Help with my actual calorie intake using BMR and TDEE

Yes...seems like a lot of calories but that is the correct method...I use mfp calorie calculations but in the end it is basically the same...Good Luck

Looks good, you could have a goal of 2400-2600 cals/day and be just fine. Remember, the 2191 for BMR is your resting BMR. This should be the minimum you should be eating every day. Your activity level before exercise should also accounted into this number.
Do you happen to know your body fat %?

With this method, your daily workouts are already figured in, so you do NOT eat back exercise cals. Just eat to, or very close to goal every day.

To log your exercise on MFP without it changing up your macros or calorie goal, enter calories burned as .1 - the system doesn't do decimals, so it will record it as 0 cals. You can make a note either in the notes section or in the exercise description of your actual calorie burn if you like to keep track - that's what I do, because of course it's nice to see what you burned! :bigsmile:

Agreed! It does seem like a lot of calories but if it makes you feel any better, even your sedentary TDEE is 2628 so at 2400 calories per day you would still lose at least half a pound a week even if you happen to exercise less (say if you're sick)

Three things:

1) keep in mind that these are just estimates based on statistics so as one of the above responders said, give it 4-6 week (where you're meeting goal, not going over or under a lot) to really see how it's working for you and then adjust as needed. If you're not losing as much as you think you should, maybe you need to lower your calories a little. If you're losing faster than you should, an increase might be needed.

2) make sure you recalculate your numbers after every 10 pound loss. For instance, once you get down to 220, your daily calories would be down to 2334.

3) also as you lose, you should lower your percentage of deficit. These are the standard guidelines:
5-10 pounds, 10%
10-20 pounds, 15%
20+ pounds, 20%
If morbidly obese, ok to go 25%

P.S. You can still log your activity but edit the burned calories to 1.

The beauty of this system is knowing your boundaries, especially during the holidays, or any special occasion - you want to aim for goal, but as long as you stay in between your BMR and TDEE numbers, you know you're getting enough nutrition at the low end, and you won't gain even if you hit close to the high end. I sailed through the holidays last year enjoying all the goodies, but didn't gain a single pound. Most days I hot goal, but many times I ate to TDEE with no worries. I love the freedom in that!

Thanks everyone!! Now i just need clarification on logging exercise. So for example of I do elliptical and burn 400 calories and everyone says to log it as 1. Do you mean 1.400??

no. log it as 1 calorie burned.

however, i stopped logging my exercises here while following TDEE-20%. i prefer fitocracy to log exercises, as it assigns points, rather than calories, and makes it more like a game. it's fun to level up.

check it out!! http://ftcy.me/PCPhAr

So no matter how many cakories I burned I just put 1. So should I even bother logging my exercise?

You can always make a note in the notes section of your food diary. That's what I did.

So no matter how many cakories I burned I just put 1. So should I even bother logging my exercise?

Or .1 - use the decimal in front of it and it will register as 0.

Some people log exercise, some don't. Like I said before, I like to keep a log of what I've done and a note of the calorie burn. It's nice to be able to look back at what exercises I did and for how long, etc, but that's just me.

I'm 28, 5'9, 231 lbs. I set my goal weight as 185lbs. Now what I'm trying to figure out is if I did it all correctly it said my BMR is 2191 and my TDEE IS 3012. I exercise minimum of 3 days a week and max of 5. So if I do 3012 x 20% = 602. 3012 - 602 = 2410. So by what I'm reading if I want to lose weight, 2410 is my daily calorie intake. Did I do this right? Anyone please!

Defo do not eat back your calories as the initial TDEE will be calculated taking your activity levels into account. Are you calculating your macros as well according to your TDEE -20% as well??

I used a handy calculator but am struggling to figure out the carbs vs protein as per my post:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1154814-tdee-20-carbs-vs-protein-vs-fat

If you are then any advice would be helpful this way too

I would always, always eat at least your BMR.

Also, if you know your BF%, you get a more accurate measurement of your BMR.

If interested, you can also read "Why We Get Fat and What To Do About It" by Gary Taubes. It's definitely an eye-opening read that will challenge what we have all learned about nutrition and obesity.

Note on the protein for pkaur3000 - I find that when I keep my protein closer to 25-30% of my macros goal, I stay more satisfied longer and easier to stay within my calorie goal. MFP sets it to 15%.