TDEE question

karenrich77 · January 2015

Hi all!

Just after a little info, my sister has started on MFP 4 weeks ago but she struggles with 1200 calories a day, she gets the shakes and sweats if she doesn't eat enough. (Diabetes test and all other bloods just fine) and she is not losing despite weighing everything.

I was telling her she should raise her calories a little as maybe her body is saying she is not eating quite enough. She weighs 94kg

So I don't really know much about TDEE to be honest, I've seen it thrown around in the forums. Her BMR is 1609 TDEE is 1931, she does no exercise due to a current injury. So if we remove the 20% she is sitting about 1545 calories a day.

She suffers with OCD terribly and I don't want to go down this road with her if she is going to stress over the numbers too much.

Can you give me your thoughts on what the probabilities are of her losing weight with this formula? Especially wanting opinions of those with experience in the TDEE formula. Also is it something your body needs to adjust to before you start losing or is it just regular weight loss?

Thanks so much for the input in advance, please excuse the long post.

K

BeTheChange352 · January 2015

it definitely sounds like she's not eating enough. I have the same problems if I workout too hard some days and don't eat enough to compensate. I wake up the next morning with a headache and elevated heart rate, and kinda shaky, kinda like I've been running a marathon all night. since she is sedentary right now TDEE-20% might still be a bit high, as it would only give her a 300 calorie per day. if she tried 1400 per day that would give her a 500 calorie deficit and should allow her to lose 1 pound per week.

rachylouise87 · January 2015

maybe it could be what shes eating and not how much if you get me? i am on a very low calorie diet but i am 5ft1 and 155lbs around 70kg. i eat a lot of protein and i workout as well i am on 1100 calories a day after 1200 wasnt cutting it. i tried raising but it didnt help i tried different workouts but eventually started eating more protein, less fat and less carbs and im currently feeling so much better. when i first started i felt awful, sweats shakes and foggy brain my NEAT is 1700 calories and BMR is 1300 so it makes it very difficult as a small person to lose the weight as i cannot deficit myself any more. i always thought protein was for muscle gym hunks but clearly its not and i learnt it helps muscle build and repair and more muscle on the body the more calories burnt. big wake up call for me. i hope she finds a solution soon good luck

sijomial · January 2015

Why doesn't she just change her rate of weight loss goal if she likes the MFP eat back exercise calorie method?
Or just custom set her calorie goal to something more sustainable?

karenrich77 · January 2015

Thanks heaps ladies, she does lots of salad and veg and protein but doesn't seem to help much, we shall try raising it by 100 or 200 and just test it

cityruss · January 2015

TDEE = Total Daily Energy Expenditure.

Eating lower than TDEE will result in the body using stored fat (as well as muscle tissue etc) as fuel.

So, 1931 calories - 200/300/400/500/5%/10%/15%/20%/whatever suits calories = weight loss, assuming TDEE has been calculated correctly.

Probabilities of losing weight? 100% as this is a base biological function of a human being.

karenrich77 · January 2015

sijomial wrote: »

Why doesn't she just change her rate of weight loss goal if she likes the MFP eat back exercise calorie method?
Or just custom set her calorie goal to something more sustainable?

Thanks but no matter what rate she uses it says 1200 calories and she can't exercise due to a medical condition, when she gets that under control it will be fine. Plus when you do more exercise you get hungrier, well she's hungry without the exercise so will be in exactly the same spot!

sjaplo · January 2015

If her BMR is 1609 and her TDEE is 1931, then at 1200 she is eating at 409 under her BMR and 731 under her TDEE. Which should equal 1 1/2 lbs per week. TDEE less 20% would be 1545. She has her weight loss goal and activity set incorrectly.

Reset to 1lb per week and try lightly active.

cityruss · January 2015

If her TDEE is 1931, and she's eating 1200, she is in a deficit of 731.

Why not have a deficit of 431 and eat 1500 a day?

I can't see where the problem lies here. Eat more.

cwolfman13 · January 2015

If her TDEE is 1931 she should be able to lose about 1 Lb per week eating 1400 - 1500 calories per day.

In my experience, when someone has difficulty here it is due to either not accurately tracking intake (either inadvertently or simply cheating themselves) or not being consistent. ..having some good days, but more not so good days or not seeing a loss on the scale immediately so going off the rails and then trying to reel it back in and then not seeing a loss again, etc.

The key to all of this is being as accurate as possible and being consistent...like for more than a week...like being consistent over the long haul which is why people tend to do better with more reasonable calorie goals.

M155y647 · January 2015

From my own experience, it's what I ate and not how much. Veggies and protein are good but you need some carbs in there too. I usually pack my carbs on during my lunch. I used to get the shakes and sweats as well for all the same reasons.

lemurcat12 · January 2015

cwolfman13 wrote: »

If her TDEE is 1931 she should be able to lose about 1 Lb per week eating 1400 - 1500 calories per day.

This, but also she should be able to get a goal of about 1400-1500 from MFP if she puts in a loss rate of 1 lb per week if you are calculating BMR and TDEE properly (which you probably are, they sound reasonable).

If it were me, I'd do a custom goal of 1450 (which would be about a 1 lb loss/week--I think aiming for less when you have a lot to lose is difficult, as the fluctuations can make you feel like you aren't losing anything for a while), and then really focus on logging as accurately as possible and, if hungry, on monitoring when and changing up the diet to try and address that. Often it's not so much total calories as meal timing or what specific foods you eat--adding more bulk works for many people, adding more protein and fat works for others, etc.

Keep everything consistent for a while and see what happens.

AliceDark · January 2015

No matter what any online calculator or website says, if she is getting shaky and sweating, her body is telling her that what she's doing isn't working. Any BMR/TDEE/calorie calculator, including MFP, is based on population averages, but everyone's individual body is unique. Forgetting what anything else predicts for her, she NEEDS to listen to what her body is saying.

1200 calories is a ridiculously low target for most people, let alone someone with her stats. Personally, I would go with TDEE-20% (the 1550 calories you mentioned) if she likes the idea of eating the same number of calories every day. If she prefers MFP's "eat back exercise calories" method, try setting it to lose 0.5 or 1 pound a week.

Realistically, weight loss takes a long time, and she could be doing this for a year or more. As much as everyone wishes they could lose 2 pounds every week, it will do her no good to make herself sick and quit in a few weeks. Start at 0.5 pounds for a month and get the hang of it. That's probably going to be a significant reduction in calories anyway, so give her body time to adjust. Then, when that's rolling along and she isn't feeling negative effects, up it to 1 pound per week.

TDEE question

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