should TDEE-20 roughly equal BMR + exercise cals?

fausonk

I understand these are two completely different ways of calculating the proper amount of calories to eat. But does that mean they should be roughly equal? Kind of like doing a double check to make sure you're getting enough/not too much? If my estimated TDEE-20% is 1900 (using highly active - 6/7 days of exercise). Does that mean if my BMR is 1450, it is assumed that each work out day (6/7 days week), I'll burn 450 in a workout. Does that mean if I burn more than 450, should eat back some more calories, and go above 1900?

I'm really confused trying to figure out the right number of calories to be eating. I am not seeing the results I want, (only down 6 pounds in 2 months, that's including a 3 lb gain over the last two weeks), so am wondering if I'm eating too much or too little.

chasetwins

I was wondering the SAME thing earlier LOL My fitbit says I actually burn more so I was wondering the same thing. i was told if I am using the TDEE-20% method to eat ONLY what that number is and nothing more.

But your question just makes total sense in my head because how can the TDEE-% know how many calories I burn each workout..it varies day to day!

michelle7673

I think it is about the same.

My BMR is about 1600. MFP has me at 1500 though. If I burn 400-500 in a day, that puts my calorie goal at 1900-2000.
My TDEE (based on "moderately active") is about 2500, and TDEE minus 20% is about 2000.
I am using the MFP numbers, and I have lost 14 pounds in 10 weeks (and it wasn't a "bounce" from early losses/water weight either, as I was tracking and at a deficit for weeks before I even managed to face a scale). I have MFP set to "lose 1 pound a week" and I typically net 100 - 200 calories under my goal.

However, I like using the MFP method because it wouldn't allow me to call myself "moderately active" and then, well, kinda sorta miss four or five workouts in a week. To me, "moderately active" is a label. Someone once told me that the least reliable things people ever said were things they said about themselves! But what I did in a workout, on a day-to-day basis, is a fact.

crlyxx

For me it doesn't. My TDEE - 20% is actually about 200 calories lower than my BMR, which sucks because then it's considered "unhealthy" for me to try to lose a pound a week.