I think I'm done with this whole TDEE thing.
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1. If you don't have much to lose, you should be doing TDEE-10%.
2. When you bump your calories up, it should be by 100 per week, not all at once, so that your body has time to adjust without making the scale freak out.0 -
From my experience, girls our weight and height sometimes need to have a more aggressive calorie deficit. Fit in some higher calorie days too. I was stuck at 133 for 2 weeks and after binging on 1500 calories of chocolate this weekend, I've lost 3 lbs haha.
I think that a lot of the advice on here is for people with more weight to lose. It works for them certainly but we have more trouble with it.
You may be right. 133 seems to have been the magic number for me too, only for a few years now. How many calories/day works for you for weight loss?0 -
Yeah, someone told me about TDEE so I did it for the month of March and gained 8 pounds... So I'm going back to what I was doing January and February because this is not gonna cut it.0
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ETA: Also keep in mind that many of the women and men who are very successful with that TDEE formula are doing weight training, basically sculpting. Now, I will do a week or 2 on a "reset" if I go into a looooong stall, but the TDEE formula does not work for Me while I'm in wt loss mode...MAYBE when I get into maintenance.
She's eating 1340 calories. That's not even enough to lift weight on.
She's probably not exercising enough.0 -
This SUCKS. Anyone out there with a similar experience, I'd love to hear.
I had a similar experience in that my TDEE is lower than the calculators. Every calculator I ran gave me a higher TDEE than I was currently eating while maintaining my weight. Even when I put in less than what I considered my workouts to be.
Most people who push the whole TDEE - 20% don't emphasize enough the fact that the calculators are based on population averages and may be off by several hundred on an individual basis.0 -
OP, unfortunately no-one can give you a figure and say 'there, eat that and you will lose weight.' This is a learning curve and much of weight loss is trial and error, and more importantly, patience.
A couple of things I have noticed:
You said you were eating 1000 – 1200 cals a day and you have an active job. This probably means you were eating at a severe deficit and depending on how long you kept this up for, your body WILL take time to adjust. 4 weeks is not long enough to trial something.
You also said that you set yourself at sedentary and took 20% from that. Why? You said you have an active job? For TDEE to work, you have to be truthful.
No calculator is ever going to give you an exact TDEE figure, but they can be used as a starting point and you can work from there. My recommendation is that you recalculate and be honest about your daily activity, up your cals gradually, and stick to it for 3 months and see where you are, then adjust if necessary. You need to remember that this is a lifestyle change, not a diet. Personally, I’d rather suffer an initial gain while my body sorts itself out, than be stuck on 1000 cals for the rest of my life.
My thoughts exactly.
Yeah, I was eating on and off at that deficit since I joined WW six years ago. I guess I've just really screwed my body up.0 -
I am following the TDEE and am also listening to my body. If I feel hungry, I am eating. I think the TDEE thing is a learning curve. It probably needs some tweaking along the way. I am hoping that I will continue to see results and then I will go from there. It told me 2113 calories and so far, I've been eating about 300 under that because I'm not hungry at the very end of the day. I still feel like 2113 is a lot for someone with a sedentary job. I don't know if the 30 minutes a day cardio I do every day (and strength training 3 times a week) is enough to be even considered "moderately active". Still trying to figure it all out. Hang in there! I hope things pan out for you.0
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Did you get fatter or did you gain 8lbs? If you can't tell the difference then it doesn't matter.
I had just bought new clothes and they started to get tight again. =/ Which is not good. So I am just going to go off of the calorie intake that the fitbit website made for me. It seems to work perfectly.0 -
From my experience, girls our weight and height sometimes need to have a more aggressive calorie deficit. Fit in some higher calorie days too. I was stuck at 133 for 2 weeks and after binging on 1500 calories of chocolate this weekend, I've lost 3 lbs haha.
I think that a lot of the advice on here is for people with more weight to lose. It works for them certainly but we have more trouble with it.
You may be right. 133 seems to have been the magic number for me too, only for a few years now. How many calories/day works for you for weight loss?
I haven't been religiously counting lately because a new medication kills my appetite. I'd guess that I'm eating anywhere between 800 and 1400 calories depending on the day. I wouldn't recommend 800 but maybe 1300 or so. There is a group on here called not-that-heavy girls. Compare it to them.
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I find using MFP's sedentary settings in conjunction with my synced FitBit (which adjusts my calorie requirements here) pretty reliable most of the time. You're never going to have every week the same but the general trend seems to fit in with my consumption.0
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I am not into Eat More Weigh Less, but I would assume that its not that TDEE-20% isn't working. Its that you have the inputs wrong. Garbage in garbage out.
First I'd try weighing and measuring everything you take in. And for an accurate TDEE, don't average activity over the week. Log it daily. Get your exercise in earlier in the day, and eat 20% less. And don't buy the hype on the exercise machines. There are far more accurate estimators of calorie burn online. Last don't forget that its net calories on your calorie burn for exercise. You'd probably burn 1cal a minute sitting on your bum. So if the treadmill says you burned 10cals/min, only add 9cals/min for the run to your BMR.
Try this first before you abandon it.
Personally I've lost 40lbs eating 1400cals/ day on average a week, or 1200 x 4 days a week, 1400 x 2 days a week, and one day at 1700-2000cals.
And I haven't lost any muscle. I lift weights too and run long distance.
And before the 'DONT EAT 1200calories! chest thumpers dive in a plead with you not to EVAH eat 1200 calories, I am 5'1.5" and the very definition of small framed.0 -
Step back and look at things for a minute.Ughh I'm so envious. I only want to lose 10-15lbs. I'm afraid if I change my status to moderately active it'll have me eating even more and gaining more. I was following the old WW plan, which does account for fruits and veg. I don't get the new system.
If what you gained in 4 weeks was all fat, your TDEE would have to be 715. Do you really believe your TDEE is 715, while working an active job?
If it actually is 715, then how would you have been losing or maintaining on 1000-1200 calories before that? Do you think it's reasonable to believe that eating 10-20% more calories a day lowered your TDEE by 30%?
Do you see how things make absolutely no sense if you try to account for that gain by saying it's new fat?
It seems your choices are either stay at 1000 a day for the rest of your life, or try increasing your calories and give your body a bit of time to adjust to its new conditions and see if it works.0 -
The TDEE formulas online are inaccurate (I figured they were)-- I found out once I got the Body Media armband; I'm not promoting it, but I love that thing. It has helped me out tons. You can sync MFP with the Body Media band and it does all the calculations for you...I know several people that have it and it has worked for them.0
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You could also just be food sensitive to something and not realize it. Try cutting gluten out of your diet.0
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From my experience the TDEE is a load of crap. I guess it works for some people, but I don't think you can truely know how many calories your body uses a day without some kind of device, not an online calculator. According to online my TDEE was between 2100-1400 depending on how much I exercised. If I eat 1600 I maintain. If I eat more than 1700-1800 I gain. Have to stick to 1200-1500 to lose.0
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Step back and look at things for a minute.Ughh I'm so envious. I only want to lose 10-15lbs. I'm afraid if I change my status to moderately active it'll have me eating even more and gaining more. I was following the old WW plan, which does account for fruits and veg. I don't get the new system.
If what you gained in 4 weeks was all fat, your TDEE would have to be 715. Do you really believe your TDEE is 715, while working an active job?
If it actually is 715, then how would you have been losing or maintaining on 1000-1200 calories before that? Do you think it's reasonable to believe that eating 10-20% more calories a day lowered your TDEE by 30%?
Do you see how things make absolutely no sense if you try to account for that gain by saying it's new fat?
It seems your choices are either stay at 1000 a day for the rest of your life, or try increasing your calories and give your body a bit of time to adjust to its new conditions and see if it works.
I was going to try 1200 this week and see what happens. I would be comfortable at 1300-1500 as a maintenance number as I'm only 5'2. Or I could keep going as I have been and hope to god my body adjusts. Anyway, I understand what you're saying. Thanks for the input.0 -
bump0
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I am following the TDEE and am also listening to my body. If I feel hungry, I am eating. I think the TDEE thing is a learning curve. It probably needs some tweaking along the way.
^ This. You can use an online calculator to get a good "guestimate" for a starting point. Try that number on for a 3-4 weeks, then reassess and adjust as needed based on your loss, gain or maintenance. Gaining weight? Bring it down 100-200 calories for a few more weeks, then assess again. Losing too quickly? Bring it up.
If you're carefully measuring and logging everything and therefore getting a very good idea of your daily caloric intake, you can actually use that information (plus the weight change) to calculate your actual TDEE. I've been tracking my intake and loss for the past 5 weeks since starting to use this approach and have seen good results. I've also adjusted my intake twice (brought it up) after reassessing my progress; both times I saw a brief 2-3 lb gain then it quickly came off and started dropping again.
If you're not measuring and logging very carefully, then it's not going to work. Neither is the MFP approach, for that matter.
If you change your exercise significantly, you can expect to need to tweak your intake too.
Also, this approach DOES work if you're not obese (I read a comment that suggested it would not). I was eating at TDEE -20% for these five weeks and went from 135.5 to 129.5 lbs.0 -
I am following the TDEE and am also listening to my body. If I feel hungry, I am eating. I think the TDEE thing is a learning curve. It probably needs some tweaking along the way.
^ This. You can use an online calculator to get a good "guestimate" for a starting point. Try that number on for a 3-4 weeks, then reassess and adjust as needed based on your loss, gain or maintenance. Gaining weight? Bring it down 100-200 calories for a few more weeks, then assess again. Losing too quickly? Bring it up.
If you're carefully measuring and logging everything and therefore getting a very good idea of your daily caloric intake, you can actually use that information (plus the weight change) to calculate your actual TDEE. I've been tracking my intake and loss for the past 5 weeks since starting to use this approach and have seen good results. I've also adjusted my intake twice (brought it up) after reassessing my progress; both times I saw a brief 2-3 lb gain then it quickly came off and started dropping again.
If you're not measuring and logging very carefully, then it's not going to work. Neither is the MFP approach, for that matter.
If you change your exercise significantly, you can expect to need to tweak your intake too.
Also, this approach DOES work if you're not obese (I read a comment that suggested it would not). I was eating at TDEE -20% for these five weeks and went from 135.5 to 129.5 lbs.
Good to know! I just want my guesstimate on activity level to be right. It was a big deal for me to go from eating 1700 cals to 2100!0 -
It could also be about what you are eating, not how much. If you are truly eating under 1500 cals you should not be gaining weight. However if your face is bloated, and your clothes are tighter especially around the stomach you are probably eating to much sugar and high glycemic carbs. If I were you I'd stay at 1400-1500 for 2 more weeks but drop sugar and processed carbs. Still eat veggies, fruits, sweet potatoes, oatmeal, but get rid of the bread and pastas and 100 calorie pack cookies. Also consider the exercise that you are doing? Are you combining cardio with some weight training?0
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Good to know! I just want my guesstimate on activity level to be right. It was a big deal for me to go from eating 1700 cals to 2100!
That's almost exactly what I've done...I started at 1800 and it felt lousy and I was losing faster than I wanted. I bumped to 2000, and just recently again to 2150. We'll see how things go here for a while 0 -
Raincoastgirl, you may want to really look at your #s and invest in a basic hrm to find your true TDEE before tossing it out as a failure. I see you have an active job but have chosen sedentary for your activity level. I am not an expert but you may still be eating too little. Also one of the joys of being a woman is weight flux and bloat at least 1x a month. Don't get discouraged.
A basic HRM will not give you your true TDEE. They are not meant for estimating anything other than estimating calories during steady state cardio. (Calorie wise. There are other uses training wise)
As for the info about calorie intake, Serpwidgets covered it all.
Thank you for the correction and your notes. 3dogsrunning. I have worn my HRM for several 24 hr periods to get an idea of calorie expenditure over the course of my activities. I thought I was sedentary originally because I have a desk job but when researching TDEE because of my exercising 7 days a week I found I shouldn't input sedentary. My HRM readings confirmed this...Or I thought they did but I guess I am still learning. Best of luck to the original poster on her loss and congratulations to you on your amazing transformation.0 -
It could also be about what you are eating, not how much. If you are truly eating under 1500 cals you should not be gaining weight. However if your face is bloated, and your clothes are tighter especially around the stomach you are probably eating to much sugar and high glycemic carbs. If I were you I'd stay at 1400-1500 for 2 more weeks but drop sugar and processed carbs. Still eat veggies, fruits, sweet potatoes, oatmeal, but get rid of the bread and pastas and 100 calorie pack cookies. Also consider the exercise that you are doing? Are you combining cardio with some weight training?
Hi, thanks--yeah, I'm a big fan of oatmeal, fruits and veg, lentils, beans, and whole grains. I even make my own peanut butter, and I do measure it when I have it. I don't eat oil or butter or any processed sauces like mayo. The only thing is the past week I've indulged in cake because it was both my sisters' birthdays. I also have a weakness for crackers. They're lentil crackers or nut crackers, but the carbs do add up. Also I'm a vegetarian, so the carb to protein balance needs some work. I will say I have done low carb in the past and my weight didn't budge.
I walk 5km five days a week, working up to jogging. I would consider my job pretty active--I get 10,000 fitbit steps in a 4 hour shift. No serious weight training, just push ups, lunges, and sit ups before bed.0 -
what is tdee??? 20%?0
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Here is a quick summary of In Place Of A Road Map 3, it has helped hundreds of people lose weight. This doesn't do TDEE - 20% for everyone, it shows you how to figure out your BMR and TDEE correctly, and find the right calorie deficit for you based on your body fat.
The fatter you are the bigger the deficit you can get away with.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/943139-weight-loss-cheat-sheet-ipoarm
Thanks, Pu. I had checked that out when you posted it! I always appreciate your advice.0 -
TDEE is total daily energy expenditure. It's the number of calories you actually burn in a day. In order to lose weight you need to eat less than your actual TDEE. A common deficit for heavier people is 20%, so if your TDEE is 2000 cals a day you'd eat 80% of that amount, or 1600 a day.what is tdee??? 20%?
The calculators people suggest will usually get you pretty close or within the ballpark.
If you eat/exercise a constant amount for a few weeks you should be able to determine your TDEE from that, because the amount of weight gain/loss will tell you how much over/under you are. From there you can adjust your intake to control how quickly you are losing weight.0
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