Does Myfitness Pal underestimate TDEE?
tkbuc
Posts: 66 Member
I'm trying to find the right TDEE calculator to start tracking. I looked at Scooby's, IIFYM and this site's calculator and there are major discrepancies. I'm a male, 38, 211lbs, 5' 9", desk job and work out 4xweek for about 60 mins (30 min cardio/30min weights). When I plug this data in the calculators I get.
Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Total Cal
Scooby 2900 2900 2900 2900 2900 2900 2900 20300
IIFYM 2651 2651 2651 2651 2651 2651 2651 18557
Myfitness2300 2300 2300 2300 2300 2300 2300 16100
I know for Scooby's and IIFYM I need to reduce those by 20% for weight loss. I think I have to eat back any calories burned with the Myfitnesspal numbers since it doesn't include exercise. Am I missing something or is the discrepancies just a result of the formulas?
Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Total Cal
Scooby 2900 2900 2900 2900 2900 2900 2900 20300
IIFYM 2651 2651 2651 2651 2651 2651 2651 18557
Myfitness2300 2300 2300 2300 2300 2300 2300 16100
I know for Scooby's and IIFYM I need to reduce those by 20% for weight loss. I think I have to eat back any calories burned with the Myfitnesspal numbers since it doesn't include exercise. Am I missing something or is the discrepancies just a result of the formulas?
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Replies
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They are all just guesstimates. Yes, MFP, you're earning exercise calories.0
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MFP does include exercise calories if you enter them in. If, for instance, your calorie allotment is, say, 2000, and then you burn 500 calories with a workout and enter that in, it would give you 2500 calories for the day. But as calories burned is often overestimated, most people will say to only eat part of that back. That said, if you trust the IIFYM estimate, you can go with that. You don't have to listen to MFP's guidelines.0
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Part of it is the difference in the methods. Scooby & IIFYM puts the workouts and base activity levels into your TDEE. MFP adds your base activity, but doesn't add exercise. You have to add exercise in yourself on a daily basis.
However, even the best calculator is based on population averages. The only way to figure out your actual TDEE is to track your progress over time and adjust your calories accordingly to match the rate of loss you actually want to achieve. The saying "the proof is in the pudding" seems to fit here.0 -
For me it under estimated. But the good news is, if you have a food scale, log your calories for 4-8 weeks and figure out your average loss, then you can figure out your estimated average TDEE.0
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You are comparing apples and oranges. MFP does not calculate TDEE.0
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Thanks guys! So do you think I should start with IIFYM since it seems lower than Scooby's and track it and adjust in a month based on progress?0
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sheldonklein wrote: »You are comparing apples and oranges. MFP does not calculate TDEE.
MFP does calculate your TDEE according to your activity level, without the added exercise. You just set your goals to maintenance and go from there.
MFP's max calories for me at maintenance plus my exercise calories rendered from my heart rate monitor come out close to the same numbers as IIFYM and Scooby calculators.
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sheldonklein wrote: »You are comparing apples and oranges. MFP does not calculate TDEE.
This. Plus MFP also doesn't take off percentages for weight loss goals.
You would need to set them all to maintain weight and then add MFP exercise calories for a true comparison.
In the end whatever method you use it just gives you a start point. Personally I would start with the highest calorie estimate and only work down if results are too slow.
First step is deciding if you want to do the TDEE method or MFP eat back exercise calorie method.
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sheldonklein wrote: »You are comparing apples and oranges. MFP does not calculate TDEE.
MFP does calculate your TDEE according to your activity level, without the added exercise. You just set your goals to maintenance and go from there.
MFP's max calories for me at maintenance plus my exercise calories rendered from my heart rate monitor come out close to the same numbers as IIFYM and Scooby calculators.
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sheldonklein wrote: »sheldonklein wrote: »You are comparing apples and oranges. MFP does not calculate TDEE.
MFP does calculate your TDEE according to your activity level, without the added exercise. You just set your goals to maintenance and go from there.
MFP's max calories for me at maintenance plus my exercise calories rendered from my heart rate monitor come out close to the same numbers as IIFYM and Scooby calculators.
You've got a good point. However, in the end the numbers on MFP come out the same as the calculators, so that's what matters to me.
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sheldonklein wrote: »sheldonklein wrote: »You are comparing apples and oranges. MFP does not calculate TDEE.
MFP does calculate your TDEE according to your activity level, without the added exercise. You just set your goals to maintenance and go from there.
MFP's max calories for me at maintenance plus my exercise calories rendered from my heart rate monitor come out close to the same numbers as IIFYM and Scooby calculators.
Why set them at maintenance?0 -
sheldonklein wrote: »sheldonklein wrote: »You are comparing apples and oranges. MFP does not calculate TDEE.
MFP does calculate your TDEE according to your activity level, without the added exercise. You just set your goals to maintenance and go from there.
MFP's max calories for me at maintenance plus my exercise calories rendered from my heart rate monitor come out close to the same numbers as IIFYM and Scooby calculators.
Why set them at maintenance?
I lost all my weight and set my goals at maintenance. When I compared my daily numbers, which included exercise, with the Scooby and IIFYM calculators for TDEE, the numbers came out to about the same.
But, Sheldon is correct in that MFP does not literally calculate TDEE as the other calculators do.
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I'm trying to find the right TDEE calculator to start tracking. I looked at Scooby's, IIFYM and this site's calculator and there are major discrepancies. I'm a male, 38, 211lbs, 5' 9", desk job and work out 4xweek for about 60 mins (30 min cardio/30min weights). When I plug this data in the calculators I get.
Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Total Cal
Scooby 2900 2900 2900 2900 2900 2900 2900 20300
IIFYM 2651 2651 2651 2651 2651 2651 2651 18557
Myfitness2300 2300 2300 2300 2300 2300 2300 16100
I know for Scooby's and IIFYM I need to reduce those by 20% for weight loss. I think I have to eat back any calories burned with the Myfitnesspal numbers since it doesn't include exercise. Am I missing something or is the discrepancies just a result of the formulas?
MFP is a NEAT method calculator, not a TDEE calculator...so your activity level is not supposed to include exercise. You log exercise after the fact to account for that activity and get more calories.
Also, a TDEE - 20% rate of loss is most often closer to 1 Lb per week and very often people put in that they want to lose 2 lbs per week on MFP and end up comparing apples to oranges.
On most TDEE calculators I'm "moderate" active...to get similar numbers with MFP and include my exercise in my activity level, I have to set it to "active"...my guess is that you have MFP's set to sedentary since you have a desk job...if you account for your exercise you will get more calories. For example, If I set my MFP activity level for my desk job (sedentary) I get around 2300 calories as well for maintenance...but when I log my exercise I end up with around 2800 or so...which is roughly what I get when I select moderately active on most TDEE calculators I've used.
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cwolfman13 wrote: »I'm trying to find the right TDEE calculator to start tracking. I looked at Scooby's, IIFYM and this site's calculator and there are major discrepancies. I'm a male, 38, 211lbs, 5' 9", desk job and work out 4xweek for about 60 mins (30 min cardio/30min weights). When I plug this data in the calculators I get.
Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Total Cal
Scooby 2900 2900 2900 2900 2900 2900 2900 20300
IIFYM 2651 2651 2651 2651 2651 2651 2651 18557
Myfitness2300 2300 2300 2300 2300 2300 2300 16100
I know for Scooby's and IIFYM I need to reduce those by 20% for weight loss. I think I have to eat back any calories burned with the Myfitnesspal numbers since it doesn't include exercise. Am I missing something or is the discrepancies just a result of the formulas?
MFP is a NEAT method calculator, not a TDEE calculator...so your activity level is not supposed to include exercise. You log exercise after the fact to account for that activity and get more calories.
Also, a TDEE - 20% rate of loss is most often closer to 1 Lb per week and very often people put in that they want to lose 2 lbs per week on MFP and end up comparing apples to oranges.
On most TDEE calculators I'm "moderate" active...to get similar numbers with MFP and include my exercise in my activity level, I have to set it to "active"...my guess is that you have MFP's set to sedentary since you have a desk job...if you account for your exercise you will get more calories. For example, If I set my MFP activity level for my desk job (sedentary) I get around 2300 calories as well for maintenance...but when I log my exercise I end up with around 2800 or so...which is roughly what I get when I select moderately active on most TDEE calculators I've used.
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Just a math point but all the estimates are based on population averages so any estimate is automatically going to underestimate for about half the people and overestimate for the other half, to some extent.
But if you pick a significant deficit (not 5%, for example) and pay attention to your results, you'll be able to tell if your estimate is too high or too low and adjust accordingly.0 -
I think I'm getting it. LOL I have a desk job and do 30min cardio and 30 min of weights 4xweek. With Scooby and IIFYM what should I set my activity level as? Same with MFP?
Also, sorry... I tried MFP a while back and at the time was 198lbs. I've gained 10 due to a death in the family and holidays over the past three months. When I was 198, my Calorie goal was lower than what it is now at 211. Should I go by my calorie goal at 198 or readjust it for my new weight? I'm afraid if I stick to my 198 calorie goal, I might lose muscle.0 -
I think I'm getting it. LOL I have a desk job and do 30min cardio and 30 min of weights 4xweek. With Scooby and IIFYM what should I set my activity level as? Same with MFP?
Also, sorry... I tried MFP a while back and at the time was 198lbs. I've gained 10 due to a death in the family and holidays over the past three months. When I was 198, my Calorie goal was lower than what it is now at 211. Should I go by my calorie goal at 198 or readjust it for my new weight? I'm afraid if I stick to my 198 calorie goal, I might lose muscle.
Choose one method, follow that method as it's designed.
Log your intake as accurately as possible.
After a few weeks adjust based on actual results.
No more complex than that. You can do all the comparisons in the world and you still won't be able to predict the outcome.
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I tried MFP a while back and at the time was 198lbs. I've gained 10 due to a death in the family and holidays over the past three months. When I was 198, my Calorie goal was lower than what it is now at 211. Should I go by my calorie goal at 198 or readjust it for my new weight? I'm afraid if I stick to my 198 calorie goal, I might lose muscle.0
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sheldonklein wrote: »sheldonklein wrote: »You are comparing apples and oranges. MFP does not calculate TDEE.
MFP does calculate your TDEE according to your activity level, without the added exercise. You just set your goals to maintenance and go from there.
MFP's max calories for me at maintenance plus my exercise calories rendered from my heart rate monitor come out close to the same numbers as IIFYM and Scooby calculators.
It is if you set activity level appropriately.
To the OP - just pick a number and go, they're all estimates anyway and should be viewed as guidelines for a starting point, not as an answer brought down from the mountain by Moses.
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I tried MFP a while back and at the time was 198lbs. I've gained 10 due to a death in the family and holidays over the past three months. When I was 198, my Calorie goal was lower than what it is now at 211. Should I go by my calorie goal at 198 or readjust it for my new weight? I'm afraid if I stick to my 198 calorie goal, I might lose muscle.
Yes, best to increase your calories since you are burning more. Always want to eat as many calories as you can that still allows you to lose.
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sheldonklein wrote: »sheldonklein wrote: »You are comparing apples and oranges. MFP does not calculate TDEE.
MFP does calculate your TDEE according to your activity level, without the added exercise. You just set your goals to maintenance and go from there.
MFP's max calories for me at maintenance plus my exercise calories rendered from my heart rate monitor come out close to the same numbers as IIFYM and Scooby calculators.
It is if you set activity level appropriately
No, it's not. MFP/NEAT specifically excludes exercise from its definition of activity. You are indisputably comparing apples to oranges if you compare the MFP calorie recommendation to a TDEE calculator recommendation.0 -
sheldonklein wrote: »sheldonklein wrote: »sheldonklein wrote: »You are comparing apples and oranges. MFP does not calculate TDEE.
MFP does calculate your TDEE according to your activity level, without the added exercise. You just set your goals to maintenance and go from there.
MFP's max calories for me at maintenance plus my exercise calories rendered from my heart rate monitor come out close to the same numbers as IIFYM and Scooby calculators.
It is if you set activity level appropriately
No, it's not. MFP/NEAT specifically excludes exercise from its definition of activity.
Only in theory. In practise, if you go to "goals" and change your settings between "Sedentary" and "Active", the caloric targets change due to the changed burns. This can be used as a replacement for logging (and eating back (or not)) individual exercise activities, which means you are now using MFP in the TDEE way.
You can also do the manual/custom goal setting, which allows users to set their goals to anything they want, which means they can set their goals based on their TDEE estimates and completely forego exercise tracking/NEAT.0 -
What does NEAT stand for?
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