Need help: BMR/TDEE and setting goals

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sdelo7
sdelo7 Posts: 43 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Getting educated on the terminology and setting goals in this site.

Used a few different websites to determine by BMR and TDEE and also had my BMR done/tested with a naturopath.

My test came back with a BMR of 1,470
Websites give me a BMR between 1,440 and 1,530. I stuck to 1 website - where my BMR showed 1,440 - and calculated my TDEE which comes out at 1, 727 for sedentary and 1,979 for 3x/week of exercise. I wanted to see the lower end of the TDEE as I don't want to be unrealistic but I am not sedentary. Weekdays yes - I work a desk job although I walk to and from for at least 20 minutes at a fast pace- but evenings and weekends I am quite active (running 3-4 times a week, playing tennis, golf, spinning in the winter) on top of household work/gardenning etc...

I input my goals on here and it gives me a net daily calories of 1,500. Lightly active again. Losing 1 pound a week. But when I put my food and exercise in here, it adds the extra calories spent by exercising to my 1,500 goal to show me the net. Doesn't the TDEE already factor in activities and therefore I would be double counting the same calorie expenditure from exercise?

Example: Yesterday's food intake was 2,034 (I know, it's high. That's part of the reason I'm here - to see what I am doing and make changes). Exercise was 631. With my goal of 1,500 that left me with 97 calorie deficit = technically weight loss but so small...

If I use the 1,979 TDEE figure above for 3x/week of exercise, and not add the exercise I did yesterday since it's already in there, I would be above my caloric intake goal = weight gain territory.

Should I not put into MFP exercise walking to and from work - since I would think it's in the TDEE - and only put in high intensity exercise (tennis, running, spinning etc...)?

Is it more accurate for me to use as a base the sedentary TDEE, add my actual exercise expenditure and calculate my caloric deficit needed for weight loss from there? On that basis I would be in a 324 calories deficit.

How does the net daily calories calculated in my goals here relate to my TDEE? How do I set goals that make sense?

Am I misunderstanding? Confusing it all? :huh:

Simplify it for me please.

Replies

  • scubasuenc
    scubasuenc Posts: 626 Member
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    The MFP method is NEAT - Non-exercise-activity-thermogensis (I think that is what it means). When you set it to lightly active it estimates your daily calorie burn excluding exercise. This is more than your BMR, which is the calorie requirement to sustain you in a coma. When you say you want to lose 1lb per week, MFP subtracts 500 calories per day from its estimate of your NEAT. Then when you exercise you eat back a portion of your exercise calories to get back to your planned deficit.

    The TDEE method is your total daily calorie expenditure. If your TDEE is 1900 and you want to lose 1lb per week you would eat 1400 calories per day whether or not you exercise and irregardless of how much you exercise.
  • sdelo7
    sdelo7 Posts: 43 Member
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    The MFP method is NEAT - Non-exercise-activity-thermogensis (I think that is what it means). When you set it to lightly active it estimates your daily calorie burn excluding exercise. This is more than your BMR, which is the calorie requirement to sustain you in a coma. When you say you want to lose 1lb per week, MFP subtracts 500 calories per day from its estimate of your NEAT. Then when you exercise you eat back a portion of your exercise calories to get back to your planned deficit.

    The TDEE method is your total daily calorie expenditure. If your TDEE is 1900 and you want to lose 1lb per week you would eat 1400 calories per day whether or not you exercise and irregardless of how much you exercise.

    So they're different calculation bases. Just give me different ways of looking at everything?
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    Should I not put into MFP exercise walking to and from work - since I would think it's in the TDEE - and only put in high intensity exercise (tennis, running, spinning etc...)?

    Yes, this is right. Since you used lightly active, that includes stuff like walking to and from work. You'd just add in extra exercise.

    Even for those, MFP has kind of high exercise numbers anyway.

    But there's still an interesting disconnect between your own TDEE calculation (which sounds reasonable) and MFP's numbers, since MFP is saying 2000 without exercise, and you are getting a bit less than that with it.
    Is it more accurate for me to use as a base the sedentary TDEE, add my actual exercise expenditure and calculate my caloric deficit needed for weight loss from there? On that basis I would be in a 324 calories deficit.

    To start, I'd either use the MFP number but add only intentional exercise and cut those calories by 50% since MFP estimates high or use the full TDEE one (the 1900-2000 one) minus 500 (or 20%, which is pretty close) and not eat back exercise. See the results and adjust after a bit.

    Where are you getting the TDEE numbers, though--I'm not saying you are wrong, as your test and thought process sound right, but just puzzled that MFP is higher, as that seems rare.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    MFP uses the Mifflin-St Jeor calculation, I believe, but only to calculate BMR and then multiply it by the activity estimate. It doesn't include in the extra exercise.

    You can use that to figure BMR, but if you have a higher than average body fat percentage--common for people who want to lose weight--the Katch-McArdle is usually more accurate (and lower), and is maybe what you are using? (It would make sense that would be lower and consistent with a test, as you said.)

    If you look at your goals page MFP will tell you what it is assuming you will burn just from daily activity at lightly active. It might be worth seeing how that lines up with the other numbers. Presumably it's 2000, if you set it for a goal of 1 lb a week and you are getting 1500.

    That means MFP is assuming 2000 before exercise (but with activity), whereas your calculation has not quite 2000 even after exercise. You might be being too conservative in your TDEE calculation (about the amount of daily activity), but the only way to tell is to try it.
  • sdelo7
    sdelo7 Posts: 43 Member
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    I just googled, found different sites and used this one:

    http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

    It gives me both the Mifflin-St Jeor (exercise 3x per week = BMR 1,440 TDEE 1,979) and the Katch-McArdle (exercise 3x per week, 40% body fat = BMR 1,413 TDEE 1,942).
    The 40% body fat comes from my testing with the naturopath that also gave me the BMR of 1,470.

    Why do say there is a disconnect between MFP at 2,000 and the TDEE above at 1,979 and 1,942?
  • sdelo7
    sdelo7 Posts: 43 Member
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    I just googled, found different sites and used this one:

    http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

    It gives me both the Mifflin-St Jeor (exercise 3x per week = BMR 1,440 TDEE 1,979) and the Katch-McArdle (exercise 3x per week, 40% body fat = BMR 1,413 TDEE 1,942).
    The 40% body fat comes from my testing with the naturopath that also gave me the BMR of 1,470.

    Why do say there is a disconnect between MFP at 2,000 and the TDEE above at 1,979 and 1,942?

    That same website gives me a goal of 1,554 calories per day for what is considered an aggressive weight loss (20%) but that is based on 3x / week exercise.
    When i switch to "couch potato" (!!) the goal moves to 1,416 per day.
    I guess the 1,500 calories per day from MFP is somewhere in the middle?

    I think starting tomorrow I will only record exercise that is above my normal walk to and from work. Will give it a few weeks and see what happens.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    I just googled, found different sites and used this one:

    http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

    It gives me both the Mifflin-St Jeor (exercise 3x per week = BMR 1,440 TDEE 1,979) and the Katch-McArdle (exercise 3x per week, 40% body fat = BMR 1,413 TDEE 1,942).
    The 40% body fat comes from my testing with the naturopath that also gave me the BMR of 1,470.

    Why do say there is a disconnect between MFP at 2,000 and the TDEE above at 1,979 and 1,942?

    Because MFP thinks you burn 2000 before exercise and you are getting about the same from the TDEE calculation with exercise. Anyway, if you do TDEE minus 20 percent you should get close to a lb a week without worrying about logging exercise and if it's higher you can change it if you want.

    MFP isn't in the middle. It's actually higher, for once, since you'd be eating 1500 on non workout days, but more on workout days.

    Either should be a decent start, though, so I think your plan sounds good.
  • sdelo7
    sdelo7 Posts: 43 Member
    Options
    I just googled, found different sites and used this one:

    http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

    It gives me both the Mifflin-St Jeor (exercise 3x per week = BMR 1,440 TDEE 1,979) and the Katch-McArdle (exercise 3x per week, 40% body fat = BMR 1,413 TDEE 1,942).
    The 40% body fat comes from my testing with the naturopath that also gave me the BMR of 1,470.

    Why do say there is a disconnect between MFP at 2,000 and the TDEE above at 1,979 and 1,942?

    Because MFP thinks you burn 2000 before exercise and you are getting about the same from the TDEE calculation with exercise. Anyway, if you do TDEE minus 20 percent you should get close to a lb a week without worrying about logging exercise and if it's higher you can change it if you want.

    MFP isn't in the middle. It's actually higher, for once, since you'd be eating 1500 on non workout days, but more on workout days.

    Either should be a decent start, though, so I think your plan sounds good.

    Ok. it's still all a little confusing to me but I understand better.

    I am going to look at 2 things:
    1. The 1,554 dally calories as calculated by the TDEE calculation website, which assumes 3x per week exercise and a 20% reduction in calories.
    2. Will lower my calorie goal on MFP to 1,416 which is "couch potato" mode on the website with 20% reduction. Will add my exercise as i am planning more than 3x per week.

    Thanks for your help! Cute cat. I'm a cat person too :-)
  • pita7317
    pita7317 Posts: 1,437 Member
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    I take my BMR and TDEE and average the two.
    Cut that by 15% to lose a half pound a week.
    I am not a gym/ exercise person. Works perfect for me.
  • j6o4
    j6o4 Posts: 871 Member
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    The MFP method is NEAT - Non-exercise-activity-thermogensis (I think that is what it means). When you set it to lightly active it estimates your daily calorie burn excluding exercise. This is more than your BMR, which is the calorie requirement to sustain you in a coma. When you say you want to lose 1lb per week, MFP subtracts 500 calories per day from its estimate of your NEAT. Then when you exercise you eat back a portion of your exercise calories to get back to your planned deficit.

    The TDEE method is your total daily calorie expenditure. If your TDEE is 1900 and you want to lose 1lb per week you would eat 1400 calories per day whether or not you exercise and irregardless of how much you exercise.

    ^This

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