Thought I knew what I was doing??? Help!!!

amie290478
amie290478 Posts: 24 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all,

MFP sets my calorie intake at 1260 per day. Which is what I was working with. I seem to have stalled in my weight loss (possibly cos I wasnt eating any of my excercise calories, which I have now corrected) so I have done a bit of research about BMR and TDEE and stuff like that and now Im completely confused.....

BMR is 1680 and TDEE is 1973?!? What on earth should I follow??

Any advice would be greatly appreiciated and any new friends who want to add me also v. welcome

Replies

  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    Personally, I prefer to eat 20% less than my TDEE, but that's just easier for me than tracking my exercise every day. I would say pick one (either MFP including eating your exercise calories or a 20% cut from your TDEE) and stick with it for several weeks to give it time to work. Reassess if you stall again.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,430 MFP Moderator
    This is how I break a plateau. Set your account to maintain for 1 week. And aim to eat +/- 100 calories within that goal. Second, after that week come back and set a less aggressive goal. If it was at 2 lb per week set it at 1 - 1.5 lb per week. Also, I would adjust macro's to 40% carbs, 40% protein and 20% fats. And if you exercise, eat 50% of those calories back.
  • dangerousdumpling
    dangerousdumpling Posts: 1,109 Member
    Well, you have a few choices.
    You can stick with what you're doing by eating 1260 per day and eating your exercise calories.
    Or you could increase to whatever number of daily calories you are comfortable with if you're hungry.
    Or you could subtract 20-25% from your TDEE and eat that amount, but do not eat back your exercise calories.
    Or you could subtract 20-25% from your TDEE, eat that amount, and eat back your exercise calories.

    I know it can feel overwhelming and it's hard to make a choice. I felt that way, too. Finally I just picked one and got started because I felt like I wanted to start being consistent so I could look for weight loss patterns, which I have seen in the past with consistency. I was probably no help at all. Just wanted to say I understand it can be hard to choose. My choice was based on how much hunger I'd be dealing with. Because hunger sucks. :laugh:
  • crystal2point0
    crystal2point0 Posts: 52 Member
    adjust macro's to 40% carbs, 40% protein and 20% fats. And if you exercise, eat 50% of those calories back.


    I dont want to sound stupid but what does this mean exactly? I have seen several people say "adjust your macros" in forums and never knew what they meant by this. Is this a manual adjustment that you just know what you have to do in each category or are you suggesting that you set this someone on the site? Because I have never seen anywhere when I can set how many carbs vs protein vs fats I eat.
  • sweebum
    sweebum Posts: 1,060 Member
    500 off your TDEE for a 1lb a week.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    Hi all,

    MFP sets my calorie intake at 1260 per day. Which is what I was working with. I seem to have stalled in my weight loss (possibly cos I wasnt eating any of my excercise calories, which I have now corrected) so I have done a bit of research about BMR and TDEE and stuff like that and now Im completely confused.....

    BMR is 1680 and TDEE is 1973?!? What on earth should I follow??

    Any advice would be greatly appreiciated and any new friends who want to add me also v. welcome

    How many cals do you burn during a typical workout, how do you measure those burned cals, and how often do you workout?
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    OP, your profile says you joined MFP in May 2012 and have lost 9 lbs. Have you been eating 1260 total calories since May with only 9 lbs lost? If so, it is unlikely that your TDEE is 1973 or that your BMR is 1680. Remember calculators will only give you population based averages.

    In this case, I would suggest increasing your exercise intensity, and upping your calories by 200-300 to begin with. Try that for a few weeks and see what happens.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    adjust macro's to 40% carbs, 40% protein and 20% fats. And if you exercise, eat 50% of those calories back.


    I dont want to sound stupid but what does this mean exactly? I have seen several people say "adjust your macros" in forums and never knew what they meant by this. Is this a manual adjustment that you just know what you have to do in each category or are you suggesting that you set this someone on the site? Because I have never seen anywhere when I can set how many carbs vs protein vs fats I eat.

    Under Goals choose Change Goals choose Custom and then you can update the percentages you want to hit for protein, fats, and carbs.
  • anasantos61
    anasantos61 Posts: 86 Member
    bump
  • LovingLisa2012
    LovingLisa2012 Posts: 775 Member
    I dont want to sound stupid but what does this mean exactly? I have seen several people say "adjust your macros" in forums and never knew what they meant by this. Is this a manual adjustment that you just know what you have to do in each category or are you suggesting that you set this someone on the site? Because I have never seen anywhere when I can set how many carbs vs protein vs fats I eat.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/change_goals_custom
  • dangerousdumpling
    dangerousdumpling Posts: 1,109 Member
    adjust macro's to 40% carbs, 40% protein and 20% fats. And if you exercise, eat 50% of those calories back.


    I dont want to sound stupid but what does this mean exactly? I have seen several people say "adjust your macros" in forums and never knew what they meant by this. Is this a manual adjustment that you just know what you have to do in each category or are you suggesting that you set this someone on the site? Because I have never seen anywhere when I can set how many carbs vs protein vs fats I eat.


    Go to My Home>>Goals>>Change Goals>>Custom. Save your changes. Some people like 40/40/20 and some people like 40/30/30.
  • amie290478
    amie290478 Posts: 24 Member
    OP, you're profile says you joined MFP in May 2012 and have lost 9 lbs. Have you been eating 1260 total calories since May with only 9 lbs lost? If so, it is unlikely that your TDEE is 1973 or that your BMR is 1680. Remember calculators will only give you population based averages.

    In this case, I would suggest increasing your exercise intensity, and upping your calories by 200-300 to begin with. Try that for a few weeks and see what happens.

    Hi, no I started ages ago but lost it completely. That 9lbs lost is since 1st Jan this year.
  • GmaBecky2
    GmaBecky2 Posts: 1 Member
    Can someone tell me what a TDEE is
  • amie290478
    amie290478 Posts: 24 Member
    Thanks everyone,

    I did originally join in 2012 but didnt stick to it :-( the 9lbs lost is since 1st Jan this year
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    OP, you're profile says you joined MFP in May 2012 and have lost 9 lbs. Have you been eating 1260 total calories since May with only 9 lbs lost? If so, it is unlikely that your TDEE is 1973 or that your BMR is 1680. Remember calculators will only give you population based averages.

    In this case, I would suggest increasing your exercise intensity, and upping your calories by 200-300 to begin with. Try that for a few weeks and see what happens.

    Hi, no I started ages ago but lost it completely. That 9lbs lost is since 1st Jan this year.

    Got it. Then the calculators are a good place to start. If it were me, I'd probably aim for about 1700-1750 per day in your case. Give it a few weeks for body to adjust. Adjust from there if needed.
  • dangerousdumpling
    dangerousdumpling Posts: 1,109 Member
    Can someone tell me what a TDEE is

    Total Daily Energy Expenditure. It's how much energy or how many calories your body uses for all of your daily activities including, working, exercise, sleeping, and even just sitting around holding down the couch. TDEE is different than your BMR, which is how much energy your body would use as a bare minimum such as during nothing but sleep 24/7 or during a coma. Maybe people advise not eating under your BMR. Instead they'd advise eating somewhere in between BMR and TDEE for weight loss.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    Hi all,

    MFP sets my calorie intake at 1260 per day. Which is what I was working with. I seem to have stalled in my weight loss (possibly cos I wasnt eating any of my excercise calories, which I have now corrected) so I have done a bit of research about BMR and TDEE and stuff like that and now Im completely confused.....

    BMR is 1680 and TDEE is 1973?!? What on earth should I follow??

    Any advice would be greatly appreiciated and any new friends who want to add me also v. welcome

    With those numbers, if it were me, I'd eat between 1600 and 1700.

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