Success with TDEE??

cmeyers54 · February 2013

Has anyone had success losing weight eating tdee-20%???
I am so totally confused. MFP puts me at eating 1560 calories to lose 2 pounds a week and if I figured my TDEE correctly, I should eat about 2500 calories to lose. That's a big difference!! I really need help with this. I need to lose 100 pounds. I started being active on MFP on January 7th and have lost 13 pounds so far. But the last 2 weeks I feel like I'm stuck. I lost .8 one week and .6 the other. I would think being as big as I am I would get bigger losses at least in the beginning. My current weight is 278. My goal weight is 180. I am excercising 6 days a week. M, W, F walking 2.5 miles at 4.0 on treadmill. T, TH, S is zumba. I plan on replacing the treadmill days with weight training in a couple weeks. I need suggestions on a weight training plan I can do 3 days a week and continue my zumba the other 3 days and still lose weight. Also, suggestions on how many calories I should eat. I'm not looking for a miraculous 100 pound weight loss in 2 months, I would just like to lose around 1-2 pounds consistently every week. This is why I always quit because I quit seeing results and it soooooooo frustrating. Any help would be greatly appreciated!! TIA

catrunsintowindow · February 2013

Ok, breathe. Your post comes across like you're panicking.

TDEE vs MFP: The big difference between those two numbers is that MFP is your NET calories (Eaten calories minus Exercise calories) while TDEE is your TOTAL calories (Eaten calories only). If you're working out 6 days a week, you're going to be eating a fair number of those calories back, so the total calories eaten for both methods should be roughly the same. (It might also be worth noting that -20% and -2lb a week are not the same thing, but both will be effective methods of calculating a deficit. I prefer the TDEE method myself, but you're free to pick what you like).

Plateau: Everyone hits one. A pound and a half in two weeks is actually not that bad- healthy weight loss is 1-2lb a week, so that actually puts you almost on track. I know it's crazy slow, but keep doing it!

Weight Training: I would pick up The New Rules of Lifting for Women by Lou Schuler. It has good, sensible progressions with clear explanations and is isn't written for teenage boys.

Abi_bug04 · February 2013

I just recently started to use the TDEE/BMR method and absolutely love it!
It let's me eat to my fill (!!!!!) and also makes me very aware of what I am putting in my body!
I was referred to the "spreadsheet" which does all the calculations for you (you just need to put in your exercise amounts for the week, and it calculates the net amount of calories you should be eating. I find this method much simpler, and feel more comforted in knowing that I am eating the right number of calories, because I have lost 5 lbs 3 weeks into the method!
The reason why MFP puts you at that calorie amount, is because it expects you to eat your exercise calories back- whereas the TDEE method does not. That way, if you estimate burning ~300 calories a day or more, you would be able to eat those back, whereas in the TDEE method, it is accounted for and you dont need to worry too much about it. Even still, I find that the spreadsheet definitely makes life easier=

You can download it from here:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/heybales/view/spreadsheet-ver-3-for-bmr-tdee-deficit-calcs-macro-calcs-hrm-zones-426221

I generally stick to the "simple setup" tab because it is straight forward. I may go into it a bit more and tweak it once I have lost more weight, however for now I am sticking to that! I then just manually change my MFP settings to the target indicated by the spreadsheet. Afterwards, I don't add in any exercise, unless I do something absolutely intense. I thought that this method took away the uncertainty of wondering about how many calories were right for me based on my activity level!

Just another option that makes all of this simpler!

Good luck!

SEC_RULES · February 2013

BUMP

imjenjen00 · February 2013

I am having success eating my TDEE-20%.

For years, I'd been unintentionally starving myself by trying to maintain 1200-1500 calories while doing HIIT and heavy strength training. I began working with a nutritionist/trainer at my gym and we increased my calories to my TDEE-20%. I didn't realize how sh*tty I'd been feeling until I didn't anymore. I've lost a steady 2-3 pounds per week, plus I feel SO MUCH BETTER and it's really helped my workouts too.

cwolfman13 · February 2013

If you're using the MFP method, you should eat back your exercise calories. TDEE - 20% is closer to 1 Lb per week loss for most people...if you follow the MFP method and eat back your exercise calories (about 80% of them to account for BMR calories and estimation error) you should lose roughly 1-2 Lbs per week. Remember though, it's not linear. I have weeks where I lose very little and weeks where I lose more and weeks where I lose nothing...but when I look at it over a longer time frame (months) it averages out to about 1 Lb per week for me and my goal.

Both methods are viable...if you're new and don't have a set exercise routine, I'd recommend sticking with MFP and eating about 80% of your exercise calories. If you're comfortable in your routine and know, on average, about how many calories from exercise and general living you burn over the course of a week, then the TDEE method is a good option because you can simply plan your day better.

I wasn't comfortable moving to the TDEE method until I had a very set routine and burning a consistent number of calories through exercise every week. Remember, when using the TDEE method, if you switch things up exercise wise...increase intensity...decrease intensity...increase time...decrease time...take time off to nurse an injury, etc you will have to adjust your caloric intake accordingly to account for that.

By the by...is the 2,500 calories your TDEE or TDEE - 20%?

emrogers · February 2013

I wish I could understand all this. My head is hurting trying to take it all in. I think I would benefit from this a lot since I don't see the scale moving at all.

cmeyers54 · February 2013

If you're using the MFP method, you should eat back your exercise calories. TDEE - 20% is closer to 1 Lb per week loss for most people...if you follow the MFP method and eat back your exercise calories (about 80% of them to account for BMR calories and estimation error) you should lose roughly 1-2 Lbs per week. Remember though, it's not linear. I have weeks where I lose very little and weeks where I lose more and weeks where I lose nothing...but when I look at it over a longer time frame (months) it averages out to about 1 Lb per week for me and my goal.

Both methods are viable...if you're new and don't have a set exercise routine, I'd recommend sticking with MFP and eating about 80% of your exercise calories. If you're comfortable in your routine and know, on average, about how many calories from exercise and general living you burn over the course of a week, then the TDEE method is a good option because you can simply plan your day better.

I wasn't comfortable moving to the TDEE method until I had a very set routine and burning a consistent number of calories through exercise every week. Remember, when using the TDEE method, if you switch things up exercise wise...increase intensity...decrease intensity...increase time...decrease time...take time off to nurse an injury, etc you will have to adjust your caloric intake accordingly to account for that.

By the by...is the 2,500 calories your TDEE or TDEE - 20%?

2500 is TDEE -20%

cmeyers54 · February 2013

Maybe that's what I have been doing wrong. I have been just staying with my 1560 calories a day NOT eating back exercise calories. Maybe I will try that and see if that helps.

Do you think I should stay with my routine as far as exercise or should I replace the treadmill days with weight training. I don't know a whole lot about the weight training though. Do I lift as heavy as I can and lower reps or do I lift lighter and increase reps. This is all sooo confusing. No wonder I'm fat!!

tsamples23 · February 2013

TDEE - 20% is basically what I'm doing, trying to watch what type of calories too, but mostly its how much I've put in vs my TDEE, So far its working well, another thing I do is I have what I call a zag day on Saturdays, so I eat around 2000 calories that day just to try to throw my body off of what to expect. Remember though its a journey, not a sprint, so if its coming off slower than you like adjust but don't panic.

imjenjen00 · February 2013

Maybe that's what I have been doing wrong. I have been just staying with my 1560 calories a day NOT eating back exercise calories. Maybe I will try that and see if that helps.

Do you think I should stay with my routine as far as exercise or should I replace the treadmill days with weight training. I don't know a whole lot about the weight training though. Do I lift as heavy as I can and lower reps or do I lift lighter and increase reps. This is all sooo confusing. No wonder I'm fat!!

I would definitely add 2-3 days of lifting to your routine. There's a book I highly recommend called The New Rules of Weight Lifting for Women. Don't be afraid to lift heavy.

auddii · February 2013

I Even still, I find that the spreadsheet definitely makes life easier=

You can download it from here:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/heybales/view/spreadsheet-ver-3-for-bmr-tdee-deficit-calcs-macro-calcs-hrm-zones-426221

I generally stick to the "simple setup" tab because it is straight forward. I may go into it a bit more and tweak it once I have lost more weight, however for now I am sticking to that! I then just manually change my MFP settings to the target indicated by the spreadsheet. Afterwards, I don't add in any exercise, unless I do something absolutely intense. I thought that this method took away the uncertainty of wondering about how many calories were right for me based on my activity level!

This is completely what I do. I use the simple setup in the spreadsheet. Because I'm lifting, I have a better chance of preserving lean muscle mass, so it allows for a higher deficit of 1.5lbs per week (that works out to be closer to TDEE-30%). I started in mid-December, and I've lost about 13lbs since then (about 11 weeks). I've been losing a little over a pound a week, but I ate whatever I wanted over Christmas and New Years, so I'm pretty happy with that.

concordancia · February 2013

Your TDEE-20 and MFP are 950 apart. At your size, I wouldn't be at all surprised if you are burning that much in Zumba. Once you eat back your exercise calories, the numbers are very similar.

kegbail · February 2013

bump

Success with TDEE??

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