I feel like I MUST be making a huge mistake here

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2

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  • MelsAuntie
    MelsAuntie Posts: 2,833 Member
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    Be sure to let us know how it goes. I'm curious about this now.
  • Mrs_Bones
    Mrs_Bones Posts: 195 Member
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    I felt exactly the same way when I started eating TDEE-20%!!! I was terrified! I figured that I would give it a month or two and worst case scenario, I would gain back a pound or two and realize it wasn't for me or nothing would happen at all. Weight-loss and maintaining it is a life long deal, if it takes you an extra month or two or sort out what's best for your body, it's not the end of the world! Luckily for me, increasing my cals was EXACTLY what my body needed and I started losing weight again! It's scary, but the best things in life certainly can be!
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,025 Member
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    Eating back your calories is actually not a good idea, because caloric burn is typically way overestimated. In general, if you know you're exercising with some effort, stick to eating half of them back, not all of them, because chances are the number you see on MFP is higher than the number of calories you've actually burned, so you're just going above your limit. But yeah, everyone's individual ideal numbers are different. If you're very overweight, eating 1200 calories would make you lose more than 2lbs a week, which is generally a higher goal than is considered safe. What's more, losing 2lbs a week can be unsustainable and there's no reason to try to do it if you're in no rush. :)

    Edit: How tall are you, actually? I'm trying to calculator your TDEE as well.

    If she is set at sedentary, then yes, eating back exercise calories is necessary, particularly since it is more likely that she is lightly active and should be eating exercise calories back on top of that. The fitbit method is generally accepted as accurate.

    As another poster mentioned, just keep at it. If you don't add your calories slowly in, you will see a small weight gain initially (which is why I encourage people who are switching to this method to add 100 calories per week). Doing that also lets your hunger hormone, called leptin, adjust to your new intake so that you don't feel like you are stuffing yourself.

    No way. If she's sedentary she definitely SHOULDN'T be eating back calories, and most people tend to OVERESTIMATE their activity levels, so it's highly unlikely she's underestimating.

    She is setting it to sedentary and using a HRM to track her exercise calories. She is doing it properly.
  • RobynMWilson
    RobynMWilson Posts: 1,540 Member
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    I'm 5'7, 135 and my maintenance cals are set to 1780 on rest days and I eat back as much of my workout cals as I can stuff in my face lol I have my MFP set to "lightly active" b/c I'm a school bus driver who sweeps, fuels, and throws myself bodily into the turns when I'm turning a 15-ton vehicle. With MFP guidelines I've been maintaining...although I've been maintaining long before the Internet and MFP lol
  • lunahbby
    lunahbby Posts: 18 Member
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    As far as I can tell, fitibit is a glorified pedometer, NOT an HRM, so the calories she's tracking probably aren't accurate.
  • ironanimal
    ironanimal Posts: 5,922 Member
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    As far as I can tell, fitibit is a glorified pedometer, NOT an HRM, so the calories she's tracking probably aren't accurate.
    I think you should actually read up on it then, as it goes way beyond what most HRMs are capable of.
  • lunahbby
    lunahbby Posts: 18 Member
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    As far as I can tell, fitibit is a glorified pedometer, NOT an HRM, so the calories she's tracking probably aren't accurate.
    I think you should actually read up on it then, as it goes way beyond what most HRMs are capable of.

    Everything I see just talks about counting steps, and how good it is at counting every step you take. I can't find anything that indicates it measures your heart rate at all. Counting steps doesn't tell you how many calories you've burned.
  • honeylissabee
    honeylissabee Posts: 217 Member
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    Eating back your calories is actually not a good idea, because caloric burn is typically way overestimated. In general, if you know you're exercising with some effort, stick to eating half of them back, not all of them, because chances are the number you see on MFP is higher than the number of calories you've actually burned, so you're just going above your limit. But yeah, everyone's individual ideal numbers are different. If you're very overweight, eating 1200 calories would make you lose more than 2lbs a week, which is generally a higher goal than is considered safe. What's more, losing 2lbs a week can be unsustainable and there's no reason to try to do it if you're in no rush. :)

    Edit: How tall are you, actually? I'm trying to calculator your TDEE as well.

    If she is set at sedentary, then yes, eating back exercise calories is necessary, particularly since it is more likely that she is lightly active and should be eating exercise calories back on top of that. The fitbit method is generally accepted as accurate.

    As another poster mentioned, just keep at it. If you don't add your calories slowly in, you will see a small weight gain initially (which is why I encourage people who are switching to this method to add 100 calories per week). Doing that also lets your hunger hormone, called leptin, adjust to your new intake so that you don't feel like you are stuffing yourself.

    No way. If she's sedentary she definitely SHOULDN'T be eating back calories, and most people tend to OVERESTIMATE their activity levels, so it's highly unlikely she's underestimating.

    She is setting it to sedentary and using a HRM to track her exercise calories. She is doing it properly.

    I'm unemployed, so there are plenty of days where I barely get out of bed, but there are also days (like today) where I do a ton of walking. For me, if I used last week as a baseline for my activity level, it would be a lot different than if I used this week, so I decided to just start at sedentary and let my Fitbit calculate the difference for me.
  • BramageOMG
    BramageOMG Posts: 319 Member
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    So far I come in low every day (by design) because I am afraid I am not counting my calories right on the money, so a little under is better. Only been at it a little over a week but surpassing my goal so far. And I know it is longer term changes that really mean something. Just nice to see the slider going left and not right WOOT
  • fullersun35
    fullersun35 Posts: 162 Member
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    if you are doing TDEE why are you eating back exercise cals..? or am I missing something?

    I'm confused too. If you do TDEE - 20%, you aren't supposed to eat back your exercise calories.
  • fullersun35
    fullersun35 Posts: 162 Member
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    if you are doing TDEE why are you eating back exercise cals..? or am I missing something?

    I'm confused too. If you do TDEE - 20%, you aren't supposed to eat back your exercise calories.

    Ah, old post. Never mind.
  • brower47
    brower47 Posts: 16,356 Member
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    ...
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 17,959 Member
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    So far I come in low every day (by design) because I am afraid I am not counting my calories right on the money, so a little under is better. Only been at it a little over a week but surpassing my goal so far. And I know it is longer term changes that really mean something. Just nice to see the slider going left and not right WOOT

    May I suggest that you start your own new thread instead of resurrecting a thread from 2013 started by a now deactivated poster who turned out to be quite the nutjob?
  • pita7317
    pita7317 Posts: 1,437 Member
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    BMR, FitBit whatever....I consume 1300-1500 calories a day. Three meals. Drink lots of water.
    Portion sizes, big del.
    Female. Age 55.
    My ticker tells my results.
  • BramageOMG
    BramageOMG Posts: 319 Member
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    I guess I did not look that closely... I may need to go back and re-read this thread, Nut job's intrigue me. Sorry for the resurrection.

    Also, I have a phobia of starting new threads. Being the first to post about any subject results in tremendous anxiety :)

    OK - OLD THREAD No one else post here !! my bad
  • BenjaminMFP88
    BenjaminMFP88 Posts: 660 Member
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    I've been trying the TDEE-20% method for 3 days now, and I just cannot comprehend that I can eat this much and still lose weight.

    I currently have MFP set for my Sedentary TDEE-20% and then I plan on eating back all of the exercise calories from my Fitbit.

    Friday, I ate 1846 calories, but had 115 remaining. Yesterday, I ate 2140 calories with 81 leftover. Today, I've eaten 1268 calories and I still have 928 left!

    Coming from years and years of being told to stick to a 1,200-1,500 calorie diet as a female, I'm having a hard time accepting that I can eat over 2,000 calories a day and lose weight.

    If you are using the TDEE method, you do not eat back exercise calories as they are already factored into your allotment (TDEE)
  • mbcaldwell123
    mbcaldwell123 Posts: 79 Member
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    I'm always told by nutritionist to give it two weeks for your body to adjust. Then you can start making the adjustments needed for your body. I also told to think of your metabolism as a fire. If you don't feed the fire, the fire burns out. It seems so counterintuitiive to EAT to lose weight. Just hang in there and give it a chance.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    As far as I can tell, fitibit is a glorified pedometer, NOT an HRM, so the calories she's tracking probably aren't accurate.
    I think you should actually read up on it then, as it goes way beyond what most HRMs are capable of.

    Everything I see just talks about counting steps, and how good it is at counting every step you take. I can't find anything that indicates it measures your heart rate at all. Counting steps doesn't tell you how many calories you've burned.

    Neither does heart rate except for when you are in the aerobic zone. Anaerobic exercises will not calculate correctly by heart rate.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    So far I come in low every day (by design) because I am afraid I am not counting my calories right on the money, so a little under is better. Only been at it a little over a week but surpassing my goal so far. And I know it is longer term changes that really mean something. Just nice to see the slider going left and not right WOOT

    May I suggest that you start your own new thread instead of resurrecting a thread from 2013 started by a now deactivated poster who turned out to be quite the nutjob?

    Ya gotta love MFP. :laugh:

    If someone posts a popular topic they are asked "why don't you use the search option"

    If someone uses the search button and gets on old thread, well ...
  • mmredd100
    mmredd100 Posts: 50 Member
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    I started the tdee method about a month ago and nothing really happened for about 2 weeks. Now the weight is slowly but surely coming off. I do NOT eat back the calories. A couple days isn't enough time for your body to adjust. Give it time!

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