TDEE calorie intake vs MFP?

kete05

I have had success in the past on Weight Watchers and at the lowest I was eating about 1200 calories per day. So when I started on MFP I was not surprised to see that as my daily calorie goal. However a friend of mine was talking to me about TDEE so I started doing (very minimal) research and now I am beyond confused. According to the online calculators my TDEE is between 2500-2700 per day and mu BMR is 1750. What the heck does that mean? From what I was reading my calorie goal based off TDEE should be approximately 2200. So I am eating at 800+ calorie deficit? If that is true then why am I losing only 2 ish lbs a week? Or am I completely misunderstanding the TDEE thing? Can anyone explain? I am so confused. How does MFP come up with the calorie goal?

Ready2Rock206

ONLY 2 lbs a week? That's a lot. I'd be thrilled to lose 2 lbs a week.

trudijoy

I have had success in the past on Weight Watchers and at the lowest I was eating about 1200 calories per day. So when I started on MFP I was not surprised to see that as my daily calorie goal. However a friend of mine was talking to me about TDEE so I started doing (very minimal) research and now I am beyond confused. According to the online calculators my TDEE is between 2500-2700 per day and mu BMR is 1750. What the heck does that mean? From what I was reading my calorie goal based off TDEE should be approximately 2200. So I am eating at 800+ calorie deficit? If that is true then why am I losing only 2 ish lbs a week? Or am I completely misunderstanding the TDEE thing? Can anyone explain? I am so confused. How does MFP come up with the calorie goal?

as near as i can understand it MFP seems to be about BMR - 500 to a minimum of 1200 cal total. They then expect you to excercise and eat back those calories. I set my own limit a bit above my BMR and don't eat my excercise calories back because I find that easier to keep regular

neandermagnon

According to MFP, I should eat 1500 cals/day for maintenance. According to the Katch McArdle formula, I should eat 1870 cals/day for maintenance. My diary is set to 1850 cals/day and I eat roughly this much each day (sometimes a little under, sometimes a little over) and I get messages like "if every day was like this you'd weigh 135lb in 5 weeks"................... I still weigh 130lb, in fact if anything my weight's going down ever so slightly, because I think 1870 is actually a very slight deficit, not maintenance

Not to mention the fact that i recently tried cutting at 1570 cals/day and was starving hungry and having problems with feeling dizzy and getting "hangry". I abandoned the cut and decided to eat at what I had thought my maintenance calories were (i.e. between 1800 and 1900 cals/day) for a couple of weeks, to see if this is really maintenance, or a deficit. 1570 cals/day is 70 calories above what MFP says I should eat for maintenance.

Now which formula do you think is more correct for me? MFP or Katch McArdle?

Note: formulas like this can only give an estimate, and different ones suit different groups better. Harris Benedict (based on height and weight) is more suited to obese individuals, where the level of obesity generally correlates with height and weight... however for those who have a healthy body fat percentage and especially those who are large framed and/or very athletic, who have a high lean body mass for their height, the Katch McArdle formula is more accurate. Katch McArdle may underestimate the calorie needs of a very obese individual. Harris Benedict would under estimate the calorie needs of someone who has a higher than average lean body mass for their height. MFP is based on a different formula, Griffin something (forgot the exact name) which ridiculously underestimates my calorie needs, no idea why, or how it works in other groups of people (I have a healthy body fat percentage and higher than average lean body mass for my height)