Success with TDEE -20%

sylvabelle89
sylvabelle89 Posts: 61 Member
in Success Stories
I just recently changed my calorie goals to my TDEE -20%. Even though I am a bit wary of it, I feel like it better suits my lifestyle.
Wanting to hear from some of the MFP folks that have had success losing weight with this particular course of action!

Also, did you all eat your exercise calories back or no?

Thanks!
«13456789

Replies

  • calibriintx
    calibriintx Posts: 1,741 Member
    I switched b/c MFP had me at 1200 cal/day and I was hungry, grumpy and feeling defeated. Still losing and feeling so much better. I try not to eat all of my exercise calories back just b/c MFP's exercise cals seem inflated. I'm about to get a HRM. Once I feel a little more confident of the accuracy, I'll probably eat them back more often, but only if I'm hungry.
  • sylvabelle89
    sylvabelle89 Posts: 61 Member
    Thanks fr your reply, briccomp!
    I was also eating around 12-16 a day and was always hungry. I have to say since upping my calorie intake I feel unstoppable. Never hungry, twice the energy to exercise and run and play with my kids.

    How long has it been since you changed your goals?
  • mockchoc
    mockchoc Posts: 6,573 Member
    I did TDEE - 20% then 15% then 10% as I got closer to goal. Exercise is included in TDEE that is why it's called Total Daily Energy Expenditure.
  • eyeshuh
    eyeshuh Posts: 333
    I eat all of my exercise calories back because I calculated my TDEE without taking exercise into consideration. That was easier for me since I exercise a different amount every day.

    I have been very successful. :) Check the ticker, yo! I am at least another .8 down from that as well, I am hoping by weigh-in tomorrow I'll be able to mark another full pound gone!
  • Nic620
    Nic620 Posts: 553 Member
    Bump!

    I just upped my calories this week to be my TDEE- 20%. I was back and forth the same few pounds so I'll give this a go for a while to see if it will get me to where I want to be. Wish me luck!!
  • irishblonde2011
    irishblonde2011 Posts: 618 Member
    Bump

    Would like to hear more success stories :)
  • determinedbutlazy
    determinedbutlazy Posts: 1,941 Member
    I was on a plateau for a month or so, and even put on a bit of weight over christmas, so about 3 weeks ago I switched to TDEE-20% and I've dropped about 5lbs. This is the most weight I've lost over the shortest amount of time since I started.

    TDEE includes exercise, so you don't eat any of them back. I eat 1800 on days I exercise and on days I don't.

    It works! Make good food choices, stick to your macros, eat and exercise and you will notice a massive difference. Not just in weight either, my hair and my skin are better, my moods are better, I'm generally a lot happier.
  • cubbies77
    cubbies77 Posts: 607 Member
    I was stuck for about eight weeks. I started eating my TDEE -20%, added some weights into my routine, and I've been losing about 1.5 - 2 pounds per week for the past few weeks. I'm sure it will slow eventually, since I tend to lose in whooshes instead of a straight line. I usually lose a half-pound one week, then two the next, then nothing, then three pounds... stuff like that.

    I don't eat my exercise calories back. That's figured into your TDEE. It makes it SO much easier, since you always eat the same number without worrying about net calories and all that. You can still track your exercise. I change my calories burned to "1" so MFP doesn't add them into my diary and screw me up. ;)
  • fruitloop2
    fruitloop2 Posts: 437 Member
    I did TDEE - 20% then 15% then 10% as I got closer to goal. Exercise is included in TDEE that is why it's called Total Daily Energy Expenditure.

    How close were you to your goal when you started doing this? I'm starting to think about slowly upping my calories to get to my TDEE for when I reach my gol and switch to maintenance but not sure when I want to start doing this.
  • calibriintx
    calibriintx Posts: 1,741 Member
    I eat all of my exercise calories back because I calculated my TDEE without taking exercise into consideration. That was easier for me since I exercise a different amount every day.

    I have been very successful. :) Check the ticker, yo! I am at least another .8 down from that as well, I am hoping by weigh-in tomorrow I'll be able to mark another full pound gone!

    Same here. My current activity level isn't consistent enough to count exercise it in TDEE calculation.
  • calibriintx
    calibriintx Posts: 1,741 Member
    Thanks fr your reply, briccomp!
    I was also eating around 12-16 a day and was always hungry. I have to say since upping my calorie intake I feel unstoppable. Never hungry, twice the energy to exercise and run and play with my kids.

    How long has it been since you changed your goals?

    It's only been a week. The first 2-3 days I felt even more hungry even though I was eating more. I feel great now though and I'm down 1.5 lbs this week. So I don't know what kind of long term loss I have to look forward to but I feel confident that I'm doing what's healthy and sustainable for me.
  • mockchoc
    mockchoc Posts: 6,573 Member
    I did TDEE - 20% then 15% then 10% as I got closer to goal. Exercise is included in TDEE that is why it's called Total Daily Energy Expenditure.

    How close were you to your goal when you started doing this? I'm starting to think about slowly upping my calories to get to my TDEE for when I reach my gol and switch to maintenance but not sure when I want to start doing this.

    I think I'd lost about 20lbs when I went from -20% to -15% and then changed it to -10% when I had the last 5lbs or so to go.
  • faithchange
    faithchange Posts: 311 Member
    I did TDEE - 20% then 15% then 10% as I got closer to goal. Exercise is included in TDEE that is why it's called Total Daily Energy Expenditure.

    This was exactly what I was going to say. You shouldn't eat exercise calories back if you log them...you'll be over and possibly gain.
  • faithchange
    faithchange Posts: 311 Member
    Bump!

    I just upped my calories this week to be my TDEE- 20%. I was back and forth the same few pounds so I'll give this a go for a while to see if it will get me to where I want to be. Wish me luck!!

    Just remember if you make this decision of change...you may have to stick with for a while. I've heard like 4 wk to see a difference and the scale may at first go up. I did this one time, but switched by to MFP with eating my exercise calories. When I get to 5lbs left to goal...I'll do this TDEE 20% reduction again.
  • jmariscal3
    jmariscal3 Posts: 57 Member
    OK from this forum I went out and calculated my TDEE and I have to bump up my calorie intake by almost 500. That seems a lot to me, but I will make them healthy choices and see what happens. Nothing has worked so far and I am weight-lifting now so I am sure the cals are needed. Any tips would be great!
  • calibriintx
    calibriintx Posts: 1,741 Member
    OK from this forum I went out and calculated my TDEE and I have to bump up my calorie intake by almost 500. That seems a lot to me, but I will make them healthy choices and see what happens. Nothing has worked so far and I am weight-lifting now so I am sure the cals are needed. Any tips would be great!

    Mine went up by 700. It was scary! I also followed advice from others and made my carbs 40, protein 20 and fat 20. Look for the post called In Place of a Roadmap 2.0 for more info.
  • 4given4life
    4given4life Posts: 81 Member
    I was stuck for about eight weeks. I started eating my TDEE -20%, added some weights into my routine, and I've been losing about 1.5 - 2 pounds per week for the past few weeks. I'm sure it will slow eventually, since I tend to lose in whooshes instead of a straight line. I usually lose a half-pound one week, then two the next, then nothing, then three pounds... stuff like that.

    I don't eat my exercise calories back. That's figured into your TDEE. It makes it SO much easier, since you always eat the same number without worrying about net calories and all that. You can still track your exercise. I change my calories burned to "1" so MFP doesn't add them into my diary and screw me up. ;)

    On the days that you don't exercise, do you still eat at this amount or do you lower it further?
  • NomNomMom
    NomNomMom Posts: 80 Member
    Bump for later.
  • determinedbutlazy
    determinedbutlazy Posts: 1,941 Member
    I was stuck for about eight weeks. I started eating my TDEE -20%, added some weights into my routine, and I've been losing about 1.5 - 2 pounds per week for the past few weeks. I'm sure it will slow eventually, since I tend to lose in whooshes instead of a straight line. I usually lose a half-pound one week, then two the next, then nothing, then three pounds... stuff like that.

    I don't eat my exercise calories back. That's figured into your TDEE. It makes it SO much easier, since you always eat the same number without worrying about net calories and all that. You can still track your exercise. I change my calories burned to "1" so MFP doesn't add them into my diary and screw me up. ;)

    On the days that you don't exercise, do you still eat at this amount or do you lower it further?

    You eat the same number.
  • sylvabelle89
    sylvabelle89 Posts: 61 Member
    Thanks everyone for your comments, im confident this is going to work! Still bumping tho!
  • xLyric
    xLyric Posts: 840 Member
    Wouldn't your TDEE without exercise factored in just be your BMR?
  • zoraiya
    zoraiya Posts: 38 Member
    I am doing this now as well -- MFP had me at 1400 a day, which was way below my BMR. While I lost at first, I eventually hit a plateau because I wasn't eating enough. Now, I'm eating 1800-2000 a day (which is -20% of my TDEE), and I'm losing again.

    I haven't exercised yet since I switched this, but I will likely not be eating my calories back initially. I'm going to feel it out, and if I need to, I'll adjust.
  • Glitter969
    Glitter969 Posts: 77 Member
    I have been doing TDEE min 15-20% since I started MFP end of March 2012 (OK, I tried the MFP settings for the first week and realised I would have been a lost cause eating so little food). My TDEE is calculated at moderate activity level, so my exercise is already taken into account.

    I have lost 35 lbs on MFP and reached my goal weight in October 2012. Now working on body composition.
  • nicpap617
    nicpap617 Posts: 38 Member
    Does anyone have a good site to calculate TDEE? I have used multiple different sites and they usually give me the same number give or take 50-100 calories or so.

    I had been eating anywhere from 1200-1600 cals a day for months. I found that I never lost weight and I was always hungry. I recently started eating 1800 which is approx my TDEE -20% and started running 4 days a week. I lost 2 lbs right away. But now I am up again those 2 lbs. I'm just so confused because I feel better eating more... (more energy, not hungry, and my mood is so much better.) I just don't know if I'm doing something wrong or calculating my TDEE wrong.
  • sdreed25
    sdreed25 Posts: 208 Member
    I was stuck on my MFP calories, hadn't lost for weeks. Switched to TDEE - 20% and have lost 5 lbs in 3 weeks. As others have stated your TDEE will include the exercise, I re-calculated mine weekly based on my planned activity (some weeks I run miles and other weeks I lift more).
  • LottieLou13
    LottieLou13 Posts: 574 Member
    I've lost 30 odd lbs doing TDEE -20%, no you don't eat back the exercise calories because that is factored in already. The basics are...either eat your BMR (if not a bit more) + all your exercise calories OR eat your TDEE - something % (usually 20%) and don't eat back your exercise calories.
    It really is that simple, don't over think it don't over complicate it...it works.
  • sandradev1
    sandradev1 Posts: 786 Member
    After my weight loss stalled after weeks of eating 1200 cals, I also calculated my BMR & TDEE and started eating TDEE - 20% and weight loss restarted again. Thank goodness I didn't wait months.

    I am eating back the calories used during exercise BECAUSE they have been calculated in my TDEE in the first place, they are not added on through the day. This a far better way for me to plan the day.
  • angserino
    angserino Posts: 59
    I've lost 30 odd lbs doing TDEE -20%, no you don't eat back the exercise calories because that is factored in already. The basics are...either eat your BMR (if not a bit more) + all your exercise calories OR eat your TDEE - something % (usually 20%) and don't eat back your exercise calories.
    It really is that simple, don't over think it don't over complicate it...it works.


    I have been so confused this whole time until I read this. So simply stated and it finally clicked!
  • loveswalking
    loveswalking Posts: 355 Member
    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
  • Yani51
    Yani51 Posts: 48 Member
    BUMP>...

Categories

Do you Love MyFitnessPal? Have you crushed a goal or improved your life through better nutrition using MyFitnessPal?
Share your success and inspire others. Leave us a review on Apple Or Google Play stores!