TDEE calculation- musings. Interested in your thoughts

LotusCass
LotusCass Posts: 145 Member
edited November 20 in Fitness and Exercise
I've been at this weight loss thing for 15 weeks now and hit my first milestone today (22 lbs down). Along the way I've done periodic calculations of my TDEE to see how it compares to my vivofit. It seems to be about 200 calories a day higher. My vivofit puts me around 2100 on average, and the calculations just over 2300. The vivofit daily calorie burn is based on my steps and syncs with the exercise I enter into MFP. I don't use the HR.

Now the difference could be due to a couple of different factors. I'm wondering which is more likely.

1. My logging is fairly accurate as I weigh all food when I'm home. I do eat out a fair bit though (1-2 meals a week) so it can't be completely accurate. Maybe I underestimate those meals I eat out.

2. Instead of entering the full exercise I do then eating half - 3/4 back as is generally suggested on here, I enter only 60-70% of what I did, so for eg if I did 1 hr of circuit training I'll enter 40 mins. I will enter the calories as given by my spin bike though as I learnt they are fairly accurate. Maybe the MFP calculations of exercise are actually more accurate for me and I should enter the full amount.

3. Maybe the calculation of calories burnt that my vivofit gives me for the number of steps I do is lower than what it really is. If I do 10,000 steps a day with no additional exercise it suggests I burn about 1800 a day. Does that seem right or a bit low?

It might be a combination of all of these. Not sure. What do you think?

Replies

  • LotusCass
    LotusCass Posts: 145 Member
    No responses so no ideas.

    A more specific question - would a calorie burn of 1800 a day be accurate for 10000 steps?
  • DX2JX2
    DX2JX2 Posts: 1,921 Member
    I think the lack of responses may be due to the fact that it's hard to understand the question.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    LotusCass wrote: »
    No responses so no ideas.

    A more specific question - would a calorie burn of 1800 a day be accurate for 10000 steps?

    Depends on your size and activity level outside of steps. It's not a one size fits all thing. For me that wouldn't be enough to maintain but we are all different.
  • not_a_runner
    not_a_runner Posts: 1,343 Member
    jemhh wrote: »
    LotusCass wrote: »
    No responses so no ideas.

    A more specific question - would a calorie burn of 1800 a day be accurate for 10000 steps?

    Depends on your size and activity level outside of steps. It's not a one size fits all thing. For me that wouldn't be enough to maintain but we are all different.

    Ditto.

    I try not to over think it, just pick a method, if it's working stick with it.
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    Any and all of these calculators and gadgets simply provide for a reasonable estimate. In reality, you do not have a TDEE of exactly XXXX calories...it's really a range. Ultimately, your own data and results should indicate where you really are.

    This.

    You want more accurate?

    What us your goal of weight loss & what's is your average weight loss the past 5-6 weeks?

    If you are losing more than you goal, then eccentially your TDEE is higher than you think on how you log.

    If you are losing less, your TDEE is lower than how you log.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    LotusCass wrote: »
    No responses so no ideas.

    A more specific question - would a calorie burn of 1800 a day be accurate for 10000 steps?

    Minimal chance that it's exactly 1800 if that's what you mean by accurate.
    Not sure why it matters if you are getting the desired results over an extended period of time.
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,997 Member
    OP: I doesn't matter whether any TDEE calculator matches your Vivofit or any other device.

    It's all just an estimate.

    There are too many factors to enable any calculator or device to come up w/an accurate number for cals burned (or whatever) for any particular person.

    So, just use the calculator or device that works best for you. It's all trial and error.

    You'll know if it works for you if you gain, lose or maintain your desired weight using it or not. If not, make adjustments in order to bring the numbers in line w/your individual needs, as you apparently have already done.
  • solovino1
    solovino1 Posts: 29 Member
    I use this chart:
    https://verywell.com/pedometer-steps-to-calories-converter-3882595

    It will give you a higher number of burn then the Vivofit. I take the difference between the two and add them then divide by 2 to give me a more accurate number. I do not know if this is true however, just an attempt to gain accuracy. You can also calibrate the Garmin monitors to your stride length. The Vivosmart 3 does this. Your AM should have a profile stored for you. If you have lost weight, you should update that profile and sync it to the AM.

    The fact that you are thinking about this puts you in the correct category for success. It is best to take a conservative view of calorie offset from exercise and use it as a guide to make sure you do not over or under feed. The later will put you in a plateau state.

    I also suggest that you go into the Garmin Connect -> Health Stats -> Calories In Out and sync the AM content to myfitness pal. The exercise panel will then give you a calorie offset based on Garmin data.
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,743 Member
    Counting steps isn't a very accurate way of determining calorie burn. i.e. when I run, i do about 1900 steps to the mile. When I walk slowly, it's about 2200. When I hike, taking small erratic steps around rocks and roots, it may be about 2400 steps to the mile. Yet I burn a lot more calories running than walking, especially at a slow hiking pace. If I go shopping and have my hands on a shopping cart, few steps may register, even if I circle the store a couple of times. If I ride my exercise bike, no steps get registered, but I do burn calories. If my steps are up and down stairs, there won't be additional calories given for the extra effort. IOW, it's all an approximation.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,204 Member
    I burn roughly 30% more calories daily than most calculators say I should. (Yes, I give them accurate input.) I don't know why, but I'm not gonna look a gift horse, y'know?

    Calculators and devices give you estimates based on average results from large group studies. Most people are close to average (small standard deviation, in statistical terms). A few people are a meaningful little ways from average, and a tiny fraction are surprisingly far from average, possibly in either direction.

    Your own results always tell the truth, and are the most accurate basis for your projections about the future, once you have enough personal data to work from.

    https://examine.com/nutrition/does-metabolism-vary-between-two-people/
  • STEVE142142
    STEVE142142 Posts: 867 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    Any and all of these calculators and gadgets simply provide for a reasonable estimate. In reality, you do not have a TDEE of exactly XXXX calories...it's really a range. Ultimately, your own data and results should indicate where you really are.

    This sums it up perfectly. Everybody's going to react differently Based on their metabolism in genetics. What you have to remember is that all these apps use a large population database and that's where most of the people fall in but you're always going to have people who fall on the low end and the high-end of the numbers.

    Weight loss and even more importantly maintenance is a learning process it's a matter of seeing Trends and statistics analyzing and adjust as you go
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