TDEE or not TDEE? That Is the question.....

cedarghost
cedarghost Posts: 621 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
42 yo male
224 pounds
6’5"
Put Activity level as "lightly active" on fitnessfrog tdee cakculator.
I am a teacher and I lift 3 days a week for 15 to 20 minutes, circuit style, high intensity.
I do 15 minutes on heavy bag, pushup, burpees 2 days a week (medium intensity)
and i do one day 15 to 20 minute HIIT cardio on the weekend.
So Yeah, I may be more than "lightly active".
anyway, my TDEE comes out to right at 3000 pet day. So 15% puts me at 2550, 20% puts me at 2400.
My goal is set at 2100 and I rarely hit it. I always come in under for the week and i DON'T easy back exercise calories.
Anyway, will 500 to 600 more calories really make a difference?
I am not really losing weight right now, but my muscles are becoming defined and my body fat % is slowly dropping.
I know when you approach your ideal weight you should eat closer to your TDEE, but I don't even know what my ideal weight is. ..lol.
I have seen it listed from 170 to 210. I am shooting for 185 to 195.
advice?

Replies

  • cedarghost
    cedarghost Posts: 621 Member
    bump
  • LoraF83
    LoraF83 Posts: 15,694 Member
    I'm a big fan of the TDEE method. I've found that I feel better, I have more energy, my workouts are stronger, and I'm still losing weight when I switched to the TDEE method.

    You are not lightly active. Definitely more like moderately active. Redo your numbers with the correct activity setting.

    For comparison, I'm a 29yo female, 5'6", CW is 187. My TDEE is 2540 and my BMR is 1582. I eat about 2000 a day, giving me a deficit of about 500 a day, which means a 1lb/week loss. Of course, it doesn't always work out like that, but I am about 15lbs from my goal, so it's harder to lose. I'm losing inches still, and went down a full size over the summer despite a very relaxed diet and only 1.5lbs of weight loss.
    At your current weight, you should probably go for a 20-25% cut from TDEE.
  • cedarghost
    cedarghost Posts: 621 Member
    Thanks. That helps put it in perspective for me!
  • Granny107
    Granny107 Posts: 14
    OK I'll bite, what is TDEE? :embarassed:
  • 101hellokittys
    101hellokittys Posts: 32
    Whats tdee?
  • chelsearae85
    chelsearae85 Posts: 40
    Yeah Idk what tdee is but I'll tell you this... I'm 5'4 in the 130's and I workout regularly also. My BMR is 1400 and I eat at least 2000 cals more on heavy gym days, and pretty much whatever I want in moderation. I lost 8lbs in the last 6 weeks since I started eating more then the 1200 mfp was telling me for months with nothing to show for all my hard work.
  • cedarghost
    cedarghost Posts: 621 Member
    TDEE is Total Daily Energy Expenditure. Here is a good website to figure yours: http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.htmlEE and eat 15 to 20% below that. You should also refigure it every 5 pounds.
    I prefer using TDEE over MFP because I don't like the way MFP counts exercise calories. BUT I am still new myself and figuring all this out.
  • caseythirteen
    caseythirteen Posts: 956 Member
    Just want to change the link for you, the EE is not needed.

    http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html
  • cedarghost
    cedarghost Posts: 621 Member
    Just want to change the link for you, the EE is not needed.

    http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html
    Thanks. :)
  • DanaDark
    DanaDark Posts: 2,187 Member
    My suggestion is to use MFP's setting with sedentary. Do not count work as a teacher towards your exercise. From there, log your exercises in MFP. This will yield a more accurate calorie expenditure than basic TDEE calculators. TDEE calculators use a simple multiplication rather than actually seeing how you are spending your energy.
  • melanieparker13
    melanieparker13 Posts: 110 Member
    BUMP
  • Amlong1977
    Amlong1977 Posts: 125 Member
    I just used the TDEE calculator & it's about the same as MFP if I ate all my exercise calories back. :)
  • PinkHurricane88
    PinkHurricane88 Posts: 156 Member
    Thank you for the link! I was always curious about TDEE and got my calculations, and I am definitely eating the right amount for my TDEE and BMR. Awesome to know, once again thank you for the link!
  • cedarghost
    cedarghost Posts: 621 Member
    My suggestion is to use MFP's setting with sedentary. Do not count work as a teacher towards your exercise. From there, log your exercises in MFP. This will yield a more accurate calorie expenditure than basic TDEE calculators. TDEE calculators use a simple multiplication rather than actually seeing how you are spending your energy.
    Here's my problems with the exercise calorie calculators with MFP.....
    I lift 3 days for only 15 to 20 minutes, but I do Circuits, like HIIT lifting. My heart rate gets up quick and stays there for the rest of the workout. I am lifting to create the most EPOC, or afterburn.
    I don't know how to put that into MFP as and I can't find anything on the internet that says, "if you workout like this, for this long, you will burn X amount of calories."
    So I am kind of stuck using TDEE and I definitely don't want to set it on sedentary as I work out at LEAST 4 times a week and when I do, it's balls to the wall. I only teach 3 days of the week. The other 2 days during the week, i usually hike and hunt this time of year and on the weekend, I am pretty active as well.
  • cedarghost
    cedarghost Posts: 621 Member
    Thank you for the link! I was always curious about TDEE and got my calculations, and I am definitely eating the right amount for my TDEE and BMR. Awesome to know, once again thank you for the link!
    You're welcome. :)
  • AvsFreak
    AvsFreak Posts: 152 Member
    As long as your lifts in the gym aren't going down, everything is fine. If you notice that you are struggling with lifts you used to have no problem with, up the calories closer to TDEE.
  • _danjo_
    _danjo_ Posts: 134 Member
    I just used the TDEE calculator & it's about the same as MFP if I ate all my exercise calories back. :)

    Same for me.

    I've wondered if TDEE goes hand in hand with heavy lifting, or if it works with a cardio heavy exercise routine (I do strength, but not heavy lifting - yet - as it is understood on these boards.)?
  • 2hobbit1
    2hobbit1 Posts: 820 Member
    With your stated exercise program you are not lightly active - you are at least moderate. TDEE includes all your activity not just you work activity. TDEE = your BMR (calories burned if you are bedridden) + calories burned for you daily life + calories burned for your exercise program.
    If you take your 20% cut from the correct target your deficit and you burn are factored in. Your daily target is the same and you do not have to "chase" after your exercise calories. On workout days you net will be a bit lower and recovery days it will be a bit higher. Your calories are averaged over the week.
    Be sure you do not go below your BMR and eat less than you TDEE.

    Take a look at the roadmap for a full discussion

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
  • Linda_Darlene
    Linda_Darlene Posts: 453 Member
    You can decide what YOUR ideal weight is when you get there! :-)
  • Ldysw357
    Ldysw357 Posts: 118 Member
    I just switched to the TDEE method and it's working and I'm losing again! Actually increased my daily calories by 200. You can also go to fat2fit.com and check out their multitude of calculators. It really helped me!
  • cedarghost
    cedarghost Posts: 621 Member
    As long as your lifts in the gym aren't going down, everything is fine. If you notice that you are struggling with lifts you used to have no problem with, up the calories closer to TDEE.
    Makes sense. Didn't think of it. Thanks!
  • cedarghost
    cedarghost Posts: 621 Member
    You can decide what YOUR ideal weight is when you get there! :-)
    That's the plan. I originally though 185'ish, but hell I may end up liking the way I look at 200 with lower body fat! It will also depend on what my lean body mass is, but it gives me something to work for.
  • cedarghost
    cedarghost Posts: 621 Member
    I just switched to the TDEE method and it's working and I'm losing again! Actually increased my daily calories by 200. You can also go to fat2fit.com and check out their multitude of calculators. It really helped me!
    Thanks for sharing. I will definitely check out that website.
  • charanne52
    charanne52 Posts: 88 Member
    I was under the impression that when setting your activity level for the purpose of calculating your TDEE you were not supposed to base it upon your present exercise routine but rather on the type of work activity you perform. For instance if you sit at a desk for the majority of the day you would use the sedentary setting and the more physically active you are in your job the higher the setting you would use. Your added exercise is figured in later.
  • cedarghost
    cedarghost Posts: 621 Member
    I was under the impression that when setting your activity level for the purpose of calculating your TDEE you were not supposed to base it upon your present exercise routine but rather on the type of work activity you perform. For instance if you sit at a desk for the majority of the day you would use the sedentary setting and the more physically active you are in your job the higher the setting you would use. Your added exercise is figured in later.
    Guess it depends on the website you use to calculate it. This site http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html asks for exercise level.
  • rhinesb
    rhinesb Posts: 204 Member
    I just switched to the TDEE method and it's working and I'm losing again! Actually increased my daily calories by 200. You can also go to fat2fit.com and check out their multitude of calculators. It really helped me!
    I do not see any calculators on there at all. Not only that but the entire site is trying to sell you stuff.
  • cedarghost
    cedarghost Posts: 621 Member
    I just switched to the TDEE method and it's working and I'm losing again! Actually increased my daily calories by 200. You can also go to fat2fit.com and check out their multitude of calculators. It really helped me!
    I do not see any calculators on there at all. Not only that but the entire site is trying to sell you stuff.
    Your browser got hijacked then. I just checked the site and it worked, Try it again and then check the address in your URL bar and see if it went to a different website.
    Or try going to www.fitnessfrog.com and select TDEE from the calculators link.

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