TDEE - This can't be right!

HawtTamale
HawtTamale Posts: 35 Member
edited November 8 in Health and Weight Loss
[img][/img]TDEE.png

Am I really supposed to eat over 1900 calories a day, as long as I hit the protein/carb/fat numbers? Really?? Someone, please, tell me what I'm missing here...
«1

Replies

  • azwen
    azwen Posts: 237 Member
    Where did you find that calculator?
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    You don't actually have to starve to lose weight. I'd go ahead and try it and after a month if you're not losing then adjust it a bit.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    azwen wrote: »
    Where did you find that calculator?


    http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/
  • jkwolly
    jkwolly Posts: 3,049 Member
    First off, are you sure you have the correct body fat percentage?

    And if you do, then yes, it is correct. It will provide you with the right daily target if you provide the correct information......

    Remember, calories for weight loss, macros for health.
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
    Bit of an issue with that calculator: 2032 less 15% is 1727, not 1960. I think there might be a glitch there. You can compare with this one if you want to validate:

    http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

    But yeah, you can try TDEE minus 15% or 20% for a while and see how you go. A reasonable 20% deficit would put you at 1625, or a 0.8lbs/week rate of loss, which is healthy and sustainable.

    Try it for 30-60 days, track and log, and then see if you are losing at the expected rate and adjust upward or downward. Don't forget to update your calculations every 10lbs lost or so.
  • bajoyba
    bajoyba Posts: 1,153 Member
    Hmm. If your TDEE is approximately 2032 calories a day, then eating 1960 puts you at a very small deficit. You'll lose weight that way, but it will take a long time.

    Most people who use the TDEE method eat at TDEE - 20% (which for you would be about 1625 calories a day or almost 1lb a week). Make sure when you calculate your TDEE that you include all of your physical activity, including workouts... or, if your workout schedule is unpredictable at the moment, you can calculate your normal activity level before exercise and then eat some of your burned calories back on workout days. :)
  • NoelFigart1
    NoelFigart1 Posts: 1,276 Member
    Keep in mind that's going to give you a very gentle weight loss of about a half a pound to a pound a week. But yeah, probably close. And yes, if your Body Fat Percentage is correct, that's pretty accurate.

    If you don't mind my asking, how did you determine your body fat percentage?
  • anashnyc
    anashnyc Posts: 39 Member
    Looks right to me. The heavier you are, the more calories you burn in your BMR ( It takes more energy to move a larger frame than smaller one). So as long as you are in a calorie deficit, which is what the TDEE will help you figure out, you will lose weight. As you lose weight and get smaller, you will have to either eat a lot less OR work out longer or harder.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    edited December 2014
    No the maths is off

    You cut by 73 calories a day from TDEE and you will lose about 0.5lb every 3-4 weeks ...that's if it's accurate logging

    250 cut a day = about 0.5lb per week

    Use MFP, scooby or http://www.weightloss-calculator.net
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    edited December 2014
    Yep. My stats were quite similar when I started (32, 5'6", 248) and that's about the amount of calories I was eating (though with exercise calories, as I've been following NEAT instead of TDEE). But you can easily eat at a 20% deficit and lose as well.
  • jkwolly
    jkwolly Posts: 3,049 Member
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    No the maths is off

    You cut by 73 calories a day from TDEE and you will lose about 0.5lb every 3-4 weeks ...that's if it's accurate logging

    250 cut a day = about 0.5lb per week

    Use MFP, scooby or http://www.weightloss-calculator.net
    I like this one too:

    http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

  • AliceDark
    AliceDark Posts: 3,886 Member
    Looks like there's a math error on the site. If your TDEE is 2032 calories, then TDEE-15% is 1727 calories. That would put you at losing 0.6 pounds per week. You could go more aggressive and do TDEE-20% (1625 calories), which would give you a loss of 0.8 pounds per week. If you want to lose more quickly but not starve, you'd need to increase your TDEE by exercising.
  • jessicav1126
    jessicav1126 Posts: 6
    edited December 2014
    Hi Hawt - I recently posted about how to calculate BMR and TDEE. Unless you have actually measured your BF% you may not have an accurate number.

    According to the formula I sent you your BMR is 1,875.85. Your TDEE is 2,251.02 Remember that is the number you need to maintain your weight at your current activity level. It takes 3500 calories less then that number a week to burn 1 pound for that week. To make it easier that means you would reduce the number from your TDEE by 500 calories a day which leaves you with 1,751.02 calories. I suggest you start with that number, I think that is the healthiest way to lose weight. Also keep in mind you never want to eat less then 1,200 calories a day. Keep in mind that the number you are getting is for a sedentary lifestyle. When you start to increase your activity level it is possible to lose more then 1 pound per week with this amount of calories.

    Also remember to update and recalculate your BMR & TDEE as you lose weight..when you are 10 pounds lighter you don't want to be eating the same amount of calories.

    When it comes to calculating Macros ( protein, carbs, and fats) figure out the percentages you want and calculate by hand. IF you know that you want to eat 1 gram of protein per pound and each gram of protein has 4 calories then the number of calories you will receive from protein is 980 calories. To calculate fat (going from the information you entered into the calculator you want to eat 0.45g per pound which gives you 992.25 calories from fat.. which will actually put you over your calories for the day.. I think the amount of fat you want in your diet is a bit high. I would scale it back to about 20 percent of your weight or about 441 calories from fat or 49 grams of fat. That will leave you with 330 calories from carbs or 82.4 grams of carbs.

    Sorry this is so long winded..I hope this can help you out a bit
  • Lasmartchika
    Lasmartchika Posts: 3,440 Member
    Stick with 1727 (-15%) then you can still lose weight and not starve. Yes, it's possible. :)
  • Just saw i got marked for spam..edited my post..

    Didn't know that it was against forum rules to post links.
  • uconnwinsnc1
    uconnwinsnc1 Posts: 902 Member
    Just saw i got marked for spam..edited my post..

    Didn't know that it was against forum rules to post links.

    Lots of people get mad and flag random posts. Welcome to the internet. :p
  • Lol who knew math equations would get people mad? ;)
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    Just saw i got marked for spam..edited my post..

    Didn't know that it was against forum rules to post links.

    :laugh:

    It's not against the rules and I didn't see anything wrong with your link. Looked like just a blog post about the math used to calculate TDEE.

  • Kekekylene
    Kekekylene Posts: 112 Member
    as long as you input the right numbers yes that is right, i am 5'3" and weigh 190 and eat 2510 calories a day so just depends on activity level. good luck on your journey, its much better to use this method and eat more than to eat little and have no energy!
  • Just saw i got marked for spam..edited my post..

    Didn't know that it was against forum rules to post links.

    :laugh:

    It's not against the rules and I didn't see anything wrong with your link. Looked like just a blog post about the math used to calculate TDEE.

    I erased it for good measure. Thanks for clearing it up for me :)
  • anachronicles
    anachronicles Posts: 109 Member
    I'm 5'2 and maintaining at 1900
  • DanaHerro
    DanaHerro Posts: 186 Member
    IT'S ABSOLUTELY RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!
    Eat the food, girlie!!
    I started at 5'5" 220 and ate 1950-2000 a day to start (Sedentary TDEE minus 20%)
    I average 1.5 lbs per week for a total of 70 lbs lost.
    Lowest amount I ever ate per day was 1650

    I now eat about 1950-2000 to maintain :)
  • QuiznatoddBidness
    QuiznatoddBidness Posts: 602 Member
    Lol who knew math equations would get people mad? ;)

    ^^^ fyi I just reported this. No offense intended, but math equations - AND references to math equations - make me mad.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    The calculator seems to have a glitch...a 15% cut from your TDEE of 2032 would be 1727...that would be just right around 1/2 - 3/4 Lb per week weigh-loss.

    Being heavier, you can go faster than that if you like...but you don't have to starve yourself. A 15% cut from TDEE is very modest and usually the kind of cut that someone who is already pretty lean would do...it's going to be very slow going with that small of a cut.

    I would also recommend that you increase your activity and do some exercise...exercise will increase your TDEE number...lets say you went out and burned 300 calories per day...your new TDEE would be 2332...at that TDEE you could easily eat around 1800 calories per day and lose about 1 Lb per week or 1500 - 1600 calories per day and lose about 1.5 Lbs per week.
  • HawtTamale
    HawtTamale Posts: 35 Member
    Thank you so much for all the replies.

    I had my personal trainer calculate my BF% using calipers and an electronic scale of some sort (all very fancy lookin'...). I think his numbers are pretty spot on, sadly :(

    Jessica, thank you for the thorough explanation. That helps immensely. I will take your advice and use 1751 as my number. I've always been of the mindset that less is more, so I was doing 1200-1400...and starving...and never stuck with it. But now @ 1700 calories I feel like I can manage to stay full on that easily.

    So one more question:

    Is is required to eat the appropriate amount of each macronutrient in order for this to be successful? If one day I eat more avocados than chicken, and my fat calories go up vs. my protein calories, but I still stay within my 1751 allotment, will it screw with anything?

    I apologize for my ignorance, but I'm still trying to come to terms with being able to eat that much and still lose weight!
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Like others have said, there's a math error or glitch with the calculator. The TDEE number looks reasonable, although if you plan to exercise you'd normally include the exercise.

    What I do with TDEE calculators is check out a few to get the range (try a range of BF% if you don't know yours) and then subtract the amount that makes sense myself--say, 500 if you are going for a 1 lb loss, although I did a more aggressive deficit at first and don't think it hurt me.

    Once you have your own results and logs you can adjust. Now I have a good sense of what my maintenance should be based on results, so I just used the calculators to kind of see if what I was getting made sense.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited December 2014
    HawtTamale wrote: »
    Is is required to eat the appropriate amount of each macronutrient in order for this to be successful? If one day I eat more avocados than chicken, and my fat calories go up vs. my protein calories, but I still stay within my 1751 allotment, will it screw with anything?

    Nope, you don't have to stick to the macros suggested by that site and can reset them yourself. A lot of people think it's good to try to get 1 g of protein per lb of lean body mass (your weight minus your fat) when exercising at a deficit, and not to go too low on fat as people sometimes do, but it's pretty flexible and what works for you, so don't over complicate at the beginning.

    Macros have to do with how satisfied you feel and nutrition, as well as fueling exercise/preserving muscle mass, not with weight loss.
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
    Yeah, don't stress too much about macros. Just log what you're eating, try to stay within the total calorie goal, and see how it goes. You might find yourself naturally adjusting to feel more satisfied within a certain calorie allotment. But it's not really all that important, as long as you're healthy and giving youself enough energy to fuel your exercise.
  • RibStabsHeart
    RibStabsHeart Posts: 71 Member
    TDEE is a much more precise way of estimating your intake, and if you accurately log your daily exercise into it and know your body fat percentage, it's a very accurate way of figuring out your maintenance calories and how much you need to cut back to lose a little at a time.

    Personally (and this is somewhat controversial around here), I like to use MFP's suggested calorie goals and log in and eat my exercise calories back. That way if I can't hit the gym or don't do as much as I'd like, I can still eat a smaller amount and keep at my goal. I don't stress if I'm a little over my 1350 -- I know this is a pretty low amount for a dude -- but I keep losing even if I don't hit the gym and work off the extra calories (that I do eat if I work out).
  • mymodernbabylon
    mymodernbabylon Posts: 1,038 Member
    I'm 45 yr old, 145 lb and 5'6". My TDEE is 2300 calories. And I lose on 2000 (just about 15% deficit). I don't see the point in eating less than I have to - I'd rather go slowly, eat my protein (minimum of 100 grams and usually more) and learn how to eat for life. More food is good!
This discussion has been closed.