TDEE?

ldw93
ldw93 Posts: 3
in Getting Started
I've been reading a few of the forums and from what I can gather, calculating TDEE as if you do 0 exercise then just eating 50% of exercise calories back is the best way to go about it.

I'm 20 years old, female, 5 foot and 128 pounds. I've calculated my TDEE on several websites and they reckon it's 1500 calories per day. I am aiming to lose a pound a week which means I would need a 500 calorie deficit each day but surely only eating 1000 calories isn't healthy?

What would anyone recommend? I began my weight loss around october 2013 and have only lost 5 pounds, obviously christmas set me back a bit and I had lost 7 but began putting pounds back on but losing body fat % so I am assuming the weight gain is muscle? I go to the gym about 2/3 times a week and usually do spinning class then swimming.

I am aiming to lose another 9 pounds to get me to a total of 1 stone loss. I know it's better to lose weight slower but I'm feeling quite demotivated after realising I may only be able to lose half a pound a week unless I only eat 1000 calories a day!

Any tips or help very welcome! Thanks.

Replies

  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    Well, you have two options.

    Since you are petite and so close to goal, one pound a week may be too much to aim for. Bringing your weight loss down to 1/2 pound a week would put you around 1250 calories per day, and is probably a more realistic expectation.

    Or, you can calculate your TDEE with exercise included. You should probably still keep your goal around 1/2 pound per week, but this way your exercise calories will be averaged across the week, which lets you eat more every day instead of just the days you exercise. Using Scooby's calculations this would bring you closer to 1700 calories a day. (http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/)

    It's important to remember that all TDEE calculators can only give you an estimate. We don't all fit into neat little boxes of lightly active, active, etc. You may have to do a little trial and error to find the sweet spot for you.
  • ldw93
    ldw93 Posts: 3
    Thankyou!

    I guess I'm just gonna have to deal with losing the weight slower, it's just annoying because I would consider myself as having a lot to lose since a stone is over 10% of my body weight so a bit frustrating that it takes so long due to my bodyweight itself!
  • dlionsmane
    dlionsmane Posts: 674 Member
    Well, you have two options.

    Since you are petite and so close to goal, one pound a week may be too much to aim for. Bringing your weight loss down to 1/2 pound a week would put you around 1250 calories per day, and is probably a more realistic expectation.

    Or, you can calculate your TDEE with exercise included. You should probably still keep your goal around 1/2 pound per week, but this way your exercise calories will be averaged across the week, which lets you eat more every day instead of just the days you exercise. Using Scooby's calculations this would bring you closer to 1700 calories a day. (http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/)

    It's important to remember that all TDEE calculators can only give you an estimate. We don't all fit into neat little boxes of lightly active, active, etc. You may have to do a little trial and error to find the sweet spot for you.

    ^^This
  • shanster23
    shanster23 Posts: 144 Member
    I'm in the same boat as you! 5'1 and 126lbs at the moment. Unfortunately, weight loss just has to be slow for us shorties, if we want to do it healthily! However remember that even if the weight is slow to come off, if you're burning fat and building muscle you'll still look smaller even without weighing less :) Plus, half of a pound coming off our short frame is still quite a noticable difference compared to a taller person losing half of a pound!
  • lamps1303
    lamps1303 Posts: 432 Member
    I've been reading a few of the forums and from what I can gather, calculating TDEE as if you do 0 exercise then just eating 50% of exercise calories back is the best way to go about it.

    I'm 20 years old, female, 5 foot and 128 pounds. I've calculated my TDEE on several websites and they reckon it's 1500 calories per day. I am aiming to lose a pound a week which means I would need a 500 calorie deficit each day but surely only eating 1000 calories isn't healthy?

    What would anyone recommend? I began my weight loss around october 2013 and have only lost 5 pounds, obviously christmas set me back a bit and I had lost 7 but began putting pounds back on but losing body fat % so I am assuming the weight gain is muscle? I go to the gym about 2/3 times a week and usually do spinning class then swimming.

    I am aiming to lose another 9 pounds to get me to a total of 1 stone loss. I know it's better to lose weight slower but I'm feeling quite demotivated after realising I may only be able to lose half a pound a week unless I only eat 1000 calories a day!

    Any tips or help very welcome! Thanks.

    If you are calculating TDEE based on no exercise and are getting 1000kcals for 1lb weight loss, when you log your exercise, you will obviously eat some of those back. So while your net may be 1000kcals, you will be eating more based on how much you burn. For example, your goal is 1000kcals and you burn 500kcals. Say you decide to eat back 50% of all your exercise calories, on this day you will eat 250kcals, meaning you will eat 1250kcals in total that day. Does that make sense?
  • Serena272
    Serena272 Posts: 53 Member
    Bump
  • ldw93
    ldw93 Posts: 3
    Thankyou for the replies!

    Just gonna have to be patient and keep eating well :)
  • LTKeegan
    LTKeegan Posts: 354 Member
    Thankyou for the replies!

    Just gonna have to be patient and keep eating well :)

    QFT
  • Edensienna
    Edensienna Posts: 180 Member
    If you only have a relatively small amount of weight to lose it will be a slow journey. Personally I am very happy if I shed .5lb per week eating at a deficit and working out three times per week. Most weeks I lose even less. It is slow but keeping a Determined effort will allow you to reach your goal.

    Don't be demotivated... Eat back your exercise calories so you feel satisfied and give yourself plenty of time to lose those pounds :)
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    You actually described exactly what MFP already does, except for the fact they do a block of calories off, rather than % off.

    MFP already starts with your non-exercise TDEE, what they call maintenance. It may be sedentary work level, may be lightly active life style. Honest there.

    I'm sure you can find a block of calories, like 250, that is close to 10-20% off that same TDEE figure.

    Then as you said, log the exercise and fuel your body for recovery and repair from the exercise by eating those calories back, keeping the 250 cal deficit in place.

    I'd suggest 80% of whatever you find reported is probably better.

    You've likely already used an activity level below what is should be.
    Why introduce more deficit in to the math if you want to do it this way to be more reasonable?

    And sorry about the weight gain - it wasn't pounds of muscle over that short period of time eating at perhaps maintenance.
    There are more improvements to your body than just muscle mass that is not fat mass, any of the components of LBM could increase. And if you lost inches while weight was the same, they obviously did.

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