories already has a deficit in them - you don't take an additional deficit on top of the one that is there.

    You have in essence accomplished what you are saying should not be done.

    Now, if you did not use goal weight, but current weight in both fields, that's fine. In which case a different site that does straight current weight TDEE would be a whole lot less confusing on a subject that can be in the first place.

    Just a thought.

    I actually put it my goal weight and my current weight and the numbers came out exactly the same. I've already reached within 5 lbs of goal but wrote this section as part of a blog post long ago. I thought perhaps it would at least help to clarify BMR and TDEE. I did not mean to create more confusion and if so I apologize
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    I actually put it my goal weight and my current weight and the numbers came out exactly the same. I've already reached within 5 lbs of goal but wrote this section as part of a blog post long ago. I thought perhaps it would at least help to clarify BMR and TDEE. I did not mean to create more confusion and if so I apologize

    You didn't because the description of the method is right-on.

    It's just that if you entered the info as requested for that site, and then took 20% cut, you could be very low and killing their whole principle way of doing it.

    I only say confusing because of how many people go through it, and yet fail to read the paragraph right above the activity chart with calorie goals.
  • BodyByButter
    BodyByButter Posts: 563 Member
    This is what confuses me: " So, you take your BMR and you times it by your TDEE and then you choose your activity level"

    My BMR was 1905 and my TDEE was 2309, but SURELY I don't multiply those two together.
  • lambertj
    lambertj Posts: 675 Member
    This is what confuses me: " So, you take your BMR and you times it by your TDEE and then you choose your activity level"

    My BMR was 1905 and my TDEE was 2309, but SURELY I don't multiply those two together.

    Now, take 15-20% off your TDEE and eat that amount each and every day (whether you work out or not) and do not eat exercise calories back as they are already incorporated in your TDEE. IF 15-20% off your TDEE is less than your BMR do not eat that but eat between your BMR and your TDEE
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    This is what confuses me: " So, you take your BMR and you times it by your TDEE and then you choose your activity level"

    My BMR was 1905 and my TDEE was 2309, but SURELY I don't multiply those two together.

    Just use this spreadsheet so you can log your stats, and see visually what is happening. Because true, that line as written is not correct and confusing.

    Be aware the Macro tab is in beta and this thing will change in next few days.

    https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Amt7QBR9-c6MdGVTbGswLUUzUHNVVUlNSW9wZWloeUE

    For description of tabs and uses.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/620206-spreadsheet-for-bmr-tdee-deficit-calcs-mfp-tweaks-hrm
  • BodyByButter
    BodyByButter Posts: 563 Member
    Thanks! The "times" really got me, and I thought it had to be wrong - then someone else bumped it with "this" so it sounded like an endorsement that it was correct.

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