BMR and TDEE and Tigers, oh my!

noKTdidnt
noKTdidnt Posts: 61 Member
edited December 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
I'm having a hard time trying to figure out where I need to be in my calorie in take to finally lose weight. For months, I'll diet and exercise and lose nothing.

Someone posted a link on how to calculate your BMR based off your body fat percentage (rather than MFP's typical height/weight/age formula) and I found that my BMR is actually 300 calories lower than what MFP calculated. When you're starting at 1,600 calories, dropping down to 1,300 is quite the drop.

With a MFP at 1,300, how do I translate that in to setting my calorie needs for MFP? Most of the day, I'm sedentary so I took that number times 1.2 to get my 1,560 TDEE. Knowing that I'm not supposed to go below 1,200 calories, it seems I can only realistically lose 1/2 a pound a week.

My big question is... What about on days that I exercise? On my intense days, I burn 700 - 1,000 calories in a work out. Am I supposed to be eating that back so I'm net 1,200 after exercise? Or is it ok to have days where I'm netting in the 700 calorie range?

Replies

  • lin7604
    lin7604 Posts: 2,951 Member
    eat them back, make sure you NET 1200 min....
  • skylark94
    skylark94 Posts: 2,036 Member
    I sincerely doubt that your TDEE is truly 1560 unless you sit on your butt all day. What do your daily activities look like?

    If you're eating at 15% below TDEE, you need to eat back the exercise calories to get your net to at least 1200. I try to keep my net above my BMR.
  • ZyheeMoongazer
    ZyheeMoongazer Posts: 343 Member
    http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

    I use the Katch-McArdle formula. I have been netting at a 15% deficit and losing weight very well. I hardly ever feel hungry and have plenty of energy.
  • yo_andi
    yo_andi Posts: 2,178 Member
    Think of BMR as a minimum. So at the very least, you should make sure your intake is around 1300 every day NET, if that's what your BMR is.

    What's been working for me is that I calculated my TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) and then cut about 20% of that number to get my daily calories. So, my TDEE given my activity level is 2542, so I am eating around 2030 calories a day.

    Does that help?
  • noKTdidnt
    noKTdidnt Posts: 61 Member
    I sincerely doubt that your TDEE is truly 1560 unless you sit on your butt all day. What do your daily activities look like?

    Unfortunately, I do sit on my butt most the day as I have an office management job. I do work out in evenings but I try to calculate those based off of my HRM.
  • noKTdidnt
    noKTdidnt Posts: 61 Member
    http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

    I use the Katch-McArdle formula. I have been netting at a 15% deficit and losing weight very well. I hardly ever feel hungry and have plenty of energy.

    Thanks for that! Very helpful!
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