Using TDEE or The Calculator Here

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Becca1637
Becca1637 Posts: 38 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Which do you use and which seemed to work better for you? The TDEE calculator or the calculator provided here on MFP?

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  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
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    MFP with adjustments from Fitbit


    edit:
    I have never really tried the TDEE method. Mostly because I don't have a set exercise schedule. My activity level bounces all over the place, making it hard to come up with the correct TDEE number.
  • Becca1637
    Becca1637 Posts: 38 Member
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    I am currently using it with inactive since I am not working out like I used to...so anything I do above that is a plus. But, I noticed the calculator here is giving me a calorie count that is 200 calories less than what I am using so now I'm not sure which one to use. I guess I will see where I am at my one month checkpoint and adjust accordingly.
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
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    When I started I used MFPs settings and ate back my exercise cals. As I got closer to goal, I wanted to "fine tune" things a little more, so I went for the TDEE method, wanting to know my BMR and TDEE so I'd have a better knowledge of my own parameters. I lost the last 10lbs and fat and inches on the TDEE method, aiming for the same daily goal and not eating back exercise cals as they were calculated in already - but also knowing I could eat all the way to TDEE and still not gain.
  • 257_Lag
    257_Lag Posts: 1,249 Member
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    A combination of them both in reality. I use a TDEE (sedimentary) -20 and then eat the exercise calories since they are so hit or miss. Could be 5 days straight and then not for another 5 days. Working so far.
  • sr_erick
    sr_erick Posts: 25
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    I see this question so much. They boil down to the same thing, although tracking with MFP can be more accurate because it takes into account daily fluctuations in exercise. MFP takes your BMR and subtracts your deficit into it giving you the goal to reach each day without doing a thing more. Eating food brings you closer to that goal, exercising moves you further away from it. The more you exercise, the more you can eat. Don't think that eating back calories you exercised off is bad, especially if you are mixing in resistance training. Those calories you are taking in are what's being used to fuel your workouts and build your muscles, and your workouts are burning those calories in addition to fat, so it's an entire cycle. Just make sure you come in at or under what MFP is telling you to for your daily calorie goal.

    TDEE may be more useful if you primarily lift weights and have a very consistent workout schedule. TDEE is BMR + exercise and daily exertion (if you have a demanding physical job). Subtracting your deficit from that number vs how MFP subtracts if from your BMR makes no difference and they both accomplish the same goal, giving you a net number of calories to consume per day.

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