TDEE for very active lady, am I doing this right?
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butterbear1980
Posts: 234 Member
Hi,
I'm so excited to have found this group and am really enjoying my renewed energy level since I've started eating more. I upped my calories from 1800 to 2340 in the last two weeks. I came up with my tdee by using the calculator at fattofit.com but I'm still feeling like my TDEE is kind of a stab in the dark; not really sure how accurate it is. One part of me is afraid I'm going to gain weight while the other half is afraid I'm still under eating and not going to get a full metabolic reset. So I'm going to list a bunch of my info/stats and would love your opinion!
I'm 5'3" 140 pound female with a large frame (6.5" wrist!) and athletic build. I think I'm at 27% bf based off pictures. But I'm not totally sure maybe it's more/less? I've lost 16 pounds in the last five months which I'm really happy about. But I was just tired of being hungry and tired and decided to do maintenence calories for the summer months. I'm a farmer and I'm just too busy and have too much at stake with the farm to mess around with cutting weight right now. My long term goal is to be at 22% bf but I realize that will take years of lifting heavy and eating well.
So, here is my activity level: Monday through Friday I watch my three small kids and do housework including cooking cleaning and hanging laundry from 7 am -1 pm. I work at our farm from 1-5:30 and 6:30-7:30. The farm work is all pretty physical; weeding, moving stuff around, planting, transplanting, watering, etc. I save all the office work for when its dark out and the kiddos are asleep. I also do crossfit four times a week and one long slow run with friends once a week. Saturdays I just stand at the farmer's market all day (boring!). So I came up with 2350 as a TDEE and I initially put on three pounds, two of which have come off and I'm assuming that's the water weight of upping calories, yes?
I've had an increased energy level but I'm still really hungry. Is the hunger just from upping calories and my body getting used to it? I know time and the scale will tell if I'm still loosing I can up the calories and if I'm gaining I'll reduce them. Do you think 2340 is a good starting point? My goal for the next four months is to have a metabolic reset. Maintain my weight. And if I shaved off an inch or two while maintaining that would be awesome. Feel free to look at my food diary and make any suggestions! Thanks, Mandy
I'm so excited to have found this group and am really enjoying my renewed energy level since I've started eating more. I upped my calories from 1800 to 2340 in the last two weeks. I came up with my tdee by using the calculator at fattofit.com but I'm still feeling like my TDEE is kind of a stab in the dark; not really sure how accurate it is. One part of me is afraid I'm going to gain weight while the other half is afraid I'm still under eating and not going to get a full metabolic reset. So I'm going to list a bunch of my info/stats and would love your opinion!
I'm 5'3" 140 pound female with a large frame (6.5" wrist!) and athletic build. I think I'm at 27% bf based off pictures. But I'm not totally sure maybe it's more/less? I've lost 16 pounds in the last five months which I'm really happy about. But I was just tired of being hungry and tired and decided to do maintenence calories for the summer months. I'm a farmer and I'm just too busy and have too much at stake with the farm to mess around with cutting weight right now. My long term goal is to be at 22% bf but I realize that will take years of lifting heavy and eating well.
So, here is my activity level: Monday through Friday I watch my three small kids and do housework including cooking cleaning and hanging laundry from 7 am -1 pm. I work at our farm from 1-5:30 and 6:30-7:30. The farm work is all pretty physical; weeding, moving stuff around, planting, transplanting, watering, etc. I save all the office work for when its dark out and the kiddos are asleep. I also do crossfit four times a week and one long slow run with friends once a week. Saturdays I just stand at the farmer's market all day (boring!). So I came up with 2350 as a TDEE and I initially put on three pounds, two of which have come off and I'm assuming that's the water weight of upping calories, yes?
I've had an increased energy level but I'm still really hungry. Is the hunger just from upping calories and my body getting used to it? I know time and the scale will tell if I'm still loosing I can up the calories and if I'm gaining I'll reduce them. Do you think 2340 is a good starting point? My goal for the next four months is to have a metabolic reset. Maintain my weight. And if I shaved off an inch or two while maintaining that would be awesome. Feel free to look at my food diary and make any suggestions! Thanks, Mandy
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Replies
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On fattofit did you enter your goal weight or current weight in the field for goal weight?
If you put in goal weight - that is your future TDEE, not current weight TDEE.
Also, did you have a bodyfat% estimate that you used?
Because while they report the Katch BMR which is more accurate - they actually use the least accurate Harris BMR in the TDEE table.
So did you base the TDEE table level choice purely on the exercise, or you added in work too? What level?
Yes you will gain initial water weight, and if your body had been suppressed not losing weight eating lower calorie level, and you just increase say 500 calories daily, you will gain fat until body speeds up. Because you are eating in great excess.
Yes you will feel hungry again, somewhat by increased insulin response eating more food, probably dipping blood sugar lower than normal, leaving you feeling hungry and/or more tired. Could also just be hormones finally getting back to right.
With all the increased daily activity, and the fact those TDEE tables are based on sedentary desk job with only exercise added on, suggest you look at the spreadsheet on my profile page, Simple Setup tab and Progress tab only. Get best estimate of TDEE so you can eat at maintenance.
Crossfit you'll need to figure out how much time is spent with normal lifting with sets and rests, and how much is their more high cardio version of circuit training style.0 -
On fattofit did you enter your goal weight or current weight in the field for goal weight?
Entered current weight.
If you put in goal weight - that is your future TDEE, not current weight TDEE.
Also, did you have a bodyfat% estimate that you used?
Yes 27.6%
Because while they report the Katch BMR which is more accurate - they actually use the least accurate Harris BMR in the TDEE table.
So did you base the TDEE table level choice purely on the exercise, or you added in work too? What level?
I chose a number between moderate 2186 and very active 2432.
Yes you will gain initial water weight, and if your body had been suppressed not losing weight eating lower calorie level, and you just increase say 500 calories daily, you will gain fat until body speeds up. Because you are eating in great excess.
Can you explain what you mean by eating in great excess?! I think 2340 seems reasonable for someone working out 5 x/week. Two hours of cooking/housework per day and 25-35 hours of HARD physical labor/week.
Yes you will feel hungry again, somewhat by increased insulin response eating more food, probably dipping blood sugar lower than normal, leaving you feeling hungry and/or more tired. Could also just be hormones finally getting back to right.
That totally makes sense!
With all the increased daily activity, and the fact those TDEE tables are based on sedentary desk job with only exercise added on, suggest you look at the spreadsheet on my profile page, Simple Setup tab and Progress tab only. Get best estimate of TDEE so you can eat at maintenance.
Thanks! I look forward to checking that out!
Crossfit you'll need to figure out how much time is spent with normal lifting with sets and rests, and how much is their more high cardio version of circuit training style.0 -
Good, so at least current weight TDEE.
But, they Harris BMR they use is inflated, more so as you have more fat to lose. So that TDEE is inflated too.
The comment about gaining because eating in surplus was proceeded with "IF" - I didn't see in your comments that you stopped losing weight eating at 1800, merely that it made you tired and you wanted to eat at maintenance.
If you were losing, then what I said doesn't apply.
But to help others, here's what they see.
They've been eating at say 1400 in total with exercise, and weight loss slowed and then stopped and they have maintained at 1400 for many weeks. Obviously there is no deficit anymore, or they would be losing. They are eating at suppressed TDEE.
If they started eating at 1900, that is 500 calories surplus, or 1 lb weekly, until the body speeds back up. So you would get slowing weight gain until you maintained again at higher level.
And yes, that TDEE level is actually low.
5 x weekly exercise makes it Moderately Active all by itself. Rounding up slightly probably isn't nearly enough.
You add on hard physical labor rather than the assumed default sedentary desk job - you are much higher.
Spreadsheet has a line for hrs weekly of labor trades, and service trades for the standing moving around slightly. That all counts. In fact, I'd suggest with no exercise included yet, 14 hrs service trades and 30 hrs labor trades type work gives a BMR multiplier of 1.77. And even that is probably underestimated for really hard labor.0 -
Just an update. Settled on 2600 tdee. Maintaining at 143. Never ended up doing the spreadsheet but just guessing based off hunger. Looking forward to another 9 weeks of full reset!0
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Awesome job maintaining at 2,600! Fabulous!0
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Wow!Just an update. Settled on 2600 tdee. Maintaining at 143. Never ended up doing the spreadsheet but just guessing based off hunger. Looking forward to another 9 weeks of full reset!
I'm jealous!! Lol! Nice work listening to your body!! 0 -
Way to go!!! That's great that you are just listening to your body!!! That's great!0
