TDEE & BMR: What they are and what to do with them
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Before I used be on IF 16:8. I Didn't calculate my calories , but i would have on big meal, usually a large plate of vegetables ,and 2 chicken breasts. I probably eat less than 2000 kcal per day. I also recently started taking in more carbs (before I very rarely eat bread or pastas) . On IF I lost 5kg in 2 weeks , but after a day of not following IF I would go back to my old weight.Could somebody help me with calculations ? I am male , 25, 187cm, 130 kg with a desk job. My only form of exercise is 30 min walks every second day.
Mifflin BMR - 2349 (likely inflated unless carrying a lot of muscle mass)
TDEE with 90 min walking weekly - 3014 (1.28 activity factor)
Deficit 20% - 603 (only because you have a lot to lose, change to 15% when amount to lose is 18.14 kg)
TDEG - 2411 (daily with exercise or not. If you miss a walk, make it up)
Carbs - 40%, Prot - 30%, Fat - 30% (for now at this eating level, will change as you eat less.
This is using the spreadsheet on my profile page. If you have bodyfat estimate, or spreadsheet does, this can be gotten more accurate. Can also log progress in spreadsheet.
Thanks a bunch! Since that post I was eating 2500 calories for the past 2 weeks. I did not lose any weight so far but I certainly feel some changes. I rarely have appetite. I wold eat 3 bananas for breakfast and wold not feel hungry until late afternoon. Most of the time I would struggle to eat enough calories. Is it ok to lower them by 200-300 kcal every few days ?
So you were eating much less than 2500, if so how much?
Then you came up to 2500, and no loss.
Your TDEE appears to be about 3000.
You should be seeing a loss right now - why would you lower calories more?
Were you losing weight on whatever amount less than 2500 you were eating, at the end of eating that much?0 -
Before I used be on IF 16:8. I Didn't calculate my calories , but i would have on big meal, usually a large plate of vegetables ,and 2 chicken breasts. I probably eat less than 2000 kcal per day. I also recently started taking in more carbs (before I very rarely eat bread or pastas) . On IF I lost 5kg in 2 weeks , but after a day of not following IF I would go back to my old weight.Mifflin BMR - 2349 (likely inflated unless carrying a lot of muscle mass)
TDEE with 90 min walking weekly - 3014 (1.28 activity factor)
Deficit 20% - 603 (only because you have a lot to lose, change to 15% when amount to lose is 18.14 kg)
TDEG - 2411 (daily with exercise or not. If you miss a walk, make it up)
Carbs - 40%, Prot - 30%, Fat - 30% (for now at this eating level, will change as you eat less.
This is using the spreadsheet on my profile page. If you have bodyfat estimate, or spreadsheet does, this can be gotten more accurate. Can also log progress in spreadsheet.
Thanks a bunch! Since that post I was eating 2500 calories for the past 2 weeks. I did not lose any weight so far but I certainly feel some changes. I rarely have appetite. I wold eat 3 bananas for breakfast and wold not feel hungry until late afternoon. Most of the time I would struggle to eat enough calories. Is it ok to lower them by 200-300 kcal every few days ?
So you were eating much less than 2500, if so how much?
Then you came up to 2500, and no loss.
Your TDEE appears to be about 3000.
You should be seeing a loss right now - why would you lower calories more?
Were you losing weight on whatever amount less than 2500 you were eating, at the end of eating that much?
So very bad idea to start lowering calorie 200-300 every few days, from what is already a potential deficit level, that you are maintaining at.
You likely have a suppressed metabolism.
If one day of normal eating caused a gain of 5 kg that fast, you lost and gained nothing but water weight eating at 2000.
So you ate at less than 2000 likely.
You maintained weight.
Was that potential maintenance or TDEE then?
No, because you are now eating 2500 and maintaining. So 2000 can't have been.
Is this 2500 potential maintenance or TDEE then?
If it is, wouldn't you have lost weight eating less than 2000?
See the logic here?
So is 2500 potential maintenance or TDEE that you should take a deficit from this figure?
But you already did.
Sorry, your body is obviously already stressed out, and this is not potential TDEE.
Keep moving it on up.
250 more daily for a couple weeks.
If that 2500 really is potential TDEE, you'll gain 1 pound slowly over 2 weeks. If that indeed happens, then you go back to 2500, and eat there and fix your system with time.
If that 2500 was suppressed TDEE, you'll either gain faster and more water weight, or no weight eating at 2750. Might even start slowly losing at this level depending on repair of system.
After 2 weeks eat at estimated potential TDEE of 3000. Really unstress and repair.
And I'd suggest if your system was that sensitive that eating you think below 2000 caused no weight loss but only water fluctuations, you need to eat at 3000 for several weeks before eating at TDEG.0 -
This Info was extremely helpful. I failed using the MyFitnessPal calorie goal of 1200 calories (was hungry all the time; felt spacy & unproductive), and the Atkins plan counting carbs (didn't feel well eating so much meat and so few carbs; cholesterol spiked; felt starved for carbs), and WebMD's program (calculated my allowable calorie intake at 1170/day, unless daily exercise done, in which case I could eat 1200/day. Was hard to stick to.)
I went on the scoobiesworkshop.com site (Fabulous!). Calculated 1272 calories needed to reach my goal, which I can live with. Again, thanks so much.0 -
Thank you so much for this info. Having lost 50 lb a couple of years ago and having successfully maintained for 2 years I would now like to lose a further 10lb without resorting to dieting again. I'm currently training for a half marathon and do some strenght work but you've inspired me to try weight lifting to shift the stubon fat on my torso.0
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So glad I found this today. I have been eating at or around 1450 cals daily as per MFP for the past 6 weeks. Realized after reading all this info today I have underestimated my exercise and not increased the time walked with MFP as I have actually increased it as time has gone on. I am now walking for 90 mins Mon to Fri. During this time I have lost 3lb. I am meticulous with my weighing food,so don't think I am underestimating my cals in. Just put my statistics into Scooby and it has given me BMR 1840
TDEE 2852
Step 6 2281
I have now put my correct amount of exercise into MFP and it has given me 1741 cals daily. I had thought after reading all the excellent advice given here I would be able to put it into practice for myself, but realize I am still a bit baffled. As I don't walk as much at the weekend do I follow the TDEE Method or would MFP be the way to go? Thank you in advance of any advice offered.
I am female, 49yo, 168cms and 92.5 kilos.0 -
What do you do if your TDEE -20% is lower than your BMR???? HELP!! My MFP goal is lower than my BMR and TDEE-20% but after exercise calories I usually end up eating around/slightly above my BMR. However, according to the website I should be eating less than my BMR? However I thought this is unhealthy...0
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How accurate is the scooby site for the very overweight. I way 303 and if i put that in and moderately active, I am a special education aide and on my feet the majority of the day either working on job sites with students or going to classes, and plan on getting back to working out 3-4 days a week like I used to, it says at a 20% deficit I need to eat 3200 calories. That seems really high.0
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bstall1976 wrote: »How accurate is the scooby site for the very overweight. I way 303 and if i put that in and moderately active, I am a special education aide and on my feet the majority of the day either working on job sites with students or going to classes, and plan on getting back to working out 3-4 days a week like I used to, it says at a 20% deficit I need to eat 3200 calories. That seems really high.
I think the scooby site seems to calculate a little high compared to the iifym calculator which I use, but it's a good start. 3200 calories sounds about where I started out too. It will drop as you loose weight. I started tracking when I weighed 307 (similar to you) and eventually learned a few things about how I responded to food and started applying them here. Some of this is probably repeated in this thread and others. Hope this helps.
1. First, eat 1g of protein for every lb of lean body mass or more simply, 1g of protein for every lb of your target weight. So if you want to weigh 200lbs, eat 200g of protein. A little less or more is fine, but it's a good target. If you can't eat that much meat and lentils in a day, supplement with whey. Heck, slam a protein shake before every meal if it gets you to that goal. Just get there. Since 1g protein = 4calories, that's 800 calories right there.
2. As a man, I try to eat at least 100g of fats a day. Any less than that and I start to get inflamed joints after lifting heavy. And my hormones will get all out of whack. No guy wants low T levels, and undereating my fats (as an obese guy which means low levels to begin with) sucks. Since 1g fat = 9 calories, that's 900 calories there. I usually snack on peanuts or almonds, eat some salmon, etc, to get my fat numbers up if they're low by 2 or 3pm. Try and keep the amount of saturated fats down if you can. And if you eat cookies, chips, fastfood, or anything with transfats, you might as well be eating plastic for all the good it will do you. Avoid.
3. Eat the rest in carbs (if your not there by the time you've eaten your protein and fats). The only time I really worry about actually eating extra carbs is right after my morning lifting sessions. If I don't get some rice or oatmeal in me an hour or two after lifting I get headaches/fatigued/zombied out. In general though, I try and get at least 250g of carbs in a day. (I usually eat more than 250g, but it's a nice number). Since 1g carbs = 4 calories, so that's 1000 calories. Total so far is 2700 calories. So if your goal is 3200 calories, just eat more carbs to get there, more rice maybe. Track your weight for a few weeks at that level and if you need to cut back on the calories, try and cut it from your carbs.
4. I workout fasted early the morning. If I eat a big meal and try to workout with anything in my stomach, I get nauseous. It's especially bad if I'm doing any conditioning work like prowler pushes or hill sprints. I also tend to get a little gassy after consuming protein, and ripping out a protein fart while bending down to squat or deadlift is kind of embarrassing. So yeah, fasted workouts for me. But everybody is different, so do what works for you. Regardless: I eat BIG after working out. I make the meal after my workout the main one of the day. Since I'm starving after working out, that works out.
5. Large guys like us tend to sweat... a LOT, especially when we exert ourselves. That means we need to drink, drink, drink to replace that fluid. If I drink 80oz of water during a workout, I end up weighing slighly less than where I started and my hydration level remains ok. So I try and get a gallon of WATER, (which does not include coffee, protein shakes, food, etc) in a day (140oz or so). Drink 16oz (two glasses) before you get to the gym and keep drinking the entire time your working out. I don't worry about sweating out salt too much as I get to much sodium as it is anyway. Supplement your potassium with a banana after working out if you need to. Gatorade is too calorie dense for me, but find out what works for you.
So this is what has worked for me. I'm down to 243lbs from 340(ish), 307 since I began tracking every day (Feb 2013?), and I'm still loosing about 1 lb per week. It was easy for me to figure out how to loose weight (just restrict what I ate). Figuring out how to actually feel alive and healthy all day (and feel like a monster in the gym) required me to figure out how to eat within those caloric restraints. Hope that helps.0 -
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First of all, huge thanks to Eat More 2 Weigh Less for teaching me how to eat all I want without putting on weight (after a lifetime of starving myself without any results). I am doing metabolic reset at the moment, and it has been doing wouders so far without making me gain any weight.
Now my question is, does anybody know how many calories the body requires to restore the muscles after a weightlifting session? I know that theoretically lifting burns around 200 cal/hour, but there clearly must be an increase in metabolism the day after.
In my own experience, for about a day after I lift I can eat well over my TDEE and still not gain any weight. I would like to try eating calories back after lifting, because it usually makes me absolutely starve for the next 24 hours whereas on other days I sometimes have trouble reaching my TDEE. The question is though, how much to eat back? I don't believe that 200 is the answer!
Thanks in advance for any info.0 -
I am going to look at the scooby but I think it is too high for me. Last week I took an average of Harris, Katch and Miffin. I had to because I was overeating (maintaining). I took the average of the three (BMR, 1175, 1267 and 1297) and came up with 1246. I was not losing so I needed something to bench mark by.
I marked my BMR at 1246 (created a true mathematical spread sheet) and I allow my deficit at 40%. That is around 748 calories a day. Nothing moved for four weeks but this past week I lost 1.2. That is the most I have seen in 6 weeks. My goal is for this next week to lose 2.2 lbs. I still think the BMR is too high. My TDEE is not much different.
I run 3 - 4 times a week but I put in "sedentary - no exercise" so I could have the bare minimum basal in case I cannot do a run in the week. A new elliptical trainer will arrive from Sole this Thursday! YEAH!
I am a small person with a small frame! I have a runners body with muscular legs and butt. So please do not laugh at this ridiculous calorie deficit. I am trying it for another week. But I will take a look at Scooby. Interesting that there is mathematical equations for after burn calories for muscle building. I will research that as well.0 -
KelseyPalmtree wrote: »Instead of figuring out all the TDEE and getting confused with whether or not to enter exercise calories, wouldn't it be simpler to set your goals at your BMR, and then log your exercise? That's what I'm trying, at least.
I figured out that my BMR is 1715, so that's my net goal, and if I workout, then I eat back those calories.
Am I missing something, or is this a simpler way to do it?
the same for me! I looked for my TDEE w/ 15% cut: 1380 with sedentary life. If I Workout, I eat back those calories plus 1380cals.
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KelseyPalmtree wrote: »Instead of figuring out all the TDEE and getting confused with whether or not to enter exercise calories, wouldn't it be simpler to set your goals at your BMR, and then log your exercise? That's what I'm trying, at least.
I figured out that my BMR is 1715, so that's my net goal, and if I workout, then I eat back those calories.
Am I missing something, or is this a simpler way to do it?
the same for me! I looked for my TDEE w/ 15% cut: 1380 with sedentary life. If I Workout, I eat back those calories plus 1380cals.
Well, if you truly live a sedentary life, then why not.
Here's how I do it: my BMR is 2400 kcal, TDEE varies between 3000-4000 kcal, so I'm setting my target at 2500 kcal. This is a minimum which I make sure to hit every day. Then, depending on what I've done during the day I will add to that. Usually around 150-200 kcal from mainly carbs if I have done cardio, and 500-1000 kcal if I've been lifting heavy weights, this time split between carbs and protein.
My macros are 100 grams of fat, 150-200 grams of protein and the rest go to carbs. I try to keep P and F fixed.
I'll keep going like this for a while, and then I might consider bumping my base target up to 2700 kcal next year. Let's see how things go.0 -
Please help.
I am 41, 5" 5", 178 pounds and goal is 140.
Right now I am really not exercising...I do go out with the kids shopping on the weekends, doing chores around the house but, not exercise. Right now my bmr is 1477, tdee is 1772 and I've been eating around 1512 calories a day for 3 weeks, still not losing.
Before starting this I was eating well over my tdee for several months. Any advice would be helpful.0 -
I'm just trying to figure out how best to set my profile and I like having my exercise in there, makes me feel like I accomplished something but my BMR (scooby site is down and I'm on IIFYM) is 1344, TDEE is 2084 and -15% is 1771.40. I want to lose at least 10lbs so should I set my profile to my BMR or halfway between the BMR and TDEE? If I put in my TDEE then I shouldn't put my exercise, right? Yet I like putting that in. Sorry, I know everyone has these issues, just trying to figure out the best way.
The last three weeks I've been getting back on track since December (wayyy to many treats and alcohol) and just weighed myself yesterday and I'm actually up a pound instead of down. I had my calories set to 1300 and then usually ate 1700-1800 cal and put in my exercise to most days end up under the 1300 with my net calories, but obviously that's not working for me. It could be hormonal in part but I want to do everything I can to lose that 10lbs!0 -
that Scooby site is a great site for information...0
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I'm just trying to figure out how best to set my profile and I like having my exercise in there, makes me feel like I accomplished something but my BMR (scooby site is down and I'm on IIFYM) is 1344, TDEE is 2084 and -15% is 1771.40. I want to lose at least 10lbs so should I set my profile to my BMR or halfway between the BMR and TDEE? If I put in my TDEE then I shouldn't put my exercise, right? Yet I like putting that in. Sorry, I know everyone has these issues, just trying to figure out the best way.
The last three weeks I've been getting back on track since December (wayyy to many treats and alcohol) and just weighed myself yesterday and I'm actually up a pound instead of down. I had my calories set to 1300 and then usually ate 1700-1800 cal and put in my exercise to most days end up under the 1300 with my net calories, but obviously that's not working for me. It could be hormonal in part but I want to do everything I can to lose that 10lbs!
From what I understand the figure you would enter is the 1771 since that is your calorie deficit for your current weight. The calculations have already factored in the variants. You would just recalculate as you go along when your weight decreases0 -
I'm just trying to figure out how best to set my profile and I like having my exercise in there, makes me feel like I accomplished something but my BMR (scooby site is down and I'm on IIFYM) is 1344, TDEE is 2084 and -15% is 1771.40. I want to lose at least 10lbs so should I set my profile to my BMR or halfway between the BMR and TDEE? If I put in my TDEE then I shouldn't put my exercise, right? Yet I like putting that in. Sorry, I know everyone has these issues, just trying to figure out the best way.
The last three weeks I've been getting back on track since December (wayyy to many treats and alcohol) and just weighed myself yesterday and I'm actually up a pound instead of down. I had my calories set to 1300 and then usually ate 1700-1800 cal and put in my exercise to most days end up under the 1300 with my net calories, but obviously that's not working for me. It could be hormonal in part but I want to do everything I can to lose that 10lbs!
Set your profile to 1771. You can still 'add' your exercise but just list it as 1 calorie.0 -
Has anyone had success losing weight using this method? This seems like a quiet forum so I was curious if it is working for people or not.0
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I'm trying to decide whether I should do a metabolic reset or cut -15% TDEE.
I started logging food and cutting calories around the first of the year. According to the Scooby calculator, my BMR is about 1800. On average, I've been eating at or above my BMR for the past 2 months.
When I first started, I just switched to better foods, increased my water intake, and tracked calories. I didn't start exercising until the beginning of February. And it's been light exercise...using the recumbent bike, walking, resistance band strength training, etc. The thing is that I started feeling more tired and lousy when I added in working out.
So while weight loss is happening (about 7.5 pounds in 7 weeks), I am feeling lousy during it and I feel like I'll just quite if I keep this up. I had mono last year, which left me completely useless on the couch for 3 1/2 months. I don't know how long that hangs around.
So I haven't done a drastic cut of calories over a long period of time...but to be honest, I don't really know how much I was eating before I started tracking last month. I'm at 237 and based on the light exercise category, my TDEE is showing as 2500.
Any thoughts? If I do a -15% cut, then my daily calories would be around 2150. But the last few weeks, I've been averaging closer to 2000 and I still feel exhausted and grouchy all the time.0
