How often to recalculate TDEE?

Phrick
Phrick Posts: 2,765 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
As of this morning, I've lost 14lbs since starting to eat using my TDEE -25% as my target (1928 cal/day). When should I recalculate things? Every ____ pounds? Every ____ weeks? Every month?

Replies

  • trixiemou
    trixiemou Posts: 554 Member
    I have seen on here to re-do TDEE after every 5lb lost.

    Keep up the good work!:smile:
  • CherokeeBabe
    CherokeeBabe Posts: 1,704 Member
    Every 5lbs is reasonable I think, I've been doing it about that often :)
  • SaffSaad
    SaffSaad Posts: 81
    Every 5lbs is reasonable I think, I've been doing it about that often :)

    This. Also I recalculate TDEE if I change my routine (exercises, daily or weekly activity).
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    Every 5lbs is reasonable I think, I've been doing it about that often :)

    This. Also I recalculate TDEE if I change my routine (exercises, daily or weekly activity).

    ^^^ this

    if you change your amount of daily activity, or if you lose weight

    ALSO

    as you approach a healthy body fat percentage, you should change the percentage under TDEE that you eat:

    a lot of fat still to lose... TDEE -25% is fine

    obese but not so far from a healthy body fat percentage... TDEE -20% is better

    healthy body fat percentage... (i.e. losing the last few lbs) - stick to TDEE -10%

    This is because the leaner you get, the higher the risk of losing lean body mass along with the fat. Also, do exercise that works the muscles hard to help maintain lean body mass, especially when you get close to your goal.
  • Phrick
    Phrick Posts: 2,765 Member
    Every 5lbs is reasonable I think, I've been doing it about that often :)

    This. Also I recalculate TDEE if I change my routine (exercises, daily or weekly activity).

    ^^^ this

    if you change your amount of daily activity, or if you lose weight

    ALSO

    as you approach a healthy body fat percentage, you should change the percentage under TDEE that you eat:

    a lot of fat still to lose... TDEE -25% is fine

    obese but not so far from a healthy body fat percentage... TDEE -20% is better

    healthy body fat percentage... (i.e. losing the last few lbs) - stick to TDEE -10%

    This is because the leaner you get, the higher the risk of losing lean body mass along with the fat. Also, do exercise that works the muscles hard to help maintain lean body mass, especially when you get close to your goal.

    According to the IPOARM military body fat % calculator I'm still at <totally embarrassed> 55.7% body fat. Which is an improvement already from where I started, but still! I think that counts as "a lot of fat still to lose" LOL. I thank you for the reminder (really!!) as I tend to hyperfocus and forget the details but I am going to stick with the -25% for now!
  • BflSaberfan
    BflSaberfan Posts: 1,272
    Every 5lbs is reasonable I think, I've been doing it about that often :)

    This. Also I recalculate TDEE if I change my routine (exercises, daily or weekly activity).

    ^^^ this

    if you change your amount of daily activity, or if you lose weight

    ALSO

    as you approach a healthy body fat percentage, you should change the percentage under TDEE that you eat:

    a lot of fat still to lose... TDEE -25% is fine

    obese but not so far from a healthy body fat percentage... TDEE -20% is better

    healthy body fat percentage... (i.e. losing the last few lbs) - stick to TDEE -10%

    This is because the leaner you get, the higher the risk of losing lean body mass along with the fat. Also, do exercise that works the muscles hard to help maintain lean body mass, especially when you get close to your goal.

    According to the IPOARM military body fat % calculator I'm still at <totally embarrassed> 55.7% body fat. Which is an improvement already from where I started, but still! I think that counts as "a lot of fat still to lose" LOL. I thank you for the reminder (really!!) as I tend to hyperfocus and forget the details but I am going to stick with the -25% for now!

    I would still recalculate because I am sure after 14 lbs lost you might be able to eat a little less calories now. Try scoobysworkshop.com
  • Phrick
    Phrick Posts: 2,765 Member
    I would still recalculate because I am sure after 14 lbs lost you might be able to eat a little less calories now. Try scoobysworkshop.com
    I just did, that's where the 55.7% body fat came from (when I started it was 56%) and yes, my calories have gone down from 1928 to 1916. I'm consistently anywhere from 5-40 calories under every day anyway (sometimes more, and over only once I believe, the day we went to Disney and ate out twice) so I always have some extra wiggle room.
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    Every 5lbs is reasonable I think, I've been doing it about that often :)

    This. Also I recalculate TDEE if I change my routine (exercises, daily or weekly activity).

    ^^^ this

    if you change your amount of daily activity, or if you lose weight

    ALSO

    as you approach a healthy body fat percentage, you should change the percentage under TDEE that you eat:

    a lot of fat still to lose... TDEE -25% is fine

    obese but not so far from a healthy body fat percentage... TDEE -20% is better

    healthy body fat percentage... (i.e. losing the last few lbs) - stick to TDEE -10%

    This is because the leaner you get, the higher the risk of losing lean body mass along with the fat. Also, do exercise that works the muscles hard to help maintain lean body mass, especially when you get close to your goal.

    According to the IPOARM military body fat % calculator I'm still at <totally embarrassed> 55.7% body fat. Which is an improvement already from where I started, but still! I think that counts as "a lot of fat still to lose" LOL. I thank you for the reminder (really!!) as I tend to hyperfocus and forget the details but I am going to stick with the -25% for now!

    if it's any consolation, the military calculator tends to overestimate body fat in people who have a lot to lose, so your body fat percentage is probably not quite as high as that, but keep using it, as it's really great to see the numbers drop as you lose fat. Even if it's not 100% accurate, it will still show you your progress. Every inch you lose from your waist or hips will show as a loss in body fat percentage, very motivating :smile: and it's still showing true fat loss, even if the numbers are not showing the exact body fat percentage.

    TDEE -25% should be just right for you :) stick with it, and adjust the numbers when you start to get close to your goal :)
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    I would still recalculate because I am sure after 14 lbs lost you might be able to eat a little less calories now. Try scoobysworkshop.com
    I just did, that's where the 55.7% body fat came from (when I started it was 56%) and yes, my calories have gone down from 1928 to 1916. I'm consistently anywhere from 5-40 calories under every day anyway (sometimes more, and over only once I believe, the day we went to Disney and ate out twice) so I always have some extra wiggle room.

    were they measured with the same method both times? I'm inclined to think that 55.7% is an overestimate. If you were 56% by another method then lost 14 lb I think you would have lost more than 0.3%
  • Phrick
    Phrick Posts: 2,765 Member
    I would still recalculate because I am sure after 14 lbs lost you might be able to eat a little less calories now. Try scoobysworkshop.com
    I just did, that's where the 55.7% body fat came from (when I started it was 56%) and yes, my calories have gone down from 1928 to 1916. I'm consistently anywhere from 5-40 calories under every day anyway (sometimes more, and over only once I believe, the day we went to Disney and ate out twice) so I always have some extra wiggle room.

    were they measured with the same method both times? I'm inclined to think that 55.7% is an overestimate. If you were 56% by another method then lost 14 lb I think you would have lost more than 0.3%

    sadly, yes. I would think so too, but I used the same calculator both times and this time I took all the measurements twice to be more sure they were accurate or just as accurate as I can make them by myself. I've lost 1/2 inch from my waist and everything else (neck, hips) is the same. I don't know where the 14 pounds came from if measurements aren't changing - maybe from my ample bust? :laugh:
  • rfsatar
    rfsatar Posts: 599 Member
    Definitely after every 5% lost, but I tend to adjust them once a month when I re-check my measurements with a good ol' fashioned tape measure and then work out body fat, and use Scooby's calcs for the rest.
  • Phrick
    Phrick Posts: 2,765 Member
    I'll have my husband help me measure again when he wakes up (it's 5am here, he'll be down in about 1.5 hours), and if anything changes by his efforts I'll rerun the numbers again.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    What I do is copy my food diary into a spreadsheet that calculates my average calories and compares it to weight loss. In November, I used my food diary and weight loss to calculate my TDEE. Since November, my TDEE hasn't changed. I calculate about once a month.
  • JessicaRobin67
    JessicaRobin67 Posts: 275 Member
    I recalculate every 5 pounds.
  • Phrick
    Phrick Posts: 2,765 Member
    Ok, so I had my husband redo my measurements - same as what I measured. So he got out the manual and calibrated the scale and I re-weighed. I have lost NINE pounds not fourteen. While it's a touch disappointing, it makes a ton more sense!

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