TDEE

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djwife03
djwife03 Posts: 333 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
When doing scooby a workshop and calculating my calories I get 3 different numbers. Where is says, "number of Calories based on step 6". And it says 1690.....is that what I need to net each day? I exercise 4 days a week so I entered 1-3hrs of exercise a week. I do have a desk job but I also exercise. I just need help! I burn abou 400 cals per workout. I've yet to lose any weight and I've actually gained. I have lost a couple inches but that's it. I was logging consistently but lately not so much. I'm still exercising and trying to eat better. Just very frustrated. I know I'm hungry often. By the time I get home from work I'm starving! So maybe I'm not eating enough or the right things to stay full? I'm 39, 5'11 and 168(although today I weigh 172!) and since summer 2012 I've gained 10lbs! I don't have a hrm, just an app on my phone I put my weight, the number of minutes of my workout and the workout itself, and it gives me a calorie burn. The I take off 100 calories from that. I don't have a food scale(hopefully this weekend!) but I do my best with portions.
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  • djwife03
    djwife03 Posts: 333 Member
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    Tonight my dinner was broiled salmon, half a backed potato with light butter, and salad with yogurt dressing. We ate at 5:30 and I'm hungry now! So am I now eating enough?
  • Dunsirn
    Dunsirn Posts: 82 Member
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    This whole TDEE thing is like dangling a bone into a pit of snarling dogs, plus you're about to be hit by a wall of conflicting opinions.

    Honestly? Just obsessively log the calories and dont eat them back, that's what's working for me. This whole "eat to lose" nonsense is just confusing and I'm not convinced it's backed up by the research.
  • wild_wild_life
    wild_wild_life Posts: 1,334 Member
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    Do you have -20% (fat loss) as step 6? The 1690 is what you should eat total, not net. TDEE doesn't use net since exercise is factored in to your overall calorie needs.

    How does that compare with what you've been eating?
  • wild_wild_life
    wild_wild_life Posts: 1,334 Member
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    This whole TDEE thing is like dangling a bone into a pit of snarling dogs, plus you're about to be hit by a wall of conflicting opinions.

    Honestly? Just obsessively log the calories and dont eat them back, that's what's working for me. This whole "eat to lose" nonsense is just confusing and I'm not convinced it's backed up by the research.

    Lol, it's not really that controversial. The eat to lose stuff is just about having a more moderate vs a large deficit.
  • djwife03
    djwife03 Posts: 333 Member
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    Yes I put tdee - 20%
  • djwife03
    djwife03 Posts: 333 Member
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    And if 1690 is what I should eat and then I burn 400 with exercise them I'm left with 1290, and that seems low for me!
  • dianefisher47
    dianefisher47 Posts: 234 Member
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    1690 TDEE is what you eat and no exercise calories...if you burned 400...that already has been calculated within your to eat calories...you already told scooby that you did exercise so it used that to calculate what you needed to eat and not eat you calories back otherwise 1690 would have been 2190..its minused 500 from 2160 and it gave you 1690.. I hope this helps
  • djwife03
    djwife03 Posts: 333 Member
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    So on days I exercise I should eat around 2000 cals?
  • wild_wild_life
    wild_wild_life Posts: 1,334 Member
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    And if 1690 is what I should eat and then I burn 400 with exercise them I'm left with 1290, and that seems low for me!

    No, because exercise is factored in ahead of time instead of afterward the way MFP does it. The 400 is already accounted for in that 1690.

    When you use the TDEE method, you tell it how much you exercise in a week and it calculates your maintenance needs accordingly. Your TDEE or maintenance needs are 2100 (I plugged in your stats). For weight loss, it recommends a 20% cut from TDEE, or 1690. If you ate more for exercise you would effectively be counting your exercise twice and eating basically around maintenance (you would lose your deficit).

    You should lose on any amount under 2100 at with your current exercise level. 1600-1700 is a good goal to shoot for and you should expect to lose around 1 lb/wk on this amount.

    These online calculators are just estimates of course so if you find you are losing 0.5 lbs a week your TDEE might be lower than estimated and you could eat slightly less. It's always good to adjust your intake based on how you feel and what the scale does, but the TDEE calculators give you a good place to start. Try it for a few weeks before you make any changes.

    Hope that makes sense

    ETA -- if you exercise 4 times a week, you may do more than 1-3 hours of exercise a week . . . In which case see what TDEE/cut it gives you for the next activity level and try that, or a number in between.

    So for moderate exercise it gives you a TDEE of 2370 and a goal of 1900. If you think this is closer to your actual activity level, you could eat closer to1900 or somewhere between 1690-1900. Again, it's all an estimate, but you should be able to tell by how much weight you lose over the course of a month or so what your true maintenance needs are.
  • djwife03
    djwife03 Posts: 333 Member
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    So I just eat 1690 regardless....I don't know why I can't get this!
  • djwife03
    djwife03 Posts: 333 Member
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    I have trouble reaching my goal calories as it is, so this is something I really need ton understand and get a good handle on!
  • psychofairy25
    psychofairy25 Posts: 128 Member
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    ummm. I dont think so, if you put in you exercise into the TDEE calculations then you are supposed to eat the 1690 daily regardless of exercise day or not. however by the same token if you are wanting to use these numbers and eat back calories I would sugesst setting you goal as "maintain " and set the calories at custom BMR then you can enter your exercise calories and eat them back on those days while still maintaining a healthy intake on non work out days.
    Good luck:glasses:
  • wild_wild_life
    wild_wild_life Posts: 1,334 Member
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    So I just eat 1690 regardless....I don't know why I can't get this!

    Yes, try it and if you lose around a lb a week (or slightly less since that should be around a 400 cal deficit) then you know the TDEE estimation was pretty accurate. If you lose faster, your TDEE was higher.

    That said, personally I wouldn't force myself to eat if I wasn't hungry but that's not a problem I tend to have...
  • Docpremie
    Docpremie Posts: 228 Member
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    According to your ticker, you're only trying to lose 5 pounds. Is that true? You are very tall at 5-11 & I'm not sure what your final weight goal is. If your goal to lose is <10 pounds, then only use 10% deficit (to lose 0.5 pounds/week). If your goal to lose is 10-20 pounds, I'd use a 15% deficit (to lose 0.5-1 pound/week). If it's >20 pounds, then use the 20% deficit, until you reach these other milestones & then readjust.
  • wild_wild_life
    wild_wild_life Posts: 1,334 Member
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    According to your ticker, you're only trying to lose 5 pounds. Is that true? You are very tall at 5-11 & I'm not sure what your final weight goal is. If your goal to lose is <10 pounds, then only use 10% deficit (to lose 0.5 pounds/week). If your goal to lose is 10-20 pounds, I'd use a 15% deficit (to lose 0.5-1 pound/week). If it's >20 pounds, then use the 20% deficit, until you reach these other milestones & then readjust.

    Good point, sorry, I didn't think of that...
  • j6o4
    j6o4 Posts: 871 Member
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    Your TDEE should acount for exercise, so you can subtract at most 20% from your TDEE and eat that amount everyday and do not eat back your exercise calories doing the TDEE method.
  • djwife03
    djwife03 Posts: 333 Member
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    I've never done anything with my ticker so not sure why it says that. I'd like to lose 10lbs. I always think I'm not ding enough as far as exercise, and I find that I'm hungry often, so probably not eating enough. For example, yesterday I ran 4 miles. I varied between 5.5 and 7.0mph. Then I did some ab work. But is that enough? I haven't lost any weight like 6-8 months and have actually gained. I will try eating the 1690 calories for a while and see what happens.
  • socajam
    socajam Posts: 2,530 Member
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    This whole TDEE thing is like dangling a bone into a pit of snarling dogs, plus you're about to be hit by a wall of conflicting opinions.

    Honestly? Just obsessively log the calories and dont eat them back, that's what's working for me. This whole "eat to lose" nonsense is just confusing and I'm not convinced it's backed up by the research.

    I am with you on this. I gave up the TDEE method for one, I do not have a thyroid and doubt that TDEE would calculate correctly.

    I gave myself 1757 calories, exercise daily and ensure that I have a deficit of at least 557 every day. Some days I go over and the next day I exercise really hard doing HIIT - 60-90 seconds of kettle bell swings, jogging, stair climbing and weights (upper and lower body).

    I was stuck in the 170s for months, frustrated and thinking of giving up, well since giving up MFP and TDEE methods, I have finally arrived, and is now 168.8, losing weight, inches and eating sensibly.
  • djwife03
    djwife03 Posts: 333 Member
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    OK, so since trying to eat 1690 the past few days, i've gained weight! :(
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    You can't gain weight eating below your TDEE. It's probably water weight.

    But make sure also that 1) you weigh all your food properly, 2) you're not overestimating your activity level.

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