BMR....TDEE.....WTF?
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HappyNewSarah
Posts: 30
Okay. Here's my info.
Almost 32 yrs old
255 lbs
5'6"
sedentary lifestyle though I do go to the gym and plan to average 5-6x week now and work out for an average of 1 hour doing cardio AND strength training (Imagine that!)
So, this is such a hot topic and I can see a lot of people have had success with this. I need help understanding this, though. MFP says to eat 1440 to lose 2lbs/wk with my settings. My BMR is 1884 and my TDEE-20% is 2456.
If I don't work out and eat my workout calories I am STARVING at 1440 and usually eat over and feel bad.
If I at 2456 everyday I would feel like a total Fatty Fatterson.
What the H-E-L-L am I suppose to be eating???? I mean, I'm losing the weight (11 lbs since Jan 1 and 16 lbs total), but I don't want to screw it up. I love working out but the rest of my day is spent running around doing mommy errands or sitting at home with my kids. I want to do this the right way.
Any advice is appreciated and welcome. Thanks!
Almost 32 yrs old
255 lbs
5'6"
sedentary lifestyle though I do go to the gym and plan to average 5-6x week now and work out for an average of 1 hour doing cardio AND strength training (Imagine that!)
So, this is such a hot topic and I can see a lot of people have had success with this. I need help understanding this, though. MFP says to eat 1440 to lose 2lbs/wk with my settings. My BMR is 1884 and my TDEE-20% is 2456.
If I don't work out and eat my workout calories I am STARVING at 1440 and usually eat over and feel bad.
If I at 2456 everyday I would feel like a total Fatty Fatterson.
What the H-E-L-L am I suppose to be eating???? I mean, I'm losing the weight (11 lbs since Jan 1 and 16 lbs total), but I don't want to screw it up. I love working out but the rest of my day is spent running around doing mommy errands or sitting at home with my kids. I want to do this the right way.
Any advice is appreciated and welcome. Thanks!
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Replies
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What are your neck, hip, & waist measurements?0
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Your TDEE don't look right. What is your body fat %0
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What are your neck, hip, & waist measurements?
Honestly, I don't have that information right now. My dog chewed up my measuring tape and I haven't had a chance (I keep forgetting) to get another one. I'm really overweight though. I'm in the "morbidly obese" catagory.0 -
Do you have some string and a tape measure? These are important measurements in order to calculate your BF%. Like eichhorst said, something is off.0
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You should check out In Place of Road Map 2.0....I don't have the direct link, but it will help with this. I think you should be able to find it under the blogs or it was recently brought back up in the general diet and weight loss forum yesterday I think.0
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Without your body fat I'm getting a BMR of 1924.
TDEE-20% presuming you do the work outs you plan I get 2385, more or less, and obviously no eating back your exercise calories.0 -
Well, if you want some more info on the topic, here it is:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets
and if you want to try the TDEE method this link gives step by step of EXACTLY how to go about doing it:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
Both of these links explain the appropriate goals to set for your weight, and your goal. Both of them also emphasize not eating below your BMR...which is very important for long term weight loss and maintenance.0 -
Many people find that all that math gives them very similar results to MFP suggestions, as long as one eats back exercise calories.0
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Well, if you want some more info on the topic, here it is:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets
and if you want to try the TDEE method this link gives step by step of EXACTLY how to go about doing it:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
Both of these links explain the appropriate goals to set for your weight, and your goal. Both of them also emphasize not eating below your BMR...which is very important for long term weight loss and maintenance.
^^This is what I was talking about.0 -
Many people find that all that math gives them very similar results to MFP suggestions, as long as one eats back exercise calories.
Usually that is only true though if they set it to 1lb or .5lb a week, from my observation. Too many people set it to 2lbs a week and under eat.
OP - Don't be afraid of a big number! If you exercise a ton, your body is going to need the energy. Trust in the Road Map and I promise you will see SUSTAINABLE results.
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Okay. Here's my info.
Almost 32 yrs old
255 lbs
5'6"
sedentary lifestyle though I do go to the gym and plan to average 5-6x week now and work out for an average of 1 hour doing cardio AND strength training (Imagine that!)
So, this is such a hot topic and I can see a lot of people have had success with this. I need help understanding this, though. MFP says to eat 1440 to lose 2lbs/wk with my settings. My BMR is 1884 and my TDEE-20% is 2456.
If I don't work out and eat my workout calories I am STARVING at 1440 and usually eat over and feel bad.
If I at 2456 everyday I would feel like a total Fatty Fatterson.
What the H-E-L-L am I suppose to be eating???? I mean, I'm losing the weight (11 lbs since Jan 1 and 16 lbs total), but I don't want to screw it up. I love working out but the rest of my day is spent running around doing mommy errands or sitting at home with my kids. I want to do this the right way.
Any advice is appreciated and welcome. Thanks!
My understanding is that with the more weight you have to lose, the higher deficit from TDEE you can take and still be successful. In other words, calculate it at -25% or -30%, as long as you stay ABOVE your BMR. That is typically the biggest problem, people eating too far below their BMR
BTW, I am no expert, only repeating the things I have read and digested from the awesome people who HAVE done it right.0 -
Screw all that, that's what MFP's built in calculations are for! why calculate it yourself, when the website uses several methods to calculate excersise levels, BMR, and an appropriate cut, which is your total calories burned in a day -20%
your base matabolic rate is adjusted for working out, if you are sedentary you take your BMR x 1.2
If you work out 3 times a week you take your BMR x 1.5
I don't know why MFP has a calories burned calculator on here, that's just dumb, and what the TDEE adjustments are for..
Anywho, use the site, not some uncited formula that came from the lower bowels of the internet!
yes, at 5'6", 1500 calories is probably your acceptable cut. Find foods that fill you. 1600 is the caloric cost of TEN 4 oz baked chicken breasts PLUS SIX cups of steamed broccoli. There is SO much food in 1500 calories if you stay away from the high powered junk!!!0 -
Okay. Here's my info.
Almost 32 yrs old
255 lbs
5'6"
sedentary lifestyle though I do go to the gym and plan to average 5-6x week now and work out for an average of 1 hour doing cardio AND strength training (Imagine that!)
So, this is such a hot topic and I can see a lot of people have had success with this. I need help understanding this, though. MFP says to eat 1440 to lose 2lbs/wk with my settings. My BMR is 1884 and my TDEE-20% is 2456.
If I don't work out and eat my workout calories I am STARVING at 1440 and usually eat over and feel bad.
If I at 2456 everyday I would feel like a total Fatty Fatterson.
What the H-E-L-L am I suppose to be eating???? I mean, I'm losing the weight (11 lbs since Jan 1 and 16 lbs total), but I don't want to screw it up. I love working out but the rest of my day is spent running around doing mommy errands or sitting at home with my kids. I want to do this the right way.
Any advice is appreciated and welcome. Thanks!
So, I am willing to bet you are burning more than 1440 in your daily life- which is why you are starving. I am allotted 1200 (set to sedentary and -2 pounds a week) calories every day, and I end up "earning" about 200 more calories just with basic daily activities. I'm not on the TDEE bandwagon because my activity levels very greatly. Some days I am a couch potato, somedays I live at the gym. So, instead I use my MFP number as a base number (ie: the number I always eat 100% of) and then I wear a Fitbit to track any extra calories I burn. Then I always eat back my exercise calories. This keeps me from feeling like a fatty.
Since say you are very obese, and a mom, I am almost positive you burn more calories back. Do you have anything to trakc your activity level? You might find that you burn more than you realize and can then eat more without having to do all the TDEE math.0 -
Okay. Here's my info.
Almost 32 yrs old
255 lbs
5'6"
sedentary lifestyle though I do go to the gym and plan to average 5-6x week now and work out for an average of 1 hour doing cardio AND strength training (Imagine that!)
So, this is such a hot topic and I can see a lot of people have had success with this. I need help understanding this, though. MFP says to eat 1440 to lose 2lbs/wk with my settings. My BMR is 1884 and my TDEE-20% is 2456.
If I don't work out and eat my workout calories I am STARVING at 1440 and usually eat over and feel bad.
If I at 2456 everyday I would feel like a total Fatty Fatterson.
What the H-E-L-L am I suppose to be eating???? I mean, I'm losing the weight (11 lbs since Jan 1 and 16 lbs total), but I don't want to screw it up. I love working out but the rest of my day is spent running around doing mommy errands or sitting at home with my kids. I want to do this the right way.
Any advice is appreciated and welcome. Thanks!
My understanding is that with the more weight you have to lose, the higher deficit from TDEE you can take and still be successful. In other words, calculate it at -25% or -30%, as long as you stay ABOVE your BMR. That is typically the biggest problem, people eating too far below their BMR
BTW, I am no expert, only repeating the things I have read and digested from the awesome people who HAVE done it right.
^ This is a good post. But as a friend pointed out to me today when we were discussing this topic, you should recalculate BMR and TDEE every time you lose 5 pounds, so maybe once every 2-3 weeks. It will keep getting lower until you reach your ideal weight. I had to recalculate my TDEE because I had it too high.0 -
Thanks to everyone who posted! I did notice that all the posts I was directed to with people who promote some of these overly complicated calculations had only 30-40 lbs to lose to end up in excellent shape. To reach a "healthy" weight for me, I need to drop at least 100 lbs. I think I'll just stick with MFP and eat back my exercise calories until I stop losing weight then reevaluate some of these suggestions!0
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Anywho, use the site, not some uncited formula that came from the lower bowels of the internet!
yes, at 5'6", 1500 calories is probably your acceptable cut. Find foods that fill you. 1600 is the caloric cost of TEN 4 oz baked chicken breasts PLUS SIX cups of steamed broccoli. There is SO much food in 1500 calories if you stay away from the high powered junk!!!
I know that if you look at my diary I'm not making the best decisions right now but I also have a plan. I'm working every day to cut out a little bit more of the bad and add a little bit more of the good. Thanks for you suggestions and I will take everything into concideration!0 -
You should check out In Place of Road Map 2.0....I don't have the direct link, but it will help with this. I think you should be able to find it under the blogs or it was recently brought back up in the general diet and weight loss forum yesterday I think.
I decided to read through it, and I was more confused than before. For some of us, all the formulas, calculations and acronyms are a bit overwhelming. We need a "Weight Loss for Dummies" version on here that the numerically disadvantaged can understand (myself included).0 -
You should check out In Place of Road Map 2.0....I don't have the direct link, but it will help with this. I think you should be able to find it under the blogs or it was recently brought back up in the general diet and weight loss forum yesterday I think.
I decided to read through it, and I was more confused than before. For some of us, all the formulas, calculations and acronyms are a bit overwhelming. We need a "Weight Loss for Dummies" version on here that the numerically disadvantaged can understand (myself included).
If you set MFP to .5lb loss or 1lb loss a week, then the number comes pretty close to any other calculations you would do.
The problem mostly lies in people setting it to 2lbs a week when they are just overweight and not obese, which usually causes them to under eat. I think that is part of the reason people are such huge advocates of the Road Map and calculating it out yourself. It helps you to actually understand where these calorie estimates are coming from and why, rather than blindly following the MFP number and not really knowing how they came to it.0 -
Thanks to everyone who posted! I did notice that all the posts I was directed to with people who promote some of these overly complicated calculations had only 30-40 lbs to lose to end up in excellent shape. To reach a "healthy" weight for me, I need to drop at least 100 lbs. I think I'll just stick with MFP and eat back my exercise calories until I stop losing weight then reevaluate some of these suggestions!
That is a good plan. Best of luck to you! You can do it! 0 -
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