bmrs, tdee, fact or bull?

redraidergirl2009

So what's your opinion? Supposedly my bmr is around 1460 to 1551 according to most online calculators. I eat at or under that most days.

I am a student so I am lately sedentary but I do exercise 5 days a week at least doing strength, pilates, cardio, yoga ect. So I am not sure what I should log my tdee as...still sedentary? Because when I put in how much I exercise it tells me my tdee is something like 2400 and I should lose weight at eating 1900..which is 100% false because I gain eating 1800+

So I was just wondering if anyone else had issues with these dumb calculators? I have a feeling my actual bmr is like 1000 and my max tdee is 1500 because the rest doesn't seem to add up like ot should and I can only lose eating less than my supposed bmr

Morninglory81

So what's your opinion? Supposedly my bmr is around 1460 to 1551 according to most online calculators. I eat at or under that most days.

I am a student so I am lately sedentary but I do exercise 5 days a week at least doing strength, pilates, cardio, yoga ect. So I am not sure what I should log my tdee as...still sedentary? Because when I put in how much I exercise it tells me my tdee is something like 2400 and I should lose weight at eating 1900..which is 100% false because I gain eating 1800+

So I was just wondering if anyone else had issues with these dumb calculators? I have a feeling my actual bmr is like 1000 and my max tdee is 1500 because the rest doesn't seem to add up like ot should and I can only lose eating less than my supposed bmr

Fact is just a theory that hasn't been proven wrong. BMR&TDEE are guidelines. There is no on size fits all. That being said if calculated and used correctly they work for many people. You have to make a call for your self. You may want to talk to a Dr. Or nutritionist about what your numbers truly are as well as keep a food journal of everything for two weeks to get a good idea of what your true intake is

crystalfisher89

You need to eat a minimum of 1200 calories to prevent your body from going into starvation mode and keep your body from holding onto fat. I've done alot of research on this and if you are working out about 5 days a week, depending on how sweaty you're getting, I'd try NETTING 1400-1600 calories everyday. So that means do eat back some of your calories so that you don't retain unnecessary fat due to not replenishing your body. I agree with the other guy, no one is one size fits all, but MFP doesn't know everything and even though it'll tell you'll be gaining at 1800 calories of eating, it is not always correct on everything and it is just using a generic format.

I'd try changing your activity level from sedentary to light active or active. Even though you are not moving around much at work, you ARE working out 5 days a week and that does add significantly into how many calories you are burning overall each day.

Believe me, I accidentally put myself into starvation mode and it's been taking some time to get my body back into check. I follow the TDEE method personally and while I haven't lost weight, I've lost inches and body fat. I've given up on the scale and have decided to go on with using my tape measure once a week to track progress. Also, you still get to eat all the foods that you enjoy. that's the biggest issue of why people fall of the weight loss wagon and using the BMR and TDEE methods helps with getting your body ready for when you do hit goal. You'll have a better handle on eating more in general. I hope that helped. Good luck!

AmyRhubarb

"I do exercise 5 days a week at least doing strength, pilates, cardio, yoga ect" <

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Does not equal sedentary!

My own experience with BMR & TDEE - absolute fact - best success I've had with losing the fat has been since I found my numbers and started eating my TDEE minus 20%, and not netting below my BMR.

Did you eat at 1800 for a good amount of time to determine that you gain at that number? People often see a gain at first, but you have to give it a good 4-6 weeks to know for sure. And if you do gain, then adjust down 100 cals and see how that goes - it's not an exact formula, but in my experience, and that of many many others here at MFP, it works, and it works beautifully.

I ate at a 20% cut for a year, dropped another pants size, lost many inches and more fat from my trouble areas (tummy & butt!), and finally reached goal weight. I'm not about about a 10% cut, so eating 1950+ calories a day, still losing fat, and feeling awesome. My body is happy, my metabolism is awesome - even going over a few days a week I'm not gaining.

Food is fuel - find your numbers, stick with it for 4-6 weeks and make adjustments as needed. Take measurements and photos as well weighing. Often you'll see progress with the tape measure that you won't see on the scale.

I found my numbers and set my macros according to the info and tools in this topic: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/937712-in-place-of-a-road-map-ver-3-0

tipadoo

I think it depends on who you are...I'm almost 50 and i don't think it works the same for a middle aged woman as it does for a 20 something year old! I tried to eat TDEE -20% all winter and gained 8 pounds. I'm now going back to 1300 calories + excerise.

BurtHuttz

I recall your contribution to another thread and I think you might need to eat at higher levels for some time in order to help your body repair some metabolic damage you have done. BMR is not quite as important as TDEE. You cannot gain weight in a caloric deficit because of physics.

redraidergirl2009

I ate 1800 for a couple of months and gained 10lbs. Moved down to 1600 and maintained for 3 months. Moved down to 1100-1500 and lose but I have to stick to that low end most of the time to lose. So I don't think I will try eating 1800+ again. I literally cannot afford to gain more weight, I already wear sweat pants everyday because its all that fits.

Moonbeem11

Does this solely depend on calories or on what you are eating? For example if you eat 600 calories of vegetables a day, it's not the same as eating 600 calories of candy bars. On the weight watchers program vegetables are "free" or were when at one time. Of course there are some like corn which are high in sugar. I eat relatively well and limit sugar and carbs.

Vailara

I think it depends on who you are...I'm almost 50 and i don't think it works the same for a middle aged woman as it does for a 20 something year old! I tried to eat TDEE -20% all winter and gained 8 pounds. I'm now going back to 1300 calories + excerise.

I'm about your age, and it works for me. I think it may be a case of getting the RIGHT TDEE, which isn't necessarily easy to do. The body fat % measurement seems to be important but is just an estimate. I think exercise can be difficult to be exact about. An hour at the gym might only be 45 minutes of actual exercise, for instance. I'm sure it matters how much you move about generally, even outside of your work - do you naturally sit around a lot, or are you always jumping up and plumping up cushions, etc? (I'm the former type ). That's before getting into other things that might affect your metabolism, etc. As you get older, your TDEE is tending to go down, and so there is less margin for error.

But having said all that, I think I have got my calculation roughly right just because I'm losing at the rate I would expect.

DaniH826

You've probably down-adjusted your metabolism by eating way too little for your actual calorie output, and your body having adjusted to that in the process. I don't think any generalized numbers are going to be realistic for you right now, honestly, since you've forced your body to adapt itself to a rather low calorie intake.

Maybe try up-adjusting your calories by 100 or so every month or every few weeks, and gradually working your way up so you don't shock your system by making these radical calorie changes (which of course it's going to respond to, dur).

The whole business with BMR and TDEE and whatnot is that these figures are general guidelines based upon averages, not hard numbers. There's going to be variations, so you just have to find your personal "sweet spot" that works for you. Just keep in mind that our bodies are highly adaptive, and that however long it took for you to train yours to respond to certain intake/output choices, is how long it's going to take to make changes in a different direction. Look for progress over some months, if not years, rather than just a few weeks (or worse, days).

And, like someone's already pointed out, based on your activity level, you're probably in the moderately active range, but definitely not sedentary.

I understand the difficulty with affording clothing and whatnot, but maybe a thrift store might come in handy for you as you try and figure out what's going to work for you in the long run as you make healthier choices for yourself and your body.

redraidergirl2009

Does this solely depend on calories or on what you are eating? For example if you eat 600 calories of vegetables a day, it's not the same as eating 600 calories of candy bars. On the weight watchers program vegetables are "free" or were when at one time. Of course there are some like corn which are high in sugar. I eat relatively well and limit sugar and carbs.

I think that varies person to person. When I first started losing weight several years ago I ate 1200 calories or less of junk food high in sugar and sodium and lost weight quickly.

choconuts

Does this solely depend on calories or on what you are eating? For example if you eat 600 calories of vegetables a day, it's not the same as eating 600 calories of candy bars. On the weight watchers program vegetables are "free" or were when at one time. Of course there are some like corn which are high in sugar. I eat relatively well and limit sugar and carbs.

600 calories is 600 calories. Nutritionally, the veggies are better for your macros than the candy bars. But strictly caloricly speaking, 600 veggie calories = 600 candy bar calories.

determinedbutlazy

To me, it sounds like you've either screwed up your metabolism or you're not measuring your food accurately.
Also, working out 5 days a week =/= "sedentary".
TDEE-20% works great for me!

neandermagnon

it's fact, based on science and how the human body works

the calculators are just estimates though, the actual values they give may not be right for everyone. Some calculators are better than others for particular populations, e.g. for the athletic, katch mcardle is better than harris benedict. For the obese, harris benedict may be better than katch mcardle.

whatever number the calculator gives you is a starting point. You should, if necessary, adjust your numbers up or down based on real world results. the most likely cause of error though is in mis-estimating the activity factor, the BMR number is more likely to be correct, although metabolic issues can mean it's less accurate for some people.

Other things that may screw up the results is water weight gain due to doing a new exercise programme (the weight may be stable but you see loss of inches over time, then as the body adjusts the weight goes down as well) or if someone has been undereating, they may see weight gains or the weight staying the same due to increased glycogen storage or increasing bone density or the body replacing muscle mass that's been starved off (muscle memory may result in muscle gain while at a moderate deficit, same as beginner gains may happen then too). usually though, people who undereat in the long term and have hit a plateau will see losses in weight again after upping their calories. There may be a short period of time of the body adjusting though before this happens

calories in versus calories out is correct for everyone, because no-one's body breaks the laws of physics. Calculating the actual calories out part of the equation can be tricky, especially if someone has medical issues that affect the metabolism. If you get that number right though, and eat less than it, you will lose fat. That applies to everyone. If it appears not to be working, then maybe the numbers were not calculated right, or there's some other factor that's affecting scale weight, while fat is still being lost.

determinedbutlazy

calories in versus calories out is correct for everyone, because no-one's body breaks the laws of physics.

I wish everyone would accept this.

Springfield_Rocks

read this post... http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/937709-in-place-of-a-road-map-ver-3-0

join the group, educate yourself about calories and the body. do the calculations or get someone there to help you do it.

not trying to spam the forums, but this group is full of amazing and helpful people and I AM LEARNING SO MUCH.

:ohwell:

Steffani911

I am obviously not a pro otherwise I wouldn't be trying to lose weight. From my experience I lost 37# with exercise and eating healthy
(portion control, no proccessed foods, upping my intake of proteins and fresh veg) not counting calories. I started MFP and using these formulas and I struggle to lose any weight at all. I have been following the formulas and have only lost 3# in a month. I have bought a food scale and BMF to try to be more accurate. I am actual browsing this morning as I plan to go back to what was working for me. Maybe my macros off. I don't know. Just sharing what I have experienced.