Help me calculate my TDEE!!

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Hssh1988
Hssh1988 Posts: 48 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So I'm adjusting my calories against activity level using this http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

My exercise is 4 x 45 minute sessions on an exercise bike at a moderate pace, with 30 mins brisk walking 4 times a week. Would this put me in the light or moderate activity category? Any clues?

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  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    3-5 hours of moderate exercise is an option of the drop-down at step 5, the next higher level sounds more than you do.
  • littlejobo120
    littlejobo120 Posts: 72 Member
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    If you copy and paste this into your browser it’ll take you to a calculator. What I did though was put my activity level at sedentary and added exercise calories as and when, as I found that when my activity level was set any higher I was eating too much.

    http://thefitgirls.com/tdee-calculator.aspx

    Hope it helps
  • Hssh1988
    Hssh1988 Posts: 48 Member
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    Thing is though, that only says frequency, not time spent. And also not intensity. IMO 1 hour cardio a week is better than 2 hour low intensity, like walking.
  • littlejobo120
    littlejobo120 Posts: 72 Member
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    Yeah but if you put your lifestyle as sedentary it'll work out the TDEE for that and you can add your exercise calories in after that. That's the problem I had and ended up overeating but once I put sedentary in and added exercise calories separately it worked out perfect.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    Thing is though, that only says frequency, not time spent. And also not intensity. IMO 1 hour cardio a week is better than 2 hour low intensity, like walking.
    If you want to get that accurate then you need a heart rate monitor to see what is actually happening. Walking fast could easily be more than 50% of the calorie burn of some other form of cardio.

    Just pick a number and go with it for a month, if it isn't working change it.
  • Hssh1988
    Hssh1988 Posts: 48 Member
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    Ok, but I don't want to 'break even' on cals. Thinking out loud here, but if I burn 250 cals on average and then drop 250 cals from my maintenance weight... is this the best way to achieve loss?
  • Hssh1988
    Hssh1988 Posts: 48 Member
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    Yeah but if you put your lifestyle as sedentary it'll work out the TDEE for that and you can add your exercise calories in after that. That's the problem I had and ended up overeating but once I put sedentary in and added exercise calories separately it worked out perfect.

    And do you eat back exercise cals?
  • darkpath0010
    darkpath0010 Posts: 8 Member
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    I completely agree with the suggestion to get a heart rate monitor to take the guesswork out of calorie consumption calculations.

    My wife found two online at a very decent price (<$40US each).
  • Hssh1988
    Hssh1988 Posts: 48 Member
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    Thanks guys, for help. Think my plan is now to eat just a little over my TDEE (excluding exercise) and eat back exercise cals. darkpath, how does a HRM work? I.e. how are cals burned calculated?
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    Thanks guys, for help. Think my plan is now to eat just a little over my TDEE (excluding exercise) and eat back exercise cals. darkpath, how does a HRM work? I.e. how are cals burned calculated?
    You plug in your stats (age, weight, etc) and it uses a prediction of your calorie burn based on those things and your heart rate. The figure includes your BMR etc. Ideally you want one where you can enter your VO2max statistic for accuracy, unless you happen to be "normal" and fit the predictive equation well.
  • Hssh1988
    Hssh1988 Posts: 48 Member
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    Or I could just estimate under... my understanding is that vigorous cardio (ie when I stop i'm drenched and feel sick) burns around 10 cals a minute.

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