Confused about my TDEE (Maintanence) amount. Please help

tempacc28
tempacc28 Posts: 3 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
First about my body:
Male
17 years old (nearly 18)
5.8 (172 cm)
130 lbs (59 kg)

I do HIIT on treadmill at gym on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday (4 times a week) and I burn 200 kcal during each 20 minute HIIT session. I can't do muscle training right now so I don't worry about my muscles.

I calculated my TDEE (Maintanence) calories on many, many websites. So according to these calculations I would need to eat approx 2500 kcal a day if I (moderately - 4 days a week) exercise. After that I calculated how much sedentary (no exercise) calories should I consume and it says approx 2000 kcal.

So logically thinking during my non-exercise day I should consume 2000 kcal because I won't burn anything during that day. But when it is a gym day (HIIT on treadmill) then I would need to consume 2200 kcal in order to maintain my weight because I would burn 200 kcal during that day? I don't get it? Please help.

Replies

  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,340 Member
    What is your goal? I truly hope you aren't trying to lose weight.

  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,340 Member
    edited July 2016
    ...and yes, you are understanding the concept. To maintain your weight, you eat at your TDEE. It stands for Total Daily Energy Expenditure, and you use more calories when you exercise.

    This site you are on (MyFitnessPal) uses a slightly different algorithm.

    What is your goal? Weight maintenance?
  • tempacc28
    tempacc28 Posts: 3 Member
    edited July 2016
    cmriverside wrote: »
    ...and yes, you are understanding the concept. To maintain your weight, you eat at your TDEE. It stands for Total Daily Energy Expenditure, and you use more calories when you exercise.

    This site you are on (MyFitnessPal) uses a slightly different algorithm.

    What is your goal? Weight maintenance?

    My goal is to maintain, no less than 59 (~60) kg. The max I could intentionally gain is 65kg.

    The question of mine is more like - should I eat 2500 kcal everyday (by exercising 4 times a week) OR should I eat 2200 kcal (200 kcal because of burning during cardio) on excercise days and 2000 kcal during non-excercise days.

    It might sound complex I know. All I wanna do is to maintain while at the same time exercising 4 times a week (i.e losing 200 kcal).
  • nowine4me
    nowine4me Posts: 3,985 Member
    It doesn't really matter if you average it out and your weekly calorie goal is on track. But it would likely help power through HIIT on your workout days if you had the extra calories on those days. That the equivalent of adding 1 protein bar or shake before/after workout.
  • tempacc28
    tempacc28 Posts: 3 Member
    edited July 2016
    nowine4me wrote: »
    It doesn't really matter if you average it out and your weekly calorie goal is on track. But it would likely help power through HIIT on your workout days if you had the extra calories on those days. That the equivalent of adding 1 protein bar or shake before/after workout.

    So that means ~2000 calories on non-gym days and ~2200 calories on gym (HIIT) days (200 calories burned)?

    Because eating ~2500 calories by following minus 200 when your sedentary calories are ~2000 isn't logical? What do you think?
  • Nikion901
    Nikion901 Posts: 2,467 Member
    tempacc28 wrote: »
    nowine4me wrote: »
    It doesn't really matter if you average it out and your weekly calorie goal is on track. But it would likely help power through HIIT on your workout days if you had the extra calories on those days. That the equivalent of adding 1 protein bar or shake before/after workout.

    So that means ~2000 calories on non-gym days and ~2200 calories on gym (HIIT) days (200 calories burned)?

    Because eating ~2500 calories by following minus 200 when your sedentary calories are ~2000 isn't logical? What do you think?

    Sounds like you got this ... eat a constant 2000 calories a day and eat extra calories on the days you do exercise.

    That's one way, and it's the way I do it. The other way is to eat a constant amount every day whether you are exercising or not, and then do not eat any extra calories on the day you exercise. ... A lot of people prefer to have the extra calories on only their work out days.

    In the end, it probably doesn't make much difference. Go with what seems best to your.
  • wolfalicemae
    wolfalicemae Posts: 6 Member
    I'd say calculate total calories needed for the week (2000x3+2200x4=14800) then divide by 7 (2114)
    So try to average at about 2115 cals a day :)
  • tech_kitten
    tech_kitten Posts: 221 Member
    Average it all out to 2115 or 2200/2000, it's your choice. If you start gaining (other than normal water weight/waste fluctuations), then cut back on calories or do more activity until you have a better feel for maintenance.
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
    Eat at the maintenance cals you think is close to your TDEE.

    After a few weeks adjust your caloric intake according to your weight change.

    If you want to eat more on certain days because you exercised, nothing wrong with that if you feel hungry, but it's not necessary. Averaging out what you eat can be less complicated for some. Which ever works for you.
  • mmmpork
    mmmpork Posts: 133 Member
    Don't factor in physical activity to your TDEE calculation. Do it with sedentary and that's your base calories. Also, any TDEE formula that uses BMI is not going to be as accurate as one that uses Lean Body Mass. You can estimate your fat body mass either with a scale that does that sort of reading or just by looking at "Fat Body Mass" estimator photos on the web. Subtract that from 100 and that's your Lean Body Mass percentage, roughly. All of these are just tools to give you a starting point for estimating. Everyone is different, you just have to log your calories, watch your weight trends and then you'll know. It changes as you age and throughout your life, so you just have to keep an eye on it. Finally, here's why you should be careful about how you factor exercise into your daily calories - http://www.vox.com/2016/4/28/11518804/weight-loss-exercise-myth-burn-calories
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    You could do with gaining weight imo.....

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