How accurate is tdee?

absconded
absconded Posts: 7
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello first time poster. I'm 28, 5'8 and weigh around 150-155, and have stayed that way since college. My highest has been 160 and lowest about 150. I never have paid attention to diet or fitness since I went to college 10 years ago. Im in mental distress in dieting and the thought of cutting back on alcohol. I've stayed at 1900 cals the past 2 weeks and feel so hungry, I would describe it as miserable. I'm using this site, online sites for sit down places and a scale so I am being as accurate as possible. Which leads me to believe my tdee of 2000 cals is incorrect as eating 1900 is me going to bed hungry. I played soccer competitively from 5 to 18, so idk if that effects my tdee. Anybody else can relate or know why I feel so hungry? My goal is to lower my body fat and according to my guesstimate I'm around 15%.

Replies

  • itsbasschick
    itsbasschick Posts: 1,584 Member
    do you know how many calories you normally eat per day on average?
  • Jim_Barteck
    Jim_Barteck Posts: 274 Member
    How many of those 1900 calories are you drinking? How many are empty sugar calories?

    If you're not getting a full range of nutrition in your diet, your body is going to keep telling you it's hungry until you give it what it needs.

    TDEE isn't 100% accurate, but as they "it's good enough for government work." It's not going to be way off one way or the other.

    Start by looking at how many of those 1900 calories are "wasted"? Also consider starting some kind of nutritional supplementation like a multivitamin and maybe protein to help cure those hunger pangs.
  • absconded
    absconded Posts: 7
    How many of those 1900 calories are you drinking? How many are empty sugar calories?

    If you're not getting a full range of nutrition in your diet, your body is going to keep telling you it's hungry until you give it what it needs.

    TDEE isn't 100% accurate, but as they "it's good enough for government work." It's not going to be way off one way or the other.

    Start by looking at how many of those 1900 calories are "wasted"? Also consider starting some kind of nutritional supplementation like a multivitamin and maybe protein to help cure those hunger pangs.

    I have a soda or ice cream everyday which is about 150-200 cals. I'm eating a green smoothie everyday. I don't take vitamins, never felt the benefits others had
  • Jim_Barteck
    Jim_Barteck Posts: 274 Member
    That's not awful, but without seeing your diary there's no way to tell exactly where you're falling short.

    A wild guess on my part would be protein since that is usually what triggers the strongest hunger pangs, but only you can tell for sure how you're doing on your macros (breakdown of what portions of your daily diet are carbs, proteins, fats, etc.). Look for the category/categories in which you're consistently falling short and that's where you'll likely find your answer.
  • absconded
    absconded Posts: 7
    That's not awful, but without seeing your diary there's no way to tell exactly where you're falling short.

    A wild guess on my part would be protein since that is usually what triggers the strongest hunger pangs, but only you can tell for sure how you're doing on your macros (breakdown of what portions of your daily diet are carbs, proteins, fats, etc.). Look for the category/categories in which you're consistently falling short and that's where you'll likely find your answer.

    Just found this site but I have a 50 gram protein shake and then a heavy protein dinner, maybe half to 3\4 lb a meat. I don't follow/ macros except protein, as I read its the most important target
  • eggomylegos
    eggomylegos Posts: 146 Member
    Did you calculate your TDEE as "sedentary" when you are really more active than that? Sedentary is correct when you do absolutely nothing but sit on a couch all day.

    After two months of using a Fitbit I found that the online TDEE calculator I used was under by 50-100 calories depending on my activity. I'd say that's a pretty good estimate.
  • absconded
    absconded Posts: 7
    Did you calculate your TDEE as "sedentary" when you are really more active than that? Sedentary is correct when you do absolutely nothing but sit on a couch all day.

    After two months of using a Fitbit I found that the online TDEE calculator I used was under by 50-100 calories depending on my activity. I'd say that's a pretty good estimate.

    I have a desk job and the only exercise I do is drinking
  • Dofflin
    Dofflin Posts: 127 Member
    15%bf for a female is pretty low for someone who is sedentary.
  • absconded
    absconded Posts: 7
    15%bf for a female is pretty low for someone who is sedentary.

    That's why I'm a guy
  • beachgal0626
    beachgal0626 Posts: 1,912 Member
    Your profile says you're female!
  • michikade
    michikade Posts: 313 Member
    TDEE is pretty close so long as you know for sure what your body fat percent is and if you're accurate on your activity level. Sounds to me, since you said you guessed your body fat percent, that it may be inaccurate. May want to actually get some calipers or have a doc measure it if you wanna get a true percentage.

    I'd be hungry at night if I ate all of my calories in the first half of the day. It takes around 3 hours, give or take, for your stomach to empty (assuming you're eating normally - not over stuffing), and your body will crave more nutrients if you're missing some, so that combo could be causing your hunger. I don't know your eating pattern but you may benefit from eating something a couple hours before bed to keep from feeling hunger pangs while you're trying to fall asleep, and maybe eating more nutrient dense things a couple hours apart (even if it's just a snack between meals) to keep you from feeling ravenous. Just a thought.

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