Hi..help please?

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I've read the pinned notes, bought the EM2WL ebook and perused the boards.. I"m just wondering if someone could confirm for me that I have this right.

I used the Scooby site and used 1-3 hrs light exercise & 20% cut using the Harris method.

Results:
BMR - 1753 (don't net lower than this!)
TDEE to maintain - 2410
TDEE with 20% cut - 1928 (this is what you want to NET every day!)

Is the NET part right? So my food intake can be 3400 as long as I work out enough to NET 1928? (3400 is an exaggeration, I just want to make sure I have the NET part right). In other words, am I correct in just needed to focus on the NET at the end of the day as well as my macros?

Thank you so much in advance for your confirmation (or explanation on why i'm wrong!) on the above!

xo

Replies

  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    NET is wrong, if that Lightly Active was honest inclusion of exercise time and normal daily activity.
  • natini
    natini Posts: 347 Member
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    TDEE is your maintanence and that already includes your exercise. You selected lightly active. You need to eat 1928 every day.
  • InspiredSAM
    InspiredSAM Posts: 98 Member
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    The others are correct, the TDEE method has already calculated your burned calories into the equation. There is no netting of food. That is why it is important to select the correct "activity level" when determining your calorie intake and deficits.

    Hope that helps.
  • MamaEpstein
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    THANK YOU THANK YOU!! So glad I asked!!

    So I changed my food goal to be 1928 per day.

    And if I'm reading things right, if I work out more than I planned to (yay me!) I would make sure to eat the 1928 PLUS any calories I burned that would bring me under my BMR ..Right?

    So..
    I eat 1928 calories
    I burned 400 calories in a day (which happens 1 time a week maybe - mostly i'm around 200)
    That means my NET would be 1528 and my BMR is 1753 so I should eat 225 more calories that day correct?

    If that's a yes - by george i think i've got it!!
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    Well, even in that example, the calorie burn shown to you is total for that time.

    But since you are in diet you already have accounted for all your time so many calories per hr, you really only need be concerned with the burn above and beyond what is already accounted for.

    Additionally, the whole reason for picking a weekly activity level and averaging it back out to daily level, is because lighter or rest days provide the balance to the workout days burning more.

    In reality, you could find 24 hrs in your week, probably daily, where you do NOT actually NET your BMR.
    The idea that the body runs on a midnight to midnight schedule is kinda foolish, as long as your weekly total shows avg above the line in the sand BMR, and you have balance in a 48 hr time period, don't make your deficit even smaller by netting to your BMR.
    If that was the case, then you should eat less on rest days because those are inflated.
    In which case, might as well just go back to eating back exercise calories, but with a deficit.

    Now, if it's totally beyond the 3 hrs you gave yourself for the week, yes eat those exercise calories back with same 15% deficit to them.
  • MamaEpstein
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    Thanks..i think.

    I used to think I was a pretty smart person until I tried to figure this out!!

    Alright so until my workouts increase in times per week OR my weight changes I'll keep to the EAT 1928 calories per day.

    That's correct, right? :)
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    Correct.

    And if you miss a planned workout that was part of figuring out that TDEE level, skip 100 calories that day and the next rest day.

    If you make it up, add 100 calories that day and the next rest day.

    If you add a totally new unplanned workout, log that workout, but with the same 15% deficit to the amount, and eat them all back.
  • MamaEpstein
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    thank you so much for taking the time to help me out!