Can someone accurately explain net calories to me by any chance. It would be greatly appreciated!
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It becomes more than one measurement to determine where you are at, and what you should do, to get to where you want to be0
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You don't have a lot of weight to lose so I think netting 1200 calories is aggressive in the first place..but that's off topic.
cswolfman13 explained it pretty well..I doubt I can explain it any better myself.
If MFP has you set to 1200 calories a day for your weight loss goal then that is what you want to eat without exercise, any exercise you do on top of that would be additional food you get to eat (yay!). So if you exercise and burn 300 calories you can now eat 1500 and still make the weight loss goal you set for yourself. If you don't exercise then you just eat the 1200. Forget TDEE for now, it's just another number to get confused with. At this point as another posted said just focus on your calories remaining. If you log your exercise MFP will take the math out of it for you, just log food, log exercise and make sure you aren't in the red at the end of the day.0 -
Definitely an epiphany! Thanks for helping me figure all this out everyone and for the patience. I'm not eating enough! Much appreciated.0
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Also, I just looked at your profile and you noted that you don't log your food on weekends. That will DEFINITELY slow your weight down. It looks like you've lost quite a bit, so if you're happy with your rate of loss, then that's great, stick with it. However, if you're feeling frustrated, start logging on the weekends (even if you have to guess at what you're eating) and I bet you'll find that will restart your loss (or at least show you why you're not losing). For me, if I log and stay at my weight loss goal 4 or 5 days a week and then don't log 2 or 3 days a week, I will maintain, I won't lose. It might be that way for you too.
As other posters have said, don't worry about the ins and outs, just look if you have a green number (great, you can eat more!) or a red number (you've gone over) for your total calories. Good luck!0 -
Heh, let the person bad at math try to explain!
To start with, you have your BMR (Base Metabolic Rate). This is the number of calories you burn by existing. Basically, if you were lying in a coma, this is what your body would need to keep functioning.
Second is your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure). This is the number of calories you burn in a normal day, WITHOUT exercise. If you want to maintain your current weight, this is the number of calories you need to consume. There are a number of online calculators out there that will figure this for you, but be aware they're more estimates than hard numbers. Your definition of light activity might not match theirs, so it might be worth using several and taking an average. That's what I did, and it seems to work better for me.
Third is your deficit number. To lose weight, you have to consume less calories than your TDEE number. If your TDEE was 1500, you would need to eat less than that to lose weight. I don't know how much equals a pound and all that, but that's the basic premise of MFP. The number MFP calculates for you is your TDEE minus an amount to give you that deficit and lose weight. So if your TDEE was 1500, MFP would tell you to eat less, maybe 1300. That is what you aim for.
Not exactly. TDEE is, like the name says, the total energy (a.k.a. calories) you burn in a day. WITH exercise (assuming that you do in fact exercise).
Also, MFP does not base your goal calories on your TDEE. It bases it on your before-exercise energy expenditure -- essentially your BMR multiplied by a factor that is supposed to take account of your normal, non-exercise activity (e.g., running after toddlers, mowing the lawn, walking around stocking shelves at work, etc.). If you log exercise, MFP expects you to eat back the calories burned from exercise, so that maintain your goal deficit.0 -
lynn_glenmont wrote: »Heh, let the person bad at math try to explain!
To start with, you have your BMR (Base Metabolic Rate). This is the number of calories you burn by existing. Basically, if you were lying in a coma, this is what your body would need to keep functioning.
Second is your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure). This is the number of calories you burn in a normal day, WITHOUT exercise. If you want to maintain your current weight, this is the number of calories you need to consume. There are a number of online calculators out there that will figure this for you, but be aware they're more estimates than hard numbers. Your definition of light activity might not match theirs, so it might be worth using several and taking an average. That's what I did, and it seems to work better for me.
Third is your deficit number. To lose weight, you have to consume less calories than your TDEE number. If your TDEE was 1500, you would need to eat less than that to lose weight. I don't know how much equals a pound and all that, but that's the basic premise of MFP. The number MFP calculates for you is your TDEE minus an amount to give you that deficit and lose weight. So if your TDEE was 1500, MFP would tell you to eat less, maybe 1300. That is what you aim for.
Not exactly. TDEE is, like the name says, the total energy (a.k.a. calories) you burn in a day. WITH exercise (assuming that you do in fact exercise).
Also, MFP does not base your goal calories on your TDEE. It bases it on your before-exercise energy expenditure -- essentially your BMR multiplied by a factor that is supposed to take account of your normal, non-exercise activity (e.g., running after toddlers, mowing the lawn, walking around stocking shelves at work, etc.). If you log exercise, MFP expects you to eat back the calories burned from exercise, so that maintain your goal deficit.
To my knowledge, your TDEE is what your normal energy expenditure is. So if someone exercises every day for the same amount of time, it would count as part of it since it's part of their daily routine. For me, TDEE is WITHOUT exercise. I don't exercise regularly. Granted I have started walking twice a week, but it's not always the same amount so I count it as extra. And in weeks like last week and this week, with medical last week and wedding stuff this week, there hasn't been exercise. So why would I add that in when it's not regular and not always the same?0 -
LeslieB042812 wrote: »Also, I just looked at your profile and you noted that you don't log your food on weekends. That will DEFINITELY slow your weight down. It looks like you've lost quite a bit, so if you're happy with your rate of loss, then that's great, stick with it. However, if you're feeling frustrated, start logging on the weekends (even if you have to guess at what you're eating) and I bet you'll find that will restart your loss (or at least show you why you're not losing). For me, if I log and stay at my weight loss goal 4 or 5 days a week and then don't log 2 or 3 days a week, I will maintain, I won't lose. It might be that way for you too.
As other posters have said, don't worry about the ins and outs, just look if you have a green number (great, you can eat more!) or a red number (you've gone over) for your total calories. Good luck!
You have a point. It is very hard to do. But I see your point. No one said this would be easy! LOL
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wstephens87 wrote: »LeslieB042812 wrote: »
You have a point. It is very hard to do. But I see your point. No one said this would be easy! LOL
Yes, it is hard, but if you just take it one bite at time, you'll get there.
That's what I'm trying for and some weeks it's harder than others.0 -
LeslieB042812 wrote: »wstephens87 wrote: »You have a point. It is very hard to do. But I see your point. No one said this would be easy! LOL
Yes, it is hard, but if you just take it one bite at time, you'll get there. That's what I'm trying for and some weeks it's harder than others.
One bite at a time, I need to remember that phrase. ^_^
Just keep reminding yourself you're not on a diet, you're trying to change your eating habits for life. That's incredibly difficult and takes a while. You will screw up, that happens. When it does, log it and move on. One bad day won't derail you or make you a failure. Once I accepted this, it's become a lot easier to forgive my mistakes and keep on track.0 -
That's why the TDEE approach (i.e., setting your goal at TDEE less 10%, for example) works best for those with fairly regular workout routines. Like you, my exercise level varies greatly from week to week, so I use the MFP approach, which is not based on TDEE, and which is designed for you to log your exercise and gives you extra calories when you do.lynn_glenmont wrote: »Heh, let the person bad at math try to explain!
To start with, you have your BMR (Base Metabolic Rate). This is the number of calories you burn by existing. Basically, if you were lying in a coma, this is what your body would need to keep functioning.
Second is your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure). This is the number of calories you burn in a normal day, WITHOUT exercise. If you want to maintain your current weight, this is the number of calories you need to consume. There are a number of online calculators out there that will figure this for you, but be aware they're more estimates than hard numbers. Your definition of light activity might not match theirs, so it might be worth using several and taking an average. That's what I did, and it seems to work better for me.
Third is your deficit number. To lose weight, you have to consume less calories than your TDEE number. If your TDEE was 1500, you would need to eat less than that to lose weight. I don't know how much equals a pound and all that, but that's the basic premise of MFP. The number MFP calculates for you is your TDEE minus an amount to give you that deficit and lose weight. So if your TDEE was 1500, MFP would tell you to eat less, maybe 1300. That is what you aim for.
Not exactly. TDEE is, like the name says, the total energy (a.k.a. calories) you burn in a day. WITH exercise (assuming that you do in fact exercise).
Also, MFP does not base your goal calories on your TDEE. It bases it on your before-exercise energy expenditure -- essentially your BMR multiplied by a factor that is supposed to take account of your normal, non-exercise activity (e.g., running after toddlers, mowing the lawn, walking around stocking shelves at work, etc.). If you log exercise, MFP expects you to eat back the calories burned from exercise, so that maintain your goal deficit.
To my knowledge, your TDEE is what your normal energy expenditure is. So if someone exercises every day for the same amount of time, it would count as part of it since it's part of their daily routine. For me, TDEE is WITHOUT exercise. I don't exercise regularly. Granted I have started walking twice a week, but it's not always the same amount so I count it as extra. And in weeks like last week and this week, with medical last week and wedding stuff this week, there hasn't been exercise. So why would I add that in when it's not regular and not always the same?
The fact that some people's average daily TDEE varies significantly from week to week does not change the meaning of TDEE to calorie burned exclusive of exercise.
Second is your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure). This is the number of calories you burn in a normal day, WITHOUT exercise.0 -
lynn_glenmont wrote: »
That's why the TDEE approach (i.e., setting your goal at TDEE less 10%, for example) works best for those with fairly regular workout routines. Like you, my exercise level varies greatly from week to week, so I use the MFP approach, which is not based on TDEE, and which is designed for you to log your exercise and gives you extra calories when you do.lynn_glenmont wrote: »Heh, let the person bad at math try to explain!
To start with, you have your BMR (Base Metabolic Rate). This is the number of calories you burn by existing. Basically, if you were lying in a coma, this is what your body would need to keep functioning.
Second is your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure). This is the number of calories you burn in a normal day, WITHOUT exercise. If you want to maintain your current weight, this is the number of calories you need to consume. There are a number of online calculators out there that will figure this for you, but be aware they're more estimates than hard numbers. Your definition of light activity might not match theirs, so it might be worth using several and taking an average. That's what I did, and it seems to work better for me.
Third is your deficit number. To lose weight, you have to consume less calories than your TDEE number. If your TDEE was 1500, you would need to eat less than that to lose weight. I don't know how much equals a pound and all that, but that's the basic premise of MFP. The number MFP calculates for you is your TDEE minus an amount to give you that deficit and lose weight. So if your TDEE was 1500, MFP would tell you to eat less, maybe 1300. That is what you aim for.
Not exactly. TDEE is, like the name says, the total energy (a.k.a. calories) you burn in a day. WITH exercise (assuming that you do in fact exercise).
Also, MFP does not base your goal calories on your TDEE. It bases it on your before-exercise energy expenditure -- essentially your BMR multiplied by a factor that is supposed to take account of your normal, non-exercise activity (e.g., running after toddlers, mowing the lawn, walking around stocking shelves at work, etc.). If you log exercise, MFP expects you to eat back the calories burned from exercise, so that maintain your goal deficit.
To my knowledge, your TDEE is what your normal energy expenditure is. So if someone exercises every day for the same amount of time, it would count as part of it since it's part of their daily routine. For me, TDEE is WITHOUT exercise. I don't exercise regularly. Granted I have started walking twice a week, but it's not always the same amount so I count it as extra. And in weeks like last week and this week, with medical last week and wedding stuff this week, there hasn't been exercise. So why would I add that in when it's not regular and not always the same?
The fact that some people's average daily TDEE varies significantly from week to week does not change the meaning of TDEE to calorie burned exclusive of exercise.
Second is your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure). This is the number of calories you burn in a normal day, WITHOUT exercise.
I'm still getting confused. Because I don't exercise regularly, I can't use TDEE? You can't have a daily energy expenditure without exercise? That's what's not making sense to me. I understand if you exercise regularly, you would add that in. But you can calculate your TDEE with a 'sedentary' option, which doesn't include regular exercise. At least the ones online I've seen do that. So why can't TDEE apply to someone without regular exercise?0 -
lynn_glenmont wrote: »
That's why the TDEE approach (i.e., setting your goal at TDEE less 10%, for example) works best for those with fairly regular workout routines. Like you, my exercise level varies greatly from week to week, so I use the MFP approach, which is not based on TDEE, and which is designed for you to log your exercise and gives you extra calories when you do.lynn_glenmont wrote: »Heh, let the person bad at math try to explain!
To start with, you have your BMR (Base Metabolic Rate). This is the number of calories you burn by existing. Basically, if you were lying in a coma, this is what your body would need to keep functioning.
Second is your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure). This is the number of calories you burn in a normal day, WITHOUT exercise. If you want to maintain your current weight, this is the number of calories you need to consume. There are a number of online calculators out there that will figure this for you, but be aware they're more estimates than hard numbers. Your definition of light activity might not match theirs, so it might be worth using several and taking an average. That's what I did, and it seems to work better for me.
Third is your deficit number. To lose weight, you have to consume less calories than your TDEE number. If your TDEE was 1500, you would need to eat less than that to lose weight. I don't know how much equals a pound and all that, but that's the basic premise of MFP. The number MFP calculates for you is your TDEE minus an amount to give you that deficit and lose weight. So if your TDEE was 1500, MFP would tell you to eat less, maybe 1300. That is what you aim for.
Not exactly. TDEE is, like the name says, the total energy (a.k.a. calories) you burn in a day. WITH exercise (assuming that you do in fact exercise).
Also, MFP does not base your goal calories on your TDEE. It bases it on your before-exercise energy expenditure -- essentially your BMR multiplied by a factor that is supposed to take account of your normal, non-exercise activity (e.g., running after toddlers, mowing the lawn, walking around stocking shelves at work, etc.). If you log exercise, MFP expects you to eat back the calories burned from exercise, so that maintain your goal deficit.
To my knowledge, your TDEE is what your normal energy expenditure is. So if someone exercises every day for the same amount of time, it would count as part of it since it's part of their daily routine. For me, TDEE is WITHOUT exercise. I don't exercise regularly. Granted I have started walking twice a week, but it's not always the same amount so I count it as extra. And in weeks like last week and this week, with medical last week and wedding stuff this week, there hasn't been exercise. So why would I add that in when it's not regular and not always the same?
The fact that some people's average daily TDEE varies significantly from week to week does not change the meaning of TDEE to calorie burned exclusive of exercise.
Second is your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure). This is the number of calories you burn in a normal day, WITHOUT exercise.
I'm still getting confused. Because I don't exercise regularly, I can't use TDEE? You can't have a daily energy expenditure without exercise? That's what's not making sense to me. I understand if you exercise regularly, you would add that in. But you can calculate your TDEE with a 'sedentary' option, which doesn't include regular exercise. At least the ones online I've seen do that. So why can't TDEE apply to someone without regular exercise?
Of course TDEE applies to people who don't exercise regularly. But if they calculate their TDEE based on a sedentary option, and then they have a week where they do 3 hours of intensive cardio and two or three lifting sessions, the TDEE calculation based on sedentary isn't valid. Their TDEE has changed for that week.
Some people will use HRMs of some kind (I'm not going to get into the debate over accuracy of HRMs for calculating calorie expenditures when you're not doing steady-state cardio), and sync it with MFP to get a deficit calorie-goal based on the HRM's measure of that particular day's total energy expenditure (TDEE), but that's not generally what most people mean when they say they're doing a TDEE approach. Generally they mean they've gotten an online estimate of their average daily TOTAL calories expended, including exercise, based on a consistent weekly amount of exercise, and have set a daily calorie goal based on calculation, and either don't log exercise on MFP or log it as 0 or 1 calorie, so that MFP isn't telling them to eat more when they exercise, because it's already factored into their deficit number, unlike the MFP approach, which does not factor your expected exercise into the calorie goal it gives you.
I only opened this can of worms because people reading the thread who don't understand how MFP works would be further confused by your statements that TDEE doesn't include exercise and that MFP calculates your calorie goal based on TDEE. There are already far too many people who don't need to lose much to begin with, who start out underestimating their non-exercise activity level as sedentary and tell MFP they want to lose 2 lbs a week, which causes MFP to give them a calorie goal of 1200 kcal, who then view that as a ceiling that they want to stay well under, so they only eat 1000 kcal, and then don't eat any of their exercise calories back because they don't understand that MFP is designed for them to do so. They don't need to read threads that tell them that MFP is based on TDEE.
Then for those with the other problem (all those threads that say "I'm doing everything right, why am I not losing weight"), they don't need to be confused by thinking that TDEE doesn't include exercise. If any of them are actually using TDEE for their calorie goal calculations, they might start double counting their exercise.
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lynn_glenmont wrote: »lynn_glenmont wrote: »
That's why the TDEE approach (i.e., setting your goal at TDEE less 10%, for example) works best for those with fairly regular workout routines. Like you, my exercise level varies greatly from week to week, so I use the MFP approach, which is not based on TDEE, and which is designed for you to log your exercise and gives you extra calories when you do.lynn_glenmont wrote: »Heh, let the person bad at math try to explain!
To start with, you have your BMR (Base Metabolic Rate). This is the number of calories you burn by existing. Basically, if you were lying in a coma, this is what your body would need to keep functioning.
Second is your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure). This is the number of calories you burn in a normal day, WITHOUT exercise. If you want to maintain your current weight, this is the number of calories you need to consume. There are a number of online calculators out there that will figure this for you, but be aware they're more estimates than hard numbers. Your definition of light activity might not match theirs, so it might be worth using several and taking an average. That's what I did, and it seems to work better for me.
Third is your deficit number. To lose weight, you have to consume less calories than your TDEE number. If your TDEE was 1500, you would need to eat less than that to lose weight. I don't know how much equals a pound and all that, but that's the basic premise of MFP. The number MFP calculates for you is your TDEE minus an amount to give you that deficit and lose weight. So if your TDEE was 1500, MFP would tell you to eat less, maybe 1300. That is what you aim for.
Not exactly. TDEE is, like the name says, the total energy (a.k.a. calories) you burn in a day. WITH exercise (assuming that you do in fact exercise).
Also, MFP does not base your goal calories on your TDEE. It bases it on your before-exercise energy expenditure -- essentially your BMR multiplied by a factor that is supposed to take account of your normal, non-exercise activity (e.g., running after toddlers, mowing the lawn, walking around stocking shelves at work, etc.). If you log exercise, MFP expects you to eat back the calories burned from exercise, so that maintain your goal deficit.
To my knowledge, your TDEE is what your normal energy expenditure is. So if someone exercises every day for the same amount of time, it would count as part of it since it's part of their daily routine. For me, TDEE is WITHOUT exercise. I don't exercise regularly. Granted I have started walking twice a week, but it's not always the same amount so I count it as extra. And in weeks like last week and this week, with medical last week and wedding stuff this week, there hasn't been exercise. So why would I add that in when it's not regular and not always the same?
The fact that some people's average daily TDEE varies significantly from week to week does not change the meaning of TDEE to calorie burned exclusive of exercise.
Second is your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure). This is the number of calories you burn in a normal day, WITHOUT exercise.
I'm still getting confused. Because I don't exercise regularly, I can't use TDEE? You can't have a daily energy expenditure without exercise? That's what's not making sense to me. I understand if you exercise regularly, you would add that in. But you can calculate your TDEE with a 'sedentary' option, which doesn't include regular exercise. At least the ones online I've seen do that. So why can't TDEE apply to someone without regular exercise?
Of course TDEE applies to people who don't exercise regularly. But if they calculate their TDEE based on a sedentary option, and then they have a week where they do 3 hours of intensive cardio and two or three lifting sessions, the TDEE calculation based on sedentary isn't valid. Their TDEE has changed for that week.
Some people will use HRMs of some kind (I'm not going to get into the debate over accuracy of HRMs for calculating calorie expenditures when you're not doing steady-state cardio), and sync it with MFP to get a deficit calorie-goal based on the HRM's measure of that particular day's total energy expenditure (TDEE), but that's not generally what most people mean when they say they're doing a TDEE approach. Generally they mean they've gotten an online estimate of their average daily TOTAL calories expended, including exercise, based on a consistent weekly amount of exercise, and have set a daily calorie goal based on calculation, and either don't log exercise on MFP or log it as 0 or 1 calorie, so that MFP isn't telling them to eat more when they exercise, because it's already factored into their deficit number, unlike the MFP approach, which does not factor your expected exercise into the calorie goal it gives you.
I only opened this can of worms because people reading the thread who don't understand how MFP works would be further confused by your statements that TDEE doesn't include exercise and that MFP calculates your calorie goal based on TDEE. There are already far too many people who don't need to lose much to begin with, who start out underestimating their non-exercise activity level as sedentary and tell MFP they want to lose 2 lbs a week, which causes MFP to give them a calorie goal of 1200 kcal, who then view that as a ceiling that they want to stay well under, so they only eat 1000 kcal, and then don't eat any of their exercise calories back because they don't understand that MFP is designed for them to do so. They don't need to read threads that tell them that MFP is based on TDEE.
Then for those with the other problem (all those threads that say "I'm doing everything right, why am I not losing weight"), they don't need to be confused by thinking that TDEE doesn't include exercise. If any of them are actually using TDEE for their calorie goal calculations, they might start double counting their exercise.
I calculate my TDEE without exercise, then when I do exercise, that's extra and I log it as such. Well, my Fitbit does, but it still adjusts my calorie goal for the day.
I can see what you're saying for people starting out, but a lot of people aren't starting out from the position of already exercising every day. For those that aren't, calculating their TDEE without exercise then adding it in as extra when they do it seems to me to work better. I can see that saying calculating TDEE WITHOUT exercise can be confusing in that regard, but then saying calculating TDEE WITH exercise can be confusing for those that don't exercise. Am I explaining it right? I'm not sure I'm being clear!0 -
wstephens87 wrote: »@cwolfman13 if it helps I just did a TDEE calculator and got 2118 So I guess that means I need to eat between 1200 and 2118 a day? And I'd have to burn 900 calories a day. That's basically impossible. Maybe I need to shoot for 1500 a day or so and then burn 300 in excercize.
you "burn" calories 24/7. 2,118 would be your maintenance level of calories...you eat below that mark and you lose weight...it's no more complicated than that...you don't have to deliberately go out an "burn" calories...your body is a machine that is utilizing energy 24/7 because your power button is on.
I'm assuming 2,118 is without any exercise...if you're going to use the TDEE method you should include exercise in your activity level with the TDEE calculator to get an accurate calorie target.
Losing weight simply requires you to eat below a maintenance level of calories.
you're overthinking everything.0 -
lynn_glenmont wrote: »lynn_glenmont wrote: »
That's why the TDEE approach (i.e., setting your goal at TDEE less 10%, for example) works best for those with fairly regular workout routines. Like you, my exercise level varies greatly from week to week, so I use the MFP approach, which is not based on TDEE, and which is designed for you to log your exercise and gives you extra calories when you do.lynn_glenmont wrote: »Heh, let the person bad at math try to explain!
To start with, you have your BMR (Base Metabolic Rate). This is the number of calories you burn by existing. Basically, if you were lying in a coma, this is what your body would need to keep functioning.
Second is your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure). This is the number of calories you burn in a normal day, WITHOUT exercise. If you want to maintain your current weight, this is the number of calories you need to consume. There are a number of online calculators out there that will figure this for you, but be aware they're more estimates than hard numbers. Your definition of light activity might not match theirs, so it might be worth using several and taking an average. That's what I did, and it seems to work better for me.
Third is your deficit number. To lose weight, you have to consume less calories than your TDEE number. If your TDEE was 1500, you would need to eat less than that to lose weight. I don't know how much equals a pound and all that, but that's the basic premise of MFP. The number MFP calculates for you is your TDEE minus an amount to give you that deficit and lose weight. So if your TDEE was 1500, MFP would tell you to eat less, maybe 1300. That is what you aim for.
Not exactly. TDEE is, like the name says, the total energy (a.k.a. calories) you burn in a day. WITH exercise (assuming that you do in fact exercise).
Also, MFP does not base your goal calories on your TDEE. It bases it on your before-exercise energy expenditure -- essentially your BMR multiplied by a factor that is supposed to take account of your normal, non-exercise activity (e.g., running after toddlers, mowing the lawn, walking around stocking shelves at work, etc.). If you log exercise, MFP expects you to eat back the calories burned from exercise, so that maintain your goal deficit.
To my knowledge, your TDEE is what your normal energy expenditure is. So if someone exercises every day for the same amount of time, it would count as part of it since it's part of their daily routine. For me, TDEE is WITHOUT exercise. I don't exercise regularly. Granted I have started walking twice a week, but it's not always the same amount so I count it as extra. And in weeks like last week and this week, with medical last week and wedding stuff this week, there hasn't been exercise. So why would I add that in when it's not regular and not always the same?
The fact that some people's average daily TDEE varies significantly from week to week does not change the meaning of TDEE to calorie burned exclusive of exercise.
Second is your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure). This is the number of calories you burn in a normal day, WITHOUT exercise.
I'm still getting confused. Because I don't exercise regularly, I can't use TDEE? You can't have a daily energy expenditure without exercise? That's what's not making sense to me. I understand if you exercise regularly, you would add that in. But you can calculate your TDEE with a 'sedentary' option, which doesn't include regular exercise. At least the ones online I've seen do that. So why can't TDEE apply to someone without regular exercise?
Of course TDEE applies to people who don't exercise regularly. But if they calculate their TDEE based on a sedentary option, and then they have a week where they do 3 hours of intensive cardio and two or three lifting sessions, the TDEE calculation based on sedentary isn't valid. Their TDEE has changed for that week.
Some people will use HRMs of some kind (I'm not going to get into the debate over accuracy of HRMs for calculating calorie expenditures when you're not doing steady-state cardio), and sync it with MFP to get a deficit calorie-goal based on the HRM's measure of that particular day's total energy expenditure (TDEE), but that's not generally what most people mean when they say they're doing a TDEE approach. Generally they mean they've gotten an online estimate of their average daily TOTAL calories expended, including exercise, based on a consistent weekly amount of exercise, and have set a daily calorie goal based on calculation, and either don't log exercise on MFP or log it as 0 or 1 calorie, so that MFP isn't telling them to eat more when they exercise, because it's already factored into their deficit number, unlike the MFP approach, which does not factor your expected exercise into the calorie goal it gives you.
I only opened this can of worms because people reading the thread who don't understand how MFP works would be further confused by your statements that TDEE doesn't include exercise and that MFP calculates your calorie goal based on TDEE. There are already far too many people who don't need to lose much to begin with, who start out underestimating their non-exercise activity level as sedentary and tell MFP they want to lose 2 lbs a week, which causes MFP to give them a calorie goal of 1200 kcal, who then view that as a ceiling that they want to stay well under, so they only eat 1000 kcal, and then don't eat any of their exercise calories back because they don't understand that MFP is designed for them to do so. They don't need to read threads that tell them that MFP is based on TDEE.
Then for those with the other problem (all those threads that say "I'm doing everything right, why am I not losing weight"), they don't need to be confused by thinking that TDEE doesn't include exercise. If any of them are actually using TDEE for their calorie goal calculations, they might start double counting their exercise.
I calculate my TDEE without exercise, then when I do exercise, that's extra and I log it as such. Well, my Fitbit does, but it still adjusts my calorie goal for the day.
I can see what you're saying for people starting out, but a lot of people aren't starting out from the position of already exercising every day. For those that aren't, calculating their TDEE without exercise then adding it in as extra when they do it seems to me to work better. I can see that saying calculating TDEE WITHOUT exercise can be confusing in that regard, but then saying calculating TDEE WITH exercise can be confusing for those that don't exercise. Am I explaining it right? I'm not sure I'm being clear!
you're just using the MFP NEAT method then...that's exactly what the MFP calculator does....NEAT (Non Exercise Activity Thermogensis)...and exercise would be extra.0 -
LeslieB042812 wrote: »wstephens87 wrote: »You have a point. It is very hard to do. But I see your point. No one said this would be easy! LOL
Yes, it is hard, but if you just take it one bite at time, you'll get there. That's what I'm trying for and some weeks it's harder than others.
One bite at a time, I need to remember that phrase. ^_^
Just keep reminding yourself you're not on a diet, you're trying to change your eating habits for life. That's incredibly difficult and takes a while. You will screw up, that happens. When it does, log it and move on. One bad day won't derail you or make you a failure. Once I accepted this, it's become a lot easier to forgive my mistakes and keep on track.
This is so true and such good advice! Expect to screw up and learn from it but make sure you do log it and move on before one bad day turns into a bad week, which turns into a bad month, etc.0 -
I'm gonna try to "uncomplicate" this for ya
.....
If you are personally aiming for 1200 each day, then that is your net goal after exercise. So if you log 200 calories of exercise in a day, your goal changes to eat 1400 calories that day. 1400 total eaten - 200 exercised = 1200 net. Which is what you want.
Here are more examples:
100 exercise calorie = you want to eat 1300:
1300 eaten - 100 exercised = 1200 net.
300 exercise calories = you want to eat 1500:
1500 eaten - 300 exercised = 1200 net.
500 exercise calories = you want to eat 1700:
1700 eaten - 500 exercised = 1200 net.
.
i think this made the most sense to me, but in general aren't we supposed to just eat half back or thereabouts because most trackers seem to overestimate how many calories we burn?0
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