TDEE-20%

ancurtis
ancurtis Posts: 68 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Okay, I know there are tons of questions out there on this and yes I've read the road map, over and over! My question is simple, my TDEE-20% is right at 1600 calories a day. I usually eat total food about that, give or take depending on the day. My net though is usually only 1200 or 1300 calories.

So, should my net be the TDEE-20% or am I correct with my total food at the TDEE-20%.

Replies

  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    It depends if you included exercise in your TDEE or not. If you already included exercise when you calculated TDEE then you are correct that it should be total food, if you did not include exercise then your NET calories should equal your target (net cals = 1600)
  • ancurtis
    ancurtis Posts: 68 Member
    Yes, TDEE includes my usual activity of moderate exercise 3-5 days a week. I thought that is what TDEE was, inclusive of your daily activity.
  • alaskaang
    alaskaang Posts: 493 Member
    Many individuals here use sedentary to calculate their TDEE and add the exercise afterwards rather than including it. In that manner, if they didn't exercise as planned they wouldn't be overestimating TDEE. Either way works. If you included exercise, don't eat back your added exercise calories. If you use sedentary to calculate TDEE, then do eat them back.
  • josiereside
    josiereside Posts: 720 Member
    bump
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    Yes, TDEE includes my usual activity of moderate exercise 3-5 days a week. I thought that is what TDEE was, inclusive of your daily activity.

    It is, technically. The way MFP is designed to work, however, is a sort of hybrid TDEE that does NOT include exercise calories. If you set your program up using the automatic MFP method, those 3-5 exercise sessions are not included in your calculation and you are expected to add them back and eat them. Further complicating the issue, it asks you how much you plan to exercise, but then doesn't incorporate that information in to your goals, at all.

    Most other tools, including the method suggested by Dan's Roadmap DO include exercise, and then you don't add back and eat back calories. It might be easier for you to keep it straight if you log your workouts as "1 calorie" so you don't have those double-dipped calories added.
    Many individuals here use sedentary to calculate their TDEE and add the exercise afterwards rather than including it. In that manner, if they didn't exercise as planned they wouldn't be overestimating TDEE. Either way works. If you included exercise, don't eat back your added exercise calories. If you use sedentary to calculate TDEE, then do eat them back.
    ^This isn't quite correct. NONE of the activity factors used by MFP figure exercise in to account. They use slightly different activity coefficients than other sites to specifically exclude exercise. This method is OK for sites that include exercise in activity, but when you do it on THIS site you're short-changing your calories, because very few people actually qualify as sedentary per the definition here. I have a desk job, am not particularly active, and my level of activity matches up to "Very active" here, and then I add exercise on TOP of that! Most people actually probably qualify as "lightly active" who think they're sedentary. This concept is one of the chief reasons SO MANY PEOPLE are initially set to way too low of a calorie limit.

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