Women around 5'8"

I just used the numbers provided by MFP. I ate back my exercise calories and dropped 20 pounds. It worked for me. Most days I was eating 1700-1900 calories with exercise.

My TDEE is 2417. If I deduct 20% from that I should be eating around 1800-1900 cal. a day to lose weight? Right? It just seems like a lot to be on a mission to lose this last 20 pounds!

That's it . eat 20% less TDEE . Fact: You will lose weight it might take 20weeks but that's the reality of losing 20pounds of pure body fat

I'm 5'8" about 150lbs now but need to drop 10 more to get to the 'ideal' weight for my height and body frame. My TDEE calulation came out to about 1430 calories a day. I've been sticking to that and I don't eat back calories. Since switching to the TDEE from what MFP recommends, I've lost 1.8 lbs in the last 2 weeks. I was stuck before.

aurora_simone, TDEE is a way to calculate the calories you need to maintain your weight at your normal activity level, then you subtract 500 from it to get the level of calories you would eat to lose 1 lb a week. The difference between TDEE and MFP is that the TDEE already figures in your activity so you would not eat back calories, MFP doesn't take your activity into the calculation so you can eat back any calories that you burn.

The TDEE calculation is:

Female: 655 + (4.35 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years)
Male: 66 + (6.23 x weight in pounds) + ( 12.7 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years)

Multiply the number you got from the calulation above by 1.375 for low levels of activity or 1.55 for moderate levels of activity or 1.725 high levels of activity. This is the calories you need to eat to maintain your current weight. Subtract 500 for a 1 lb per week weight loss.

I'm 5'8" and can't remember what my TDEE was when I calculated it a while back, but I set my calories for 1,700 per day and eat some or all of my exercise calories back. I burn 300-400 calories 5-6 times a week, so I'm often eating @2,000-2,100 calories per day. I loose if I stay consistent with this, but I usually have a big fail day where I don't track and eat a ton more, and then I maintain.

My TDEE is 2417. If I deduct 20% from that I should be eating around 1800-1900 cal. a day to lose weight? Right? It just seems like a lot to be on a mission to lose this last 20 pounds!

Sounds about perfect to me. In fact, if it's your last few pounds, you should be eating more, say a 10-15% reduction, then edge up the calories towards your maintenance 2417 as you get closer.

Remember this method includes your exercise calories, so you don't record and eat them back separately.

In fact my TDEE works out almost exactly the same as MFP when I take my average exercise over a week into account, but I find the MFP method more useful FOR ME as it's simpler and acts as a motivation to actually do the exercise!

Great thread. My TDEE is 1876, but, I work at a desk job. So to lose a pound a week, I think I would eat 1376 + my exercise calories. I used the calculator on fitnessfrog.com and input that I got little to no exercise normally. Does that make sense? I'll see how this works. I am committed, I am BEYOND committed, for the first time in a long time.

My TDEE is 2417. If I deduct 20% from that I should be eating around 1800-1900 cal. a day to lose weight? Right? It just seems like a lot to be on a mission to lose this last 20 pounds!

Sounds about perfect to me. In fact, if it's your last few pounds, you should be eating more, say a 10-15% reduction, then edge up the calories towards your maintenance 2417 as you get closer.

Remember this method includes your exercise calories, so you don't record and eat them back separately.

In fact my TDEE works out almost exactly the same as MFP when I take my average exercise over a week into account, but I find the MFP method more useful FOR ME as it's simpler and acts as a motivation to actually do the exercise!

I agree -- it motivates me to exercise if I "get" to add the expended calories on and eat them. Sometimes if I want to plan a big meal for dinner, I will exercise during the day so I have enough calories.

TDEE about 2200, calorie goal about 1750.


ETA, you're going to get a variety of answers here, as weight, age and activity level are going to vary from woman to woman.

I'm 5ft 8inch and I weigh 207lbs. My TDEE is 3030.

At the moment I am eating 1700, I will increase it as I go along

I was eating between 1200 and 1500 calories but I jus wouldn't lose weight. As soon as I increased my intake the weight started ti come off again.

Hi, I am new here and just calculated my TDEE (what does this mean?) its telling me that I should have an intake of 1263 kcal's a day.
Could somebody explain all the meanings please and how can i get a tracker.
my weight now is 210 lbs and would like to slim down back to a size 14.
A 18 now.
greetings from Zagemeel

Hi, I am new here and just calculated my TDEE (what does this mean?) its telling me that I should have an intake of 1263 kcal's a day.
Could somebody explain all the meanings please and how can i get a tracker.
my weight now is 210 lbs and would like to slim down back to a size 14.
A 18 now.
greetings from Zagemeel

The tracker / ticker is in Apps (next to Community) at top of page when visiting MFP via web browser

My TDEE is 2417. If I deduct 20% from that I should be eating around 1800-1900 cal. a day to lose weight? Right? It just seems like a lot to be on a mission to lose this last 20 pounds!

if you only have 20lb to lose, you might be better off with a 15 or even a 10% deficit. Be prepared to make the deficit smaller as you lose more weight. You'll probably be okay with 20% to begin with.

The less your body has to lose, the more likely it is that you'll lose muscle and/or bone density along with the fat. You can prevent that by a) doing exercise that works the muscles hard and makes your bones carry weight, and b) eating plenty of protein and generally eating a healthy diet including calcium for your bones and c) making sure you don't make the deficit too big.

It may take longer.... but what you want is to lose pure fat and keep it off for life, you're more likely to succeed at that if you take the fat loss slowly and do everything the healthy way.

Obviously your TDEE will vary according to how active you are. But as a moderately active person (I workout most days, walk my dogs, but have an often sedentary job), my figures are very similar to yours. I find if I stick in the 1800 - 2000 cal region, I lose nicely. More than that, and my losses slow down to a snail like pace. I can go down to about 1600 to speed things up a smidge, but if I go any lower than that, I find I am very hungry.

Hope that helps.