Help with TDEE & logging exercise

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Kind of new to this and I've searched and really can't find an answer.... I use a heart rate monitor when I work out and log exercise calories burned. Should I be eating calories back if I am using TDEE with activity set to sedentary or just make sure to eat at least the 1685 cals/day?

TDEE=2106 with activity set to sedentary;
BMR=1755;
TDEE-20% = 1685

Thanks! :) Oh, and I need to lose close to 100 lbs.

Replies

  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
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    Couple things:

    Why are you set at sedentary if you're not sedentary? :tongue:

    Your TDEE - 20% shouldn't be lower than your BMR.

    If you are exercising, then you're at LEAST lightly active. If you want to stick with sedentary, then eat back your exercise cals - but generally folks who do the TDEE method figure exercise in with the activity level, and then don't eat back the exercise.

    Case in point - the fact that your daily goal as it is now has you below your BMR. BMR is coma calories, and you're not in a coma, so you should be netting more than that. Even if you were to eat back exercise cals, on days you didn't workout, you'd be coming in under BMR.

    So you need to either refigure your TDEE with a different activity level, or stick with sedentary, log exercise cals and eat them back, but take only 10-15% off your TDEE to get your goal - something that will land higher than BMR.

    Hope that makes sense. :bigsmile:
  • Heidi_20
    Heidi_20 Posts: 138 Member
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    I have had much success with the tdee-20%. I just make sure I eat that and set my calories burn for exercise to 1 to not play with my numbers! After every 5lbs I redo numbers! I've found it works! Most people on hear have done both ways. Just do what you think is easy for your lifestyle!
  • jennyann117
    jennyann117 Posts: 34 Member
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    Makes sense, thanks for the info :)