TDEE over 2000 BMR 1200... I'm so confused!

It may not help you lose faster, but it will help your body retain it's lean muscle. When you eat at too great a deficit your body starts to break down muscle to get the energy it needs. When you lose enough of that muscle your metabolism slows and your weight loss stalls.

You are going to gain - most likely - in the first few weeks. You need to try it for a bit longer than just one week. (So your body can adjust)

the easiest way to understand the whole TDEE - 20% thing is to read "In place of a road map 2.0" and ask Dan any questions you have he's really nice and helpful and wants you to succeed =D

Punched in your numbers....

Your BMI is 1535.

Not sure how long you spend working out each day so will let you decide:

3-5 hrs of moderate puts your TDEE at 2380
5-6 hrs of strenuous puts your TDEE at 2649

So based on a -20% that puts you between 1900-2100 intake (not eating back exercise calories a day) depending on what your activity level is.

If you ate 1569 you would be just over BMR so yes it would work...though usually you want to be right in the middle between BMR and TDEE...that seems to be the general sweet spot for most people.

I upped my calories and just like you I started at 1200. I always ate more on my exercise days but struggled on my rest days. Just upping my base calories to 1400 made a big difference on my rest days. During my whole weight loss journey I upped my calories slowly and gave my body some time to adjust. I maintain my weight loss with eating between 1800-2000 calories a day. I even changed my workout schedule from 5 days a week to 3 days. My phiolosphy is why eat less when you can eat more and lose just as much weight. You seemed to be doing everything right, so good luck on your journey.

The easiest way for me to understand this is to think of a car. It will only hold so much gas, but won't run on empty. Your body needs fuel to work properly especially if working out. This site has helped me understand my eating habits and why I gained 30 lbs over the last few years. I know it wasn't much compared to some, but on my small frame it was a lot. Good luck on your journey. Remember it is not a diet but a lifestyle change. This site has helped me maintain the loss I have accomplished.

Punched in your numbers....

Your BMI is 1535.

Not sure how long you spend working out each day so will let you decide:

3-5 hrs of moderate puts your TDEE at 2380
5-6 hrs of strenuous puts your TDEE at 2649

So based on a -20% that puts you between 1900-2100 intake (not eating back exercise calories a day) depending on what your activity level is.

If you ate 1569 you would be just over BMR so yes it would work...though usually you want to be right in the middle between BMR and TDEE...that seems to be the general sweet spot for most people.

*BMR (sorry I had too)

What she came up with seems reasonable (I didn't check her math)
My numbers are fairly similar, Helloitsdan (the creator of IPOARM) will answer your questions if you PM him.
I'm not nearly as knowledgeable as Dan is but I've read IPOARM a few times and I rework my numbers every month to make sure I'm on track, but I'll help you out if you'd like.

You're going to have to give it more than just a week as a test, at least a month. Maybe 6-8 weeks. But in the grand scheme of your life, 8 weeks is nothing. And if you're lifting 4-6 days a week, you definitely want more than 1200cals.
My friends list is full of lovely lady lifters and they eat more than 1200 cal, and follow TDEE - 20% (or so)

I just looked back over the last week of my food diary and it looks like in general I eat anywhere from 1300 to 1800 a day depending on how many cals i burn in the gym.
If I up my cals to "somewhere between BMR and TDEE" (thank you rduhlir) I would NOT eat back my cals burned during workouts??

If you take your TDEE as sedentary (which it's suggested you don't), you'd eat them back.
If you take your TDEE number from lightly or moderately active (I'm going with you're moderately active), you do NOT eat your exercise cals back.
And to keep it from confusing you, I would log your exercise cals as "1 calorie burned" then it won't add those calories to your goal & change your macro settings.

I don't know either. My tdee was over 2000 too and my bmr is like 1400

I used to weigh 175lbs.. I was eating 1670 cals everyday. You have to eat more but kudos for being able to maintain 1200 cals a day, I can't do that!

Regarding upping your calories...
If someone has been on a plateau with their weight loss for some time, by increasing the amount of calories, they are trying to temporarily shock the body by giving it plenty of nutrients before lowering the calories back down to further shed off excess weight!

However, the method mentioned above is only a viable option if you HAVE been on a plateau for around 2-3 weeks. Also many only increase their calorie intake up to their BMR to temporarily pause the weightloss regime - any higher than the BMR, you'll start gaining weight again. :noway:

Just a warning...

I have seen a lot of people change to the TDEE/BMR method and put on a pound or two until their body adjusted to the increase. THIS IS NORMAL! I stalled for a week, then started to lose again.

Also...you don't want to switch up very often. If you are calculate say for moderate, don't change or play with numbers for about 4-6 weeks. If you have any questions at all ask Dan...he is really good at explaining and helping you to understand even better.

On a side note....I need input from my peeps here doing TDEE....

Having issues figuring out my activity level...simply because of my work schedule.

Work: 3-4 days a week, 12 hour desk job
Exercise: 30 minutes (at least) 6 days a week (whoever says they can't get in a work out working 12 hour days...its lies, LIES I tell you...yes I am this crazy in real life...feet talk to me, muscles scream...very scary), alternating weight lifting with running....and days off I usually take the dogs to the dog park and hike about 2.5-3 miles.

Moderate right? Just trying to be sure on this lol...

I asked Dan something similar.

You can pick moderately active and not eat back your cals or pick lightly active & eat back some of them.


Sedentary (little or no exercise, desk job)
Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk)
Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk)
Very Active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk)
Extremely Active (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.)

Either way, it's up to you.
Going with lightly active will give you a bit more of a buffer zone for the days you go over or can't log something accurately

Check out Em2wl (eat more 2 weigh less) they are on the forums here and have a Website where you can all the info you will need , clearly explained!

This comes up regularly and everyone will point you to the roadmap. I am still looking, however, for any research that supports the roadmap. I will grant that it seems logical, and it is true that most on MFP accept it as gospel.

However, I'd still like to see some primary sources--some research that leads to the conclusions that are stated as facts.

I'm going to make this really simple for you.

Eat 1,800 calories per day (which includes exercise so no need to eat them back.)

See where you are after 4 weeks (ignore the first week or two as your body will retain water / food in the GI tract initially.)

Lower or raise calories as needed.

Reassess after 4 weeks.

Etc etc...

I've read about the TDEE and BMR and all these different things and I am so confused! I am 28 year old female. 5'7" SW175 CW 162 GW Around 135 My body fat % is 28,8. I have been eating around 1200 cals a day for the last few weeks. And most of the time I don't have that hard of a time with it. I lift 6 days a week and do cardio 4 days a week with one rest day. Please help. I don't want to starve myself but, like many other people I don't understand how UPPING my cal intake can help me lose weight faster?!?

Hello, my starting weight is about 10lbs from your current. I'm also 5'7 like you. I'm older then you so my metabolism may be a little slower then yours...My goal weight is lower then yours (120lbs). My body fat is below 20%. I was netting 1700 calories a day, often eating over 2100 for a very long time and I can't get up to 135lbs. I suggest you try it.

FYI no need to kill yourself with exercise...if you're eating 1200 calories and doing cardio and weights nearly every day you're not giving your body a chance to repair. When you try to limit yourself to a lot under your energy expenditure (and yours is a lot) your body tends to shut off some functions (like producing heat as much being a popular one, dieters often feel cold) since you can only get out of your body what you put in. Give yourself more energy and you'll be able to do those functions plus lose weight. Your metabolism may be slow now but increasing calories should eventually up it. was stuck in your situation with the dreaded 1200 number thinking I was completely comfortable and exercising my bum off. Up, never look back.