I'm a bit confused with "TDEE - 20%"

KiwiMiwi93
KiwiMiwi93 Posts: 10 Member
edited January 25 in Health and Weight Loss
Ive read as much as I can on the forum about it but I'm still a bit confused. I currently exercise 6-7 days a week- strength training and cardio - I do body pump classes as well as yoga/Pilates and step/zumba and I run 3x a week and I also eat anywhere between 1700 - 2000 calories a day. I make sure not to go below 1700 or else I just get cranky and way too hungry. I'm currently 20 years old and I'm 5'8 and weigh approx.155lbs. I was just wondering if the amount of calories I've been eating is too high ? Should I lower it ? Iddon't want to lose any muscle mass and I'm afraid that if I go below 1600kcals that I may risk losing muscle vs. Fat. I'm also not looking to lose weight too quickly but rather .5 - 1 lb a week. Thanks so much for all the help!! :))

Replies

  • Zoemarie89
    Zoemarie89 Posts: 59
    Bump... I too am concerned about the number of cals to eat... Looking for any advice going :) Good luck!
  • jessicae1aine
    jessicae1aine Posts: 885
    Alright, this is gonna be pretty link heavy, but it's really easy to do.

    First, go here, fill in these numbers, and use the average at the bottom:
    http://www.gymgoal.com/dtool_fat.html

    Take that number and go here and fill in all the information:
    http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/

    The next page will give you a bunch of info, but what you want is your Katch-McArdle BMR. Take that, and multiply it against whichever of these suits you. Basically NO ONE is sedentary, so I'd avoid that:

    Activity Multiplier
    Sedentary = BMR X 1.2 (little or no exercise, desk job)
    Lightly active = BMR X 1.375 (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk)
    Mod. active = BMR X 1.55 (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk)
    Very active = BMR X 1.725 (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk)
    Extr. Active = BMR X 1.9 (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.)

    That is your TDEE. Generally, it's a good idea to eat between 15-30% below your TDEE to lose weight. Some people gain at first, if it's a higher number than what they have been eating; that usually goes away after a week or two. I started this and began losing weight crazy fast, at -20%. It should be updated every 10 or so pounds, including your body fat %.
  • deanabailey
    deanabailey Posts: 124 Member
    If you have a fitbit you can see what your actual TDEE is every day. I went to the TDEE calculator and your TDEE is around 2600 if you take 20% off of that - you can eat 2080 calories and still lose weight.
  • cacleghorn
    cacleghorn Posts: 61 Member
    For women ...
    Your approximate BMR is
    655+(4.35 x Weight in pounds)+(4.7 x Height in inches)-(4.7 x Age) = BMR
    655 + (4.35 x 155) + (4.7 x 68) - (4.7x 20) = 1555 calories
    This is the amount of calories your body burns just from being alive.

    Your TDEE is about
    Your BMR x 1.7* (Because you are very active, working out 6-7 days/wk) = TDEE
    1555 x 1.7 = 2644 calories
    This is the amount of calories you could eat a day and maintain.
    *use 1.55 if moderately active, 1.375 if lightly, and 1.2 if sedentary

    And your TDEE - 20% (or 80% of your TDEE) is about
    2644 x 0.80 = 2114 calories
    This is about the amount of calories you should eat to lose weight.

    It seems like you're just about on target, depending on how intense your workouts are and what your activity is like outside of your workouts. If you up your intake a bit, you'll better ensure that more of what you're losing is actually fat and not lean body tissue. But mostly it seems like you've got it down. :)
  • KiwiMiwi93
    KiwiMiwi93 Posts: 10 Member
    Wow! Thank you guys SO much for helping me out!! I'm definitely happy that I'm on the right track now :)) I really appreciate all the help! :))
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