TDEE vs NEAT

SarahStarr86
SarahStarr86 Posts: 121 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Hey everyone! Since I've been on MFP, I've done their NEAT method. I eat my 1370 a day and log my exercise calories that I've gotten from my Polar FT4. Here recently I've been watching a lot of YT videos and reading articles about using the TDEE method instead. I went on the IIFYM website and input my info and it gave me 1501 calories to eat daily. I put in my exercise as "moderate" even though I think it's more strenuous than that just to be safe. So now, I just eat 1501 a day and don't worry about logging my exercise calories even on days I don't work out? I usually burn about 400 calories, 5 days a week. So am I shortening myself by only eating the 1501 a day. I'm super nervous to change over but I've read that it's a more "up to date" approach in weight loss to use your TDEE instead of using the NEAT method. Any thoughts or suggestions? I'm 5'4, 178 lbs if that helps any. Also, would I not need to wear my Fitbit pedometer anymore either since everything would be in this TDEE method? Thanks!

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  • Unknown
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  • SarahStarr86
    SarahStarr86 Posts: 121 Member
    JerSchmare wrote: »
    They are exactly the same in the end. The difference is some people, like me, like to eat more on my rest days. But, then I eat less on my active days. But, it's nice having a regular calorie amount each day, rather than the calories bouncing around day to day.

    Did you reduce the 1501 by 20% to lose? Otherwise, you're eating at maintenance.

    Thanks so much for your response :) Yes, that was the reduction after the 20%. Eating the same thing daily is exactly what I like about it. I hate ever having to just eat my 1370 on my rest days! Super nervous but I think I'm going to give it a go. I kind of underestimated everything to be safe. I set myself as sedentary and as a moderate exerciser. Whenever my weight changes, do I still need to go in and change everything just like I would update on here so the calorie allotment changes?

  • oat_bran
    oat_bran Posts: 370 Member
    I've been using the TDEE method for months (using the TDEE estimates from my fitbit, which seems to be pretty accurate) and it works fine. But I am seriously considering switching to eating 500cals under my average TDEE every day (is this what the NEAT method is), because I finf it complicated.to eat different amount of calories every day and eating so much less on sedentary daysis too hard.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    longstocking wrote: »
    I've been using the TDEE method for months (using the TDEE estimates from my fitbit, which seems to be pretty accurate) and it works fine. But I am seriously considering switching to eating 500cals under my average TDEE every day (is this what the NEAT method is), because I finf it complicated.to eat different amount of calories every day and eating so much less on sedentary daysis too hard.

    Not really...the only difference between TDEE and NEAT is that NEAT doesn't account for exercise. What I do (and OP, this could be beneficial to you as well) is average my Fitbit burn over the previous month and use that for TDEE-20%.
  • oat_bran
    oat_bran Posts: 370 Member
    malibu927 wrote: »
    longstocking wrote: »
    I've been using the TDEE method for months (using the TDEE estimates from my fitbit, which seems to be pretty accurate) and it works fine. But I am seriously considering switching to eating 500cals under my average TDEE every day (is this what the NEAT method is), because I finf it complicated.to eat different amount of calories every day and eating so much less on sedentary daysis too hard.

    Not really...the only difference between TDEE and NEAT is that NEAT doesn't account for exercise. What I do (and OP, this could be beneficial to you as well) is average my Fitbit burn over the previous month and use that for TDEE-20%.

    What's TDEE-20%? Is 20% of your TDEE the recommended deficit? Sorry, I'm a bit confused.

    As for not accounting for exercise I honestly could never understand the logic behind this approach. How is the body supposed to know if the extra calories burned come from "actual exercise" or me just running around at work? Some days I burn 2200 calories with no exrercise, just being busy and other days I burn as much because I was sedentary most of the day and then had a workout. And than there are days when I'm barely moving my TDEE is only 1700.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    @longstocking Go to the scooby calorie calculator, i don't have the link, on phone. Enter your details, and it will give your TDEE -20% calorie goal.
  • SusanMFindlay
    SusanMFindlay Posts: 1,804 Member
    edited June 2017
    longstocking wrote: »
    I've been using the TDEE method for months (using the TDEE estimates from my fitbit, which seems to be pretty accurate) and it works fine. But I am seriously considering switching to eating 500cals under my average TDEE every day (is this what the NEAT method is), because I finf it complicated.to eat different amount of calories every day and eating so much less on sedentary daysis too hard.

    No. The TDEE method would be to get your average daily calorie burn for the week/month from your FitBit reports and eat 500 calories less than that every day, giving yourself a single daily calorie goal.

    The NEAT method involves logging exercise and eating back exercise calories so that you eat more on days you exercise and less on days you don't. What you're currently doing is more like the NEAT method than the TDEE method.

    I find the TDEE method much easier - though I use that calorie goal as my *average* calorie goal. In practical terms, that means that if I'm not very hungry one day, I don't worry about forcing myself up to my goal and if I'm very hungry (e.g. the day after a workout), I don't worry about eating a few hundred calories more than the goal. As long as my average calories for the month are at the right level.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited June 2017
    longstocking wrote: »
    malibu927 wrote: »
    longstocking wrote: »
    I've been using the TDEE method for months (using the TDEE estimates from my fitbit, which seems to be pretty accurate) and it works fine. But I am seriously considering switching to eating 500cals under my average TDEE every day (is this what the NEAT method is), because I finf it complicated.to eat different amount of calories every day and eating so much less on sedentary daysis too hard.

    Not really...the only difference between TDEE and NEAT is that NEAT doesn't account for exercise. What I do (and OP, this could be beneficial to you as well) is average my Fitbit burn over the previous month and use that for TDEE-20%.

    What's TDEE-20%? Is 20% of your TDEE the recommended deficit? Sorry, I'm a bit confused.

    As for not accounting for exercise I honestly could never understand the logic behind this approach. How is the body supposed to know if the extra calories burned come from "actual exercise" or me just running around at work? Some days I burn 2200 calories with no exrercise, just being busy and other days I burn as much because I was sedentary most of the day and then had a workout. And than there are days when I'm barely moving my TDEE is only 1700.

    What people call the TDEE method is really the "figure your TDEE for the week (subtract your deficit amount, like 20%, if you want to lose), divide by 7, and eat the same every day" approach. NEAT+exercise (and minus the MFP calculated deficit) is, of course, really a daily TDEE approach and that's the same as what you are doing with the Fitbit. It's just the shorthands used on MFP are kind of confusing.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    edited June 2017
    SarahStarr86 wrote: »
    Hey everyone! Since I've been on MFP, I've done their NEAT method. I eat my 1370 a day and log my exercise calories that I've gotten from my Polar FT4. Here recently I've been watching a lot of YT videos and reading articles about using the TDEE method instead. I went on the IIFYM website and input my info and it gave me 1501 calories to eat daily. I put in my exercise as "moderate" even though I think it's more strenuous than that just to be safe. So now, I just eat 1501 a day and don't worry about logging my exercise calories even on days I don't work out? I usually burn about 400 calories, 5 days a week. So am I shortening myself by only eating the 1501 a day. I'm super nervous to change over but I've read that it's a more "up to date" approach in weight loss to use your TDEE instead of using the NEAT method. Any thoughts or suggestions? I'm 5'4, 178 lbs if that helps any. Also, would I not need to wear my Fitbit pedometer anymore either since everything would be in this TDEE method? Thanks!

    If you're doing it right, the methods are 6 of 1, half dozen of the other...the only difference is where you account for exercise.

    I don't know that it's really a matter of TDEE being more "up to date"...it works well for people who are consistent with their activity and exercise. NEAT works better for people who maybe are just getting into things and don't have a consistent exercise routine established.
  • SarahStarr86
    SarahStarr86 Posts: 121 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    SarahStarr86 wrote: »
    Hey everyone! Since I've been on MFP, I've done their NEAT method. I eat my 1370 a day and log my exercise calories that I've gotten from my Polar FT4. Here recently I've been watching a lot of YT videos and reading articles about using the TDEE method instead. I went on the IIFYM website and input my info and it gave me 1501 calories to eat daily. I put in my exercise as "moderate" even though I think it's more strenuous than that just to be safe. So now, I just eat 1501 a day and don't worry about logging my exercise calories even on days I don't work out? I usually burn about 400 calories, 5 days a week. So am I shortening myself by only eating the 1501 a day. I'm super nervous to change over but I've read that it's a more "up to date" approach in weight loss to use your TDEE instead of using the NEAT method. Any thoughts or suggestions? I'm 5'4, 178 lbs if that helps any. Also, would I not need to wear my Fitbit pedometer anymore either since everything would be in this TDEE method? Thanks!

    If you're doing it right, the methods are 6 of 1, half dozen of the other...the only difference is where you account for exercise.

    I don't know that it's really a matter of TDEE being more "up to date"...it works well for people who are consistent with their activity and exercise. NEAT works better for people who maybe are just getting into things and don't have a consistent exercise routine established.

    Thank you! Fully understood. Question, even though I may workout for 30-45 minutes, 5 days a week, what happens if one day is a lighter 45 minute workout than the previous day? Or is it really not that important to be that detailed? Thanks!
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