Does eating at TDEE really work?

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  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    I don't even know if I can eat that much.

    It is very easy to add a few hundred more calories to your day without adding a lot of volume of food.

    Choose full fat items instead of low fat (yes your body needs fat from foods to function properly). Add nuts, seeds, olive oil, peanut butter. A handful of almonds is about 200 calories.
  • Roll_Tide_Meg
    Roll_Tide_Meg Posts: 255 Member
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    Just wanted to add....when you first start to increase you calories you might see a slight gain on the scale. It will take your body a little while to adjust since you have been eating at BMR. Don't let this discourage you.

    ^^^THIS

    I increased by about 4 lbs but it is coming down now that my body has adjusted. :) It works and your body feels so much better!
  • NutellaAddict
    NutellaAddict Posts: 1,258 Member
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    Just wanted to add....when you first start to increase you calories you might see a slight gain on the scale. It will take your body a little while to adjust since you have been eating at BMR. Don't let this discourage you.

    ^^^THIS

    I increased by about 4 lbs but it is coming down now that my body has adjusted. :) It works and your body feels so much better!

    I agree.
  • Stacey_Leeann
    Stacey_Leeann Posts: 23
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    It is working for me! Remember you do not eat back exercise calories with this method, and you have to remember to recalculate with every 5 lb loss! :)
  • Josee76
    Josee76 Posts: 533 Member
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    I don't even know if I can eat that much.

    It is very easy to add a few hundred more calories to your day without adding a lot of volume of food.

    Choose full fat items instead of low fat (yes your body needs fat from foods to function properly). Add nuts, seeds, olive oil, peanut butter. A handful of almonds is about 200 calories.

    No offence to you OP... but my palm goes to my forehead every single time I read a post about people saying THEY CAN'T EAT THAT MUCH!

    WHAT BROUGHT US HERE??? EATING!!!

    I have weighed 289 lbs in my life.... trust me FOOD WAS NO ISSUE!!!! I speak from experience. I am not one of those bashing heavy people.... I was there; I lived it!

    There are simple ways to get yourself to your TDEE-20% cals in a very healthy way; by skipping out on the proper way of fueling your body you are only causing yourself problems for the long run!

    1/3 of a cup of ALMONDS is 330 calories
    1 tbsp of olive oil is 120 cals (Make your own salad dressing - use 2 TBSP's!)
    1 tbsp of butter is 100 cals

    EAT ICE CREAM!!!!

    I do TDEE-20%; I eat 2000 calories a day! I am a 37 year old female, I am 5'6", I weigh 163 lbs and I wear a size 6! I accomplished this by EATING!
  • jeshhh
    jeshhh Posts: 44 Member
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    No offence to you OP... but my palm goes to my forehead every single time I read a post about people saying THEY CAN'T EAT THAT MUCH!

    WHAT BROUGHT US HERE??? EATING!!!

    No worries, no offense taken. It's more that I've been logging my food for over 155 days – I'm very accustomed to eating the way I eat now. And honestly, I got here more by lack of exercise than by eating... it was far easier to get my eating under control than to start exercising consistently (I'm still working on that part).

    I've trained myself out of eating butter, ice cream, full-fat peanut butter (I eat PB2), more than 1 tablespoon olive oil, more than just a few almonds at a time, etc. etc. What I mean by "I'm not sure I can eat that much" is "I haven't eaten that much in almost half a year, and it would feel weird to me." Also, I was forgetting to subtract the 20% from my TDEE in my original post – 1700 is much easier to manage than 2100!

    Still learning here.
  • Josee76
    Josee76 Posts: 533 Member
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    I lost 100 lbs in my 20's, the wrong way.... I cut out things that I loved and I created a binge eater. I had never had a problem with binging, ever! After I lost the weight; it became a serious issue, because everything I loved became off limits.

    This is about balance and lifestyle. FAT is not the devil; we need it in our diet, in moderation. So simple changes would get you to 1700 cals without a problem. I really don't mean to come across as being harsh, but there are ways of doing this and making it sustainable!

    You've got this!
  • jeshhh
    jeshhh Posts: 44 Member
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    I really appreciate that, and I understand your (and other posters') frustration with my original post, considering I had a giant gap in my knowledge! I'll work on the simple changes, up my cals to 1710, and stop eating back exercise cals. Fingers crossed!

    Thank you!
  • Josee76
    Josee76 Posts: 533 Member
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    You need to allow your body time to adjust. When I changed over to TDEE-20%, I gained weight. It was to be expected.... my body needed to try to figure out what the heck was happening to it.... but it is honestly the most solid way to lose fat and maintain your muscle mass. Once you get to know your body, this will all fall into place!
  • lorierin22
    lorierin22 Posts: 432 Member
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    I would just like to add that even though it seems like a "no fail" way of doing things, you do have to remember that TDEE, BMR, and calories burned from exercise are just estimates. So with that in mind, try to make sure that your food diary is as accurate as possible. Measure, weigh and keep track of everything you eat so you will have a pretty good idea of how many calories you are taking in. Good luck!

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