What is your actual TDEE?

LiftAllThePizzas
LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
It's one thing to have a calculator tell you, another to see the real results. :happy:

Take the amount of calories you ate in a 28 day period, and add 3500 for each pound you lost during that period (or subtract 3500 for each pound gained) and divide that total by 28.

Here are mine:

Feb 1 - March 1 (29 days, started at 188 lbs)
77630 eaten
2 lbs lost (+7000 = 84630)
TDEE = 2918 (84630 / 29)

Sep 1 - Sep 29 (29 days, started at 178 lbs)
76626 calories eaten
1.8 lbs lost (+6300 = 82926)
TDEE = 2859 (82926 / 29)

What's your TDEE?
«13456

Replies

  • Stoshew71
    Stoshew71 Posts: 6,553 Member
    Interesting theory on getting a better estimate for TDEE. I may have to try that since I think the online calculators are very conservative for me. I am sure there are tons of factors that influence TDEE throughout the month, but interesting concept.

    I need to be on mfp longer to test this however.
  • kyleekay10
    kyleekay10 Posts: 1,812 Member
    Looks like mine is around 1900. I say "around" because I know there were days in the past month that I didn't log completely accurately.

    This is very cool, though. :flowerforyou:

    I'll try again in another month since I'll be logging much more faithfully.
  • Poofy_Goodness
    Poofy_Goodness Posts: 229 Member
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  • Quieau
    Quieau Posts: 428 Member
    Did you find the calculators to estimate your TDEE too high or too low or pretty close to the mark? I'm not close enough to goal to do the test and I'm curious since I'm basing my daily calories on the TDEE I expect to have at goal weight.

    Thanks!
  • tiddles_yeah
    tiddles_yeah Posts: 117 Member
    I had mine done through a medical test the other day and thus know exactly what my BMR is now

    It was higher than i expected it

    I always thought, based on internet calculators and the like, that i should eat around 1200cal a day - NOPE! - my BMR alone is about 1400 and thus my trainer, after working out what exercise i do and my goals etc, recommends i east about 1800-2000cal per day!

    I am SO glad i got the test done!

    However, i am also an unusual case as i have had many medical issues across my life and thus wondered if my metabolism was different from the general person. thus the test was really important for me to have done to know my base line!
  • jennybennypenny
    jennybennypenny Posts: 90 Member
    It's like tracking the gas mileage your car gets, hehe. I haven't logged completely accurately for a whole month to know, but it's Friday so maybe I'll mess around with the math and try to figure out a reasonable estimate.
  • Quieau
    Quieau Posts: 428 Member
    But this doesn't really account for water gain/loss or for muscle gain/loss, right? Hmmmm ...
  • Morgaath
    Morgaath Posts: 679 Member
    It's one thing to have a calculator tell you, another to see the real results. :happy:

    Take the amount of calories you ate in a 28 day period, and add 3500 for each pound you lost during that period (or subtract 3500 for each pound gained) and divide that total by 28.

    Here are mine:

    Feb 1 - March 1 (29 days, started at 188 lbs)
    77630 eaten
    2 lbs lost (+7000 = 84630)
    TDEE = 2918 (84630 / 29)

    Sep 1 - Sep 29 (29 days, started at 178 lbs)
    76626 calories eaten
    1.8 lbs lost (+6300 = 82926)
    TDEE = 2859 (82926 / 29)

    What's your TDEE?

    While a nice concept, it only works if the person doesn't gain/lose muscle.
    Seeing as I currently have inches dropping in some places, and going up in others, but my weight is mostly holding steady, you can see where I am coming from.
    Maybe if we find someone who is only using calories in as the way to lose wight...
  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
    Interesting theory on getting a better estimate for TDEE. I may have to try that since I think the online calculators are very conservative for me. I am sure there are tons of factors that influence TDEE throughout the month, but interesting concept.

    I need to be on mfp longer to test this however.
    Yep. This is why I picked a longer period of time. It helps smooth out bumps that might have been caused by water gain/loss and other short-term anomalies.

    (I also started losing weight and working out in December, so I used February to avoid getting the "newbie" period where a lot of weight shifts for other reasons.)
  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
    Did you find the calculators to estimate your TDEE too high or too low or pretty close to the mark? I'm not close enough to goal to do the test and I'm curious since I'm basing my daily calories on the TDEE I expect to have at goal weight.

    Thanks!
    On scoobysworkshop I have to put "5-6 hours a week of strenuous exercise" in order to get up to 3050. (The next one down gives me 2700.)

    I have a high NEAT, but I don't do that much "exercise."

    So the calcs underestimate for me by about 10%.
  • Phoenix_Warrior
    Phoenix_Warrior Posts: 1,633 Member
    That is interesting. I'm in the process of upping my calories to maintain and seeing as I haven't been around this weight in 6 years I am completely in the dark until I hit that wall.
  • Morgaath
    Morgaath Posts: 679 Member
    As a side note, the info I got from my first 28 full days with my Bodymedia

    Calories burned --- Target:2600 --- Average: 2831 (Low 2472 -- High 3338)
    Calories consumed --- Target 1700 --- Average 1953 (Low 1409 -- High 2929)
    Calorie deficit --- Target 500 --- Average 878 (Low 1729 -- High +457 over my burned)
    Activity Moderate --- Target 1:30 --- Average 1:53 (Low 70min -- High 231min)
    Activity Vigerous --- Target 0:10 --- Average 0:06 (Low 0min -- High 37min)
    Steps taken --- Target 10,000 --- Average 10,693 (Low 4,656 -- High 20,651)
    Sleep --- Target 8:00 --- Average 5:46 sleeping, out of 6:46 laying down (Low 3:33 sleeping/4:04 laying down -- High 9:00sleep/9:49 laying down --- There were 2 days I did not wear it to bed)
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    I did this a while back. I lost 5lbs in 5 weeks averaging 2166 a day, therefore my TDEE was 2666.
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
    Huh. I consumed an average NET of 1553 calories per day and neither gained nor lost. That is a depressingly low TDEE! :(

    God, please don't tell me I need to eat 1200 to lose weight. :sad:
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  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
    While a nice concept, it only works if the person doesn't gain/lose muscle.
    Seeing as I currently have inches dropping in some places, and going up in others, but my weight is mostly holding steady, you can see where I am coming from.
    Maybe if we find someone who is only using calories in as the way to lose wight...
    How much muscle do you believe you're gaining in 1 month?

    Anyway, I think you're missing the point, which is to figure out how much you could eat to maintain. So if you're not gaining or losing weight then your TDEE would be the average amount you ate in however many days.
  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
    As a side note, the info I got from my first 28 full days with my Bodymedia

    Calories burned --- Target:2600 --- Average: 2831 (Low 2472 -- High 3338)
    Calories consumed --- Target 1700 --- Average 1953 (Low 1409 -- High 2929)
    Calorie deficit --- Target 500 --- Average 878 (Low 1729 -- High +457 over my burned)
    Activity Moderate --- Target 1:30 --- Average 1:53 (Low 70min -- High 231min)
    Activity Vigerous --- Target 0:10 --- Average 0:06 (Low 0min -- High 37min)
    Steps taken --- Target 10,000 --- Average 10,693 (Low 4,656 -- High 20,651)
    Sleep --- Target 8:00 --- Average 5:46 sleeping, out of 6:46 laying down (Low 3:33 sleeping/4:04 laying down -- High 9:00sleep/9:49 laying down --- There were 2 days I did not wear it to bed)
    Are those numbers actually the number of calories you burned, or what your bodymedia thinks you burned?

    How much weight did you lose in that period of time?
  • bkw99508
    bkw99508 Posts: 204 Member
    So if I use this calculation my TDEE for Sep was 4065 and for Oct was 3503 and so far for Nov it is 3436. That's an average of 3679.

    September (28 days)
    Calories = 73,222
    Loss (11.6lbs) = 40,600
    TDEE = 4065

    October (28 days)
    Calories = 68,001
    Loss (8.6lbs) = 30,100
    TDEE = 3503

    November (21 days)
    Calories = 51157
    Loss (6lbs) = 21,000
    TDEE = 3436

    Unless I'm doing something wrong with my math, this isn't even close to being accurate.

    Maybe I'm totally wrong.....
  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
    It's like tracking the gas mileage your car gets, hehe. I haven't logged completely accurately for a whole month to know, but it's Friday so maybe I'll mess around with the math and try to figure out a reasonable estimate.
    Yes, this is the idea. And by logging the way you log, it's calibrated to your own setup and any (consistent) quirks/errors in your logging.
  • endoftheside
    endoftheside Posts: 568 Member
    I started in January and I also didn't start tracking TDEE until a couple months later. At that point my TDEE was about 2300, 39 pounds down since that point and my most recently calculated TDEE was about 1900. Kind of weird to think about the FOUR HUNDRED extra calories a day that I could eat back then and still maintain. At this rate I may end up with a 1700 TDEE at goal weight (the joy of being short, female, and middle-aged!!!)...but it does explain why maintaining will never be effortless.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    What's your TDEE?

    I track mine, as well.

    TDEE - exercise is right at 2800. Exercise averages 750 calories/day (running 30 day average).

    All in, 3550 calories/day. The correlation between expected and actual gain is > 0.99 across 3+ months of tracking, so I am highly confident in this number.

    Detailed breakdown:
    BRM: 2050
    NEAT: 2800
    Exercise: 750

    ETA: NEAT is about 200 calories/day higher (adjusted for body comp changes) than it was 4 months ago, before I started running. There hasn't been a change in daily activity levels outside of intentional exercise. You want a benefit of LISS/MISS? There it is. Half a pound a week "for free".
  • Docpremie
    Docpremie Posts: 228 Member
    Not sure about the accuracy of your calculation method, but funny thing is, mine is dead on with Haybales' spreadsheet! I used a 28 day period of time during the summer when my losses were more consistent (I'm now at a much lower deficit, since close to goal) & came up with a TDEE 0f 2180. I then looked back at my spreadsheet from the included dates, which happened to be calculated for the exact time period, and my TDEE according to LBM, % BF and activity was 2180! I've always sworn by Haybales' spreadsheet & send others to download it for TDEE & macros, but this info really makes me happy!!! :)

    My FitBit One for the same time period gave me 2190, so all are really close! Amazing!!!!!
  • Cindyinpg
    Cindyinpg Posts: 3,902 Member
    I track mine with my Bodymedia too. Lately, I average around 2700 with a bit of moderate exercise, eat around 2000. Lose about 1lb a week, so yeah, it's off a bit, on one estimate or the other. *shrugs* I allow for it.
  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
    So if I use this calculation my TDEE for Sep was 4065 and for Oct was 3503 and so far for Nov it is 3436. That's an average of 3679.

    September (28 days)
    Calories = 73,222
    Loss (11.6lbs) = 40,600
    TDEE = 4065

    October (28 days)
    Calories = 68,001
    Loss (8.6lbs) = 30,100
    TDEE = 3503

    November (21 days)
    Calories = 51157
    Loss (6lbs) = 21,000
    TDEE = 3436

    Unless I'm doing something wrong with my math, this isn't even close to being accurate.

    Maybe I'm totally wrong.....
    Your TDEE goes down as you lose weight. It takes less energy to maintain and also less energy to move it around.

    If you just started in August, you probably dropped a lot of water weight at the beginning too, which would skew your results making your TDEE look higher.
  • Confuzzled4ever
    Confuzzled4ever Posts: 2,860 Member
    I get over 3,000 TDEE most days.. ... wayyy more then any calculator ever told me..

    2800 is a low day for me apparently.

    Your method only works if you are actually losing weight.. I'm losing inches not weight.. there is no way i'm eating 3000 calories per day.. i weigh and log everything.
  • GadgetGuy2
    GadgetGuy2 Posts: 291 Member
    I'm confused. You say calculators aren't that accurate, and then you provide calculations to get it accurate.

    Calculators can be automated (computer based including simple hand held calculators) or done with paper and pencil (i.e. long hand). They are still just calculations.

    I thought to really get an accurate estimate of TDEE, you have to capture all the CO2 you breath out. Even then, a chemical calculation is used to translate the weight of the CO2 into kilocalories.

    Where does the fat go, when you lose it? Answer: You breath the fat out as CO2. (note water is also a byproduct of the burn).
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    Around 2500-2600 during the summer and 2300-2400 during the winter.
  • Cindyinpg
    Cindyinpg Posts: 3,902 Member
    I get over 3,000 TDEE most days.. ... wayyy more then any calculator ever told me..

    2800 is a low day for me apparently.

    Your method only works if you are actually losing weight.. I'm losing inches not weight.. there is no way i'm eating 3000 calories per day.. i weigh and log everything.
    I'm confused. If you are taking 28 days worth of calories (and not adding or deducting for pounds lost or gained) dividing them by 28 and getting 3,000, then you're eating 3,000 calories day. Or are you looking at a different way of calculating this?
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    I get over 3,000 TDEE most days.. ... wayyy more then any calculator ever told me..

    2800 is a low day for me apparently.

    Your method only works if you are actually losing weight.. I'm losing inches not weight.. there is no way i'm eating 3000 calories per day.. i weigh and log everything.

    You think you burn over 3000 calories a day.... but you're eating way less than 3000 calories a day..... and you're not losing weight?

    I've got some news for you..

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