I need help, my lovely friends! TDEE?

kmuree
kmuree Posts: 283 Member
in Food and Nutrition
It has been a while since I've logged, and when I last did so, I was running on roughly 1,500 calories a day (working out an average of 5 times a week, 300 calories each, and I ate my calories back). I was losing a steady half a pound or pound a week.

Keep in mind that I am a 192lb female, age 23, 65 inches. I'd like to lose a good 50 pounds in the long run but understand it takes time and dedication.

Here's where I am now confused, looking back. I researched my TDEE and it is (on average) 2,324 calories a day. I read and understand that to lose fat, I have to have a deficit of 15-20% - making it roughly 1,975 calories or 1,860 calories that I have to intake a day. That is a FAR cry from the 1,500 calories I have been consuming.

My question is .. should I go by My Fitness Pal's recommendation, or that of the TDEE?

When I did this last year, I consumed 1,500 calories, burned 300, ate the exercise calories back - making it 1,500 net. Does it actually make it 1,500 net, or is it actually 1,800 total because of the rate that calories burn?

If I choose to make my caloric intake 1,860, do I eat that much, exercise the same amount, and still eat those 300-400 calories back to maintain 1,860 net?

1,860 seems like so many calories but I just want to understand the science and mathematics behind it. :flowerforyou:

Thank you to anyone who can shed some light on this!

Replies

  • sarahkalt88
    sarahkalt88 Posts: 51 Member
    MFP is missing a lot of criteria for determining what you should be eating. Its really hard to get a correct TDEE without being tested properly. If you go to the gym, they likely have a hydrostatic scale (sends a small electrical pulse up through your body, and measures your percentages based on how long it takes for the signal to return to its point of origin) that will be able to tell you most accurately what you should be eating. You shouldn't have to book a special appointment for that, it only takes a minute tops! Online calculators are notoriously incorrect because they don't differentiate between fat, and muscle, for them weight is weight. Based on a basic calculation, those big muscular guys in the gym are likely obese, when in fact they're not obese at all so you can see how a standard calculation could misdirect you. Best to ask for assistance, to keep your momentum going!
  • kmuree
    kmuree Posts: 283 Member
    Thank you! I will definitely have to call up my gym and ask if they have it - otherwise, I can probably talk to my boyfriend's best friend. He's a personal trainer and has the same equipment (and spent all Christmas bragging about it!)

    :laugh: Don't know how I didn't think of that before. Thank you for the suggestion.
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
    If you were eating your calories back, then yes, you were eating around 1800 calories a day anyway, which is similar to the TDEE method, as you don't eat cals back with that since exercise is figured into your daily goal. Make sense? :tongue: Hope I'm not making it more complicated!

    Personally, I have liked using the TDEE method (I follow the info in this topic, which gives links to tools that calculate body fat percentage into BMR & TDEE, etc - so slightly more accurate than some) - http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/974889-in-place-of-a-road-map-short-n-sweet - that is the short & sweet version of the plan, there's a longer thread with more detail available too.

    But I have liked having my daily goal be the same, exercise or not, and have had great success with this method for over a year.
  • kmuree
    kmuree Posts: 283 Member
    If you were eating your calories back, then yes, you were eating around 1800 calories a day anyway, which is similar to the TDEE method, as you don't eat cals back with that since exercise is figured into your daily goal. Make sense? :tongue: Hope I'm not making it more complicated!

    Personally, I have liked using the TDEE method (I follow the info in this topic, which gives links to tools that calculate body fat percentage into BMR & TDEE, etc - so slightly more accurate than some) - http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/974889-in-place-of-a-road-map-short-n-sweet - that is the short & sweet version of the plan, there's a longer thread with more detail available too.

    But I have liked having my daily goal be the same, exercise or not, and have had great success with this method for over a year.

    That actually makes perfect sense, thank you! I didn't realize that the TDEE method was to not eat back the exercise calories. It would literally be very similar then. :laugh: I will definitely check out the link, thank you so much for your input.

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