CONFUSED! TDEE, NET CALORIES...PLEASE EXPLAIN!

caroldot
caroldot Posts: 388 Member
in Food and Nutrition
According to calculator, my TDEE is 2268. In order for me to lose 20 lbs in 3 months, I need a deficit of 765 calories per day which equals 1503 (lets just round off to 1500).

The part I'm confused about is that my Total Calories Consumed or my Net Calories Consumed per MFP? I need to know where to set my calorie count at.

Please help!

Replies

  • haroon_awan
    haroon_awan Posts: 1,208 Member
    Remember TDEE = Total Daily Energy Expenditure.

    Set your calorie goal to 2268. Eat less than that and you will start to lose weight. Do NOT set your calorie goal to 1500 and try to eat less than that. 765 is almost a 35% reduction from your TDEE and more likely than not you will lose lean body mass as it is a very aggressive deficit. There's also a good chance that you will not be able to sustain this in the long term and to be quite honest it is not sensible. I don't know many people (if anyone at the moment) who can sustain a ~35% deficit for 3 months.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1017045-a-very-interesting-and-informational-read-on-deficits
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

    Remember there are two ways to lose weight: either decrease your caloric intake or increase your daily expenditure:

    Eat 2000 calories per day + burn 0 calories from exercise = 2000 total calories
    Eat 2500 calories per day + burn 500 calories from exercise = 2000 total calories.

    This is a simplified version, but the principle is the same. Follow a structured training program, eat an adequate amount of protein and also eat enough calories that your body needs. I don't know your current states, but as mentioned a ~35% is not very wise.
  • hifi898
    hifi898 Posts: 54
    Easy enough. If you're going to use TDEE-20% (my TDEE is around the same as yours) to lose, you'll want to go to Settings > Custom Goals and put in the 1503 number. Your TDEE-20% includes exercise calories, so you don't need to log those. Your Net Calories total will stay the same as the consumed calories.

    The 'Net' calorie count only comes into play with exercise you enter in MFP. Once you enter exercise amounts, you'll see a (-) number and the net calories will be adjusted to your consumed calories. You can take a peek at my profile if you want to see what my calculations look like. I've got a negative adjustment in there for my exercise today.

    I use RunKeeper to log cardio and a FitBit to keep up with total calories burned. I have negative calories on for this in MFP, so I've entered my BMR for my total calorie goal every day. I only want to see 'earned' calories when I earn them from exercise. Keeps me on track.

    I hope this makes sense and helps!

    ETA: See the poster above me for a better explanation. It's easy to understand once you get it, but sometimes it doesn't come out right typing it out...
  • LaurenAOK
    LaurenAOK Posts: 2,475 Member
    Assuming you did TDEE correctly, 1503 would be your TOTAL calories, not net. You should have factored exercise into your TDEE.

    If you didn't factor exercise into your TDEE for some reason, you should eat 1503 net, or 1503 + exercise calories.

    Also, I agree with what someone said above, a deficit of over 700 calories is probably too high. You'll sacrifice some lean mass (and therefore your metabolism) at that rate. With only 20 pounds to lose, you should be aiming for 1 pound a week (500 calories). When you get down to only 10 left to lose, it's smart to cut down to 1/2 pound per week (250 calorie deficit). Definitely don't eat less than 1500, and consider eating more.
  • Bekahmardis
    Bekahmardis Posts: 602 Member
    I enter a "goal" number slightly higher than my BMR. My FitBit calculates the exercise portion and I eat *everything* that MFP tells me I can eat.

    For instance, right now my goal is set at 1250 (my BMR is 1195...yes, I'm small). My FitBit syncs throughout the day as I go about my day to day job and as I exercise on the treadmill...if I do a strength workout, I enter that on FitBit.com.

    MFP sees the exercises from the FitBit and adds those calories into the running total for me. I then Eat what it says as my Calories Remaining until I hit "0." My "Net" amount then equals or comes very close to or equal to my "goal."

    End Result:

    Goal = Net and I can just look at the numbers without thinking too hard about it.
  • MzManiak
    MzManiak Posts: 1,361 Member
    If you use the TDEE method, you should include all of your exercises. Therefore, you should not get extra credit for them on MFP. 1500 would be the total amount of calories.

    If, however, you calculated TDEE not including your exercises, you should use it as a net and add your calories burned to that amount.... or recalculate it including your exercises.

    Make sure to calculate your BMR though. If that's above 1500, you should up your net calories to at least your BMR.
  • caroldot
    caroldot Posts: 388 Member
    Thanks everyone! This helps!

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