Which numbers to use?

karaks

I hope someone can help me with this. When I use BMR and TDEE calculators online, I come up with a BMR of around 1590 and TDEE of about 2500. If I eat -20% of TDEE, that's around 2000 calories.

However, I also wear a BodyMedia Fit armband every day. I have been wearing it for about 6 months now. When I do the reports to see what I'm averaging, my calories burned for the last 28 days is right at 3000 calories. It's about the same for the month before that too. That number would be my TDEE, according to the armband, correct? So if I were to eat -20% of that number, that's around 2500 calories.

Which numbers should I use? I've been averaging eating around 2100 calories a day for the last 6 weeks or so and haven't lost anything. I am currently doing a hybrid workout of Insanity/P90X, so I realize that I could be hanging onto some water weight and strengthening that muscles I already have, and that could account for the stall on the scale. I am fine with whatever the scale says, as long as I see a change in measurements. I was seeing great progress until the last month or so.

Do you think the armband is more accurate than the online calculators and I should up my calories? Or should I stick with the science behind these calculators and keep my calories where they are?

I guess I'm just wondering if I'm eating the correct number of calories. I can't imagine upping my calories to 2500, but I'm sure I can find a way to fit them in if I have to.

BTW, I'm 41, 5'8', 180, workout 5-6 days a week, and have my diet pretty much under control. The only thing I'm currently working on is upping my protein daily...

Sharyn913

Would love to see replies!

jillebean60

I'm sure with that intense workout schedule you'd have to eat back some of your cals or be starving. That's the million $$ ?? and I think it's different for everyone..... how much to eat back? I gave up with trying to figure it out and started 5:2 fast. Good luck

californiagirl2012

If you are maintaining okay I wouldn't up your calories, but worse case if you see you are gaining fat simply eat a bit less. Easy enough right, since you don't have fat to lose at the moment. This is a great place to be. This is where you really get to play with macro nutrients and such. Love it.

karaks

Sorry, I should clarify that I do want to lose around 20 lbs. I've been up and down in my weight over the years and I seem to look the best (for my height) around 155-160.

Athena98501

I hope someone can help me with this. When I use BMR and TDEE calculators online, I come up with a BMR of around 1590 and TDEE of about 2500. If I eat -20% of TDEE, that's around 2000 calories.

However, I also wear a BodyMedia Fit armband every day. I have been wearing it for about 6 months now. When I do the reports to see what I'm averaging, my calories burned for the last 28 days is right at 3000 calories. It's about the same for the month before that too. That number would be my TDEE, according to the armband, correct? So if I were to eat -20% of that number, that's around 2500 calories.

Which numbers should I use? I've been averaging eating around 2100 calories a day for the last 6 weeks or so and haven't lost anything. I am currently doing a hybrid workout of Insanity/P90X, so I realize that I could be hanging onto some water weight and strengthening that muscles I already have, and that could account for the stall on the scale. I am fine with whatever the scale says, as long as I see a change in measurements. I was seeing great progress until the last month or so.

Do you think the armband is more accurate than the online calculators and I should up my calories? Or should I stick with the science behind these calculators and keep my calories where they are?

I guess I'm just wondering if I'm eating the correct number of calories. I can't imagine upping my calories to 2500, but I'm sure I can find a way to fit them in if I have to.

BTW, I'm 41, 5'8', 180, workout 5-6 days a week, and have my diet pretty much under control. The only thing I'm currently working on is upping my protein daily...

I would definitely be going on the BMF data, as it's based on your actual activity, not averages and guesstimates. It sounds like your workouts are more intense than those accounted for with the calculators.

mwestonp

I recommend the site below. I've seen it listed on a few threads on here and have found it useful for calculating BMR, TDEE and a calorie goal. I use it for customizing my calorie goals here on MFP.

http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

karaks

I recommend the site below. I've seen it listed on a few threads on here and have found it useful for calculating BMR, TDEE and a calorie goal. I use it for customizing my calorie goals here on MFP.

http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

I think that is one website I have used to calculate my TDEE. Most of the ones I've tried tell me my TDEE is around 2400-2500. But according to my armband, I'll burn that on a rest day with my only "exercise" being taking my dog for a 30-45 minute walk. That's why I'm confused as to what numbers I should be using and if I should up my calories based on what my armband says.

karaks

I hope someone can help me with this. When I use BMR and TDEE calculators online, I come up with a BMR of around 1590 and TDEE of about 2500. If I eat -20% of TDEE, that's around 2000 calories.

However, I also wear a BodyMedia Fit armband every day. I have been wearing it for about 6 months now. When I do the reports to see what I'm averaging, my calories burned for the last 28 days is right at 3000 calories. It's about the same for the month before that too. That number would be my TDEE, according to the armband, correct? So if I were to eat -20% of that number, that's around 2500 calories.

Which numbers should I use? I've been averaging eating around 2100 calories a day for the last 6 weeks or so and haven't lost anything. I am currently doing a hybrid workout of Insanity/P90X, so I realize that I could be hanging onto some water weight and strengthening that muscles I already have, and that could account for the stall on the scale. I am fine with whatever the scale says, as long as I see a change in measurements. I was seeing great progress until the last month or so.

Do you think the armband is more accurate than the online calculators and I should up my calories? Or should I stick with the science behind these calculators and keep my calories where they are?

I guess I'm just wondering if I'm eating the correct number of calories. I can't imagine upping my calories to 2500, but I'm sure I can find a way to fit them in if I have to.

BTW, I'm 41, 5'8', 180, workout 5-6 days a week, and have my diet pretty much under control. The only thing I'm currently working on is upping my protein daily...

I would definitely be going on the BMF data, as it's based on your actual activity, not averages and guesstimates. It sounds like your workouts are more intense than those accounted for with the calculators.

That's what I'm thinking. Maybe I'm underestimating my activity level? I usually choose "light" or "moderate", but those numbers usually end up being way lower than the numbers my armband shows. I know the armbands also aren't completely accurate, but seem like they would be more accurate than online calculators...

YoYo1951

bump for later

Athena98501

I hope someone can help me with this. When I use BMR and TDEE calculators online, I come up with a BMR of around 1590 and TDEE of about 2500. If I eat -20% of TDEE, that's around 2000 calories.

However, I also wear a BodyMedia Fit armband every day. I have been wearing it for about 6 months now. When I do the reports to see what I'm averaging, my calories burned for the last 28 days is right at 3000 calories. It's about the same for the month before that too. That number would be my TDEE, according to the armband, correct? So if I were to eat -20% of that number, that's around 2500 calories.

Which numbers should I use? I've been averaging eating around 2100 calories a day for the last 6 weeks or so and haven't lost anything. I am currently doing a hybrid workout of Insanity/P90X, so I realize that I could be hanging onto some water weight and strengthening that muscles I already have, and that could account for the stall on the scale. I am fine with whatever the scale says, as long as I see a change in measurements. I was seeing great progress until the last month or so.

Do you think the armband is more accurate than the online calculators and I should up my calories? Or should I stick with the science behind these calculators and keep my calories where they are?

I guess I'm just wondering if I'm eating the correct number of calories. I can't imagine upping my calories to 2500, but I'm sure I can find a way to fit them in if I have to.

BTW, I'm 41, 5'8', 180, workout 5-6 days a week, and have my diet pretty much under control. The only thing I'm currently working on is upping my protein daily...

I would definitely be going on the BMF data, as it's based on your actual activity, not averages and guesstimates. It sounds like your workouts are more intense than those accounted for with the calculators.

That's what I'm thinking. Maybe I'm underestimating my activity level? I usually choose "light" or "moderate", but those numbers usually end up being way lower than the numbers my armband shows. I know the armbands also aren't completely accurate, but seem like they would be more accurate than online calculators...

What you described is very definitely not the "lightly active" definition I've read. I'd say moderately at least, but I'd probably try a good couple of months going on your BMF data, and see where that gets you. I use it too, and it has seemed very accurate to me. I get readings that range from 2200 to over 3k, but definitely corresponding to my activity level on any given day.

karaks

What you described is very definitely not the "lightly active" definition I've read. I'd say moderately at least, but I'd probably try a good couple of months going on your BMF data, and see where that gets you. I use it too, and it has seemed very accurate to me. I get readings that range from 2200 to over 3k, but definitely corresponding to my activity level on any given day.

So you think I should go by my armband data and up my calories for awhile to see what happens?

karaks

Anyone else have any advice on this?

psuLemon

If you know your estimated TDEE then cut 20%. That is how the BB programs do it. What I generally suggest is upping your calories slowly and monitoring it for a month. Up your calories to 2300 for a month (if it still doesn't budget weight, bump to 2500). Besides the initial water weight gain, what was the overall result. Did you feel better, stronger, etc... Unfortunately, this is a estimate game and you have to find your sweet spot. So once you hit 2500, you might have to drop back down if it doesn't work.


Also, don't follow MFP guidelines if you are using a body media. Set your goals to 2300 or whatever calories daily and eat that every day.

karaks

If you know your estimated TDEE then cut 20%. That is how the BB programs do it. What I generally suggest is upping your calories slowly and monitoring it for a month. Up your calories to 2300 for a month (if it still doesn't budget weight, bump to 2500). Besides the initial water weight gain, what was the overall result. Did you feel better, stronger, etc... Unfortunately, this is a estimate game and you have to find your sweet spot. So once you hit 2500, you might have to drop back down if it doesn't work.


Also, don't follow MFP guidelines if you are using a body media. Set your goals to 2300 or whatever calories daily and eat that every day.

Thanks psulemon! That's what I was thinking I should probably do, based on my conversation on here with Athena98501, and since my armband has had consistent readings for the last few months (which are much higher than what the online calculators say). I do indeed feel better and much stronger, so I'm not disappointed with anything really and am loving the hybrid of Insanity and P90X that I'm doing now. I'll continue to do these workouts, work on getting more protein in, and up my calories and see what happens!

psuLemon

If you know your estimated TDEE then cut 20%. That is how the BB programs do it. What I generally suggest is upping your calories slowly and monitoring it for a month. Up your calories to 2300 for a month (if it still doesn't budget weight, bump to 2500). Besides the initial water weight gain, what was the overall result. Did you feel better, stronger, etc... Unfortunately, this is a estimate game and you have to find your sweet spot. So once you hit 2500, you might have to drop back down if it doesn't work.


Also, don't follow MFP guidelines if you are using a body media. Set your goals to 2300 or whatever calories daily and eat that every day.

Thanks psulemon! That's what I was thinking I should probably do, based on my conversation on here with Athena98501, and since my armband has had consistent readings for the last few months (which are much higher than what the online calculators say). I do indeed feel better and much stronger, so I'm not disappointed with anything really and am loving the hybrid of Insanity and P90X that I'm doing now. I'll continue to do these workouts, work on getting more protein in, and up my calories and see what happens!

I am on week 8 of the hybrid now. I like it a lot. Lost 5 lbs so far (hoping to cut my body fat from 12% to 9% by the end of it). I can't wait though until i can start the X2/insanity hybrid.

nellyett

Since you have a HRM, how about setting your tdee at sedentary and eating back your actual exercise calories. I calculated my BMR and am sure to never eat below that. My BMR is 1397. I've set MFP at 1430. I eat back all of my exercise calories to net 1400-1450. I use a HRM to get these calories.

I exercise around 5-7 days per week between running and bootcamp. Sometimes both on the same day. When I calculate my TDEE at that activity level it comes in around 2410. When I calculate this over 7 days, and minus the 7,000 calories to equal 2 lbs per week that I want to lose, it equals 1410 cals per day.

I had a difficult time figuing out the math initially, but this seems to work so far, and I've found it easy to follow. I remind myself to forget about the scale and trust the process. It's all math and eventually I'll be at my goal.

I am 40 yrs old, 5'5" and 145 lbs.

Edit to add: I just did a double check with the scooby website, and based on their calculations I should be around 1810 per day....this is basically what I'm at after eating back my exercise calories (which brings me to my NET of 1450 per day), so looks to be like all the numbers correspond no matter which way you calculate it. Good luck!

karaks

Okay, so I've upped my calories to around 2300 for now and will wait and see what the results are in a few weeks. But I have another question. I may just be confusing myself here, so can you guys let me know about this?

I've seen on other posts that people use this site quite a bit to calculate their BMR and TDEE.

http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/

I've seen several people say that using this calculator will give you your TDEE for your goal weight, but if you put in your current weight as your goal weight, it'll give you your TDEE for what you weigh now. So I did that. It gives me a BMR of 1578 for the "Harris-Benedict" formula and 1479 for the "Katch-McArdle" formula. Then it has a list of what I assumed to be TDEE. For me it says:

Activity Level Daily Calories
Sedentary (little or no exercise, desk job) 1894
Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk) 2170
Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk) 2446
Very Active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk) 2722
Extremely Active (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.) 2998

I assumed that, if I decided to use this website, those numbers would be my TDEE and that I would subtract 20% from that to get the number of calories I should eat every day. However, with the chart above, it says:

"How Many Calories Should I Eat?

Based on your goal weight, the following chart was generated. The chart shows the number of calories that you should eat on a daily basis to reach your goal weight. At Fat 2 Fit Radio we advocate eating like the thin, healthy person that you want to become. The calorie levels you see in the chart are not extreme, but they do create that all important caloric deficit that is required to get you to your goal weight in a safe manner. Once you reach your goal weight, you will continue eating the same number of calories for the rest of your life to maintain that weight. You'll never be on a diet again.

Based on how much activity you do on an average day, the calories in the right column will be the number of calories that you will be able to eat at your goal weight. If you start eating those calories right now (eating like the thinner you), you will eventually become that thinner person. As you get closer to your goal weight, your weight loss will start to slow down. It is OK to eat a few hundred calories less per day (200-300) to speed up your weight loss at this point."

To me, that sounds like the number of calories I should be eating now, without subtracting the 20%. Is that correct? Or am I reading it wrong? If it is correct, then, according to this chart, should I be eating around 2446 for moderate activity? Because that would mean the numbers I'm getting from my BodyMedia Fit armband are right in line with this chart...

karaks

I went back through what the website says again, and I think that is showing TDEE and not what I should eat now. If I put in my goal weight instead of my current weight, for moderate activity, it says I should eat 2257. So I'm going to stick with the advice of psulemon and stay at 2300 calories and see what happens. If I don't make any progress, then I'll up to 2500. If nothing happens then, I'll probably get back on here and ask for help again. :laugh: