tdee and gaining weight

spikelike

Hey guys,

So 4 weeks back I started the tdee method. I am on my last 10lbs and decided to go with tdee-20%. I did the calculations and:
BMR=1768
tdee= 2741
tdee-20%= 2195.

I chose my activity level as moderate because I run/jog/walk atleast an average of 4 hours/week. The first two weeks I lost .4 and 1.5 lbs respectively, but after that I have been gaining (~2lbs in the last 2 weeks). I have been staying under my calories (but not macros)

So here are my questions:

1) I chose tdee-20%..is that the right percentage to choose?

2) I dont lift weight, all I do is walk/jog basically cardio...is that good enough? Does that count towards my activity level?

3) Even thou my tdee-20% is 2195 I dont eat that much everyday, I try to hit 1800 thats just above my bmr..and only eat a few more calories the day I actually get exercise in. Because I dont want to eat on non cardio days..thinking I might gain some back.

4) Am I doing, what I am doing in #3, right? Because I feel like I should only eat to my tdee-20 when I work out...I am not sure eating tdee-20% everyday will help in weight loss because I only get cardio in 3 times a week (which equals out to ~4hrs/week). Or do yall recommend me eating my tdee-20 everyday..regardless if I did cardio that day or not?

I am worried as I have been gaining lbs now for 2 weeks...Ive been over my fat macros a few times, and almost always over my sugar. Im on 55%carb, 25%protein, and 20%fat....is that ok or would you recommend something else?

re-post..I posted earlier in the wrong section

chuckles9189

If you are on your last 10 pounds i think TDEE- 20% is too big of a cut. I would go with between 5 or 10%. Give it a few weeks, let your body adjust and lose ~1/2 lb/week or less. you'll get there.

I think since you are a runner. 55/25/20 is okay.

spikelike

If you are on your last 10 pounds i think TDEE- 20% is too big of a cut. I would go with between 5 or 10%. Give it a few weeks, let your body adjust and lose ~1/2 lb/week or less. you'll get there.

I think since you are a runner. 55/25/20 is okay.

thanks...so I should change it to tdee-10? but eating more wont gain MORE weight?

spikelike

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obsidianwings

10-20% is fine, but you should try make sure you actually eat that.
Your cardio definitely counts towards activity level, however for best results you should start lifting to.

justicer68

What I've been doing is eating 20% less than my BMR at a sedentary level on my off days and my tdee -20% on my gym days. It seems to be working for me so far. It's about a 500 calorie a difference.

spikelike

What I've been doing is eating 20% less than my BMR on my off days and my tdee -20% on my gym days. It seems to be working for me so far.

how do you function eating less than your bmr? I would think that would be a problem once Im on maintenance..because I cant survive on bmr-20% everyday (while maintaining)

justicer68

I had to edit my post. I meant at a sedentary level which is around 1700 for me so I eat around 1250- 1350 those days. I eat around 1750-1850 on the other days.

spikelike

I had to edit my post. I meant at a sedentary level which is around 1700 for me so I eat around 1250- 1350 those days. I eat around 1750-1850 on the other days.

oh ok I see.

justicer68

I had to edit my post. I meant at a sedentary level which is around 1700 for me so I eat around 1250- 1350 those days. I eat around 1750-1850 on the other days.

oh ok I see.

Yeah sorry about that. My BMR by itself is like 1450 so I wouldn't be able to survive either if I ate that little. I had to try this method because I discovered I wasn't eating enough. When I first lost the weight (60lbs.) a couple years ago I ate 1350 every day. Now that I am in better shape my trainer has told me I have to eat more to build muscle and lose the rest. I had a hard time wrapping my brain around it but hey it works. :-) good luck to you!

spikelike

I had to edit my post. I meant at a sedentary level which is around 1700 for me so I eat around 1250- 1350 those days. I eat around 1750-1850 on the other days.

oh ok I see.

Yeah sorry about that. My BMR by itself is like 1450 so I wouldn't be able to survive either if I ate that little. I had to try this method because I discovered I wasn't eating enough. When I first lost the weight (60lbs.) a couple years ago I ate 1350 every day. Now that I am in better shape my trainer has told me I have to eat more to build muscle and lose the rest. I had a hard time wrapping my brain around it but hey it works. :-) good luck to you!

thanks Ill keep that in mind

spikelike

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spikelike

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spikelike

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1ConcreteGirl

The first response was correct. For your last ten lbs, eat closer to your TDEE, aiming to lose about 0.5 lbs per week. The less weight you have to lose, the more your body wants to hold onto it. If you strain your body by eating at a significant deficit, it will be less likely to want to let go of that weight. So try to hit TDEE-10% for that.

From what you said, you are already calculating your exercise calories into TDEE, so to be more accurate, I suggest you recalculate your TDEE-10% values at sedentary, then record your exercise calories and eat them eat back. This will help you to be more accurate since you are working wtih a smaller margin for error.

If you cannot hit your calorie goal, find calorie-dense foods to fill you up.

Cardio does count for your exercise.

Eat TDEE-10% every day, whether you work out or not.

spikelike

The first response was correct. For your last ten lbs, eat closer to your TDEE, aiming to lose about 0.5 lbs per week. The less weight you have to lose, the more your body wants to hold onto it. If you strain your body by eating at a significant deficit, it will be less likely to want to let go of that weight. So try to hit TDEE-10% for that.

From what you said, you are already calculating your exercise calories into TDEE, so to be more accurate, I suggest you recalculate your TDEE-10% values at sedentary, then record your exercise calories and eat them eat back. This will help you to be more accurate since you are working wtih a smaller margin for error.

If you cannot hit your calorie goal, find calorie-dense foods to fill you up.

Cardio does count for your exercise.

Eat TDEE-10% every day, whether you work out or not.

great thanks. see I do around 4-4.5hrs of cardio every week..so thats why I chose the moderate level activity. I decided to eat my tdee-20% everyday, Ill see how that goes..if not then Ill go to tdee-10%. Im just worried that upping my calories might actually lead to more weight gain (if Im gaining at 1800 calories).

and macros as 40/30/30..what do you think of that?

1ConcreteGirl

The first response was correct. For your last ten lbs, eat closer to your TDEE, aiming to lose about 0.5 lbs per week. The less weight you have to lose, the more your body wants to hold onto it. If you strain your body by eating at a significant deficit, it will be less likely to want to let go of that weight. So try to hit TDEE-10% for that.

From what you said, you are already calculating your exercise calories into TDEE, so to be more accurate, I suggest you recalculate your TDEE-10% values at sedentary, then record your exercise calories and eat them eat back. This will help you to be more accurate since you are working wtih a smaller margin for error.

If you cannot hit your calorie goal, find calorie-dense foods to fill you up.


Cardio does count for your exercise.

Eat TDEE-10% every day, whether you work out or not.

great thanks. see I do around 4-4.5hrs of cardio every week..so thats why I chose the moderate level activity. I decided to eat my tdee-20% everyday, Ill see how that goes..if not then Ill go to tdee-10%. Im just worried that upping my calories might actually lead to more weight gain (if Im gaining at 1800 calories).

and macros as 40/30/30..what do you think of that?

I understand that you work out a certain amount each week, but because you are working with a really small margin for error, it is best to see every calorie ironed out in front of you. Calculating at sedentary and then eating back your exercise calories gives you the ability to be more precise. If you decide to stay at TDEE-20% at least do it this way, so that you can account for each calorie.

Your macros sound fine.

Justkritter

The first response was correct. For your last ten lbs, eat closer to your TDEE, aiming to lose about 0.5 lbs per week. The less weight you have to lose, the more your body wants to hold onto it. If you strain your body by eating at a significant deficit, it will be less likely to want to let go of that weight. So try to hit TDEE-10% for that.

From what you said, you are already calculating your exercise calories into TDEE, so to be more accurate, I suggest you recalculate your TDEE-10% values at sedentary, then record your exercise calories and eat them eat back. This will help you to be more accurate since you are working wtih a smaller margin for error.

If you cannot hit your calorie goal, find calorie-dense foods to fill you up.

Cardio does count for your exercise.

Eat TDEE-10% every day, whether you work out or not.

great thanks. see I do around 4-4.5hrs of cardio every week..so thats why I chose the moderate level activity. I decided to eat my tdee-20% everyday, Ill see how that goes..if not then Ill go to tdee-10%. Im just worried that upping my calories might actually lead to more weight gain (if Im gaining at 1800 calories).

and macros as 40/30/30..what do you think of that?

When trying to lose weight some people prefer to put carbs at the least percentage with fat and protein at 35%. I'd say up the protein more than the carb.

spikelike

The first response was correct. For your last ten lbs, eat closer to your TDEE, aiming to lose about 0.5 lbs per week. The less weight you have to lose, the more your body wants to hold onto it. If you strain your body by eating at a significant deficit, it will be less likely to want to let go of that weight. So try to hit TDEE-10% for that.

From what you said, you are already calculating your exercise calories into TDEE, so to be more accurate, I suggest you recalculate your TDEE-10% values at sedentary, then record your exercise calories and eat them eat back. This will help you to be more accurate since you are working wtih a smaller margin for error.

If you cannot hit your calorie goal, find calorie-dense foods to fill you up.


Cardio does count for your exercise.

Eat TDEE-10% every day, whether you work out or not.

great thanks. see I do around 4-4.5hrs of cardio every week..so thats why I chose the moderate level activity. I decided to eat my tdee-20% everyday, Ill see how that goes..if not then Ill go to tdee-10%. Im just worried that upping my calories might actually lead to more weight gain (if Im gaining at 1800 calories).

and macros as 40/30/30..what do you think of that?

I understand that you work out a certain amount each week, but because you are working with a really small margin for error, it is best to see every calorie ironed out in front of you. Calculating at sedentary and then eating back your exercise calories gives you the ability to be more precise. If you decide to stay at TDEE-20% at least do it this way, so that you can account for each calorie.

Your macros sound fine.

thanks I will do it that way then. Change my TDEE settings to sedentary and then eat back my calories.

So should I do tdee-15 tdee-10 r keep it at tdee-20?

spikelike

The first response was correct. For your last ten lbs, eat closer to your TDEE, aiming to lose about 0.5 lbs per week. The less weight you have to lose, the more your body wants to hold onto it. If you strain your body by eating at a significant deficit, it will be less likely to want to let go of that weight. So try to hit TDEE-10% for that.

From what you said, you are already calculating your exercise calories into TDEE, so to be more accurate, I suggest you recalculate your TDEE-10% values at sedentary, then record your exercise calories and eat them eat back. This will help you to be more accurate since you are working wtih a smaller margin for error.

If you cannot hit your calorie goal, find calorie-dense foods to fill you up.

Cardio does count for your exercise.

Eat TDEE-10% every day, whether you work out or not.

great thanks. see I do around 4-4.5hrs of cardio every week..so thats why I chose the moderate level activity. I decided to eat my tdee-20% everyday, Ill see how that goes..if not then Ill go to tdee-10%. Im just worried that upping my calories might actually lead to more weight gain (if Im gaining at 1800 calories).

and macros as 40/30/30..what do you think of that?

When trying to lose weight some people prefer to put carbs at the least percentage with fat and protein at 35%. I'd say up the protein more than the carb.

so 30/35/35?

1ConcreteGirl

For me, personally, my macros are set at 45% protein, 35% carbs, 20% fats, and that works for me, Some people prefer to up the fats a little. Some people do better with more carbs, some with more protein. What you suggested sounds fine, but macros will affect you less than your actual intake. Start with what you suggested and feel free to adjust them a little.

You could try TDEE-15% as a middle ground and see how that works for you. Give yourself about 3 months to lose the last 10 lbs. The slower it comes off, the better your body will look in the end because you will have preserved more lean muscle mass, making you look more toned, instead of flabby..

Justkritter

For me, personally, my macros are set at 45% protein, 35% carbs, 20% fats, and that works for me, Some people prefer to up the fats a little. Some people do better with more carbs, some with more protein. What you suggested sounds fine, but macros will affect you less than your actual intake. Start with what you suggested and feel free to adjust them a little.

You could try TDEE-15% as a middle ground and see how that works for you. Give yourself about 3 months to lose the last 10 lbs. The slower it comes off, the better your body will look in the end because you will have preserved more lean muscle mass, making you look more toned, instead of flabby..

Agree. Macros will depend on your needs.

geekyjock76

Just curious, but how many calories were you eating before you did the TDEE route? It's very common for people to "gain" a few lbs when upping calories after chronically eating a less amount. The same thing happened when I finished my fat loss cycle and returned calories back up to maintenance - I am eating and storing more food so my body holds onto an "average" intake of good weight, glycogen and water.

spikelike

Coming from a 1200+eating 1/2 exercise calorie diet a month and a half ago..but that should have subsided.

The reason why I was on such a diet is because I was following the mfp plan. I twas working but it was far too less calories to be living off on.