calculating TDEE

cals83 · February 2013

I have been for the most part doing what MFP has told me to do in order to lose 1/2 pound a week at a sedentary lifestyle. I am trying to net around 1600 calories and for the first couple of weeks, I didn't have a problem with it. For the past two weeks though, I am hungry even though for the most part, I am eating the same things I was eating before. Also, the first 2 weeks I lost a few pounds and then the past 2 weeks, my pants got a little looser even though the scale didn't move so I'm not sure if maybe my metabolism is higher from working out more?

I found a link http://www.1percentedge.com/ifcalc/ in another thread and I was trying to figure out if maybe I should be eating more since I am more active now.

Basically what I do on MFP is I set it to sedentary since I have a desk job and that is what MFP says to do. Then I log walking every day because I walk my dogs a few times a day and I go for walks during my breaks. I also do a 30 minute dumbbell routine 2 times a week which I log as calisthenics and I do a 60 minute spin class 2 times a week that I log as stationary biking. I eat back most of those calories if not all of them.

When I go to this new calculator, it tells me to pick moderate because I work out 4 times a week. This calculator is telling me that to lose 1/2 pound a week, I should eat 1920 calories on regular days and 2400 calories on workout days which is a lot higher than the default from MFP and with every calculator giving you different criteria in order to determine if you are sedentary or moderately active, I just don't know what to put....but obviously I would like to be able to eat more.

Also not sure if it helps but my BMR is 1528 according to the averages on the fancy calculator and my scale shows my BF between 24 and 25% (yes I know it isn't 100% accurate but I do think it is good for tracking changes. Also when I had it measured at the gym it was about the same on the scale so I don't think it is too off.) and my goal is to get down to 21-22% bf and then reassess my goals if need be.

Also, I wouldn't mind changing my bf by adding muscle because I want a faster metabolism so I can eat more. Right now my dumbbell routines are only using 5 pound and 10 pound weights but I am weak as heck and struggle to do 2 to 3 sets of 10 reps with those but do plan on getting some adjustable dumbbells so I can get stronger as time goes on.

Anyway...any help that you can provide would be very welcome because I am just very clueless with how all of this stuff works.

Nighteyez07 · February 2013

What kind of diet are you currently doing? A specific diet or one of your own devising?

cals83 · February 2013

What kind of diet are you currently doing? A specific diet or one of your own devising?

I'm not following any specific program currently outside of what MFP tells me to do. I did change my ratios to 40/30/30 but don't necessarily follow them. I do try to get at least 100 grams of protein and 60 grams of mostly healthy fats and I usually do unless I get sick from eating something I shouldn't be eating (which I don't do on purpose but it seems to be happening quite a bit lately). Outside of that I have just been trying to stick to 1600 calories like MFP tells me to do. And like right now, I am hungry and dinner won't be ready for 3 hours and I don't have any extra calories for more snacks unless I want to add in another work out....I already have to do a 30 minute one to compensate for the food I've already eaten if MFP is right.

kisses4dylan · February 2013

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

this will be beyond helpful with what you are asking!

dshines27 · February 2013

I'm not following any specific program currently outside of what MFP tells me to do. I did change my ratios to 40/30/30 but don't necessarily follow them. I do try to get at least 100 grams of protein and 60 grams of mostly healthy fats

This is just my personal experience, but I would suggest that you closely monitor how much carbs and sugar you are getting. So, for a long time I did a diet that was very natural (no processed foods, lots of fruit and veggies, whole grains, low fat dairy, lean meats - but only in small amounts and not every day). I was successful in weight loss in the past, but when I started that diet up again recently I was not enjoying it. I felt hungry and wanted to eat ALL DAY. I would end up eating about 1450-1550 calories (when my goal is 1200).
Well recently I started reading about sugars and carbs and started changing what I eat... I have removed all grains - except one thing a week. And I remove all fruit except one per day, consumed in the morning or afternoon, and i choose berries or citrus. So far, I am not hungry during the day and I am eating 1200-1300 calories like I'm supposed to! I have also already lost 5 pounds doing this.
Just to give you an example, my previous breakfast of choice was 2 servings (1.5 - 2 cups) of an organic, natural cereal with almond milk. I was almost always hungry 2-3 hours later, so I brought lots of snacks to work... However, I my snacks would be something like this: a banana, an apple, a green pepper, an orange and strawberries. I thought I was being so good since it was all fruit and veggies! :-)
Now, I eat two hard-boiled eggs (or scrambled if I have time) and either a pepper or an orange or a left over piece of pork or steak if I have it for breakfast. I haven't been taking snacks to work and I just eat a veggie and lean meat salad for lunch and I make it all the way to dinner without being hungry.

This is just my personal experience, but might be something worth looking into.

lousoulbody · February 2013

http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

I found this calculator rewarding, you put in the amount of exercise, and leave the deficit at -20%, you do NOT eat your exercise cal's back and for every 5 lbs you loose you recalculate. I like this site for all kinds of reasons, its informative and free.

Cheers:drinker:

xilka · February 2013

I've been studying my TDEE against my weight loss for several months now, and have found it to be much higher
than what MFP or the In Place of a Road Map tell me.

To be really accurate, I track weekly deficit as well as daily.
I figured out that I was losing weight twice as fast as I was supposed to by MFP calculations,
and, by doing the math, was able to figure out what my true TDEE is.

I am 5'0ft, 118lbs, workout 6 hours x week, eating 1900-2100 calories, and losing 1/3 lb x week.

I think that there are so many success stories here in part because MFP underestimates TDEE by quite a bit.
So even if you net higher than you're meant to, there's still most likely going to be a deficit.

hookilau · February 2013

bumpity bump bump for later

cals83 · February 2013

Ok thank you guys so much. I am looking at the Scooby calculator and it says for a 15% calorie reduction to do 2,049 calories and it looks like that is close to the 1/2 pound per week I was aiming for...it might even be a little bit more. If I can keep my existing muslce mass, I have less than 10 pounds to go so I don't want to do anything drastic and mess up my metabolism.

So I am going to try doing a 2,000 calorie diet and stop logging my exercise on here and see how it goes for a few weeks. I have been doing close to that anyway after I add in all of my walking. In a couple of weeks depending on how things are, I might add in another spin class to put me more towards the middle of the moderate range. 2,000 calories seems much better to me though so I am really hoping this works.

cwolfman13 · February 2013

It's been working great for me. I'm on my last 10-15 Lbs now and I'll tell you honestly, these last Lbs are going to be tough. The first 25 seemed to just melt off, but I can feel my body now trying to hold onto whatever fat stores I have left as I am at a healthy BF%, but not at the BF% I want to be at.

hifromjamers1984 · February 2013

Bump

calculating TDEE

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