So this TDEE-20%, does it work?

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  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    I lost most of my 80 pounds with TDEE-20%. But it's really not different from MFP... 20% deficit is typically less than 2 pounds a week loss, plus it accounts for exercise calories, which MFP does not, so when you add those up... it's pretty much the same. The reason I like it is that I don't want to have to get my HRM out every time I do something. I can just adjust from month to month if I'm losing too much/too little, as long as I keep my activity level consistent.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    herrspoons wrote: »
    I've always used the sedentary level for calorie calculation and then added exercise back in. This is mainly because the definitions of Light, Moderate and Heavy are so variable as to be pointless.

    For example, a lot of people put down Moderate as their activity level because they go to the gym maybe four or five times a week. Unfortunately, that's for an hour a pop, and the other 23 are spent asleep, sitting at a desk, or watching TV.

    Choosing Sedentary gives a better baseline figure.

    With MFP exercise is not included in activity level...so that shouldn't come into play if you are doing it correctly.
    girlviernes wrote: »
    I am 5'7" and started here at 245 and have been losing about 1.8 lbs/week on 1500-2300 per day (averaging in the 1800-1900 range).

    At the same height and 146.5lbs I can lose on 2k a day...I lift weights and do HIIT and a lot of walking in the summer. That has gone up since I started MFP...my TDEE last year was 1995...it is now 2267.
  • indignantgnome
    indignantgnome Posts: 60 Member
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    ybodwen wrote: »
    What about calculating the number of calories as sedentary and then using exercise cals from MFP? Sorta like a hybrid?

    This worked well for me, before I started being lazy about tracking.
  • amberlykay1014
    amberlykay1014 Posts: 608 Member
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    I switched to the TDEE method when I started lifting, since it's incredibly difficult to calculate how many calories lifting burns. I also felt like I had to work out to be able to eat with the MFP method, and I don't like having that kind of relationship with food. Food is not a prize for working out, it's fuel so you can.
  • loulamb7
    loulamb7 Posts: 801 Member
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    girlviernes wrote: »
    It makes sense to start as high as you can on calories.

    a) it's less of a drastic change from before, therefore more manageable
    b) you will get more nutrition
    c) you have somewhere to go if your weight loss stalls and you want to cut back
    d) you can most easily find out for you where your optimal calories are... after a couple weeks, have you stayed stable? Then cut down by 250 calories... if you've lost 1-2 lbs you are in a good range. If you have lost more than that then up your calories.

    ^This^This^This^
    Whether you use MFP or TDEE correctly, find your optimal (maximum) calories for all the reasons above.
  • dakotababy
    dakotababy Posts: 2,406 Member
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    I am also 5'7...I eat about 1700-1800 calories a day...still losing weight! I started at 250lbs and now I am down to 169lbs.
  • Edie30
    Edie30 Posts: 216
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    It's been so great reading all this as its explained so much. I have lost 32 kgs just by cleaning up my diet but came to a standstill so started working out and decided to count calories too with this program. I was so confused at first and thought I could only have 1200 and then was confused on whether to eat my exercise calories back etc. after lots of reading I decided to go with my 1490 calls and then use my HRM for exercise and plug those calories in manually then eat them back. This seems sensible as I'm happy with slow steady weight loss. I'm keen on keeping the muscle I'm building! But yes I have gone wahhhhhhh it seems a lot of calories but I'd rather end up keeping this weight off for life by doing it in a sensible fashion :-)
    I do understand how so many people are confused though and we all appreciate your patience in explaining :-)
  • Cindy01Louisiana
    Cindy01Louisiana Posts: 302 Member
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    I know this is an old thread, but since I'm switching to TDEE next month, I really appreciate a few of the helpful posts here!

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