TDEE? BMR? or MFP settings?

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nadsazombie
nadsazombie Posts: 61
in Health and Weight Loss
Ok so I’ve asked this before and got like no response.

But I’m very curious if anyone out there in the big land of MFP, if anyone has set there calorie goals themselves using the BMR TDEE method, or has anyone just put the reins in MFP hands and had success??

I’ve just left the original settings that MFP has given me and went off that. I’ve lost 17 pounds for far since July so I’m just curious if this is the best method?

Thoughts????

Replies

  • DaniKenmir
    DaniKenmir Posts: 387 Member
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    Honestly I just get confused when I try to sort it out myself, my brother is a personal trainer and I think he did a nutrition course and he said MFP has set mine too high so next time I see him I'll sit down with him and work it out, then change it myself. Last time I didn't get the chance as he was a little busy getting married =P
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
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    Both for me.

    for the first 2 months, before I did my full research, I trusted MFP, it worked fine, and I lost at a steady 2+ lbs a week, as I gained more and more understanding of the concepts behind metabolic rates, I started to tweak to fit my particular needs, also with great success.

    So while MFP is an estimate, and won't work exactly to what the estimate is for everyone, it's usually pretty close for most people, but as your body loses weight and your needs begin to differentiate from the norm (think of your body fat % as a margin for error for deficit calculators, the more you have, the more generic they can be and still allow you to lose weight in a healthy manner), you need to start putting some thought and effort into your individual needs. Tweaking, body fat testing, Metabolic testing, blood tests...etc all become more important as you lose fat.
  • nadsazombie
    nadsazombie Posts: 61
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    so how does that whole thing work?
    ive tried reading up on it but i think i need it in lamest terms.

    also i just wanna make sure im doing this 100%
    and will get the best results i can

    :bigsmile:
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
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    so how does that whole thing work?
    ive tried reading up on it but i think i need it in lamest terms.

    also i just wanna make sure im doing this 100%
    and will get the best results i can

    :bigsmile:

    you have to be more specific. MFP just takes your estimated TDEE and subtracts the calorie deficit you choose (I.E. if you choose 2 lbs a week, it'll subtract 1000...etc.) but keep in mind how much you need to lose directly affects how much of a deficit you should be trying for, I.E. someone who's looking to lose 20 lbs can't choose 2 lbs a week with any expectation of meeting it, your body just can't support that kind of fat loss.
  • glitt3rgurl
    glitt3rgurl Posts: 15
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    I found this website very helpful..also reading if you tweak your calories weekly you won't plateo...www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie/_calorie calculator.htm ..do your BMR and it shows how much you should eat for different levels and speeds for weight loss..Hope this helps!!:smile:
  • nadsazombie
    nadsazombie Posts: 61
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    ok so after all is said and done ive done the math and everything figured out my TDEE and the BMR along with the BF% and the numbers are alot higher then MFP gives me...
    currently it has me at 1360 calories a day
    but after doing the math and all 1809 is what i should be at?
    and thats with doing this... http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12


    i just dont wanna up my calories and gain any weight back
  • trixiemou
    trixiemou Posts: 554 Member
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    Hi, there is a website called fat2fitradio. You can check all your measurements, BMI, BMR, Tdee etc. Its worth a look.

    MFP gave me an allowance of 1200 cals, which worked for a short while. I then checked this site and it gave me between 1300 and 1350, not much of a difference. I did increase my allowance to 1300 which still seems to be working OK. AS you are losing weight it is worth while checking these figures again. On days that I exercise I usually eat some of my calories burned. This then leaves me room for error in my daily allowances.

    If its working then don't try to fix it. trying to understand everything for me is a bit of a headache, so I try something new either every few weeks or if it feels stale.
  • nadsazombie
    nadsazombie Posts: 61
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    Hi, there is a website called fat2fitradio. You can check all your measurements, BMI, BMR, Tdee etc. Its worth a look.

    thats the site i used.
    but overall theres like a 500 calorie difference between MFP and the TDEE/BMR thing.

    i think your right tho. MFP has been working for me just fine so i dont know why im looking more into changing it now haha:glasses:
  • amnsetie
    amnsetie Posts: 666 Member
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    If you have MFP set right it won't be below your bmr.
    sometimes sedentary people have to settle for half to one pound loss per week to achieve this.
    most people where mfp has set too low it's cos they are set to 2 pounds loss per week with a sedentary job.

    Don't forget MFP is different to other sites and you add you exercise cals in separately and eat them back.
    If you go to other sites for half the information and then enter it in mfp you could double count and overestimate the amount you can eat.
    That's the danger of mixing it up.

    I have changed my macros to reflect australian food standard guidelines.
    but my cals are as mfp says
  • nadsazombie
    nadsazombie Posts: 61
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    ok thanks alot!
    i did go in and change my goal from 1.5 punds a week to just 1 and it looks alot like what i got with the TDEE method.
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    I've tried both - and if you have set yourself realistic goals (and use MFP numbers as they are designed) then they are going to work out about the same.
    I have periods of time where I just want to have a set calorie amount each day because I don't want it to fluctuate... but other times I'm happier to have a lower base calories amount that varies as I exercise.

    In practice that means that I can either set my cals around 1900 or so/day or I can have a base level of about 1650 and add 2-500 cals on the days I exercise. Weekly the totals are just about the same.

    It really doesn't matter - just pick one method and run with it for a month. If you don't like the results then you can have a look at what you are doing and make some changes.
  • birdieaz
    birdieaz Posts: 448 Member
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    I set my own using TDEE -10-15%. That's about 1650-1750 cal a day. I'm 5'2.5 120lbs and MFP had me set for 1350 cal initially but that was not doable for me. I don't workout every day..usually it's 3 maybe 4x a week.
  • nadsazombie
    nadsazombie Posts: 61
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    It really doesn't matter - just pick one method and run with it for a month. If you don't like the results then you can have a look at what you are doing and make some changes.


    thanks! its been working out so far for me so ill probably just leave it alone =)

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