How does TDEE work?

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tunastamper
tunastamper Posts: 12
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi. I'm new to this whole thing and I'm a little unsure of how activity level factors in when you calculate your TDEE. Like how does it actually work? Are the extra calories just recalculated based on an estimate of how much you burn every week? Like if my TDEE was estimated to be 2000 and I exercised a few times a week, would I need to subtract an estimate for the calories burned from exercise for each day, or does the TDEE do that for me?

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  • dianefisher47
    dianefisher47 Posts: 234 Member
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    go to Scoobysworkshop .com and fill in the blanks with your personal info and choose what ever exercise level you fit in and then use minus 20%....it will tell you what calories to eat and thats it...your exercise calories are already calculated in the amount they give you to eat...so you don't eat them back....good luck:drinker:
  • bajoyba
    bajoyba Posts: 1,153 Member
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    TDEE is your Total Daily Energy Expenditure - it's the amount of calories your body burns in a typical day. You should calculate your TDEE to include any regular exercise you do during the week. If you eat your TDEE, you will maintain your weight. In order to lose weight, you should cut 10-20% from that number. And since your exercise is already accounted for, you don't eat back any burned calories.

    Edited because my dog mashed her face on the keyboard twice while I was trying to respond to this. lol
  • Mom2my3girls
    Mom2my3girls Posts: 93 Member
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    So what happens if you are eating blow your TDEE? I am 5'9 and 242lbs. I have been working out via treadmill at 3.0 6 days a week for 45 min to an hour each time. MFP has me at 1700 cals/day and my FitBit ads an extra 200-300 cals for exercise. Should I be eating the exercise calories back or not? I looked on that page the previous person posted and it shows daily calories of 2068. That seems like a lot of calories. Have I maybe been eating too little? My diary is public if that helps. I really need to get this figured out. I don't want to be hurting my weight loss by eating too little OR too much. Thanks!
  • bajoyba
    bajoyba Posts: 1,153 Member
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    So what happens if you are eating blow your TDEE? I am 5'9 and 242lbs. I have been working out via treadmill at 3.0 6 days a week for 45 min to an hour each time. MFP has me at 1700 cals/day and my FitBit ads an extra 200-300 cals for exercise. Should I be eating the exercise calories back or not? I looked on that page the previous person posted and it shows daily calories of 2068. That seems like a lot of calories. Have I maybe been eating too little? My diary is public if that helps. I really need to get this figured out. I don't want to be hurting my weight loss by eating too little OR too much. Thanks!

    Your TDEE is your maintenance calories. If you eat your TDEE every day, you will maintain your current weight. To lose weight, you subtract 10-20% from that number.

    The TDEE method includes ALL exercise you do throughout the week, so if you choose to calculate your calories this way, you would eat the same amount of 2068 calories every day no matter what activity you do. If you're following the MFP program, you should calculate your goals based on your regular activity level BEFORE added exercise. The calorie goal you're given includes the deficit you need to lose your desired amount of weight without added exercise, so any extra exercise calories you burn should be eaten back.

    Either way, you're basically eating your exercise calories. You can eat a flat 2068 or you can eat 1700 plus exercise calories. It just depends on which way of counting works best for you. If your exercise is sporadic, you will probably be better off logging your exercise separately as you go. If you have a workout schedule that you stick to every week, it might be more convenient to account for it as part of your normal daily activity and eat the same number of calories every day. :smile:

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