TDEE-20% Share your story-good or bad!!

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Allup2Me78
Allup2Me78 Posts: 589 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Those who have used the TDEE- whatever % method and are above your BMR daily please share your story as I have been at 1300 for a LONG time and just started looking into not eating below my BMR (1617) & eating up to my TDEE-20% (1779) so I started it yesterday and have my calories set at 1700 for now. Will be trying to make it to the 1617 atleast daily, not over 1700 and soon hopefully at the 1779. Please share your story if you were at a lower calorie range and now at TDEE-a %..Gains, stalls, lost??..What have you went through with it?
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Replies

  • RoxianneM
    RoxianneM Posts: 17 Member
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    I'll be curious to see what kinds of responses you get. I started this last week. My TDEE -20% is 1649 and BMR is 1489, which seems like a lot (and is 249 calories more than my nutritionist recommended). I've been on a weight-loss program through my insurance since December, which includes personal training and nutritionist appointments. I've been counting calories, working out at least twice a week, and haven't lost weight and my BMI hasn't changed. I'm definitely stronger and have more stamina. I decided to take things into my own hands and try using the TDEE and BMR and see how that goes.
  • passionflwr1
    passionflwr1 Posts: 31 Member
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    Bump
  • petitedemoiselle
    petitedemoiselle Posts: 69 Member
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    I just started the method this week and would love to hear other people's results too.
  • Allup2Me78
    Allup2Me78 Posts: 589 Member
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    I just started it on Sun so I am terrified because I am going from 1300-1622/1700 a day but we shall see. I will NEVER eat below my BMR again because I read all the damage it does when you eat below it!
  • smithed812
    smithed812 Posts: 289
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    I've been doing this for several weeks... Went from eating about 1200-1400 to eating about 2000 (I got a Bodymedia armband and I burn 2500-3300 calories a day). My weight has not changed, but I think it will take time for my body to adjust to the extra calories. I have lost an inch and a half in my waist though, and my body fat has gone down 1.2%. I'm not giving up yet!
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    It works. There is no negative to this. Your body gets the nutrients it needs to function, and you lose weight in a safe manner.
  • Allup2Me78
    Allup2Me78 Posts: 589 Member
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    Great to hear this!
    I've been doing this for several weeks... Went from eating about 1200-1400 to eating about 2000 (I got a Bodymedia armband and I burn 2500-3300 calories a day). My weight has not changed, but I think it will take time for my body to adjust to the extra calories. I have lost an inch and a half in my waist though, and my body fat has gone down 1.2%. I'm not giving up yet!
  • natmadc
    natmadc Posts: 116 Member
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    I have done it, it has worked, it takes time, be patient and be consistent, it's way better than having to survive on fewer calories. :happy:
  • Allup2Me78
    Allup2Me78 Posts: 589 Member
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    Did you gain at first?
    I have done it, it has worked, it takes time, be patient and be consistent, it's way better than having to survive on fewer calories. :happy:
  • emAZn
    emAZn Posts: 413 Member
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    bump
  • aaasky
    aaasky Posts: 68 Member
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    bump
  • chasetwins
    chasetwins Posts: 702 Member
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    When I started on here..like most I was doing the 1200. At first it was pure torture then I adjusted and started having a hard time eating that. I started working out and thought there is NO way 1200 is healthy for me!! I am not a maniac with work outs - only burn between 200 and 500 each session depending on activity.
    I raised my calories from 1200 to 1550. I think i did it kind of slowly if I remember but it was not on purpose it just happened that way. I believe I only did the 1200 for a few months - maybe 3 so I may not have done a whole lot of damage. I did not see a stall at all. I have been losing faithfully between .4 and 2.4 lbs per week average about 6-7 lbs per month.
    (the .4 hurts lol...but 1 week per month it is always there..no idea why. But I expect it now and a loss is a loss!)

    I used to obsess about the macros and have stopped - all I care about is the calories. If I stop losing I will evaluate my macros but right now...it is working. My BMR and TDEE - % are a few calories away from the same. I also alternate my calories (again not always on purpose) I have one or 2 high calorie days and the rest lower or at goal. This method seems to work wonders for me :)

    best of luck!
  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,831 Member
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    I use TDEE-20% as my daily target. Sometimes I go over. Sometimes I am under. I don't regularly eat my exercise calories back because my exercise is minimal at best. (I'm working on that.) I've been here since March and have been regularly losing about 1.4 pounds a week.
  • Achrya
    Achrya Posts: 16,913 Member
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    I'm working up to TDEE-20% (1900+). I stared on MFP with a 1350 goal and found I became a very unpleasant person. I quit then came back at the end of April. I found out about TDEE and it's various deficit possibilities and started to work my way up. I spent a month at 1625, another month at 1725, and am now at 1825. I usually stall right after upping (Didn't lose any this week) but once my body is adjusted I go back to dropping weight at a decent rate. I've lost about 9 pounds sine May 7th, so just over a pound a week.

    Most importantly I'm not hungry or cranky and have lots of energy for working out, which I love to do.
  • Hadabetter
    Hadabetter Posts: 942 Member
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    I went with TDEE - 500 calories at the first of the year, and I averaged a 1 lb/week loss for almost 6 mo. Some weeks I lost none, one week I gained, but I averaged 1 lb/week over the 6 months. I recently took a break, and have been eating at TDEE for a couple of weeks, but this week I just returned to the TDEE - 500 plan, so as to lose the last few remaining lbs.

    Needless to say, I've never been hungry on this plan.

    Edit: For me TDEE - 500 calories is aprprox TDEE - 18%.
  • Allup2Me78
    Allup2Me78 Posts: 589 Member
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    Great replies!! It seems to be working well for you all...I have been trying to get to atleast my BMR 1622 but that is still hard..Since Sun-I have just been feeling so stuffed and it's like I know I am supp to be eating more to help my body but it seems wrong to feel this full!
  • kwedman488
    kwedman488 Posts: 132 Member
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    I've just recently started to do insanity, and thankfully the nutrition guide for it had me calculate this. For me, my BMR gives me 1318 calories to work with thereabouts, but because I do insanity, run 3 miles every morning, and work 2 jobs that require me to be on my feet a lot, I said I was very active which gave me roughly 2273 calories to work with. However, since I'm trying to lose fat I subtracted 500 calories and gave myself a 1750 calorie goal to work with. I'm one of those people that has a hard time eating a lot of calories, though so I haven't been making that at all. I used to eat a max of 800 a day but I knew that was unhealthy, so I worked up the courage to bump it up to about 1200, 1250 calories a day. I feel like I've been seeing better results, whether it be from working out a lot or from eating better, so maybe I'll slowly work my way up to eating some more calories throughout the day, but for right now I feel pretty happy with the food/eating routine I have right now. As it is, I eat every 2 or 3 hours and I don't really get hungry until it's time for me to eat again on schedule, so in that retrospect I don't feel the need to add calories, especially when I'm slowly seeing the results I want. However I've read from other topics and such that for people wanting to gain muscle mass, they need to eat a lot more calories to get those results so I'm a little unsure as to what to do. I'm only afraid of slowing my progress by eating more calories, especially when that isn't what my body is accustomed to. But if eating your TDEE is working for others, I might have to try it.
  • JulieAnn72
    JulieAnn72 Posts: 795 Member
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    I started at the beginning of the year doing 1200 calories and not working out. I lost 12 1/2 lbs in 3 months. Then I started working out and stopped losing weight. I hovered around the same weight for 2 months. So I upped my calories based on TDEE -20% and I lost 3 1/2 lbs in 3 weeks!
  • elvensnow
    elvensnow Posts: 154 Member
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    I don't have a long time at this, but I just started NROL4W and been eating ~2000-2400 calories a day which according to the book should be my maintenance calories (actually a bit more since I still go over sometimes D:). And this is after eating ~1400 for a year and on a plateau, then not caring what I ate (moving across states, etc) and gaining ~15lbs.

    I've only been doing it for a week and a half, my weight has been the same BUT I have lost 1 inch from my bust, waist, and hip measurements. So I do think I will be going in the right direction soon! I try to hit my macros but don't usually. Been working on upping the protein. But I have a weakness for baking, so I usually eat a cookie or 2 a day for a week. Still trying to keep it within calories though.

    Also here's a couple other posts that have a few successes in them:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/983441-plateau-anybody-increase-calorie-intake-and-have-success?hl=increase+calorie+success#posts-15025986
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/777762-lost-weight-by-increasing-calories-please-respond?hl=increase+calorie+success
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/672109--kiki-i-need-your-progress-success-testimonies-for-site
  • Allup2Me78
    Allup2Me78 Posts: 589 Member
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    So how much did you go up from? 1200 to what? And no gain at all?
    I started at the beginning of the year doing 1200 calories and not working out. I lost 12 1/2 lbs in 3 months. Then I started working out and stopped losing weight. I hovered around the same weight for 2 months. So I upped my calories based on TDEE -20% and I lost 3 1/2 lbs in 3 weeks!

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