Correct me if I'm wrong.. BMR & TDEE

Blakelynn3
Blakelynn3 Posts: 127 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all! I'm a newb to weight-loss. I've been losing about 1lb/week since I upped my calories from 1200/day to 1400/day. (I wasn't losing at all when I was eating 1200 calories or less/day.) However, I keep seeing the abbreviations BMR & TDEE floating around on the forums so I decided to figure out what my numbers are and what it all means.

According to the calculator I used (I actually used two to make sure they were the same) my BMR is 1790 calories/day and my TDEE is 2461 calories/day. So, to my understanding, I've been eating too little. I should be eating more than 1790 and less than 2461 calories/day and still be able to lose weight. If I did my math right, I should be eating between 18-1900 calories/day to lose 1lb a week. (To get a 3,500 calorie deficit per week)

Please tell me if that sounds right. I'm a little nervous about putting it into practice since I have been losing 1lb a week at 1400 calories/day. It confuses me that I could eat more calories and maintain the same rate of weight loss without changing my exercise level.

Also, when I've been eating 1400 calories/day, I've been eating back half of my exercise calories. When I calculated my TDEE it was calculated based on my activity level of exercising 3x/week. So, do I not eat back my exercise calories now since they were included in the # that I got for my TDEE?

I appreciate everyones help! Sorry if this is a post that you've all seen hundreds of times.

Replies

  • krisiepoo
    krisiepoo Posts: 710 Member
    Yup,your numbers sound right :) It's a bit discombobulating to readjust your thinking because society has told us for ages we need to eat less to weigh less but that's just not true!

    If you're eating at -20% of your TDEE, you do NOT need to eat back your exercise cals because they're built into the TDEE number.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    You're right about not eating back exercise if you used the TDEE formula with your exercise level included. If you used sedentary then you could add exercise yourself.
  • krisiepoo
    krisiepoo Posts: 710 Member
    You're right about not eating back exercise if you used the TDEE formula with your exercise level included. If you used sedentary then you could add exercise yourself.

    If she chose sedentary and still exercised, then her TDEE Would be incorrect. you input your activity level into figuring out your TDEE. "scoobys calculator" (my fave, google it) notes how often you exercise in it's calculations.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    if you are losing at 1400 why not just stay there...?

    your numbers sounds right but if something is working why change? Unless your goals have changed...
  • Blakelynn3
    Blakelynn3 Posts: 127 Member
    You're right about not eating back exercise if you used the TDEE formula with your exercise level included. If you used sedentary then you could add exercise yourself.

    If she chose sedentary and still exercised, then her TDEE Would be incorrect. you input your activity level into figuring out your TDEE. "scoobys calculator" (my fave, google it) notes how often you exercise in it's calculations.

    Right. I used the scooby calculator and entered 1-3 hours of light exercise/week for my activity level. I also used thefitgirls calculator, citing "light exercise", just to make sure that the TDEE was correct and it was the same with both calculators. Thank you both for your help. I really appreciate it!
  • Blakelynn3
    Blakelynn3 Posts: 127 Member
    if you are losing at 1400 why not just stay there...?

    your numbers sounds right but if something is working why change? Unless your goals have changed...

    That's what I'm trying to figure out. I'm losing weight at 1400 calories but according to my BMR & TDEE I'm not eating enough. And apparently eating less than your BMR is a bad thing. It makes your body take energy from places it shouldn't or something. I don't know. Like I said, I'm a newb. I started out doing this wrong by trying to eat way too little and it wasn't working. I upped my calories a little and started losing but I want to make sure I'm doing this the right way since I'm in it for the long haul. Ya know?
  • MysticRealm
    MysticRealm Posts: 1,264 Member
    I was losing at about the same rate at 1500 (not net) and exercising 4-6 days a week as I am losing now eating netting 1800 with no exercise (I want to get back to exercising but have been sick for a while). So why not eat more!! I'm losing at the same rate and I get to eat more yummy food! Once I get back to exercising I can eat even more!
  • HaleyxErin
    HaleyxErin Posts: 94 Member
    well I clicked this hoping it would help me but I just calculated my BMR and its like 2336 I couldn't begin to eat that many calories in a day, I'd turn into a whale! Then I checked the MFP one and it says 2014, still more than I eat but less scary. And then a third that says I should eat 2813. what the hell?
  • recee27
    recee27 Posts: 34
    I am just wondering how many people eat calories according to their TDEE? And does it actually work for you? I figured mine out and it just seems so high. MFP says I should eat 1700 cal/day to lose 2lbs a week. Which I have stuck to and only lost about 1lb a week. So, how will eating 2400 cal/day help me to lose more? I guess I need to read more about this. It really shouldn't have to be this complicated, should it. Calories in vs. calories out, right?
  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
    if you are losing at 1400 why not just stay there...?

    your numbers sounds right but if something is working why change? Unless your goals have changed...

    That's what I'm trying to figure out. I'm losing weight at 1400 calories but according to my BMR & TDEE I'm not eating enough. And apparently eating less than your BMR is a bad thing. It makes your body take energy from places it shouldn't or something. I don't know. Like I said, I'm a newb. I started out doing this wrong by trying to eat way too little and it wasn't working. I upped my calories a little and started losing but I want to make sure I'm doing this the right way since I'm in it for the long haul. Ya know?


    The numbers you've worked out sound right. Being able to increase your eating and still lose is a positive thing because the closer you are to eating at maintenance while you lose, the less chance you have of regaining any weight when you go up to maintenance after reaching your goal as you'll only need to increase your cals by a small amount rather than a big jump from 1400 to around 2400. Eating at lower cals for an extended period of time will suppress your metabolism, partly due to increased loss of LBM so your maintenance will be lower when you hit your goal. Eating more cals will keep your LBM up and your metabolism up.
  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
    I am just wondering how many people eat calories according to their TDEE? And does it actually work for you? I figured mine out and it just seems so high. MFP says I should eat 1700 cal/day to lose 2lbs a week. Which I have stuck to and only lost about 1lb a week. So, how will eating 2400 cal/day help me to lose more? I guess I need to read more about this. It really shouldn't have to be this complicated, should it. Calories in vs. calories out, right?

    Check out the EM2WL group - I think there are now over 4000 members who are using this method. I lose at 2400 and maintain at 2800.

    Bear in mind that the MFP figure of 1700 you've been given does not include exercise calories whereas the TDEE numbers do. Therefore once you've eaten back your exercise cals on top of 1700 you get closer to TDEE.
  • krisiepoo
    krisiepoo Posts: 710 Member
    I am just wondering how many people eat calories according to their TDEE? And does it actually work for you? I figured mine out and it just seems so high. MFP says I should eat 1700 cal/day to lose 2lbs a week. Which I have stuck to and only lost about 1lb a week. So, how will eating 2400 cal/day help me to lose more? I guess I need to read more about this. It really shouldn't have to be this complicated, should it. Calories in vs. calories out, right?

    I am and when I eat according to that (ie no binges, which happen, I'm human) I lose at 1-2 pounds/week.

    You should do your homework, don't let a bunch of us anonymous people on the interweb change how you do things. I was seriously skeptical at first, too, but really looked into what my body needs (BMR) and how much I actually burn.

    It is cals in/cals out but you need to understand that 1200 is an arbitrary number. 1700 may be arbitrary too. figure out what YOUR body needs and go from there
  • krisiepoo
    krisiepoo Posts: 710 Member
    well I clicked this hoping it would help me but I just calculated my BMR and its like 2336 I couldn't begin to eat that many calories in a day, I'd turn into a whale! Then I checked the MFP one and it says 2014, still more than I eat but less scary. And then a third that says I should eat 2813. what the hell?

    My favorite website is "scoobys calculator" (google it). You enter in how much exercise you do, your stats and it will come up with a cal goal for you at -20% from your TDEE. you won't be a whale, you'll be eating to keep your body going
  • samanthachen
    samanthachen Posts: 360 Member
    if you are losing at 1400 why not just stay there...?

    your numbers sounds right but if something is working why change? Unless your goals have changed...

    That's what I'm trying to figure out. I'm losing weight at 1400 calories but according to my BMR & TDEE I'm not eating enough. And apparently eating less than your BMR is a bad thing. It makes your body take energy from places it shouldn't or something. I don't know. Like I said, I'm a newb. I started out doing this wrong by trying to eat way too little and it wasn't working. I upped my calories a little and started losing but I want to make sure I'm doing this the right way since I'm in it for the long haul. Ya know?

    Both of you are posing an excellent point. The answer is that you will lose at that amount for a long time, and then you will plateau with few solutions. Exercise more and more and more until you are wiping yourself out (in which you will plateau more because you are using more than you are eating). The other option is decreasing the amount. You already know that your BMR is higher than what you are currently eating. I would say give it a try for a month (at least a few weeks to see a pattern), and if you feel it is not working, or you are gaining, you can always go back. Since it is just an online calculator, and no one actually measured these on you in real life, it is an estimate. I just made the switch from 1200 (which I lost 4 lbs in my first week) to 1700 (50 above my BMR) and I will eat back my exercise calories because I am only slightly above my BMR to begin with. I hope this answer clears up the "if it is working, why change it?" I have a few friends in my homepage who were the 1200-1300 calorie eaters, and they lost weight for like 3 months, and then they were stuck. As soon as they came above their BMR, they lost again, and are on a continuous path to getting healthy!! I know it is a hard decision. I loved stepping on that scale and seeing things FALL, but I am worried what the long-term changes will be, and I definitely don't want to plateau. Good luck!!! Great questions

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