Day 2 of Confusion! TDEE and MyFitnessPal ... Help!

vanessasumner
vanessasumner Posts: 6 Member
edited December 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Goodness me, I've having a bad couple of days! I got some lovely help and encouragement yesterday which I'm so grateful for but I just need a tiny bit more help! Yesterday I did a TDEE calculation and I got the following using http://www.fat2fittools.com/tools/bmr/;

BMR is 1460

TDEE is ...

Sedentary (little or no exercise, desk job) 1627
Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk) 1865
Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk) 2102
Very Active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk) 2339
Extremely Active (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.) 2576

I've highlighted Lightly Active because I do a 20min exercises DVD roughly 4 times a week and do a bit of walking every day plus bustling about at home cooking, cleaning etc. etc.

According to the above if I deduct 20% off 1865 my daily calorie intake should be 1492 a day to loose weight. including doing the DVD 3/4 times a week on top of that daily calorie intake.

Similarly, when I started MyFitnessPal (also selecting the lightly active option) it gave me a daily calorie intake of 1430 - I adjusted that to 1400 (not really sure why now). So without knowing it my TDEE is also what I've been roughly using on MFP. I have been logging my exercise on MyFitnessPal and not eating them back. These have been my entries the past few days;

3rd July 1400 Goal - 1232 Food + 116 Exercise = 284 Remaining
4th July 1400 Goal - 1361 Food + 290 Exercise = 329 Remaining (exercise DVD)
5th July 1400 Goal - 1343 Food + 412 Exercise = 469 Remaining (exercise DVD)
6th July 1400 Goal - 1301 Food + 133 Exercise = 232 Remaining
7th July 1400 Goal - 1399 Food + 317 Exercise = 318 Remaining (exercise DVD)
8th July 1400 Goal - 1386 Food + 199 Exercise = 213 Remaining
9th July 1400 Goal - 1361 Food + 308 Exercise = 347 Remaining (exercise DVD)
10th July 1425 Goal - 1309 Food + 242 Exercise = 358 Remaining (20mins cycle to shops)
11th July 1425 Goal - 1479 Food + 262 Exercise = 211 Remaining (exercise DVD)

Without knowing much about TDEE, MFP, eating some exercise calories back etc. - I'm now unsure if what I have been doing is right and I have further added to my confusion.

Have I been hindering my own weightloss by not eating enough? Or am I on track albeit it slowly but surely and should just up my exercises given that I don't have a way of monitoring my heart rate and go by what MyFitnessPal says I burn...

Replies

  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    Use this and see what you come up with for TDEE (it's a little more in depth then the calculator you used):
    https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1G7FgNzPq3v5WMjDtH0n93LXSMRY_hjmzNTMJb3aZSxM/edit#gid=0

    That said your activity level on MFP is supposed to be without exercise and then you add your exercise calories back in only after you workout. So on days you don't workout you eat your base goal and then on days you do you get to eat a bit more. This method is great for people who don't exercise regularly or change it up often.

    TDEE on the other hand includes your exercise so you have the same goal everyday. This is great for people who are on a consistent exercise plan.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    The difference between MFP and TDEE is where you account for exercise.

    With TDEE, your exercise is included in your activity level and thus an estimate of the calories you would need to fuel that activity are included in your targets...if you ate them back after the fact you would be double dipping.

    With MFP, you are not supposed to include exercise in your activity level...just your day to day...exercise is additional, unaccounted for activity which is why you log it and then get those calories to "eat back"...it's how you account for that activity with MFP.
  • vanessasumner
    vanessasumner Posts: 6 Member
    Okay, but I still can't understand why my TDEE and MyFitnessPal are both coming out around the 1400 mark ...

    Not really sure how many calories I should be eating anymore and if I've been under eating to the point where my weight loss is being hindered?

    If you take my log for the 5th of July I ate 1343 calories and my total exercise for the day including steps and an exercise dvd for 20mins was 412, as I didn't eat back any calories my calorie intake was therefore just 913 ...

    ??
  • MoveitlikeManda
    MoveitlikeManda Posts: 846 Member
    your calorie burn is a guess as you said you dont have a hr monitor right?
    mfp guesses what you burn and usually it over estimates.

    nder eating is NOT going to stop you loosing weight.

    my sugestion.....work out your TDEE set that as your daily goal, dont worry about what you are burning because its now irrelevant and stick with those calories (your calories burn guss is already added in to them)
  • MoveitlikeManda
    MoveitlikeManda Posts: 846 Member
    basically you are spending too much time worry over your calorie burn number which you really dont need to if you go by your TDEE calories as long as you put all your info in properly when working it out
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    vanessasumner wrote: »
    Okay, but I still can't understand why my TDEE and MyFitnessPal are both coming out around the 1400 mark ...

    Not really sure how many calories I should be eating anymore and if I've been under eating to the point where my weight loss is being hindered?

    If you take my log for the 5th of July I ate 1343 calories and my total exercise for the day including steps and an exercise dvd for 20mins was 412, as I didn't eat back any calories my calorie intake was therefore just 913 ...

    ??

    because you set MFP as lightly active just like your TDEE Calculation and MFP should have your activity level set without exercise.

    Yes you are hindering your weight loss by double dipping into exercise calories.

    Either use MFP and set your activity level to sedentary since you are without exercise...and eat back at least 50% of your exercise calories

    or

    Use TDEE of 1400 and don't eat back any exercise calories.

    End of story.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    edited July 2016
    vanessasumner wrote: »
    Okay, but I still can't understand why my TDEE and MyFitnessPal are both coming out around the 1400 mark ...

    Not really sure how many calories I should be eating anymore and if I've been under eating to the point where my weight loss is being hindered?

    If you take my log for the 5th of July I ate 1343 calories and my total exercise for the day including steps and an exercise dvd for 20mins was 412, as I didn't eat back any calories my calorie intake was therefore just 913 ...

    ??

    TDEE includes exercise (many TDEE calculators out there).....but it's generally a little higher than MFP numbers without exercise factored in.

    Example 1: TDEE 1850 - 500 (to lose 1 pound a week). Eat 1350 total.

    Example 2: MFP 1200 + 150 (logged exercise) = 1350 (or 1850 - 500 to lose 1 pound a week). Again eat 1350 total.

    If your exercise is consistent......just use a TDEE calculator. If your exercise is sporadic......use MFP & log workouts after you do them.
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