Should I change my calorie goals?

BeccaB1981

Every so often I start wondering what I should have my calorie goal set at and I check all these different sites and calculators. I come up with a BMR around 1440 and a TDEE of 2232.... So for a moderate deficit, TDEE -20%, I should be eating about 1800 cals a day..... I know people post stuff all the time about eating more to lose weight so I am confused as to whether I should try that or stick with what I am doing or try to lower my calories.

I looked back at my total calories consumed (not net) and it is usually between 1400-1600 with some days being substantially higher. I wonder if my "bad" days are really messing me up that much or if it is something else. I even calculated an average of how many calories I have been eating per day over the last month (adding some extra in because there was one day I didn't log at all and at least a couple when I didn't log completely) and the average is around 1,600 per day consumed and around 1200 net.

For the record, I am 5'4 and 165 lbs and currently have my goals to lose 1 lb a week which gives me 1330 net calories per day. In the last month I have lost about 5 lbs which is actually good for me considering I had basically been stuck in the 170's for like a year lol. My diary is open if anyone has any suggestions for me. My goal is to get down to about 145.

Fit_French

I tried to look at your diary but its not open to the public, anyways my thought is your netting too low. You say you net around 1200, but according to your TDEE -20% you should be netting around 1800. I know its super scary to think you need to eat more, I certainly was! But you need to up those cals so your body will let go of that fat! hope that helps

BeccaB1981

Ooops, sorry, diary is open now :-)

I think in all those numbers and calculations I forgot that the TDEE is what I should be netting, not eating. 1800 a day NET seems crazy!! I have tried before to increase my calories and didn't have much luck but I never really stuck with it for that long... maybe I didn't give it enough time??

RllyGudTweetr

Ooops, sorry, diary is open now :-)

I think in all those numbers and calculations I forgot that the TDEE is what I should be netting, not eating. 1800 a day NET seems crazy!! I have tried before to increase my calories and didn't have much luck but I never really stuck with it for that long... maybe I didn't give it enough time??

It's really difficult to judge how successful a change in dietary habits is on your weight goals over a period of less than 4 weeks or so, to rule out minor spikes from sodium, muscle fatigue causing water retention, and hormonal changes.

Work at it as best you can for a month or so and see where you are. Adjust as necessary. We're rooting for you.

3dogsrunning

Ooops, sorry, diary is open now :-)

I think in all those numbers and calculations I forgot that the TDEE is what I should be netting, not eating. 1800 a day NET seems crazy!! I have tried before to increase my calories and didn't have much luck but I never really stuck with it for that long... maybe I didn't give it enough time??

No, with TDEE there is no "net". It already factors in your exercise. Your total number of calories eaten should be close to your TDEE - 20%.
So your TDEE goal is around 1800 and you currently eat 1400 - 1600 - not too far off, although I would get up closer to the 1600 more consistently.

I'm not sure what the problem is, you are losing and at a decent pace for the amount you are looking to lose.

It is possible your "over" days could mess with your results depending on how high you are actually going.

watfordjc

2008-2010: "Is my TDEE wrong?" "Am I eating enough?" "Am I eating too much?" "Is that water weight or am I losing too fast?" "Is my TDEE wrong?"
2013: "I love my Ki Fit, it stops me from second-guessing myself all the time."

The thing with calculators is they might be off because of several things (such as activity level not being correct). With time and some math, you can work out your average weekly weight loss over a month, your average weekly deficit over a month, and compare the two seeing if they add up (assuming no water weight fluctuations).

As far as TDEE is concerned, that is an average that includes all activity including exercise. Eating below your TDEE and above your TDEE can be attributed to using the MFP method where instead of X calories every day, you get Y calories per day plus Z exercise calories. If the deficit from both methods is the same, if you average out MFP goal calories + daily deficit calories + exercise calories, over a week, you should reach a number similar to your TDEE.

As you have averaged out your daily intake over a month and you say it varies, I'm assuming you are using the MFP method. Using the number you have stated:

2,232 * 0.2 * 7 / 3,500 = 0.8928 lb per week (TDEE - 20%)
2,232 - 500 = 1,732 calories per day (1 lb per week)
5 / 4 * 3500 / 7 = deficit of 625 calories per day (5 lb in 4 weeks)
5 / 4 = 1.25 lb per week
2,232 - 625 = 1,607 calories per day (1.25 lb per week)
1 - (1,607 / 2,232) = 0.28 (i.e. TDEE - 28%)

As you weigh 165 lb and are losing less than 1% of your body weight per week, and on average you are eating above your BMR every day, assuming your progress isn't inaccurate because of weight fluctuations it is up to you whether you change your goal or not.

Since you can't set a weekly goal on MFP of 1.25 lb, the next one up is 1.5 lb which would mean eating less. The next one down is 0.5 lb which would mean eating more. If you are using the TDEE method, your deficit appears to currently be 28% and a 20% deficit would give you an approximate 0.9 lb loss per week.

One thing the math does say though, and will depend on reproducibility over a longer time frame, is that your TDEE appears to be pretty accurate and your weight loss appears to be as expected for your deficit. If the same is true for different deficits, base your calorie goal on how much weight you are happy to lose each week and how much food you are willing/unwilling to eat.

If you are happy with your rate of progress, stick with what you're doing.

rschreiber

I was netting 1600 a day. trying not to eat back my exercise cals and I plateaued. I read about TDEE, and couldn't bring myself to go all the way up to the TDEE-20% which for me was 1946. So I upped it to 1746 and eat back some of my exercise cals. (My BMR is 1546.) Within a week I lost 3 lbs. So there is something to eating more. I still frequently net under 1700, but at 1600 I was hungry and food obsessed. Not anymore. I am much happier. Some days I am still near 1600, and once a week I go crazy and eat 2000-2100, but I feel good, I'm losing, and I'm not hungry and thinking about food all the time. For whatever that's worth!