Has anyone here switched from TDEE to Net?

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ana3067
ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've been doing TDEE this whole time but I have always changed my calorie intake. Right now I'm stalling a bit - I do think overtraining has to do with it but I also think that my intake could be off.

Has anyone switched to logging and eating back exercise cals? If so how many of the cals do you eat (I usually see 50-75%)?

I was thinking of maybe calculating my sedentary TDEE and subtracting 20% (or 15%) and then log my normal exercise, always hitting my minimum?

Replies

  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    Most people eat back half as it gives more room for miscalculations,
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
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    Most people eat back half as it gives more room for miscalculations,

    thanks! Do you do net method yourself or TDEE?
  • afortunatedragon
    afortunatedragon Posts: 329 Member
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    Hi.

    I do IIFYM in the moment and only eat back some of the calories if I have a massive burn (over 1000 cals)
    I log all burns just because I like to know them.
    At iicym you are not supposed to eT back, but my calories are on 0.8 insted of 1, so doesn't matter if every now and then I go over.
  • kshadows
    kshadows Posts: 1,315 Member
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    I've been doing TDEE this whole time but I have always changed my calorie intake. Right now I'm stalling a bit - I do think overtraining has to do with it but I also think that my intake could be off.

    Has anyone switched to logging and eating back exercise cals? If so how many of the cals do you eat (I usually see 50-75%)?

    I was thinking of maybe calculating my sedentary TDEE and subtracting 20% (or 15%) and then log my normal exercise, always hitting my minimum?

    I am about to switch back to net. When I started I figured my TDEE at the sedentary level, took a 20% cut of that, and then ate back my exercise calories (shown on my HRM). I was losing steadily. Then I switched to the full TDEE method and I've plateaued. I think it has a lot to do with mental perception. My original way is just what worked better for me!
  • BuddhaMom74
    BuddhaMom74 Posts: 147
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    I've been doing a bit of a hybrid method for the last month or so, and it seems to be working fairly well.

    When I started here 2 months ago, I was one of those newbies who plunked in all of my info, wanted to lose 2lbs a week, MFP told me to eat 1200/day and off I went...first 2 weeks were great, third week I was starting to get a little hangry and by the fourth week I would have killed someone for a bagel!! :)

    So, the hybrid method it is:

    I calculated by BMR and have resolved never to eat below that again. Then, I calculated my TDEE based on exercise 6 days a week (which I do, weight training x 3 days and C25K x 3 days), then calculated my TDEE based on couch potato. I subtracted 20% from each amount and averaged the two, resulting in 1635 cals per day. Most days, I am great with this amount, but on days where I'm starving, I eat back some of my exercise calories. I've been losing, fairly consistently, 1.5-2lbs per week on my hybrid method.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
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    Thanks everyone! I'm thinking I'll either calculate my TDEE to take into account just my weight lifting (which mostly stays the same) and then log cardio, or I'll just log it all. But I definitely like the idea of logging half the time so it gives you a more realistic burn!

    Kshadows, I think it could be a mental thing. I will give this method a go for the rest of the month!. I logged my usual exercise today and calculated the amount of cals it'd add up to, and it was about 2000 when factoring out the 50% not eaten. Add that with non-exercise days and my average weekly intake was closer to 1920, which is closer to my TDEE-20%.. so I've probably been over-eating by up to 100 cals! So I guess if I dislike the inconsistent eating I will go back to TDEE-20 but I'll lower my intake to 1920-1950 or something.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
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    I do the net method (it ends up being basically the same as my TDEE-20%). I set my activity level to sedentary and I log any significant activity (such as biking to school), but I usually log it as 50%-75% of the actual time I spent on the activity. That way the adjusted goal I get from MFP is my goal plus only 50-75% of my exercise calories. I prefer to do it this way so that I can easily look at the "calories remaining" for the day to know how much I actually have left without having to do any calculations. I prefer this over the TDEE method, as my activity levels fluctuate a lot, and that's easy to account for with the net method.

    How do you decide how to log it? Do you normally go with 50% of the total time and then increase it to 75% if you're still hungry, or is there another indicator you use?
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    The two methods are basically 6 of 1, half dozen of the other...

    If you've been doing this for awhile you should just be able to adjust your intake according to your real world results. These calculators are just meant to be a reasonably good starting point...but nobody has a TDEE of exactly XXXX calories. Further, the net method can actually be more cumbersome because guesstimating calorie burns is difficult.

    If you see a certain trend happening over time...say 4-6 weeks....and it's not what you want it to be...make adjustments. You don't need a calculator or method for that.
  • kenc1971
    kenc1971 Posts: 107 Member
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    I figured my BMR at 1778, and did the results for "little to no exercise" which meant multiplying by 1.2 to get 2133.6 to maintain my weight. That's what I eat, and I don't eat back any exercise calories. I use a heart rate monitor, and log the results, and whatever exercise I do that day, that's my deficit. I average over 300 per day, so that's a 15% or so calorie reduction in the end. The 2100 calories have a 35/35/30 Protein/Carb/Fat ratio, give or take a % here or there, and I aim for 180 or so grams of protein regardless.

    I find that it's easier for me, because I can just aim for a calorie goal to maintain, and the weight loss will come due to my own efforts and activities without having to recalculate my intake for the day. It's been a bit slow as far as pounds on the scale (3.2lbs in 10 weeks), but I'm definitely in much better shape than I was 10 weeks ago, and I've dropped a noticeable amount of body fat.
  • kenc1971
    kenc1971 Posts: 107 Member
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    I figured my BMR at 1778, and did the results for "little to no exercise" which meant multiplying by 1.2 to get 2133.6 to maintain my weight. That's what I eat, and I don't eat back any exercise calories. I use a heart rate monitor, and log the results, and whatever exercise I do that day, that's my deficit. I average over 300 per day, so that's a 15% or so calorie reduction in the end. The 2100 calories have a 35/35/30 Protein/Carb/Fat ratio, give or take a % here or there, and I aim for 180 or so grams of protein regardless.

    I find that it's easier for me, because I can just aim for a calorie goal to maintain, and the weight loss will come due to my own efforts and activities without having to recalculate my intake for the day. It's been a bit slow as far as pounds on the scale (3.2lbs in 10 weeks), but I'm definitely in much better shape than I was 10 weeks ago, and I've dropped a noticeable amount of body fat.

    This is a great method. However, be sure to recalculate as you lose. The more you lose, the less you can eat and your BMR drops. Typically, about every 5 to 10 lbs you lose, you should recalculate.

    That's the plan! Also, I should note that I started keep a spreadsheet of the calories in, burned, and weight lost, so that I can calculate my "true" TDEE over time. So I'd add (pounds lost * 3500) + calories in - calories burned, and divide by the number of days to get my TDEE without the structured exercise. Adding the calories burned would give my maintain TDEE while doing the exercise.
  • threnjen
    threnjen Posts: 687 Member
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    I love to eat back my exercise calories because it gives me a "reward" on days where I exercise (I get to eat more, hooray!)

    I did use TDEE calculators to determine my net, picking a number halfway between sedentary and light because except for exercise I pretty much sit on my butt. Then I did that TDEE number -20%, so I would lose weight on my net calroies whether or not I exercise. Then I wear a heart rate monitor when I exercise (Polar, very accurate) and I log 75% of the calories that my heart rate monitor reports and eat those back. It's important especially that I eat those back since my net goal each day is already TDEE -20% and if I did not eat back my exercise calories I would be starving.

    I've lost a pound a week pretty much exactly; been at it for exactly 4 months and 18 lbs down, so this method is clearly working perfectly for me! From what I see it is exactly what you proposed doing.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
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    I love to eat back my exercise calories because it gives me a "reward" on days where I exercise (I get to eat more, hooray!)

    I did use TDEE calculators to determine my net, picking a number halfway between sedentary and light because except for exercise I pretty much sit on my butt. Then I did that TDEE number -20%, so I would lose weight on my net calroies whether or not I exercise. Then I wear a heart rate monitor when I exercise (Polar, very accurate) and I log 75% of the calories that my heart rate monitor reports and eat those back. It's important especially that I eat those back since my net goal each day is already TDEE -20% and if I did not eat back my exercise calories I would be starving.

    I've lost a pound a week pretty much exactly; been at it for exactly 4 months and 18 lbs down, so this method is clearly working perfectly for me! From what I see it is exactly what you proposed doing.

    yes this is what I plan on trying, although without the HRM. Have you ever just used MFP numbers at 75% instead?

    Although as some have already said, it really is just about being consistent and changing things as needed... I think I've been a bit resistant to lowering my cals because I love food haha. But I havent' really changed my deficit much since starting so I'm guessing I just need to be eating less!

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