TDEE Calorie Calculations

cryswest57
cryswest57 Posts: 141 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Alright, so my goal is to do cardio for an hour everyday. I don't consider what I'm doing to be "heavy exercise," but when I did my TDEE calculation it qualified exercising everyday as "heavy exercise." Is this accurate? I'm just trying to figure out my correct TDEE. Thanks for all the help! :smile:

Replies

  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
    Do you have a rough idea of how many calories you burn during your workout? If so, you should be able to check to see if it is close when you choose heavy. Just calculate TDEE using sedentary, add the exercise calories and average it for the week.
  • cryswest57
    cryswest57 Posts: 141 Member
    I really wish I had a hrm. According to mfp, I lose about 500 calories. I try to go as intense as I can handle. I mean even light exercise (1-3 days per week) is 2048 calories which is almost double of what mfp tells me to eat which is 1340. I really would like to eat that much. I just want to make sure I can actually lose weight eating this much. I have been reading about people upping their calories and TDEE so I'm just looking to make sure this is accurate.
  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
    example:

    TDEE Heavy = 2500

    TDEE sedentary = 2000

    Workout calories = 450 5x/wk

    "Actual" = (2000*7 + 450*5)/7= 2321 cal/day.
  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
    what is your weight loss goal set at? 2 lbs/wk?
  • cryswest57
    cryswest57 Posts: 141 Member
    No, it is set to 1 lb., but the more the better lol!
  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
    well, if MFP is telling you to eat 1340, and you are set to 1 lb/wk, then your TDEE is 1840. What activity level did you choose in MFP when you set up your goals?
  • cryswest57
    cryswest57 Posts: 141 Member
    I chose lightly active.
  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
    Then the numbers probably make sense.

    Understand that TDEE is calculated by multiplying BMR by a factor as follows:

    1.2 = Sedentary (Little or no exercise and desk job)
    1.3-1.4 = Lightly Active (Light exercise or sports 1-3 days a week)
    1.5-1.6 = Moderately Active (Moderate exercise or sports 3-5 days a week)
    1.7-1.8 = Very Active (Hard exercise or sports 6-7 days a week)
    1.9-2.0 = Extremely Active (Hard daily exercise or sports and physical job)

    BMR is how many calories your organs need to stay alive, but includes no movement. TDEE is how many calories that you need to maintain your current weight. If you want to lose weight, you need to eat somewhere between your BMR and TDEE - it just depends on how fast you choose (faster is not better, btw)
  • Greenrun99
    Greenrun99 Posts: 2,065 Member
    I really wish I had a hrm. According to mfp, I lose about 500 calories. I try to go as intense as I can handle. I mean even light exercise (1-3 days per week) is 2048 calories which is almost double of what mfp tells me to eat which is 1340. I really would like to eat that much. I just want to make sure I can actually lose weight eating this much. I have been reading about people upping their calories and TDEE so I'm just looking to make sure this is accurate.

    MFP Tells you what to eat based on you eating back your exercise calories as GauchoMark has pointed out.. If your doing an hour of all out cardio, getting your HR up and really making it intense.. thats probably 350-500 calories (depending on your weight/height)..

    Its not a race, your probably not going to lose 5lbs a week.. and if you look at how much you ate before to gain weight, why is it so hard to believe just cutting a few things from that will help you lose weight.
  • cryswest57
    cryswest57 Posts: 141 Member
    Alright, I'm trying my best to understand. So, I should anywhere between 1340-1840 calories per day then?
  • cryswest57
    cryswest57 Posts: 141 Member
    I actually didn't have much of a problem gaining weight before I was pregnant. I'm 5 months post-partum so I'm just trying to get back in shape. I used to be able to eat whatever and not gain weight.
  • blobby10
    blobby10 Posts: 357 Member
    For some reason this has struck a chord with me and I've just calculated my TDEE (again!) . This less 20% is 1964 cals - currently I'm eating around 1500. Maybe why I've not lost any weight at all??

    Doh - light bulb moment or what!

    (Sorry to all those who have said this over and over and over again - I did read it but it just didn't make sense til now)
  • blobby10
    blobby10 Posts: 357 Member
    EEEEk - just changed my goals and my daily calorie intake now reads 1964!! it seems shockingly high but I'm willing to give it a go and see if the weight starts to come off over the next couple of weeks

    x
  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
    Cryswest57 - if you want to tell us your height, age, current weight, and if you have it %bf, we can run some numbers for you.

    blobby10 - for a 43 y/o female with 15 lbs to lose, a TDEE of 2455 seems a little high to me. You must be pretty active?
  • blobby10
    blobby10 Posts: 357 Member
    Gaucho Mark - That's allowing for workouts 3-5 days per week and I do a minimum of 5 x 45 minutes pretty intense (no HRM though) plus general running around at the weekend after children, shopping, rugby coaching etc. I do have a very sedentary job though/ Happy to reduce daily target as it seems WAY higher than I ever thought.
  • rebeccamcarthur1
    rebeccamcarthur1 Posts: 14 Member
    GauchoMark: I am highly confused by all these numbers. I had originally cut my calories down to 1200/ day but found out that wasn't very realistic. I am currently 26yrs old and weigh 186 lbs, I am 5'4. I would like to get down to 135-140 range. I upped my calories according to MFP to 1460/ day. I work out everyday for at least 60 mins total (usually 45 mins elliptical & 15 mins stationary bike- moderate effort. I also lift weights in between each program on the equipment. My BMR (according to MFP) is 1570. My BMI is 32%. and I think my TDEE is 2355? I understand that I didn't put this weight on overnight it happened over a long period of time. I just need to get it through my head that it is not going to come off over night. I need some help. I want to make sure my numbers are right so I can continue to try to reach my goal.
  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
    Rebeccamcarth - looks like you have a pretty good handle on it. Your TDEE (assuming sedentary) is 1964, so if you lose 1 lb/week, your target would be 1464/day. Using sedentary, just log your exercise and eat at least 50%-100% of the exercise calories back.

    blobby - I'm not saying it is wrong, per se, just that it sounds high to me and double check that! Since I don't know your stats, it may be dead on. I like this site for checking - http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
  • blobby10
    blobby10 Posts: 357 Member
    GauchoMark - thank you for that link. The 1965 does appear to be high given my goals so Im resetting to 1680 - lets see what happens now!! Thank you for all your guidance :-) x
  • Jole117
    Jole117 Posts: 2 Member
    Hi, I saw this thread and was wondering since I have been struggling to determine how many calories I should be eating each day, if you can help me too :) I have hit a plateau and want to lose my last 5 lbs. I am 123lbs, 5'1, 27 years old and go to the gym about 4 days per week burning on average 500calories each time. Im reading through these posts but Im confused. ANy help would be great! Thanks:)
  • jessbixl
    jessbixl Posts: 34
    Gaucho Mark, hey sorry for asking you this too but I was wondering if I am eating the right amount of calories too? I did the spreadsheet people recommended I do it said I should eat about 1,834 is that too high for me? I want to lose about a pound a week. I'm 5'4, 29 years old, and weight 244 lbs. I'm pretty sedentary. If you could tell me I would really really appreciate it you seem to know what you're taking about! Thanks so so much in advance! I just want to make sure I'm eating the right amount and not eating too many calories because I really want to lose more weight! Thanks! Also wanted to say the calculations are kind of confusing to me too! =(
  • jessbixl
    jessbixl Posts: 34
    bump
  • jessbixl
    jessbixl Posts: 34
    or if anyone else knows that would be great! I just need to confirm I did the worksheet right/understand it correctly.
  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
    That looks about right Jessbixl. Just stick to it for about 2 months and go back and take a look and you should have lost about 8 lbs or so as long as you log accurately.
  • jessbixl
    jessbixl Posts: 34
    That looks about right Jessbixl. Just stick to it for about 2 months and go back and take a look and you should have lost about 8 lbs or so as long as you log accurately.

    Thanks for replying! =)
  • SkimFlatWhite68
    SkimFlatWhite68 Posts: 1,254 Member
    http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

    This site asks you to put in minutes and hours per day of exercise and movement, sitting etc and will work it out for you. It's very good. You can then average your TDEE over a week ... calculate an exercise day and a non exercise day and do an average.

Categories