This has been asked plenty of times, but still confused...

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  • Spewze72
    Spewze72 Posts: 82 Member
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    I am doing TDEE -20%, set at "sedentary" (I have a desk job) it works out at about 1500 cals per day. But if I exercise (mostly miles of hilly/off-road dog walking at a brisk pace), I record that according to my HRM (less BMR) and generally eat 50-100% of the calories back. I seem to be losing fairly consistently, so I'm guessing this is okay?
  • sugarlips1980
    sugarlips1980 Posts: 361 Member
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    Personally, I gave up getting my head around the calculations, and just figured out what calorie goal is best for me by trial and error. I'm wanting a cal goal that a) Makes me feel hunger but doesn't leave me famished all the time and b) Has me losing about 2 Ibs a week. 1200-1400 works about right for me, with at least 3 x exercise a week. I try not to eat back my exercise cals but eat at least some if I'm genuinely hungry. And on a day when I'm eating out or having a few drinks I'll try to exercise a bit more to compensate. I think it's important to not get too hung up on magic numbers and calculations and listen to your body - it's something most of us who are overweight haven;t been doing for such a long time.
  • acogg
    acogg Posts: 1,870 Member
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    I am doing TDEE -20%, set at "sedentary" (I have a desk job) it works out at about 1500 cals per day. But if I exercise (mostly miles of hilly/off-road dog walking at a brisk pace), I record that according to my HRM (less BMR) and generally eat 50-100% of the calories back. I seem to be losing fairly consistently, so I'm guessing this is okay?

    If you are losing and are happy with the rate of loss, it is absolutely "okay"! Awesome job!:drinker:
  • biglarrr
    biglarrr Posts: 9 Member
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    Dieting is confusing. You can wear yourself out with numbers, and nobody is correct. If I gave my food intake and exercise input to ten people who consider themselves proficient at those things, I could probably get back 30 answers.
    I've tried using only MFP's numbers. I've tried using Calorie Count numbers. I've tried using NI numbers. (Yes even NI lies) Who really believes that 100 sprays of Parkay is zero calories?
    Ive used Runkeeper for calories burned, Used MFP's (time only calculations) for calories burned, bought a Fitbit and used it by itself - and in conjunction with the others.
    The best you can do is calculate as honestly as you can.
    Track and weigh every day, and find a combination of input and output that lets you lose about 1 1/2 lbs. a week.
    For me that means I have to burn 800 calories more than I eat daily.
    Ha - I just did the math, and if 3500 calories equals a lb. I should mathematically be losing 1.6 lbs. a week. I'm average.
  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
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    But these people have UPPED their calories based on TDEE and then eat them whether or not they have exercised much or at all. It's as if it's all pretend. They are also not losing weight. This method may work when maintaining, but I can't see much logic when losing.

    Your TDEE is based on your activity level, so if you have it set to exercising and you are not exercising, obviously you're not going to lose weight. But for the people who actually do it correctly, a TDEE set at their activity level -20% comes out to be about equal to your MFP calorie goal + eating back exercise calories. Some people like the data and enter calories every day, others like the simplicity of TDEE. The weekly averages come out to be basically the same, resulting in the same amount of lbs lost per week.
  • acogg
    acogg Posts: 1,870 Member
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    Dieting is confusing. You can wear yourself out with numbers, and nobody is correct. If I gave my food intake and exercise input to ten people who consider themselves proficient at those things, I could probably get back 30 answers.

    LOL! So true!
  • ochibi91
    ochibi91 Posts: 115 Member
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    Thanks for all the help everyone! I really appreciate all the feedback! I've upped my calories to 1,450 and I'll see how it goes :)
  • florentinovillaro
    florentinovillaro Posts: 342 Member
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    I set my activity level to sedentary because I don't want MFP guessing how much exercise or activity I do in one day. IMO that's just lazy accounting.

    Secondly, I don't eat back any exercise calories whether it's 30 minutes or 4 hours (I have in the past with bad results).

    I use the goal recommended by MFP as a start or guideline then adjust up or down until I find a level where binges and pangs don't exist while losing weight consistently week after week. Speaking from personal experience only.

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