TDEE Help!

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Amiwil
Amiwil Posts: 57 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I did the military body fat calculation and good God! It says I have 43.3% body fat! That's super scary especially with all of the exercise I've been doing and weight that I've lost since the 1st of the year. Anyway, I calculated my BMR and TDEE using my current weight. It says I need 2,838 calories to remain at this weight at my moderate level of activity.

Now let me explain why I chose moderate. I go to the gym 4 days a week to do 60 minutes of walking at 3.0-3.5 mph. I increase the mph .1 every 10 minutes and the level of intensity I do is set to random 11 (the highest incline is 8.5, lowest 2.) Plus an additional 5 minute cool down. So that's already a qualification for moderate activity but, I also do The Betty Rocker 3-4 times a week which adds an additional 1.5-2 hours of exercise to my week. I am currently a full time student on campus, equivalent to a desk job but I have a 2 year old as well. Furthermore, I use the Bodymedia Fit HRM and I absolutely love it! After looking at my report from the first 28 days, it's clear that on average, I am active 67 minutes a day and hitting 9,552 steps a day.

Feel free to tell me if I should not have chosen moderately active!!!! Please because my problem lies here; after doing my TDEE at that level, and subtracting 20%, I am being told that I need 2,270 calories! THAT CANNOT BE ACCURATE. I seriously CANNOT wrap my head around that number. I don't see how me, a 228lb woman, can lose weight eating over 2000 calories (the supposed normal caloric diet intake for a female.)

Neverthless, I was very unhappy with the 1250 MFP recommended me last week and I upped my activity level from sedentary to lightly active which brought me up to 1520 and BodyMedia Fit recommended 1540. When looking at my BMR I get confused due to the different numbers and formulas they used. Harris-Benedict says 1831, Katch-McArdle says 1637. The 1637 number is relatively close to what my HRM and MFP have calculated for me compared to TDEE-20%. So please, SOMEONE, tell me what sounds crazy and what doesn't!

FYI-after upping my cals to MFPs new lightly active calorie adjustment of 1520 a week ago, I have lost another 1lb! So awesome!

Replies

  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    It sounds accurate to me. I don't know your stats, but just to give you a frame of reference I'm 5'8" and weigh around 180 right now and can lose while eating around 1800-1900 calories when I'm active.

    Remember, when you use MFP to calculate your goals the site expects you to log your exercise and eat back the extra, earned calories that it adds to your goal. This usually brings MFP's method and the TDEE method closer together, assuming the two are set up equally and accurately.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    sounds right to me as well...

    I am 5 ft 7 and weigh 160 and can lose weight eating between 1600-1900 calories a day if I maintain my current exercise. That is my TDEE-20%-5%...funny enough when I joined MFP it gave me 1380 with sedentary and eating back exercise calories it was 1600...see TDEE-20%...

    What you have to understand is this...

    MFP ask you what your activity level was and current weight and weight loss goals...chances are you put sedentary and 2lbs a week... hence the 1250 but you do a lot of exercise and when you log it you get to eat those calories back...

    But that being said...change your weight loss goal to 1lb a week...as you don't have 100lbs to lose do you????

    Again if you are losing weight at 1560 are you eating back exercise calories???? if so leave it there all is good.
  • Amiwil
    Amiwil Posts: 57 Member
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    sounds right to me as well...

    I am 5 ft 7 and weigh 160 and can lose weight eating between 1600-1900 calories a day if I maintain my current exercise. That is my TDEE-20%-5%...funny enough when I joined MFP it gave me 1380 with sedentary and eating back exercise calories it was 1600...see TDEE-20%...

    What you have to understand is this...

    MFP ask you what your activity level was and current weight and weight loss goals...chances are you put sedentary and 2lbs a week... hence the 1250 but you do a lot of exercise and when you log it you get to eat those calories back...

    But that being said...change your weight loss goal to 1lb a week...as you don't have 100lbs to lose do you????

    Again if you are losing weight at 1560 are you eating back exercise calories???? if so leave it there all is good.

    The 100lb question depends on who you ask lol. If I wanted to weigh 128 lbs I could but I'd look like a stick figure which is not my goal at all haha! I do NOT eat back my exercise calories, sometimes I may go a bit over my alotted calories but I am no where near eating a full 600-700 calories. Maybe I don't understand eating all of those calories and maintaining my same results. I thought I did so well eating 1560ish this week lol. I do have summer dreams.

    So if I'm eating 2200 calories, it'll make me gain weight initially, and then after 4-6 weeks, I'll begin to lose that weight?

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