TDEE or MFP calories?

The difference is because you're supposed to log your exercise with MFP, whereas if you're using TDEE, your weekly exercise is factored in. If you eat back your MFP exercise calories, it should work out to be about the same thing. It's just a matter of personal preference. Some people like looking at it day to day (MFP numbers) and some prefer to average it out over a week or so (TDEE).

You just pick one. Mfp does not include exercise in their calculations and TDEE does. If you use mfp then you will log exercise and mfp will add calories that you are supposed to eat back. Most people on here find that the exercise estimates are high so you should eat back about 50-75% of the exercise calories. If you use a TDEE figure then you won't be eating any additional exercise calories. Just using the numbers you provided, if you were using mfp and your goal would be 1739. If you earned 620 calories from exercise that makes the number 2359. If you used TDEE then the number is 2359 and you wouldn't add exercise. I use mfp's numbers because I have a sedentary job and some days I am more active than others. On my more active days I eat more and on my less active days I eat less. My mfp goal is 1300 but I usually eat between 1400-1600 and I am losing about 1.4 pounds a week.

My exercise schedule varies and so I like MFP, and putting it in as I do it.

raven56706 wrote: »

ok so the only reason i ask is because MFP exercise calcs are hard to calculate. Its all average so i dont know if i even want to log it. if this is the case, then TDEE numbers would work correct? and if i wanted TDEE calcs, its easy to format it here correct?

Yes. Manually calculate your calorie goal with TDEE and dont log exercise unless you do MORE than the workouts you used to calculate your TDEE. For instance you put that you work out moderate effort 3 times per week, done. But if you workout above and beyond those 3 then you should log that exercise and eat 50% of those cals...or dont and be in a larger deficit if you arent starving.

If you find exercise calories difficult to track or estimate you can use TDEE with a deficit of up to 20%

-500 cals per day is about 1 lb per week loss
-750 cals per day is about 1.5 lbs per week loss

the 20% is guidance but too large a cut will result in under-eating issues and difficulty with long term adhesion.

raven56706 wrote: »

TDEE

So i used this calculator and apparently MFP has me eating far less than the TDEE calculator. 1739 MFP vs TDEE at 2359 for cutting. How do you then calculate which one to go with?

https://tdeecalculator.net/result.php?s=imperial&g=male&age=35&lbs=198&in=67&act=1.55&bf=24&f=1

That looks about right to me. MFP doesn't include any exercise whatsoever which is why you log it and get calories to eat back...so if you take MFP's number and add in your routine exercise, my bet would be that you're pretty close. I use the TDEE method and cut pretty good on 2300 - 2400 calories.

Just keep in mind that it's a starting point...it's still an estimate so just look at the trends over the coming weeks and adjust as necessary.

I think the MFP method of doing this is beneficial when your newer and trying to understand how exercise impacts everything...I also think it's beneficial when if you're someone who is maybe not too consistent with things...but by and large, if you're someone who trains regularly, TDEE is a simpler and better option...even if you have different burns on different days (which everyone does)...when you average things out over the course of a week, it should all net out.

My MFP target when I started was around 1800 calories...with regular exercise, I was eating anywhere from 2200 - 2400 calories...when I switched to TDEE it gave me around 2300 which was about the average of what I was eating anyway.

cwolfman13 wrote: »

raven56706 wrote: »

ok so last question, if the cutting calories 2359 and the maintenance is 2859, then to lose weight i have to eat 2359 correct?

Yes...theoretically you would have a 500 calorie per day deficit from maintenance.

+1

heatherrt06 wrote: »

Well now I have a question! What is considered "moderate" exercise, vs "light"? Would 5/6 days of running/lifting (not both the same day) be moderate or light?

My best suggestion is that if you've been logging your weight/calories for at least a month, go back to all your records and use the various TDEE values with your calories eaten, to see where your weight would be today if you were at those various levels.

I did that a few days ago and determined that I'm not quite at the 5-6 strenuous rate, but definitely more active than the 3-5 moderate level.