Going from MFP to TDEE--possible weight gain?

michellekicks

do yall eat back exercise calories even you selected the lightly active lifestyle on MFP?

I eat back all my exercise calories and I'm on the one up from "lightly active"... what's it called? "Moderately active?"... the thing is the Scooby numbers are going to be giving you a different rate of loss than your 1200 on MFP. You should just set your MFP goal to "lose 1/2 lb per week" now and eat back your exercise calories from what it gives you. You need to be learning (with only a few lbs left to go) how to eat to maintain your new leaner body. Staying at 1200 calories isn't really sustainable long term. Not for a fit young man.

Flowers4Julia

Yes, I did this! I did not have as big of a gap as you do but I did gain 4 pounds and then got stable. The process took 6 weeks. THEN, I started losing again.

Those really low calorie goals (like 1200) are really a metabolism killer as far as I'm concerned. And, really contribute to the whole yo-yo dieting thing. That's one reason people are "back" here trying to lose what they gained.

My story is that I lost my original weight (35 pounds) eating1200 plus exercise calories and the moment I upped my calories to my maintenance level I started gaining. (and I even did it slowly too!)

So, then I did the TDEE method. In my opinion it is a much better method as it takes into account your body fat and lean body mass. And, it was worth gaining the 4 pounds to get on the right track with losing them again. I feel much better, healthier and energetic!

AND I can eat more food!

I say give it a try and don't worry about the small gain, you will lose it back down again.

Im thinking of going with 1800 calories(which is above my bmr) + eating back half or more of my exercise calories. I dont want to gain weight.

How much did you up your calories to before you started gaining again?

By about 250...BUT, we are very different people! And, my numbers won't look anything like yours, I'm 54!! An idea for you would be to go to the spreadsheet I referenced earlier and see what they say. I definitely hear your fear, totally get that and it's normal to feel that way for sure! But don't worry about regaining a few - they will come back off! It is your metabolism that you want to keep healthy :-)

Thing is, if you lose it all eating too little, then you will naturally want to start eating more food when you are done, can't help that. Tricky thing is that biologically, our bodies are designed to learn to maintain at very little amounts of food during a "famine" period and this is what low calorie eating does.

Read that other link that was posted about patience too, it really will reassure you!

AmyRhubarb

I'm 44, 5'8" & female - I eat 1800+ a day and am dropping fat & inches. The 1800 is my TDEE - 15%, so I don't eat exercise cals back BUT I do make sure my NET cals for the day land above my BMR (1400). Usually not a problem, but on days that I have a long run and a higher burn, I have to keep an eye on it. But I generally just eat to 1800 or so - it's working great for me.

I used this info to find & set my goals: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

mad00had00

I usually eat half of my exercise calories back. And I average around 650 calories burnt. In the end mfp and scooby both kind of end up the same. Wih mfp +half of my exercise =around 2100 and with scooby its still 2100.i will try this and God willing everything works out well. I am going to Download that excel sheet and work it out. Thanks all for the replies though.

mockchoc

2100 is nothing! Eat up, you'll still lose.

mad00had00

Bump

katevarner

For the OP and others who asked, because your exercise is figured into TDEE, you do NOT eat your exercise calories back if you are eating based on TDEE, even TDEE- x%.

If you are eating based on MFP goals, you should eat your exercise calories back, but I would advise getting a better number for calorie burn than the numbers MFP gives you. If you don't have a HRM or fitbit/BodyMediaFit/Jawbone UP, then use one of the online calculators:

http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/calculators/activity-based-calorie-burn-calculator.aspx
http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calories_burned.htm

There are lots of others online, but most just base the calories on your weight, and that's not really sufficient.

Angellaree

Bump for later

mad00had00

For the OP and others who asked, because your exercise is figured into TDEE, you do NOT eat your exercise calories back if you are eating based on TDEE, even TDEE- x%.

If you are eating based on MFP goals, you should eat your exercise calories back, but I would advise getting a better number for calorie burn than the numbers MFP gives you. If you don't have a HRM or fitbit/BodyMediaFit/Jawbone UP, then use one of the online calculators:

http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/calculators/activity-based-calorie-burn-calculator.aspx
http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calories_burned.htm

There are lots of others online, but most just base the calories on your weight, and that's not really sufficient.

Going to check those links out. But mostly the websites like Scooby's and mfp (if you facto in the exercise calories) yield the same number. Only discrepancy, is that with the tdee method you eat the same # of calories everyday as compared to MFP you only eat more the day you exercise...but as long as its above your bmr its ok I guess.

mad00had00

bump

kerriotto

If you're eating below your TDEE you should lose weight, even on days you don't exercise.

seena511

save

reerazzle

Bump

BigG59

For the OP and others who asked, because your exercise is figured into TDEE, you do NOT eat your exercise calories back if you are eating based on TDEE, even TDEE- x%.

If you are eating based on MFP goals, you should eat your exercise calories back, but I would advise getting a better number for calorie burn than the numbers MFP gives you. If you don't have a HRM or fitbit/BodyMediaFit/Jawbone UP, then use one of the online calculators:

http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/calculators/activity-based-calorie-burn-calculator.aspx
http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calories_burned.htm

There are lots of others online, but most just base the calories on your weight, and that's not really sufficient.

I agree 100% with this.

I am on an MFP of 1220 calories. I am still losing 2lbs a month. I have been doing this for almost 6 months now (starting at 1400 calories). I realised a few weeks in that MFP was overestimating calories burned (for me) and got a HRM.

mad00had00

I was on the 1200 calorie diet for 3 months and now that I am using the TDEE method...I want to know, on average, how much more weight does a person gain back before they start losing again.

I ask this because I am sure going from 1200 to 1800 after 3-4 months must cause some cause of fat deposition, until it takes time for the body to settle down.

heybales

I was on the 1200 calorie diet for 3 months and now that I am using the TDEE method...I want to know, on average, how much more weight does a person gain back before they start losing again.

I ask this because I am sure going from 1200 to 1800 after 3-4 months must cause some cause of fat deposition, until it takes time for the body to settle down.

If you have been doing any kind of decent exercise with that level, your glucose stores will be constantly low.

You should gain maybe 3 lbs pretty quickly. Carbs store with water - needed, and you were going to get those back the minute you went to maintenance level anyway.
It's the same big weight loss you got at the start - water weight.

Outside that, realize the math.

250 calories daily over your TDEE would cause 1 lb of fat gain in 2 weeks. 1 lb if it was truly due to fat gain.

And you can do the math for where you are at right now, kind of.

Likely some of the weight you've been losing has been muscle mass, so the math really doesn't work well.

But if you've been screeching to a halt in weight loss to 0.5 lbs weekly, that's the same 250 cal deficit - if it was truly all fat lost, which I'm doubting.

So that would imply your real TDEE is 1450 plus your exercise calories if you've been eating them back. If not, less than that then.

Pretend no exercise calories was eaten back, and TDEE really was 1450. 1700 would be that 250 extra daily, for 1 lb of fat in 2 weeks.
Assuming your metabolism stayed suppressed.

Which, don't tell the ladies - we luck out on recovering faster, usually.

So let any initial fast weight gain show you just how badly your body was wanting extra cals, and then see what happens in 3 weeks after that.

And if you like the eat back method, Lightly Active level, 1 lb loss goal, eat back all calories estimated.

If you want the TDEE method, get that BF% estimated in the spreadsheet and use that goal, because I'm guessing you've lost some LBM and muscle. And this way knowing exercise burn amounts don't matter.

volume77

Yes, I did this! I did not have as big of a gap as you do but I did gain 4 pounds and then got stable. The process took 6 weeks. THEN, I started losing again.

Those really low calorie goals (like 1200) are really a metabolism killer as far as I'm concerned. And, really contribute to the whole yo-yo dieting thing. That's one reason people are "back" here trying to lose what they gained.

My story is that I lost my original weight (35 pounds) eating1200 plus exercise calories and the moment I upped my calories to my maintenance level I started gaining. (and I even did it slowly too!)

So, then I did the TDEE method. In my opinion it is a much better method as it takes into account your body fat and lean body mass. And, it was worth gaining the 4 pounds to get on the right track with losing them again. I feel much better, healthier and energetic!




AND I can eat more food!

I say give it a try and don't worry about the small gain, you will lose it back down again.

exactly what she said