Need caloric change. TDEE differs

kelleyannclemons
kelleyannclemons Posts: 71 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello,

I have been around the 150-153 range since the end of November. I did very well with all of the holidays and made sure I stayed within my calories. I started my journey at 1200 calories on 5 days - 1550 1 day - 1750 1 day, which provide a decent amount of weight loss in a good amount of time. I then started reading about BMR and TDEE, which pressured me to change my calorie intake. I upped my 5 days during the week to 1400 instead of 1200 to get that gradual change to where it may need to be. I started that about 6-7 weeks ago. I do not eat back my exercise calories as I am afraid I won't know exactly what calories I have burned. (although, I wouldn't mind having a heart rate monitor, I am just not ready to purchase one yet)

I think I may need another change to my calories, but putting into paper what the TDEE says I should be eating is hard to do. Also, I have come across so many different sites to configure TDEE, and they all vary by a lot.

My stats:

Age: 26
Height: 5'6"
Weight: 150
Goal Weight: 140

I do not know exact measurements, but I am currently in size 10 jeans/dresses and wear a large shirt because of the girls. I could fit into a medium, but some shirts stretch up top. I do have an old back injury, but I am able to work out about 30 minutes each day for 3 days each week. Some times this is a little less or more depending on how my back is feeling.

I do eat a lot of whole grains, lean meats, fruits, and vegetables. I do treat myself on occasion, but always within my caloric goals.

Anyone willing to lend some advice? Am I where I should be? What should I change?

Thanks all!

...edited to add age.

Replies

  • Chrissiecurit
    Chrissiecurit Posts: 74 Member
    The numbers I came up with using www.fat2fitradio.com is as follows:

    Entered information: 26 year old female, 66 inches tall, weighing 150 pounds.
    Your current BMR is 1496 calories. You should not eat any less than this amount as it is what your body needs to function.
    I took the numbers from Lightly Active:
    Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk) TDEE: 2057
    2057 - 20% = Your intake should be about 1645 daily. Do not eat back any exercise calories as they are already included in the lightly active amount above.

    Hope that helps! You may also want to check out http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12 This is what got me back on track and has been working for me and countless others. :)

    Edit: Depending on how much you have to lose, you would want to adjust the 20% down to 15% - 10% - 5%, etc. The less you have to lose, the less percentage you take away from your TDEE.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,454 Member
    Read that link above, and these. You are seriouly undereating at your weight and height and activity level.



    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/186814-some-mfp-basics

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets
  • kelleyannclemons
    kelleyannclemons Posts: 71 Member
    Thank you both for the information. I found both posts to be very helpful.

    I think what I get caught on is that I didn't fully understand how the TDEE calculators worked. I got confused with the 'In place of a roadmap' post when I read it last year. I did go to the fat2fitradio site a few times, but kept getting different information. You had shown that my TDEE would be 2057, but I realize that is when I put the goal weight in as my current weight. When I put my goal weight in as 140, it comes out to different numbers. Why would it do that and which would I use?

    Would it be a good idea to stagger my increase in calories to avoid weight gain? I don't want to gain my weight back.

    Thank you
  • Chrissiecurit
    Chrissiecurit Posts: 74 Member
    Thank you both for the information. I found both posts to be very helpful.

    I think what I get caught on is that I didn't fully understand how the TDEE calculators worked. I got confused with the 'In place of a roadmap' post when I read it last year. I did go to the fat2fitradio site a few times, but kept getting different information. You had shown that my TDEE would be 2057, but I realize that is when I put the goal weight in as my current weight. When I put my goal weight in as 140, it comes out to different numbers. Why would it do that and which would I use?

    Would it be a good idea to stagger my increase in calories to avoid weight gain? I don't want to gain my weight back.

    Thank you

    Hi! The reason you use your current weight as your goal weight is because that will give you your TDEE to maintain your current weight. Since you want to lose weight not mantain, that is where you reduce it by the 20% - 15% -10%.... etc, depending on how much you need to lose. I use 20% because my goal was/is to lose 35 pounds. The closer you get to your goal weight, the less you reduce your TDEE by. The idea is not to starve your body but to reduce your intake enough to lose weight.

    Some people start by adding 100-200 calories for a few weeks and gradually get to their calorie intake goal. I was at 1200 when I first started MFP (before I knew any better... lol) and went straight to 1350 without any gain. I didn't lose for a week or two but didn't gain either. As long as you know that there is a possibility of a *slight* gain, you should be fine. If I did the calculations correctly, you are adding 1215 extra for the week over what you are eating now. It takes 3500 to make a pound so I don't *think* you would gain much, if any, as you are still eating below your TDEE.

    Hope that makes sense! :happy:
  • kelleyannclemons
    kelleyannclemons Posts: 71 Member
    Hi! The reason you use your current weight as your goal weight is because that will give you your TDEE to maintain your current weight. Since you want to lose weight not mantain, that is where you reduce it by the 20% - 15% -10%.... etc, depending on how much you need to lose. I use 20% because my goal was/is to lose 35 pounds. The closer you get to your goal weight, the less you reduce your TDEE by. The idea is not to starve your body but to reduce your intake enough to lose weight.

    Some people start by adding 100-200 calories for a few weeks and gradually get to their calorie intake goal. I was at 1200 when I first started MFP (before I knew any better... lol) and went straight to 1350 without any gain. I didn't lose for a week or two but didn't gain either. As long as you know that there is a possibility of a *slight* gain, you should be fine. If I did the calculations correctly, you are adding 1215 extra for the week over what you are eating now. It takes 3500 to make a pound so I don't *think* you would gain much, if any, as you are still eating below your TDEE.

    Hope that makes sense! :happy:

    Yes, it does make sense. My mind thought that it might work like that, but it really wasn't until you validated it for me that I can put it into perspective. I think I will try to increase by 100 for a little while and then add more a little while later. I already jumped from 1200 to my current 1400. I still haven't lost any since my increase, but I haven't gained more than normal daily fluctuations.

    Thank you so much again for your advice! :flowerforyou:

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