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Reassurance sought re working out my TDEE

Slowlybutsurely_Lynn
Slowlybutsurely_Lynn Posts: 6
in Getting Started
Hi there,

I have been on and off this site for longer than I would like. I am back now and with my wedding three months away I certainly have a goal!

This time I thought I would try working out my TDEE and go from there. I used a calculator recommended on here and this is my maths:

BMR = 1893.95
Activity level - moderate - I walk to and from work each day, am on my feet moving around most of the day (teacher) and do some form of exercise each evening from walking to Pilates.

So I multiplied 1893.95 by 1.55 and got 2935. Subtracted 20% got me a calorie goal of 2348.

Have I got this right? This is higher than I would imagine considering I'm hoping to lose 2lbs a week. Have I gone wrong somewhere in my maths?

Thanking in advance to anyone who can offer some assistance.

Lynn

Replies

  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    1890 sounds high for BMR, perhaps you're tall. But running with that the +55% activity level then a 20% cut get you to 2350 for sure.

    That isn't going to be 2 lbs/week because you went for 20%, not 1000 calories/day. 1850 - 1900 is more realistic if you want 2 lbs/week initially but you need to see how it goes in practice and adjust accordingly.

    If you're over 200 lbs you can run a higher initial deficit.
  • Slowlybutsurely_Lynn
    Slowlybutsurely_Lynn Posts: 6
    Thank you so much for responding.

    Yes, I'm 5ft 8 and I weight 247 pounds. It sounds like going for 1850 to start with is the way forward, or do you think I could afford to even lower considering my start point?
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    Personally I would shoot for 1500 - 1600 for at least a couple of weeks and see how you feel and how the loss rate looks. If you find that easy to stick to you can run with it, or lift it a bit if it's too hard.

    2 lbs/week for 6 months gets you below 200 lb where you could start to edge it up for a softer landing.

    Keep your protein intake up and try to shed carbs in preference to fats / proteins as you reduce your calories.

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