eat more to weigh less folks

Melli_81

bump!

mockchoc

Greatful I found it. It worked. I did 1200 or less for ages and it felt fine but so glad I learned it wasn't ok.

Marilyn2303

I too am eating more to weigh less. It is working for me. The big thing I am doing is eating a lot less carbs and fat also vvery little prepackaged processed food. My actual calories would be a lot less but quantity is a lot more. Typically for breakfast I have an apple, banana, 35 calorie yogurt and an oatmeal. This is a lot more than I ate before.

mestespelly88

I've always had the feeling I wasn't eating enough....I work out hard & can't seem to loose any pounds. I'm constantly losing & gaining the same 5 pounds or so. Can I get some more information on this topic....what exactly does TDEE 20% mean....how does it work and how do I found out my numbers. I really would love to try this out!! Thanks!!

257_Lag

I eat cheese (allergic to nuts) for calorie dense items. I really feel confident and happy eating this way. Seeing people eating 1200 calories makes me sad.

Here Here on the cheese. When I am "done" for the day. I use cheese (and nuts) to make up a large deficit if I have one. Just watch the sodioum.

jaxxie

Remember that if you are currently at a huge deficit .........increase cals by 100/day so that your body has time to adjust. Also don't panic in the first few weeks if you gain........it means your body is acclimating! As soon as it comes, it is gone. Please give your body time to get used to it, Keep hydrated and you will get there! Good luck all!

MileHighTexan

This might be worth more of my time/research.

fitbum19

I had to discover this on my own, lol

mockchoc

Read this.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/912920-in-place-of-a-road-map-3-2013

jaxxie

SCOOBY, fat to fit radio, fitnessfrog are all great sites for all Calculators. They also give you great numbers based on activity levels. Just be honest...it's only you and the calculator!

ms_leanne

I'm doing TDEE -20% Initially with my MFP limits I had put on a kilo so I decided to re-think as I wasn't eating back exercise calories (just couldn't face eaint my dinner and then an extra 500 cals eat back after 7pm at night).

I'm back down to the original weight since I've been doing it the last week and hope I will have lost a bit more by next weigh in next week.

257_Lag

Any responses to the net calorie question? Is the TDEE-20% our net calorie goal so do we eat our exercise calories?

Thanks.

You can do it either way. If you calculate your TDEE including your exercise routine you do NOT eat them back.

I prefer to calculate my TDEE without exercise. Then when I exercise I GET to eat them back. This works as an incentive for me to exercise!

MaraDiaz

Any responses to the net calorie question? Is the TDEE-20% our net calorie goal so do we eat our exercise calories?

Thanks.

You can do it either way. If you calculate your TDEE including your exercise routine you do NOT eat them back.

I prefer to calculate my TDEE without exercise. Then when I exercise I GET to eat them back. This works as an incentive for me to exercise!

If I do things this way the Scooby calculator comes up about right for me. A measly 1252 calories. If I include exercise in the calculation however, even if I underestimate intensity and number of workouts per week, I get a much higher number than I could maintain at, much less lose at.

But to be fair, when I'm not working out I take 'sedentary' to a high art form and I suspect that the calculator wasn't set up with quite that much sedentariness in mind.

*edit* No, logic fail, it had to have been set up with that much sedentariness in mind or else none of the numbers would have come out right. Hm. Not sure what is going on with that.

257_Lag

Try this one and see what you get:

http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

MaraDiaz

Try this one and see what you get:

http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

Much more accurate for me due to just how sedentary I really am minus the workouts. Thanks!

hhayes06

I am going to try this, I used the link that was first provided to figure out my TDEE-20% and found out that I was inadvertantly eating at that the last 2 weeks. I actually lost 4 pounds during those 2 weeks also, coincidence? I think not. ( I know that my ticker only says a 1 pound loss but I gained 3 pounds in the beginning) I am going to see how this goes for the next few weeks and make any adjustments from there. Thanks everyone, this thread has explained it the best for me so far.

NutellaAddict

TDEE-20% + eating back exercise calories works for me.

Sweet_Gurl_Next_Door

I really wouldn't reccomend the in place of a road map. when I posted to the group about my first day eating properly they deleted my post and don't want newbies starting out to post. eat more to weigh less is way better.

jingwersen

One thing you all have to remember. If your TDEE number is 2500 then you have to eat a caloric diet less then that if you want to lose weight. If your body burns a total of 2500 calories per day and that is what you eat, then your weight will stay steady - YOU WON"T LOSE....

My TDEE is 2516 per day so I eat 1500 calories per day. This allows me to burn 1000 calories of fat per day or 2 pounds per week.

jtempalski

this post has definitely been so helpful! I have had MFP on my phone for a long time now, but seriously been using it the past month as I started a 90 day challenge for Turbo Fire. I used the book to figure out what my calorie intake should be and thought wow, that seems too high... MPF wants to put you at 1200 calories for my age/etc.... but after reading this I am going to up that a bit and see how it goes :-)

BaconMD

I missed a lot in this thread, apparently, so here are some replies..

Problem for me is that my TDEE is over 3000 based on how much I workout and that just feels so difficult to eat without eating crap.

This is the tiniest bowl I own. Inside of it is 600 calories of cashews.



I would probably eat 10 of these bowls in one sitting if I didn't restrain myself.

You can find lots of other nutritious foods to make up a healthy diet.

I love almonds and other nuts...but how do you keep all your columns (fat, sat. fat, protein, sugar, etc.) in check without going over? I'm eating 1,300-1,500 calories per day before exercising off anywhere from 500-900 calories/day 6x per week. Even at that low calorie amount I'm over in several columns. My TDEE - 20% = 2,465.6

My diary is open. I'm not a "clean eater"...too picky(!) but I do try to eat good snacks. I've been losing an avg. of 2-2.5 lbs per week. BTW...Today was not an average day...BK turkey burger was not so "lower-calorie" after all, lol!! I usually research ahead if I eat out...and I try to avoid BK, etc. altogether.

I am not saying eat only nuts, just that the "oh my, it's so hard to choke down another bite so I can't fathom raising my calories" is ridiculous. For me, I don't track sugar - I looked and I often get over 100g a day. What I honestly strive for MOST days is to get over 40g of fiber (I often break 100g), try to get protein up but I don't stress it like many here do, try to keep my sodium under 2500mg, and the rest falls where it may. I feel way better when I eat beans and legumes and vegetables, compared to when I eat a lot of protein from meats. I don't know why that is. I eat at home, fresh prepared meals, the majority of the time. I use coconut, peanut, and olive oils... I try to keep my trans fat as close to 0 as possible, but other than that, I don't stress about fat.

Problem for me is that my TDEE is over 3000 based on how much I workout and that just feels so difficult to eat without eating crap.

This is the tiniest bowl I own. Inside of it is 600 calories of cashews.



I would probably eat 10 of these bowls in one sitting if I didn't restrain myself.

You can find lots of other nutritious foods to make up a healthy diet.

Awesome point made!!

Yummmm...but what about the fat macro?

What about it? Fat is not the devil.

TDEE-20% + eating back exercise calories works for me.

TDEE already includes exercise calories.. The T stands for Total.

One thing you all have to remember. If your TDEE number is 2500 then you have to eat a caloric diet less then that if you want to lose weight. If your body burns a total of 2500 calories per day and that is what you eat, then your weight will stay steady - YOU WON"T LOSE....

Nobody who suggests the TDEE-% method didn't already know that... Hence why we say to subtract a healthy percentage, typically 10-20%.

My TDEE is 2516 per day so I eat 1500 calories per day. This allows me to burn 1000 calories of fat per day or 2 pounds per week.

So you're at a 40% deficit, which is very likely too high, and putting your intake under your BMR... Do you know what your BMR is?

To lose weight healthily, you eat X calories, where X is somewhere under TDEE and somewhere over BMR.

JLHNU212

Bumping it!! GREAT INFO!!

djack18

BUMP

ColleenRoss50

I've been intimidated by it also. I just went to the link ( http://www.iifym.com/tdee-calculator) and found that mine is 1379 and MFP has me at 1200. How do I reset MFP for a higher amount?

I already have it set at 1 lb a week. I started at 1230 and when I had lost around 30 lbs, it lowered me to 1200. But I still almost always go over because I was losing at 1230 and I was ticked to lose those 30 calories! LOL

What you've been doing seems to have been working very well for you. Congratulations on the weight loss. Fantastic!

Edited to add: If you do want to customize your calorie goals and macros, just click on the "My Home" tab, then click on "Goals", then click on "Change Goals", then change the radio button to "Custom: Manually set my own custom fitness goals" and continue. You will then arrive at the screen where you can customize your calorie goals and macros.

thinagain2014

I tried the Scooby calculator and it did not work for me to eat -20% TDEE. I maintained so I bought a Body Media Fit and now I eat 2250 calories and my total burn for the day is 3250 which is 1000 cal deficit. I am losing at 2lbs per week consistently now. What I learned is that my body actually burns about 2200 calories per day just laying around doing nothing but some days it's more. It's nice to not have to worry about and wonder what I'm doing wrong. The numbers are there.

I can definitely say that I am much happier now that I can eat basically what I want and still lose weight. I am able to still be social with my friends etc. I know that as I get smaller, I will have to gradually make some changes which is fine with me. I am 272lbs and I think many of us with lots to lose get discouraged when we have to drastically cut out a lot of things at once, plus learn how to incorporate exercise. It can be a little overwhelming.

Btw- my exercise for now is spinning daily. I sometimes take a rest day depending on how my body feels.

1223345

This has never, ever worked for me. When I have tried it I either stopped losing any weight altogether, or I gained. I have tried as many different increases as I can think of as well. Maybe I increased too much? Maybe too little? Nothing ever changed trying this. And I was eating healthful food. Not man made garbage from a bag or box. Is there something else to this that I am missing?

Sunny_fit4life

Just posting to say eating about TDEE -20% after netting 1200 for some time and then giving up because 1200 calories isn't sustainable for me I gained 5 lbs in the first 2 weeks. I was pretty upset. This morning I found the scale finally going in the other direction (down!)

I know it's only one day, but I think if you're in it for the long haul this is the way to go. I seriously don't want to go back to 1200 calories, always being hungry, not getting enough nutrients. Most importantly, I don't want to go back to not having the energy to work out or the space in my calorie "budget" to allow for pre and/or post workout shakes and/or snacks.

Getit_Simpson

Bump

c_faulkenburg

So question for you all.. My husband is a big guy. He's 6 foot 4 and currently right about three hundred pounds, he works at a desk job and has a long commute. I set his activity levels as very light, and came up with a Tdee of 4343! That sounds outrageous to me. In order to lose he'd be right at about 3000? Am I doing this right?

feelthelove1964

just checking if my ticker counter works lol

it doesn't