TDEE calculator at IIFYM is full on spam engine, where's that other one?

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subversive99
subversive99 Posts: 273 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So the TDEE calculator at http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/ which the regulars like to point people to may have been useful at one point, but the site is so spamified that it's basically worthless. It popped me over somewhere else, then wouldn't stop creating popups until I finally had to kill chrome to get the page closed. I really think people should stop recommending it.

However, there was a TDEE calculator that someone linked awhile back that I've been searching the forums for without success. It had a slightly different way of calculating because you put in the number of hours per day at each level of effort. Anyway, does anyone mind linking me to that one?
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  • subversive99
    subversive99 Posts: 273 Member
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    Of course I find it two seconds after I post this thread.

    http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/CalRequire.html

    Anyway, take it for what it's worth, but make sure you have good virus protection installed if you're going to the IIFYM.com calculator.
  • shannonstube
    shannonstube Posts: 64 Member
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    This is the one I've used:
    scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,624 Member
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    I like the exrx one, I also like health-calc.com's calculator.
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
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    This one's the one I usually look at first:
    scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

    But keep in mind that any calculator is just an estimate using a formula. You have to adjust for real world results.
  • subversive99
    subversive99 Posts: 273 Member
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    segacs wrote: »
    But keep in mind that any calculator is just an estimate using a formula. You have to adjust for real world results.

    Absolutely, I just like to play with them.

  • michele_lynn
    michele_lynn Posts: 66 Member
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    another vote for the Scooby one!
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
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    subversive99 wrote: »
    Absolutely, I just like to play with them.

    Hehe. Me too.
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
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    Not sure what you're talking about. I just went there - no pop-ups.
  • YesIAm17
    YesIAm17 Posts: 817 Member
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    IIFYM still works for me, but they have clearly changed the design and added a whole lot of pop over ads. I even got a pop up, and 1 time got redirected completely. They've clearly gone way overboard. They should change it back. I might possibly maybe still use it, we'll see.
  • jkwolly
    jkwolly Posts: 3,049 Member
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    I like this one: http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/
  • subversive99
    subversive99 Posts: 273 Member
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    TR0berts wrote: »
    Not sure what you're talking about. I just went there - no pop-ups.

    Weird. The site is completely unusable for me, tried from multiple computers.

  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,624 Member
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    subversive99 wrote: »
    TR0berts wrote: »
    Not sure what you're talking about. I just went there - no pop-ups.

    Weird. The site is completely unusable for me, tried from multiple computers.

    Do you have adblock?

  • williams969
    williams969 Posts: 2,528 Member
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    For what it's worth, I've zero problems w/ pop-ups/spamware/etc. going to IIFYM or any of its calculators. Are you using different computers on the same network (i.e. within the same building/at home, etc.)? Either way, weird stuff, man. There's better (IMO) calculators anyway.

    I think IIFYM underestimates TDEE (I've heard the same from other people). Scooby or exrx seem like middle-of-the-road estimates ("Goldilocks" estimates for the majority of folks, IMHO). Scooby for a ballpark figure (even better if you've got a BF%), exrx for a little more personalized number.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,624 Member
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    williams969 wrote: »
    For what it's worth, I've zero problems w/ pop-ups/spamware/etc. going to IIFYM or any of its calculators. Are you using different computers on the same network (i.e. within the same building/at home, etc.)? Either way, weird stuff, man. There's better (IMO) calculators anyway.

    I think IIFYM underestimates TDEE (I've heard the same from other people). Scooby or exrx seem like middle-of-the-road estimates ("Goldilocks" estimates for the majority of folks, IMHO). Scooby for a ballpark figure (even better if you've got a BF%), exrx for a little more personalized number.

    I agree, IIFYM sucks balls. I like exrx.net and health-calc, prefer the latter though. The former might be better though as it allows estimates to be done with body fat % but I use health-calc (easier interface)
  • williams969
    williams969 Posts: 2,528 Member
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    jkwolly wrote: »
    I like this one: http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

    That one seems reasonable, uses Harris-Benedict formula. Scooby does, too (plus 3 other formulas, for comparison), plus Scooby gives -5% through -20% cut calculations (for the aritmatic impaired folks ;) That's why I like Scooby).
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited February 2015
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    I noticed that a couple of days ago and switched to the Scooby one as my first source. I like how IIFYM lets you choose between and compare the calculators though. I particularly like having the K-McC option, and M-SJ is the one MFP uses, and I think both of those are better options for people with higher BF% than H-B. (Like others have said, I just like playing with them. At this point I have stats that are better for myself.)
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
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    Scooby's accurate calculator says my TDEE should be ~1650 at the "lightly active" setting. My true TDEE is more like 1800-1900, which is what Scooby says I should be at if I were "moderately" active.

    I have a sedentary desk job, and I have been exercising only a limited amount these past couple of months due to injury. Fitbit tells me I walk 8000-9000 steps a day on average, mostly due to my commute, but other than that I'm pretty much a lazy desk potato.

    But hey, the scale doesn't lie. So, like I said, YMMV.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    BFDeal wrote: »
    EDIT: This is what everyone is swearing right? I'm eating too much. I'm at maintenance. So I need to add 100 calories a week until I...find my maintenance? I don't get it.

    If you aren't losing (and aren't gaining), you are at maintenance. Period. No alternative explanation. Reverse dieting is a way to try and raise your maintenance. Another option is to discover if you have a medical problem that is causing your maintenance to be lower than it should be. To do that, it would be helpful to have good information for the doctor of what your maintenance seems to be, which would be another benefit of the reverse dieting protocol.

    If I were you, I'd log super strictly for a while to try and discover what my actual maintenance is. AND I'd also pay for a DEXA and RMR test and use those numbers to compare my numbers with the calculators. Assuming they were lower than they should be, I'd bring that information to the doctor and investigate and, at that point, either work on raising the maintenance or eat less than maintenance, depending on what the numbers are.

    From what you've said, either you have a medical issue, you are simply unlucky with your metabolism (including if you lowered it while dieting so easily), or you are not counting your calories correctly. You need to find out which it is to figure out how best to resolve it.
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
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    Having your actual TDEE come in higher or lower than what the calculator says isn't necessarily a medical issue. It could simply be:
    • The formulas are based on averages. They're not accurate for everyone.
    • Your body fat could be higher than the formula average, in which case your TDEE would be lower. Have you tried the Katch McArdle formula?
    • You could be eating more than you think.
    • You could be less active than you think.
    • Some combination of the above.

    I'm not saying it's impossible that there's an underlying medical issue. I'm just saying that there are far more likely and common explanations.

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