BMR and TDEE Explained for Those Needing a Guide

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  • MudDancer
    MudDancer Posts: 151 Member
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  • julieager75
    julieager75 Posts: 61 Member
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  • LJA1968
    LJA1968 Posts: 516 Member
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    OK, so I did my calculations and came up with the following: if I use the numbers given to me by MFP and eat back my exercise calories, it works out to be the same as the number of calories recommended to eat for my on fat2fit. Is this the way it should work out? It only balances out if I do work out. If I don't then I'm eating under my TDEE - 20%.
  • Alan
    Alan Posts: 30 Member
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    Extra thanks to kmcosgrove for the original post and haybales for extra information and the spreadsheet that does all the complex math for me!

    After I switched from MFP values to this, my weight went up about a bit and plateaued for about a week, then it started coming back down. MyFitnessPal had me at 1270 calories per day, but this method bumped me up to 1880. I put in sedentary and use the spreadsheet (MFP Tweaks tab) to calculate calories I can eat back from exercising since my workouts vary from day to day. Now, just after two weeks, my weight is about 3 pounds lower than it was before I switched.

    I also like that with the extra calories, I can concentrate my workouts more on the strength training, instead of doing extra cardio just so I can eat more.
  • Yori1
    Yori1 Posts: 142
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  • kmcosgrove115
    kmcosgrove115 Posts: 260 Member
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    Alan,

    So glad you are seeing results!

    Kristen
  • MeowSkull
    MeowSkull Posts: 101 Member
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    excellent and easy explanation, thank you.
  • Koldnomore
    Koldnomore Posts: 1,613 Member
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    Bump for the new folks.
  • Seesawboomerang
    Seesawboomerang Posts: 296 Member
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    Lightbulb moment! Energy saving lightbulb perhaps, as it's been gradually coming clear over the past few weeks.

    I lost a good chunk of weight 2 years ago with MFP, but it felt restrictive and was basically a diet. I came away with not much idea of what I really needed calorie-wise.

    Now I think I get it, and hope that eating a steady 1800kcal will shift a few stubborn lbs and get me on track for good.

    Thanks so much for your well-written post. The body fat calculator has helped me see sense.
  • bluelena
    bluelena Posts: 304 Member
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    Bump to share!
  • LaLa482
    LaLa482 Posts: 82 Member
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    Lightbulb moment! Energy saving lightbulb perhaps, as it's been gradually coming clear over the past few weeks.

    I lost a good chunk of weight 2 years ago with MFP, but it felt restrictive and was basically a diet. I came away with not much idea of what I really needed calorie-wise.

    Now I think I get it, and hope that eating a steady 1800kcal will shift a few stubborn lbs and get me on track for good.

    Thanks so much for your well-written post. The body fat calculator has helped me see sense.

    BUMP! Just had my light bulb moment!
  • RonKay
    RonKay Posts: 85 Member
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  • nacj96
    nacj96 Posts: 1 Member
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    Great post. I've never heard of TDEE until today. I read on another thread though that these online calculators aren't very accurate??? That you should calculate it yourself. My bathroom scale says my body fat % is 38% and that Fat2fit.com one says it's 31.3% I don't know how to determine which one is more accurate. That seems like a pretty big discrepancy. Based on the 31.3% calculation with light activity I should be eating 1463 calories a day which is roughly close to what I would be eating if I ate my exercise calories back.... i think.
  • 1butchieboy
    1butchieboy Posts: 1 Member
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  • coffee4me57
    coffee4me57 Posts: 195
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  • melonice21
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  • kailexx
    kailexx Posts: 197
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  • jennipooh0324
    jennipooh0324 Posts: 85 Member
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    What a GREAT read, and explanation!
    Perhaps I haven't been eating enough, and that's why I felt hungry quite often.

    MFP had me eating 1410 a day (and I rarely ate my activity calories back) but now I have realized that I wasn't even eating enough to cover my BMR.

    Correct me if I am wrong, but my BMR that I calculate on Fat2Fit website is 1815 calories.
    I workout at least 3 times a week, and hopefully more like 5. I also run a home daycare, so am on my feet, up and the stairs quite a bit.
    So when i look at the MODERATE ACTIVITY it says I should eat 2361 calories.

    My current weight is 232 lbs and my GOAL weight is 165lbs. So i take 20% away from the 2361 calories giving me a DAILY CALORIC INTAKE of 1889.

    I eat this amount of calories regardless of whether I worked out that day or not ( as that number reflects the 3-5 times I said I was going to workout).
    My workouts are around 30-60 mins each time (including strength and cardio) so does that still fit in the moderate activity, or should i go based on light activity??

    I think I am going to give this a try and see if it helps with the weight loss.
  • redlipsticklyfe
    redlipsticklyfe Posts: 164 Member
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  • altarimage
    altarimage Posts: 95 Member
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