Another TDEE/BMR Question...ugh

_jayciemarie_
_jayciemarie_ Posts: 574 Member
edited February 10 in Health and Weight Loss
So, I'm really confused on my TDEE/BMR. Here are the facts:

37yrs old
Female
5'6
185lbs
Calorie limit set by me: 1400
Sedentary job (sit at a desk)
Workout 5x a week for 65minutes (treadmill--typically burn about 600 calories according to my HRM)

The last three days I have been unable to make it to the gym. I am going tonight though. I was looking up my numbers on the scooby website. My BMR is 1590. If I don't exercise weekly my TDEE is somewhere around 1800 calories. I feel that is super low. If I put that I workout 5x a week my TDEE is 2400. That is a HUGE difference....between 1800 and 2400.

So, If I don't workout at all during the week and eat my 1400 calories--my defecit is only 400/day which isn't even a pound loss every week. If I work out 5x and just eat 1400--Then those days I have a deficit of 1000, pluse my two days rest which would be 400. So I should lose a little under 2lbs.

Am I missing something?

Replies

  • CountryGirl8542
    CountryGirl8542 Posts: 449 Member
    try experimenting with your own body... everyone metabolism is different. General rule... eat less to lose eat more to gain. I started eating at 2000 calories and I maintained weight for a month... so then I brought it down to 1500 calories and I started losing 1lb a week. Every body is different. Use TDEE as a base line. Try eating 1800 calories a day and just see what happens.
  • timbrom
    timbrom Posts: 303 Member
    Your math is right, and a sedentary TDEE of 1800 also seems reasonable. Just remember that all of these numbers are estimates that can vary widely from person to person. Are you seeing the results you want? Are you feeling all right?

    The other suggestion is that 2 lbs a week of weight loss is pretty aggressive, especially for a woman who is not obese. Shooting for 1 to 1 1/2 lbs a week may be more realistic.
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
    if the calculator tells you that your BMR is 1590, then don't eat less then that. your basal metabolic rate is the bare minimum you should be eating. basically what you burn just being alive and in bed all day.

    your tdee is your total daily energy expenditure. if you are completely sedentary, your tdee should be close to your bmr.

    a lot of people figure these numbers out to do tdee- 20%. so lets say you want to work out 5 times a week, so your tdee - 20% is 1920.

    now what you can do with that information is that you can eat up to 1920 calories a day every day, no matter if yo work out or not. now if you're extra hungry one particular day, and go up to 2200, that is okay, because you still came in on a deficit.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    Nope pretty much got it, except that your TDEE of 2400 is what you need to eat everyday to maintain, as days you workout your TDEE for the day will be more than 2400, and days you don't will be less so it averages 2400.

    so working out 5 days per week you should eat 16,800 (2400*7) cals/week to maintain. is you eat 1400 cals/day you will be eating 9800 (1400*7), a deficit of 7000 exactly 2lbs/week, though I think that is too aggressive with only 40ish lbs to lose.

    So if you workout 5 days per week the days you workout your TDEE will be 2640 (600*7/5+1800) using the 1800 vs the 2400 as TDEE wants you to eat that everyday. So is you eat 1400 on days you workout your deficit will be 1240 (2640-1400) much too large. For the week you would be burning 16,800 (2640*5+1800*2) same as 2400*7 MFP uses the 2640*5 and 1800*2 TDEE calculators us the 2400*7, same place at the end of the week.

    Not sure if you got that. If you want to do TDEE eat 80% of 2400 or 1920/day regardless if you workout or not, if you follow MFP set your goal to lose 1 lb/week and eat back the cals burned from exercise.
  • skydiveD30571
    skydiveD30571 Posts: 281 Member
    No you have the concept down.

    1800 to 2400 is a big difference yes, but look at how much you burn on the treadmill when you do go to the gym...600cal which is the difference between 1800 and 2400 right? Meaning the exercise makes your deficit quite a big bigger. It's not very easy creating a calorie deficit with no exercise which is one of the main reasons it's a good idea to get to the gym.

    Also, eating 1400 calories when your TDEE is 2400 is a 40% deficit which is considered to be way too aggressive. A lot, if not most, of the weight you'll lose at this deficit will be muscle. The scale will go down but your body fat % will stay the same or even increase. I know it's easy to get in a hurry, but the weight wasn't put on fast and it won't come off fast either. You should be aiming for something like a 20% deficit to ensure that the weight you lose is fat.
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
    If you're eating 1400 calories and burning 600 at the gym, you're netting too low. You're only leaving your body 800 calories to function on.

    The reason your TDEE goes up when you exercise is to reflect the increase of your energy expenditure. So if your base 1400 calories without exercise, that's what you eat. But if you exercise 600 calories off, then you should be eating 1400+600=2000 calories. Your deficit remains the same, which is whatever MFP says it is, 1 lb/week, 2/lbs, whatever. Regardless of exercise, MFP has already worked out your deficit for you. Just go into goals and it'll tell you how much your *projected* weight loss per week is.

    But again, you shouldn't be NETTING so low. It's not good for your body. You should be netting, at minimum, 1200 calories.
  • Greenrun99
    Greenrun99 Posts: 2,065 Member
    Your not going to lose weight as fast when your just sitting around because as you notice your deficit isn't as big.. (and your really not suppose to eat under BMR) and that is why exercising (cardio/strength training) is important because it increases your deficit or gives you extra food to eat. (plus other benefits)

    Lastly just because your numbers are there, don't expect the results to follow.. its all trial and error, but as was mentioned losing 2 lbs a week is pretty hard to do unless your obese.
  • Morgaath
    Morgaath Posts: 679 Member
    Nope you seem to have it covered.
    1800 norm + 600 workout = 2400
    1800 for a sedentary day sounds about right.
    So even on days you do not workout, you are still losing if you stick to 1400.
    But you also seem to be leaving a lot of calories uneaten, so those add in as well.
    Also take into account, on the days you did not get to the gym, did you just sit around, or was there lots of moving around?
    Over Xmas season I spent 3 days hitting the malls shopping. According to my Bodymedia those were some very high calorie burn days, being in the 3300+ range...all because I walked and walked and walked. May not have been a cardio workout, but it was a workout. Figured out after the first day to take protein bars with me as it was cheaper and better for me than the stuff in the malls, plus no line.
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