TDEE vs Net Calories?

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milksibling
milksibling Posts: 33
in Health and Weight Loss
Sorry of this may be a DUH question, but according to http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/ my TDEE + BMR is 1861 CALORIES/DAY. (According to Scooby, TDEE is 2077 calories/day.)

I included minutes for exercise/activity in my TDEE calculation on IIFYM, so I'm going with 1861 calories/day for TDEE.

My question is: should I be netting 1400/calories a day? Or ignore net calories all-together, and just aim to eat 1600 calories/day (without factoring in exercise). I usually burn 200-300 calories a day in exercise.

I'm trying to burn fat, lose weight AND strength train. Let me know if that's realistic // if I'm doing something incredibly wrong.

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  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    If you are doing TDEE - X% you don't do net calories anymore...just the number per TDEE-X%...

    If you still want to log exercise you change calories burned to 1.

    TDEE includes exercise so if you add it in and eat them you are double dipping and will be over maintenance.
  • milksibling
    milksibling Posts: 33
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    Awesome, thank you for your help again!
  • JaxNole82
    JaxNole82 Posts: 21
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    Here is another good post I came across that helps explain it.

    http://www.ugbodybuilding.com/threads/3794-Understanding-BMR-vs-TDEE
  • stef_monster
    stef_monster Posts: 205 Member
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    From your picture, you look like you don't have too much to lose- you seem to want to improve body composition. I'd suggest a 15% or 20% deficit from your TDEE. If your TDEE is 1861 calories, that's 1488 or 1581 TOTAL CALORIES per day. Another approach would just be not eating back exercise calories, or only eating back a small fraction of them. If you're very strict about burning 200 or 300 calories per day 5 or 6 times a week, I think eating 1600 calories a day would probably be effective, as long as you don't end up feeling miserable and hungry all the time.

    You should always make sure that you NET your BMR. If your BMR is 1400, for example, and you eat 1400 calories and then go swim for two hours and burn 700 calories, you're going to want to eat at least 700 more (if you can) to bring you up to BMR.

    I think your plan is very realistic and doable- it might just take some experimenting to get it exactly right. I suggest taking measurements and progress photos today, and take them every week or so to monitor yourself. A good strength training program will put anywhere from 3-6 pounds of water weight on you right out of the gate, so don't let the scale scare you away. Pay attention to how your clothes fit, how your body looks, and how you feel.
  • milksibling
    milksibling Posts: 33
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    From your picture, you look like you don't have too much to lose- you seem to want to improve body composition. I'd suggest a 15% or 20% deficit from your TDEE. If your TDEE is 1861 calories, that's 1488 or 1581 TOTAL CALORIES per day. Another approach would just be not eating back exercise calories, or only eating back a small fraction of them. If you're very strict about burning 200 or 300 calories per day 5 or 6 times a week, I think eating 1600 calories a day would probably be effective, as long as you don't end up feeling miserable and hungry all the time.

    You should always make sure that you NET your BMR. If your BMR is 1400, for example, and you eat 1400 calories and then go swim for two hours and burn 700 calories, you're going to want to eat at least 700 more (if you can) to bring you up to BMR.

    I think your plan is very realistic and doable- it might just take some experimenting to get it exactly right. I suggest taking measurements and progress photos today, and take them every week or so to monitor yourself. A good strength training program will put anywhere from 3-6 pounds of water weight on you right out of the gate, so don't let the scale scare you away. Pay attention to how your clothes fit, how your body looks, and how you feel.

    Thank you! I calculated my BMR according to Jax's link. It's 1346.80.

    I'm going to try the TDEE method instead of net calories for now, since I have the tendency to cheat. If I end up eating around 1800-2000 calories, I'll add "walking" to cardiovascular exercise at the end of the night. :tongue: Now I'll have to hold myself to 1600 calories/day.
  • stef_monster
    stef_monster Posts: 205 Member
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    It usually takes some experimentation with calories to get it just right. If you're strength training several times a week, you might find 1600 is too low on some days. I did the New Rules of Lifting for Women program last year, and the author suggested eating at maintenance (TDEE) or even a little above on lifting days. Just remember that it's not the end of the world if you go over 1600, because chances are, you're still in a deficit. Even if you DO go over TDEE a couple of times per week, it's not going to mess up your progress much because you're in a deficit the other 5 days.

    I bought a FitBit early on in my fitness journey, and I don't know what I'd do without it. Basically it gives you a fairly accurate TDEE number, since it tracks your movement throughout the day. If you find yourself struggling with no progress in the mirror or the fit of your clothes after several months, you may want to invest in a heart rate monitor, a FitBit, or other pedometer/ activity tracker.

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