TDEE vs. MFP Calorie Goals...convince me

lcvaughn520

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Exactly!!! So this is why I am more motivated to work out and use the method where I eat less on rest days. If I go over 100 or so on those days I don't worry about it so much though ... anymore.

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ETA: ^^ This was supposed to be a quote from a previous poster. Not sure why it's not showing up that way!!

Yeah - I actually started out with this mentality - like "if I know I will get to eat more when I work out, I'll work out more." And I think this worked for me for a bit, but I'm just finding that on the days I don't work out, 1500 calories is just not cutting it. So I think I'm gonna try TDEE. That way, even if I consume the same number of calories each week, I won't have days where I feel so ravenous.

ldrosophila

Stick to a caloric range that works for you. One of the reasons I dont like MFP is because it only gives you one set caloric goal. If the goal you got is between 1500-1800 I'd hover in there somewhere.

Some calculators are a bit more accurate but they all have some degree of error, and being an active organism with a changing but homeostatic system it's all just one big guess.

If you choose the lower end range and find you are hungry and fatigued then you know you need to increase it to the higher end range because your estimate of activity is higher.

Kst76

I'm in the same boat!

I started 10 weeks ago at 144lbs. Using MFP, it suggested I net 1500 cal to lose 1 lbs a week. I got down to 133 then gained 3 lbs back.

I've been stuck at 136 for 3 weeks now. My exercise has increased a lot since I started MFP and I've been reading a lot about TDEE- 20% being a better way to lose weight.

My TDEE - 20% is around 1800cal.

I'm also hungry a lot of the time when I have already hit my 1500 cal goal on MFP. I've been thinking about trying TDEE because (1) it would be much easier to do (2) keeping consistent with MFP has lead me to a plateau as well.

I figure I'll give it a shot and as long as I don't gain weight, it hasn't hurt to try.

My allowed calorie from MFP is only 1290. Why is it so low. I also have 1 pound a week as a goal.

CM9178

I'm in the same boat!

I started 10 weeks ago at 144lbs. Using MFP, it suggested I net 1500 cal to lose 1 lbs a week. I got down to 133 then gained 3 lbs back.

I've been stuck at 136 for 3 weeks now. My exercise has increased a lot since I started MFP and I've been reading a lot about TDEE- 20% being a better way to lose weight.

My TDEE - 20% is around 1800cal.

I'm also hungry a lot of the time when I have already hit my 1500 cal goal on MFP. I've been thinking about trying TDEE because (1) it would be much easier to do (2) keeping consistent with MFP has lead me to a plateau as well.

I figure I'll give it a shot and as long as I don't gain weight, it hasn't hurt to try.

My allowed calorie from MFP is only 1290. Why is it so low. I also have 1 pound a week as a goal.

Do you have MFP set to sedentary?

karenmi

Assuming you make reasonable/appropriate selections for activity level and such, both methods should give about the same calories per day.

MFP would be something like 1500 cals + exercise... you eat 1500 cals, burn 250 during exercise and eat those back for a daily total of 1750.

TDEE includes exercise, so it would give you 1750 cals per day, you eat those 1750 and you're done.


Both methods get to the same endpoint, they just do it differently. So it really comes down to how you want to log and whether or not you want to eat different amounts on rest days than you do on exercise days.

The confusion comes when people screw up their settings. They'll tell MFP that they want to lose 2lbs per week, but TDEE-20% is only calculating 1lb per week (for example). In this scenario, the daily calories will be fairly different, and people will wonder why, wonder which method is better, and end up generally confused.



So in conclusion... both methods do the same thing assuming you set them up (calculate) correctly. Picking one over the other is a matter of preference based on how you want to eat and what you want to log.

^^^ He and others convinced me to try it last week, so I am going to until the end of May and see what happens. It's hard to wrap my head around it after doing MFP 1200/day for the past 3+ years, but I'm convinced it will work!

CM9178

Assuming you make reasonable/appropriate selections for activity level and such, both methods should give about the same calories per day.

MFP would be something like 1500 cals + exercise... you eat 1500 cals, burn 250 during exercise and eat those back for a daily total of 1750.

TDEE includes exercise, so it would give you 1750 cals per day, you eat those 1750 and you're done.


Both methods get to the same endpoint, they just do it differently. So it really comes down to how you want to log and whether or not you want to eat different amounts on rest days than you do on exercise days.

The confusion comes when people screw up their settings. They'll tell MFP that they want to lose 2lbs per week, but TDEE-20% is only calculating 1lb per week (for example). In this scenario, the daily calories will be fairly different, and people will wonder why, wonder which method is better, and end up generally confused.



So in conclusion... both methods do the same thing assuming you set them up (calculate) correctly. Picking one over the other is a matter of preference based on how you want to eat and what you want to log.

^^^ He and others convinced me to try it last week, so I am going to until the end of May and see what happens. It's hard to wrap my head around it after doing MFP 1200/day for the past 3+ years, but I'm convinced it will work!

I see you don't have that much left to lose.. make sure you use a smaller deficit than 20%.

SEC_RULES

BUMP

karenmi

Assuming you make reasonable/appropriate selections for activity level and such, both methods should give about the same calories per day.

MFP would be something like 1500 cals + exercise... you eat 1500 cals, burn 250 during exercise and eat those back for a daily total of 1750.

TDEE includes exercise, so it would give you 1750 cals per day, you eat those 1750 and you're done.


Both methods get to the same endpoint, they just do it differently. So it really comes down to how you want to log and whether or not you want to eat different amounts on rest days than you do on exercise days.

The confusion comes when people screw up their settings. They'll tell MFP that they want to lose 2lbs per week, but TDEE-20% is only calculating 1lb per week (for example). In this scenario, the daily calories will be fairly different, and people will wonder why, wonder which method is better, and end up generally confused.



So in conclusion... both methods do the same thing assuming you set them up (calculate) correctly. Picking one over the other is a matter of preference based on how you want to eat and what you want to log.

^^^ He and others convinced me to try it last week, so I am going to until the end of May and see what happens. It's hard to wrap my head around it after doing MFP 1200/day for the past 3+ years, but I'm convinced it will work!

I see you don't have that much left to lose.. make sure you use a smaller deficit than 20%.

Yes, I am using 15%.