TDEE v. Counting Exercise Calories?

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  • rduhlir
    rduhlir Posts: 3,550 Member
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    I am a very simple going person. I dont' like things that shift too much. So for me...the TDEE is a lot easier for me to do as I don't have to shift my calorie intake up and down. I just eat to 1800 every day...that simple. I log when I work out and how long...but leave the calories burnt at 1.

    There is nothing wrong with the way MFP does it. Some people say it over estimates calories burnt, but whenever I would input my exercise it was usually A LOT less than what my HRM would say. So really it just comes down to preference and what works for you.
  • lisatrish
    lisatrish Posts: 123 Member
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    I prefer TDEE it's so much simpler.
    Here is a link you can put into your web browser to learn more about TDEE. This post is no longer available on the message boards because of age but I find she is very helpful on explaining what TDEE really is.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/931670-bmr-and-tdee-explained-for-those-needing-a-guide
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
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    i found i had no good way to get an accurate calorie count,so i do tdee. no math htat way either. i just subtract the cals burned when i log my exercise

    here's another approach.

    block off 6 weeks. log EXACTLY what you eat for those six weeks, weigh at the beginning, weight at the end. If you've lost, you're eating under your TDEE. If you haven't lost, congrats.. you found your TDEE, if you've gained... then you're above TDEE.

    From there, look at how much you lost or gained and you have a rough estimate of how to shift your intake to balance it out.

    Online calculators are great, but they're just estimates. They give you decent ideas for starting points. From there, it's on you to fine tune it.


    yeah i did several calculators, and i'm losing. but i dont have a hrm, and i the burn counts on mfp are overestimated.... i also do mainly strength training which doesnt really have a "burn" anyway.
    .. okay?
    My point still stands. You can figure out your own tdee like that. If you eat x, you're losing y, it's just a math equation. You don't need an hrm or anything like that.
  • kmessinger14
    kmessinger14 Posts: 57 Member
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    they are 6 of one half a dozen of the other.

    The calories given to you by MFP+exercise calories usually come pretty close to TDEE-20%...

    It doesn't matter really what you do as long as you are consistent with your choice..

    I use TDEE because I lift weights and it is damn near impossible to estimate those burns...so this makes it easier on me...but I did not use an online calculator to get my TDEE...I used my own data...so I know it's correct.

    If I wasn't lifting weights I would use the NEAT method and eat back my exercise calories as cardio calories etc are easier to get a read on with HRM etc .

    Every time I see one of these posts on TDEE, my head starts to spin. First of all, @Sexyzstef you used your own data instead of a calculator? Have you already posted somewhere on how to do that? Would love to read it.

    Secondly, it is SCARY the amount of food TDEE wants me to eat. I know it sounds lame but I am nervous to jump into that much food. I have a sendentary job but work out 5-6 days a week 30-90 minutes depending on how I'm feeling that day. Would that equate to light activity or moderate?

    I most definately can't take credit for this calculation. I am in a group Eat Train Progress and I found it there. Basically choose a period of time which best represents your average day...(I chose 3 weeks worth of data) and ensure you are accurately logging your intake with a food scale and choosing correct entries...otherwise this doesn't work.

    Total calories consumed + (pounds lost x 3500)/# of days chosen

    So for me it looked like this

    29,642+(3.5 x 3500)/21=1995...

    So my maintenance is 1995 calories and I eat TDEE-15% so it works out to be about 1700 calories a day. I keep a spreadsheet as well to track my weekly intake, losses etc and I average 1661 a day since starting TDEE (excluding vacation) and I have lost on average 3/4lb a week....so for me it's pretty spot on.

    This calculation needs redone every 10lbs or so...I have yet to see a major change in it tho as I am fairly consistent with my exercise, intake and weight loss.

    As a note of interest Scooby puts me at 2267, IIFYM 2077, Mayo clinic at 2100...

    Average is 2148 so not far off but 148 extra calories a day would mean 1lb a month gain...12lbs in one year.

    Very interesting! Good to know. May try the TDEE method but if I do I will definitely calculate it this way!

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