Calculated TDEE - 20%...seems high! can anyone check?

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rianna412
rianna412 Posts: 12
in Getting Started
Hi! I'm a 25 year old female, 5'4, and I weigh 172 pounds. My goal weight is 130-135.

When I joined MFP, I requested to lose two pounds per week and was given a calorie allowance of 1200. I did that for a week, but after reading the forums it seems like that calculation may be off. So I followed another members advice to calculate my BMR, TDEE, etc, and use that method.

I calculated that my BMR is 1513 (light exercise 1-3 times per week), TDEE is 2081 and my calorie allowance should be 1664 to lose 20% of my weight.

Can that be correct? 1664 seems awfully high, and I'm a little worried I won't lose weight that way. Did I calculate wrong?

I changed my calorie allowance to 1600 in MFP, and am doing protein 30%, fat 30% and carbs 40%....is that right? I just want to lose weight and tone a little, nothing major.

Thanks!

Replies

  • dakotababy
    dakotababy Posts: 2,406 Member
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    I was apprehensive doing the tdee way, though it works! I have been consistently losing weight, faster. At 1300 calories, my hair was falling out and I would hit plateaus often.
  • JoannaKoon
    JoannaKoon Posts: 3 Member
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    If you eat too little, you'll slow your metabolism and put yourself into starvation mode.
  • dakotababy
    dakotababy Posts: 2,406 Member
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    I got your TDEE as 2173 off of the scooby calculator.

    Your goal should be around 1700 calories.

    Start there, give it a month and then re-evaluate. Do not be discouraged if after 2 weeks you have not lost weight, or if you even gain a bit of weight, since your body is used to 1200 calories a day. After a month the weight should start coming off.

    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
  • 365andstillalive
    365andstillalive Posts: 663 Member
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    Yep, that doesn't sound too far off to me.
    I rechecked quickly with the information you gave and the calculator I use came in at 1586 for BMR without exercise and a TDEE of 2173 (at the lightly active option; 1-3 hours light exercise per week).

    So if you take your TDEE - BMR = deficit (587 cals per day) which equals out to between 1-1.5lbs of weight loss per week. 2lbs a week would be more than 20% of your TDEE and really too aggressive for the change you're trying to make.

    You 100% can lose eating to your BMR, I've done it just about the whole way through my 70 or so lbs lost. It's the best way to keep you healthy and satiated and will keep you from losing ridiculous amount of lean body mass instead of fat.
  • onelov3
    onelov3 Posts: 37 Member
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    Sounds about right to me - you'd be surprised how many calories a person can safely lose weight on. Remember, you're in this for the long haul, not a quickie weight loss. At 1200 calories you'll lose weight but more than likely eventually stall out due to the lack of 'gas in your tank'.

    Congrats on starting your healthy journey, feel free to add me. :)
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
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    Yes, sounds good.

    You will get different numbers from different calculators. Exrx.net gives me closer to 2450 (by using my body fat %) and health-calc gives me up to 2650 depending on non-exercise activity; I stick to 2500-2600 as being my hypothetical maintenance (as I did not eat at maintenance to discover if this was correct). So 2100 for me is the lowest I'm going for fat loss. If 2450 is my real TDEE then 2100 is still ~15% deficit, good enough for me.

    Lose weight slowly and it will stay off much more easily.

    Also btw I prefer these calculators over generic ones because you input time spent doing different intensities of activity. E.g. while I work out 4x a week, I'm working out ~5 hours a week. Someone else might only work out 3 hours when working out 4x a week. or they may do 5 hours of exercise a week, but it might be very light intensity.

    Use the number as a starting point, adjust up and down as needed.

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