BMR TDEE help
liannebaker17
Posts: 54 Member
Ok so I’ve come back to MFP and I’m still confused on my diary thing it says that my goal calories is 1720 a day this is set with my height and weight with a 2lb week weight loss
I’ve just put my information on a calculator online that I found in a link here and my BMR 1952 and my TDEE is 2440
Which one do I follow?
I’ve just put my information on a calculator online that I found in a link here and my BMR 1952 and my TDEE is 2440
Which one do I follow?
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Replies
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So subtracting 20% from my TDEE of 2440 to get a 2lb week weight loss takes me to 1952 calories which is my BMR but it isn’t what it’ says on here
I am totally lost0 -
What’s your weight and height?0
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liannebaker17 wrote: »So subtracting 20% from my TDEE of 2440 to get a 2lb week weight loss takes me to 1952 calories which is my BMR but it isn’t what it’ says on here
I am totally lost
20% reduction from TDEE will give you 1lb per week loss.2 -
First off, a 2 lb/wk weight loss is 1000 calorie deficit *(1000 calories less than you burn in total), not a percentage of your TDEE. What are your stats? Age, current weight, height, goal weight?
The information you put into MFP and the TDEE calculator are not consistent so you're not getting results that make sense.
Give us some more details and we'll see if someone here can't help clear it up for you.
Edited: to clarify calorie deficit *4 -
1,952 seems a little on the high side. I am a 183 lb man, and my BMR is only 1,760. Without knowing your stats: age, height, weight, estimated body fat %, and daily activity level, though, it would be tough to know for sure.0
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Not sure what calculator you are using to estimate with, but here is a link to the one I like:
http://www.sailrabbit.com/bmr/
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ladyhusker39 wrote: »First off, a 2 lb/wk weight loss is 1000 calorie deficit *(1000 calories less than you burn in total), not a percentage of your TDEE. What are your stats? Age, current weight, height, goal weight?
The information you put into MFP and the TDEE calculator are not consistent so you're not getting results that make sense.
Give us some more details and we'll see if someone here can't help clear it up for you.
Edited: to clarify calorie deficit *
Hi thanks for the reply I used the IIFym ( I think) calculator and it said to subtract 20% from my TDEE which takes me back to the BMR they gave me.
Age 27 current weight 264Lbs goal weight of 154lbs
I’ve read so much on BMR and TDEE with weight loss and i still can’t get my head around it
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Not sure what calculator you are using to estimate with, but here is a link to the one I like:
http://www.sailrabbit.com/bmr/
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Just done one one the link you suggested and it’s given a different result. Still a different result completely from MFP, I’ve no idea what I’m doing really. I’ve never calorie counted before I have been following slimming worldNot sure what calculator you are using to estimate with, but here is a link to the one I like:
http://www.sailrabbit.com/bmr/
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Go for a less severe deficit, is my advice - 500 calorie deficit/day - keep data for 6 weeks and re-assess.0
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liannebaker17 wrote: »
Just done one one the link you suggested and it’s given a different result. Still a different result completely from MFP, I’ve no idea what I’m doing really. I’ve never calorie counted before I have been following slimming worldNot sure what calculator you are using to estimate with, but here is a link to the one I like:
http://www.sailrabbit.com/bmr/
You need to realize that all of these calculators are just giving you an estimate based on populations statistics and various algorithms. Nobody has a TDEE of exactly XXXX calories. These calculators give you a reasonably good place to start...they aren't gospel...you make adjustments as you go per your actual results.
Also, MFP isn't a TDEE calculator...a TDEE calculator factors in your exercise into your activity level and thus calories to account for that activity. MFP just takes your day to day hum drum into account for your activity level...you log exercise after the fact and get additional calories to account for that activity.
You're trying to do an apples to apples comparison of two completely different methods of calorie counting.
I'd highly recommend checking out the stickies as they help explain how this particular tool works.4 -
The discrepancy between MFP and TDEE is in the activity level you set up which doesn't include exercise whereas the TDEE calculator does.
What did you set your activity level to in MFP (I'm guessing sedentary based on the numbers)? How active are you daily?
Also, how tall are you? I believe you're female, right?
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liannebaker17 wrote: »ladyhusker39 wrote: »First off, a 2 lb/wk weight loss is 1000 calorie deficit *(1000 calories less than you burn in total), not a percentage of your TDEE. What are your stats? Age, current weight, height, goal weight?
The information you put into MFP and the TDEE calculator are not consistent so you're not getting results that make sense.
Give us some more details and we'll see if someone here can't help clear it up for you.
Edited: to clarify calorie deficit *
Hi thanks for the reply I used the IIFym ( I think) calculator and it said to subtract 20% from my TDEE which takes me back to the BMR they gave me.
Age 27 current weight 264Lbs goal weight of 154lbs
I’ve read so much on BMR and TDEE with weight loss and i still can’t get my head around it
BMR - basal resting metabolism - what your body needs to stay alive at rest
TDEE - total daily energy expenditure - what your body uses in a day, taking into account not only BMR but your exercise and non exercise activity.
Subtract calories from TDEE number to create a deficit for weight loss. If subtracting 20% of TDEE leads you to your BMR level, that's probably too high a deficit. All that being said, the numbers are educated guesses all the way around. Maybe it would be simpler to aim for a 500 calorie deficit and keep data for 4-6 weeks, and then adjust accordingly.
So based on the calculator above that will mean eating around 2277 calories a day to loose weight that doesn’t seem right, I wouldn’t eat that many calories a day I would just be eating for the sake of making sure I meet my deficit.1 -
liannebaker17 wrote: »ladyhusker39 wrote: »First off, a 2 lb/wk weight loss is 1000 calorie deficit *(1000 calories less than you burn in total), not a percentage of your TDEE. What are your stats? Age, current weight, height, goal weight?
The information you put into MFP and the TDEE calculator are not consistent so you're not getting results that make sense.
Give us some more details and we'll see if someone here can't help clear it up for you.
Edited: to clarify calorie deficit *
Hi thanks for the reply I used the IIFym ( I think) calculator and it said to subtract 20% from my TDEE which takes me back to the BMR they gave me.
Age 27 current weight 264Lbs goal weight of 154lbs
I’ve read so much on BMR and TDEE with weight loss and i still can’t get my head around it
Why don't you just put your stats into MFP? It does all the work for you!
If you use the TDEE from the IIFym calculator and subtract calories to make a deficit (it will need to equal 500 calories for 1 lb., 1000 for 2 lbs. per week, and 750 for 1.5 lbs. per week) you need to keep up whatever exercise you said you do to get that TDEE.
There are approx. 3500 calories to make a pound. So by dividing that number by 7 (for 7 days) you get 500 calories per day. If you subtract 500 calories from your daily TDEE then you will lose a lb. a week. If your TDEE is 2400, then to lose 2 lbs. you subract 1000, and that leaves you with 1400 calories per day. If you lose 1 1b. then only subtract 500 lbs. and you get 1900 calories per day.
I just looked at the IIFYM site on the page to calculate the TDEE. It does NOT say what that 15%-20% you are subtracting is equal to. It just says subtract 15%-20% of your body weight to give you how many calories to eat and then break the remaining calories into macros. 20% of your TDEE is only going to be 480 calories, which will have you losing 1 lb. per week. If someone who had a TDEE of 2000 (which is me), following this advice I'd be eating at a deficit of 400 calories which would leave me somewhat less than 1 lb. per week. It's not an agressive goal for most people unless they are already within a healthy weight. At 264 lbs. (and you want to lose 100) you can do a more agressive goal of 2 lbs. per week which would be eating 1400 calories per day.1 -
liannebaker17 wrote: »liannebaker17 wrote: »ladyhusker39 wrote: »First off, a 2 lb/wk weight loss is 1000 calorie deficit *(1000 calories less than you burn in total), not a percentage of your TDEE. What are your stats? Age, current weight, height, goal weight?
The information you put into MFP and the TDEE calculator are not consistent so you're not getting results that make sense.
Give us some more details and we'll see if someone here can't help clear it up for you.
Edited: to clarify calorie deficit *
Hi thanks for the reply I used the IIFym ( I think) calculator and it said to subtract 20% from my TDEE which takes me back to the BMR they gave me.
Age 27 current weight 264Lbs goal weight of 154lbs
I’ve read so much on BMR and TDEE with weight loss and i still can’t get my head around it
BMR - basal resting metabolism - what your body needs to stay alive at rest
TDEE - total daily energy expenditure - what your body uses in a day, taking into account not only BMR but your exercise and non exercise activity.
Subtract calories from TDEE number to create a deficit for weight loss. If subtracting 20% of TDEE leads you to your BMR level, that's probably too high a deficit. All that being said, the numbers are educated guesses all the way around. Maybe it would be simpler to aim for a 500 calorie deficit and keep data for 4-6 weeks, and then adjust accordingly.
So based on the calculator above that will mean eating around 2277 calories a day to loose weight that doesn’t seem right, I wouldn’t eat that many calories a day I would just be eating for the sake of making sure I meet my deficit.
I re-thought my suggestion that you quoted and ended up going simpler. Simpler still would be to use MFP to track exactly what you are eating prior to deficit for a couple of weeks, and then subtract 500 calories a day from that.
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If MFP is your tool of choice, why not just use it as designed. You can always manually adjust your calories after a month or so if you’re loosing too quickly.5
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liannebaker17 wrote: »liannebaker17 wrote: »ladyhusker39 wrote: »First off, a 2 lb/wk weight loss is 1000 calorie deficit *(1000 calories less than you burn in total), not a percentage of your TDEE. What are your stats? Age, current weight, height, goal weight?
The information you put into MFP and the TDEE calculator are not consistent so you're not getting results that make sense.
Give us some more details and we'll see if someone here can't help clear it up for you.
Edited: to clarify calorie deficit *
Hi thanks for the reply I used the IIFym ( I think) calculator and it said to subtract 20% from my TDEE which takes me back to the BMR they gave me.
Age 27 current weight 264Lbs goal weight of 154lbs
I’ve read so much on BMR and TDEE with weight loss and i still can’t get my head around it
BMR - basal resting metabolism - what your body needs to stay alive at rest
TDEE - total daily energy expenditure - what your body uses in a day, taking into account not only BMR but your exercise and non exercise activity.
Subtract calories from TDEE number to create a deficit for weight loss. If subtracting 20% of TDEE leads you to your BMR level, that's probably too high a deficit. All that being said, the numbers are educated guesses all the way around. Maybe it would be simpler to aim for a 500 calorie deficit and keep data for 4-6 weeks, and then adjust accordingly.
So based on the calculator above that will mean eating around 2277 calories a day to loose weight that doesn’t seem right, I wouldn’t eat that many calories a day I would just be eating for the sake of making sure I meet my deficit.
This is correct. However, it's for 1 lb/wk as it's a 500 calorie/day deficit. Makes sense. If you wan to go for 2 lbs/wk you'd need to eat about 1777. Which is what is pretty close to what MFP is giving you, verifying that MFP is actually right (by a 50 calorie margin of error).
I'd recommend sticking with what MFP tells you and don't worry about BMR/TDEE, etc. You're just confusing yourself unnecessarily. Get started simply and learn as you go along so you don't get overwhelmed and frustrated.6 -
liannebaker17 wrote: »liannebaker17 wrote: »ladyhusker39 wrote: »First off, a 2 lb/wk weight loss is 1000 calorie deficit *(1000 calories less than you burn in total), not a percentage of your TDEE. What are your stats? Age, current weight, height, goal weight?
The information you put into MFP and the TDEE calculator are not consistent so you're not getting results that make sense.
Give us some more details and we'll see if someone here can't help clear it up for you.
Edited: to clarify calorie deficit *
Hi thanks for the reply I used the IIFym ( I think) calculator and it said to subtract 20% from my TDEE which takes me back to the BMR they gave me.
Age 27 current weight 264Lbs goal weight of 154lbs
I’ve read so much on BMR and TDEE with weight loss and i still can’t get my head around it
BMR - basal resting metabolism - what your body needs to stay alive at rest
TDEE - total daily energy expenditure - what your body uses in a day, taking into account not only BMR but your exercise and non exercise activity.
Subtract calories from TDEE number to create a deficit for weight loss. If subtracting 20% of TDEE leads you to your BMR level, that's probably too high a deficit. All that being said, the numbers are educated guesses all the way around. Maybe it would be simpler to aim for a 500 calorie deficit and keep data for 4-6 weeks, and then adjust accordingly.
So based on the calculator above that will mean eating around 2277 calories a day to loose weight that doesn’t seem right, I wouldn’t eat that many calories a day I would just be eating for the sake of making sure I meet my deficit.
But if your TDEE (maintenance calories) is in fact 2777 then it is right to lose 1 Lb per week. It doesn't seem right because you like many others have been conditioned to think that losing weight must be a suffer-fest and we must eat like little birdies.5 -
lucerorojo wrote: »liannebaker17 wrote: »ladyhusker39 wrote: »First off, a 2 lb/wk weight loss is 1000 calorie deficit *(1000 calories less than you burn in total), not a percentage of your TDEE. What are your stats? Age, current weight, height, goal weight?
The information you put into MFP and the TDEE calculator are not consistent so you're not getting results that make sense.
Give us some more details and we'll see if someone here can't help clear it up for you.
Edited: to clarify calorie deficit *
Hi thanks for the reply I used the IIFym ( I think) calculator and it said to subtract 20% from my TDEE which takes me back to the BMR they gave me.
Age 27 current weight 264Lbs goal weight of 154lbs
I’ve read so much on BMR and TDEE with weight loss and i still can’t get my head around it
Why don't you just put your stats into MFP? It does all the work for you!
If you use the TDEE from the IIFym calculator and subtract calories to make a deficit (it will need to equal 500 calories for 1 lb., 1000 for 2 lbs. per week, and 750 for 1.5 lbs. per week) you need to keep up whatever exercise you said you do to get that TDEE.
There are approx. 3500 calories to make a pound. So by dividing that number by 7 (for 7 days) you get 500 calories per day. If you subtract 500 calories from your daily TDEE then you will lose a lb. a week. If your TDEE is 2400, then to lose 2 lbs. you subract 1000, and that leaves you with 1400 calories per day. If you lose 1 1b. then only subtract 500 lbs. and you get 1900 calories per day.
I just looked at the IIFYM site on the page to calculate the TDEE. It does NOT say what that 15%-20% you are subtracting is equal to. It just says subtract 15%-20% of your body weight to give you how many calories to eat and then break the remaining calories into macros. 20% of your TDEE is only going to be 480 calories, which will have you losing 1 lb. per week. If someone who had a TDEE of 2000 (which is me), following this advice I'd be eating at a deficit of 400 calories which would leave me somewhat less than 1 lb. per week. It's not an agressive goal for most people unless they are already within a healthy weight. At 264 lbs. (and you want to lose 100) you can do a more agressive goal of 2 lbs. per week which would be eating 1400 calories per day.
I have my details in MFP but it has given me a completely different number altogether different to all of the calculators I have used. My daily goal on MFP is 1720 a day ( with the same information as I put into the other calculators) + exercise calories. So I don’t know what to follow and how to change my daily goal on MFP if I have to follow one of the other calculators1 -
ladyhusker39 wrote: »The discrepancy between MFP and TDEE is in the activity level you set up which doesn't include exercise whereas the TDEE calculator does.
What did you set your activity level to in MFP (I'm guessing sedentary based on the numbers)? How active are you daily?
Also, how tall are you? I believe you're female, right?
I’ve set my activity level to lightly active on here and all other calculators. I don’t go to the gym or do any exercise class but I do walk kids to school walk to work and back and my job is on my feet all day. So I’ve set it at light most days I do well over 16,000 steps.0 -
liannebaker17 wrote: »lucerorojo wrote: »liannebaker17 wrote: »ladyhusker39 wrote: »First off, a 2 lb/wk weight loss is 1000 calorie deficit *(1000 calories less than you burn in total), not a percentage of your TDEE. What are your stats? Age, current weight, height, goal weight?
The information you put into MFP and the TDEE calculator are not consistent so you're not getting results that make sense.
Give us some more details and we'll see if someone here can't help clear it up for you.
Edited: to clarify calorie deficit *
Hi thanks for the reply I used the IIFym ( I think) calculator and it said to subtract 20% from my TDEE which takes me back to the BMR they gave me.
Age 27 current weight 264Lbs goal weight of 154lbs
I’ve read so much on BMR and TDEE with weight loss and i still can’t get my head around it
Why don't you just put your stats into MFP? It does all the work for you!
If you use the TDEE from the IIFym calculator and subtract calories to make a deficit (it will need to equal 500 calories for 1 lb., 1000 for 2 lbs. per week, and 750 for 1.5 lbs. per week) you need to keep up whatever exercise you said you do to get that TDEE.
There are approx. 3500 calories to make a pound. So by dividing that number by 7 (for 7 days) you get 500 calories per day. If you subtract 500 calories from your daily TDEE then you will lose a lb. a week. If your TDEE is 2400, then to lose 2 lbs. you subract 1000, and that leaves you with 1400 calories per day. If you lose 1 1b. then only subtract 500 lbs. and you get 1900 calories per day.
I just looked at the IIFYM site on the page to calculate the TDEE. It does NOT say what that 15%-20% you are subtracting is equal to. It just says subtract 15%-20% of your body weight to give you how many calories to eat and then break the remaining calories into macros. 20% of your TDEE is only going to be 480 calories, which will have you losing 1 lb. per week. If someone who had a TDEE of 2000 (which is me), following this advice I'd be eating at a deficit of 400 calories which would leave me somewhat less than 1 lb. per week. It's not an agressive goal for most people unless they are already within a healthy weight. At 264 lbs. (and you want to lose 100) you can do a more agressive goal of 2 lbs. per week which would be eating 1400 calories per day.
I have my details in MFP but it has given me a completely different number altogether different to all of the calculators I have used. My daily goal on MFP is 1720 a day ( with the same information as I put into the other calculators) + exercise calories. So I don’t know what to follow and how to change my daily goal on MFP if I have to follow one of the other calculators
The difference is the exercise calories. MFP does not count the exercise calories. In the other calculators you have to do the exercise that you said you do and eat that number of calories. If you don't do that exercise then you will gain weight. I like MFP because exercise is NOT included in the calorie allotment. If I do exercise I just eat the calories back that it tells me. If I don't exercise I don't have to do anything different, I just eat what the daily allotment is.3 -
ladyhusker39 wrote: »The discrepancy between MFP and TDEE is in the activity level you set up which doesn't include exercise whereas the TDEE calculator does.
What did you set your activity level to in MFP (I'm guessing sedentary based on the numbers)? How active are you daily?
Also, how tall are you? I believe you're female, right?
I am 5ft 6 and yes female0 -
ladyhusker39 wrote: »liannebaker17 wrote: »liannebaker17 wrote: »ladyhusker39 wrote: »First off, a 2 lb/wk weight loss is 1000 calorie deficit *(1000 calories less than you burn in total), not a percentage of your TDEE. What are your stats? Age, current weight, height, goal weight?
The information you put into MFP and the TDEE calculator are not consistent so you're not getting results that make sense.
Give us some more details and we'll see if someone here can't help clear it up for you.
Edited: to clarify calorie deficit *
Hi thanks for the reply I used the IIFym ( I think) calculator and it said to subtract 20% from my TDEE which takes me back to the BMR they gave me.
Age 27 current weight 264Lbs goal weight of 154lbs
I’ve read so much on BMR and TDEE with weight loss and i still can’t get my head around it
BMR - basal resting metabolism - what your body needs to stay alive at rest
TDEE - total daily energy expenditure - what your body uses in a day, taking into account not only BMR but your exercise and non exercise activity.
Subtract calories from TDEE number to create a deficit for weight loss. If subtracting 20% of TDEE leads you to your BMR level, that's probably too high a deficit. All that being said, the numbers are educated guesses all the way around. Maybe it would be simpler to aim for a 500 calorie deficit and keep data for 4-6 weeks, and then adjust accordingly.
So based on the calculator above that will mean eating around 2277 calories a day to loose weight that doesn’t seem right, I wouldn’t eat that many calories a day I would just be eating for the sake of making sure I meet my deficit.
This is correct. However, it's for 1 lb/wk as it's a 500 calorie/day deficit. Makes sense. If you wan to go for 2 lbs/wk you'd need to eat about 1777. Which is what is pretty close to what MFP is giving you, verifying that MFP is actually right (by a 50 calorie margin of error).
I'd recommend sticking with what MFP tells you and don't worry about BMR/TDEE, etc. You're just confusing yourself unnecessarily. Get started simply and learn as you go along so you don't get overwhelmed and frustrated.
Given your starting weight, and considering you are looking to lose 100 lbs, 2 lbs per week is a reasonable goal.
I would stick with the MFP recommendation and not use BMR TDEE for now.
Give it a month and then reassess based on your progress. You may actually lose a little more per week in the first month or two. A formula I have seen thrown around is 1% of your body weight per week.0 -
Let's get common definitions (maybe a little simplified
):
BMR = basal metabolic rate, basically what you'd burn in a coma.
TDEE = total daily energy expenditure, basically what you burn daily doing everything you do, BMR, work, chores, hobbies, fidgeting, intentional exercise, etc.
MFP calorie goal = estimate of what you burn daily via everything in TDEE except intentional exercise (MFP expects you to log that separately and eat it back) minus 500 calories daily for every pound per week you said you wanted to lose . . . but never less than 1500 for men or 1200 for women (i.e., if you're trying to lose weight so fast you won't get basic nutrition, MFP will try to stop you).
NEAT = non-exercise activity thermogenesis, which is the estimate MFP made before it subtracted calories based on weight loss goal, so, an estimate of what you burn daily via everything in TDEE except intentional exercise.
I think part of your of your confusion comes from 3 things.
1. Not clearly understanding the terms. Since MFP starts with a NEAT estimate (which excludes exercise), it will give a materially lower daily calorie estimate for maintenance than a TDEE calculator (which includes exercise). The difference us estimated exercise.
2. Believing that MFP and TDEE "calculators" give you "truths" when they actually give you statistical estimates using formulas based on averages from large-group population studies, and that different calculators may be based on different formulas/studies thus give different results, even for the same variable (TDEE vs. NEAT).
3. Possibly not understanding that your MFP calorie goal already subtracted calories from your NEAT, i.e., calculated in a weight loss calorie deficit.
You have a couple of main valid choices, either of which will require a trial period followed by adjustment based on your actual results:
1. Set up your MFP profile with a sensible weight loss rate, and adhere to that calorie goal, logging exercise separately and eating back at least a chunk of those calories, too (50% is a common starting recommendation)
2. Use a TDEE calculator to estimate TDEE, then subtract at most 20%, set your MFP calorie goal manually to that result, and eat that goal, but don't separaterly log exercise. If you do this, be sure to do the workouts you put into the calculator.
Either way, since you started with an estimate of TDEE or NEAT, you stay the course for 4-6 weeks, then adjust based on your personal results, since you're a unique individual human, not a statistical average.
Hope that helps. Best wishes!7 -
Let's get common definitions (maybe a little simplified ):
BMR = basal metabolic rate, basically what you'd burn in a coma.
TDEE = total daily energy expenditure, basically what you burn daily doing everything you do, BMR, work, chores, hobbies, fidgeting, intentional exercise, etc.
MFP calorie goal = estimate of what you burn daily via everything in TDEE except intentional exercise (MFP expects you to log that separately and eat it back) minus 500 calories daily for every pound per week you said you wanted to lose . . . but never less than 1500 for men or 1200 for women (i.e., if you're trying to lose weight so fast you won't get basic nutrition, MFP will try to stop you).
NEAT = non-exercise activity thermogenesis, which is the estimate MFP made before it subtracted calories based on weight loss goal, so, an estimate of what you burn daily via everything in TDEE except intentional exercise.
I think part of your of your confusion comes from 3 things.
1. Not clearly understanding the terms. Since MFP starts with a NEAT estimate (which excludes exercise), it will give a materially lower daily calorie estimate for maintenance than a TDEE calculator (which includes exercise). The difference us estimated exercise.
2. Believing that MFP and TDEE "calculators" give you "truths" when they actually give you statistical estimates using formulas based on averages from large-group population studies, and that different calculators may be based on different formulas/studies thus give different results, even for the same variable (TDEE vs. NEAT).
3. Possibly not understanding that your MFP calorie goal already subtracted calories from your NEAT, i.e., calculated in a weight loss calorie deficit.
You have a couple of main valid choices, either of which will require a trial period followed by adjustment based on your actual results:
1. Set up your MFP profile with a sensible weight loss rate, and adhere to that calorie goal, logging exercise separately and eating back at least a chunk of those calories, too (50% is a common starting recommendation)
2. Use a TDEE calculator to estimate TDEE, then subtract at most 20%, set your MFP calorie goal manually to that result, and eat that goal, but don't separaterly log exercise. If you do this, be sure to do the workouts you put into the calculator.
Either way, since you started with an estimate of TDEE or NEAT, you stay the course for 4-6 weeks, then adjust based on your personal results, since you're a unique individual human, not a statistical average.
Hope that helps. Best wishes!
If I go by MFP and eating back 50% of exercise calories do I set my exercise to sedentary and add them from my Fitbit as I go? Or do I keep it already set to lightly active plus it’s adding my calories from my Fitbit and eating 50% of those back?0 -
Let's get common definitions (maybe a little simplified ):
BMR = basal metabolic rate, basically what you'd burn in a coma.
TDEE = total daily energy expenditure, basically what you burn daily doing everything you do, BMR, work, chores, hobbies, fidgeting, intentional exercise, etc.
MFP calorie goal = estimate of what you burn daily via everything in TDEE except intentional exercise (MFP expects you to log that separately and eat it back) minus 500 calories daily for every pound per week you said you wanted to lose . . . but never less than 1500 for men or 1200 for women (i.e., if you're trying to lose weight so fast you won't get basic nutrition, MFP will try to stop you).
NEAT = non-exercise activity thermogenesis, which is the estimate MFP made before it subtracted calories based on weight loss goal, so, an estimate of what you burn daily via everything in TDEE except intentional exercise.
I think part of your of your confusion comes from 3 things.
1. Not clearly understanding the terms. Since MFP starts with a NEAT estimate (which excludes exercise), it will give a materially lower daily calorie estimate for maintenance than a TDEE calculator (which includes exercise). The difference us estimated exercise.
2. Believing that MFP and TDEE "calculators" give you "truths" when they actually give you statistical estimates using formulas based on averages from large-group population studies, and that different calculators may be based on different formulas/studies thus give different results, even for the same variable (TDEE vs. NEAT).
3. Possibly not understanding that your MFP calorie goal already subtracted calories from your NEAT, i.e., calculated in a weight loss calorie deficit.
You have a couple of main valid choices, either of which will require a trial period followed by adjustment based on your actual results:
1. Set up your MFP profile with a sensible weight loss rate, and adhere to that calorie goal, logging exercise separately and eating back at least a chunk of those calories, too (50% is a common starting recommendation)
2. Use a TDEE calculator to estimate TDEE, then subtract at most 20%, set your MFP calorie goal manually to that result, and eat that goal, but don't separaterly log exercise. If you do this, be sure to do the workouts you put into the calculator.
Either way, since you started with an estimate of TDEE or NEAT, you stay the course for 4-6 weeks, then adjust based on your personal results, since you're a unique individual human, not a statistical average.
Hope that helps. Best wishes!
Great explanation
3 -
ladyhusker39 wrote: »liannebaker17 wrote: »liannebaker17 wrote: »ladyhusker39 wrote: »First off, a 2 lb/wk weight loss is 1000 calorie deficit *(1000 calories less than you burn in total), not a percentage of your TDEE. What are your stats? Age, current weight, height, goal weight?
The information you put into MFP and the TDEE calculator are not consistent so you're not getting results that make sense.
Give us some more details and we'll see if someone here can't help clear it up for you.
Edited: to clarify calorie deficit *
Hi thanks for the reply I used the IIFym ( I think) calculator and it said to subtract 20% from my TDEE which takes me back to the BMR they gave me.
Age 27 current weight 264Lbs goal weight of 154lbs
I’ve read so much on BMR and TDEE with weight loss and i still can’t get my head around it
BMR - basal resting metabolism - what your body needs to stay alive at rest
TDEE - total daily energy expenditure - what your body uses in a day, taking into account not only BMR but your exercise and non exercise activity.
Subtract calories from TDEE number to create a deficit for weight loss. If subtracting 20% of TDEE leads you to your BMR level, that's probably too high a deficit. All that being said, the numbers are educated guesses all the way around. Maybe it would be simpler to aim for a 500 calorie deficit and keep data for 4-6 weeks, and then adjust accordingly.
So based on the calculator above that will mean eating around 2277 calories a day to loose weight that doesn’t seem right, I wouldn’t eat that many calories a day I would just be eating for the sake of making sure I meet my deficit.
This is correct. However, it's for 1 lb/wk as it's a 500 calorie/day deficit. Makes sense. If you wan to go for 2 lbs/wk you'd need to eat about 1777. Which is what is pretty close to what MFP is giving you, verifying that MFP is actually right (by a 50 calorie margin of error).
I'd recommend sticking with what MFP tells you and don't worry about BMR/TDEE, etc. You're just confusing yourself unnecessarily. Get started simply and learn as you go along so you don't get overwhelmed and frustrated.
Given your starting weight, and considering you are looking to lose 100 lbs, 2 lbs per week is a reasonable goal.
I would stick with the MFP recommendation and not use BMR TDEE for now.
Give it a month and then reassess based on your progress. You may actually lose a little more per week in the first month or two. A formula I have seen thrown around is 1% of your body weight per week.
I have my activity level set to lightly active , do I leave it set to this an eat back calories transferred over from my Fitbit or do I set to not active and eat the exercise calories back?0 -
liannebaker17 wrote: »Let's get common definitions (maybe a little simplified ):
BMR = basal metabolic rate, basically what you'd burn in a coma.
TDEE = total daily energy expenditure, basically what you burn daily doing everything you do, BMR, work, chores, hobbies, fidgeting, intentional exercise, etc.
MFP calorie goal = estimate of what you burn daily via everything in TDEE except intentional exercise (MFP expects you to log that separately and eat it back) minus 500 calories daily for every pound per week you said you wanted to lose . . . but never less than 1500 for men or 1200 for women (i.e., if you're trying to lose weight so fast you won't get basic nutrition, MFP will try to stop you).
NEAT = non-exercise activity thermogenesis, which is the estimate MFP made before it subtracted calories based on weight loss goal, so, an estimate of what you burn daily via everything in TDEE except intentional exercise.
I think part of your of your confusion comes from 3 things.
1. Not clearly understanding the terms. Since MFP starts with a NEAT estimate (which excludes exercise), it will give a materially lower daily calorie estimate for maintenance than a TDEE calculator (which includes exercise). The difference us estimated exercise.
2. Believing that MFP and TDEE "calculators" give you "truths" when they actually give you statistical estimates using formulas based on averages from large-group population studies, and that different calculators may be based on different formulas/studies thus give different results, even for the same variable (TDEE vs. NEAT).
3. Possibly not understanding that your MFP calorie goal already subtracted calories from your NEAT, i.e., calculated in a weight loss calorie deficit.
You have a couple of main valid choices, either of which will require a trial period followed by adjustment based on your actual results:
1. Set up your MFP profile with a sensible weight loss rate, and adhere to that calorie goal, logging exercise separately and eating back at least a chunk of those calories, too (50% is a common starting recommendation)
2. Use a TDEE calculator to estimate TDEE, then subtract at most 20%, set your MFP calorie goal manually to that result, and eat that goal, but don't separaterly log exercise. If you do this, be sure to do the workouts you put into the calculator.
Either way, since you started with an estimate of TDEE or NEAT, you stay the course for 4-6 weeks, then adjust based on your personal results, since you're a unique individual human, not a statistical average.
Hope that helps. Best wishes!
If I go by MFP and eating back 50% of exercise calories do I set my exercise to sedentary and add them from my Fitbit as I go? Or do I keep it already set to lightly active plus it’s adding my calories from my Fitbit and eating 50% of those back?
Sorry: I hope someone else will take your Fitbit question. I don't use one.0 -
I believe you leave it at lightly active as this refers to your general level of activity without intentional exercise.
Someone working a construction job, for instance would need to set this higher. Then you eat back calories transferred over from Fitbit or entered manually.
One piece of advice I would give is be conservative in what you eat back. It is easy to overestimate calorie burn, even with a Fitbit.
Like others have said, maybe eat back 50% of calories, and see how that goes. If you are not hitting your goal loss, or losing too quickly, adjust accordingly.0 -
liannebaker17 wrote: »Let's get common definitions (maybe a little simplified ):
BMR = basal metabolic rate, basically what you'd burn in a coma.
TDEE = total daily energy expenditure, basically what you burn daily doing everything you do, BMR, work, chores, hobbies, fidgeting, intentional exercise, etc.
MFP calorie goal = estimate of what you burn daily via everything in TDEE except intentional exercise (MFP expects you to log that separately and eat it back) minus 500 calories daily for every pound per week you said you wanted to lose . . . but never less than 1500 for men or 1200 for women (i.e., if you're trying to lose weight so fast you won't get basic nutrition, MFP will try to stop you).
NEAT = non-exercise activity thermogenesis, which is the estimate MFP made before it subtracted calories based on weight loss goal, so, an estimate of what you burn daily via everything in TDEE except intentional exercise.
I think part of your of your confusion comes from 3 things.
1. Not clearly understanding the terms. Since MFP starts with a NEAT estimate (which excludes exercise), it will give a materially lower daily calorie estimate for maintenance than a TDEE calculator (which includes exercise). The difference us estimated exercise.
2. Believing that MFP and TDEE "calculators" give you "truths" when they actually give you statistical estimates using formulas based on averages from large-group population studies, and that different calculators may be based on different formulas/studies thus give different results, even for the same variable (TDEE vs. NEAT).
3. Possibly not understanding that your MFP calorie goal already subtracted calories from your NEAT, i.e., calculated in a weight loss calorie deficit.
You have a couple of main valid choices, either of which will require a trial period followed by adjustment based on your actual results:
1. Set up your MFP profile with a sensible weight loss rate, and adhere to that calorie goal, logging exercise separately and eating back at least a chunk of those calories, too (50% is a common starting recommendation)
2. Use a TDEE calculator to estimate TDEE, then subtract at most 20%, set your MFP calorie goal manually to that result, and eat that goal, but don't separaterly log exercise. If you do this, be sure to do the workouts you put into the calculator.
Either way, since you started with an estimate of TDEE or NEAT, you stay the course for 4-6 weeks, then adjust based on your personal results, since you're a unique individual human, not a statistical average.
Hope that helps. Best wishes!
If I go by MFP and eating back 50% of exercise calories do I set my exercise to sedentary and add them from my Fitbit as I go? Or do I keep it already set to lightly active plus it’s adding my calories from my Fitbit and eating 50% of those back?
Ok, first of all, make sure both your fitbit and MFP are both set to the same level of activity. (lightly active in your case)
Don't eat the fitbit calories back for the first little while and monitor your loss. If you are losing too quickly, start by eating 1/2 of the fitbit calories back.
It takes time to get it all figured out, but you'll do great!4
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