BMR TDEE help
Replies
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For what it's worth, when I was using Fitbit, I set MFP to sedentary and used MFP for all activity calories.0
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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
That's because MFP doesn't include exercise, but the other calculators do.
Since this is confusing for you at the moment, try MFP. Track and eat your exercise calories. See what happens.0 -
Marilyn0924 wrote: »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!
Thank you ! X0 -
This is my day so far, do I need to meet my goal for calories today? Just had dinner and feeling pretty satisfied. I’m almost scared to use my calories for “treats” as following SW for so long I would have to use a weeks worth of “syns” to make up to my calorie goal resulting in a weight gain.0
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liannebaker17 wrote: »This is my day so far, do I need to meet my goal for calories today? Just had dinner and feeling pretty satisfied. I’m almost scared to use my calories for “treats” as following SW for so long I would have to use a weeks worth of “syns” to make up to my calorie goal resulting in a weight gain.
Yes. Eating 783 calories is not enough.
If if were a rare, rare, thing - if you were ill, say - maybe it would be OK. But the fact that you think it even might be OK suggests it's not a rare thing. You should eat more. I'd suggest at least another 1000-1500 calories of food.
You haven't had enough protein to preserve your muscles - not even close. You haven't had enough fats for good digestive health, good hormone production, absorption of fat-soluble vitamins, or for heathy cell membranes. You haven't had enough calories.
Don't eat things like "Light and Free", if you're having trouble eating enough calories. Eat full-fat dairy. Eat avocados. Eat more meat. Eat nuts. You can eat treats if you wish, but you can also eat nutritious, calorie-dense foods if you prefer.
I care, truly. I want to see you be strong, healthy, beautiful in all ways, and thriving. Eating so little is a path in the opposite direction.6 -
16k steps without any of them getting logged separately is just around the top end of MFP VERY ACTIVE.
Indoors/in place/in one or two long bouts would lower the value.
Walking at deliberate exercise speed outdoors/with inclines and frequently in >10min bouts would increase the value.0 -
16k steps without any of them getting logged separately is just around the top end of MFP VERY ACTIVE.
Indoors/in place/in one or two long bouts would lower the value.
Walking at deliberate exercise speed outdoors/with inclines and frequently in >10min bouts would increase the value.
I don’t get what you mean0 -
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!
Hey! I have one question about your answer, something that I am having a hard time figuring out. You said to eat back a chunk of your workout calories. What if you have no earthly idea how to estimate what you have burned? Are you saying to go with MFP estimates for calories burned and eat half of that back?
NEAT puts my net calorie goal at 1750 and BMR/TDEE is around 2000 - 2100 depending on the site to lose 1 lb/week.
Thanks so much!0 -
liannebaker17 wrote: »16k steps without any of them getting logged separately is just around the top end of MFP VERY ACTIVE.
Indoors/in place/in one or two long bouts would lower the value.
Walking at deliberate exercise speed outdoors/with inclines and frequently in >10min bouts would increase the value.
I don’t get what you mean
Upthread someone mentioned 16k steps is lightly active or sedentary or something like that.
Data point: it isn't. It's at or above the upper limits of what mfp captures in the activity level of "very active"
Further data point: how the steps are acquired also matters.
That, in conjunction with accuracy of intake logging and whether you are a statistical outlier, determines whether 16k steps are within or above the very active level.3 -
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!
Hey! I have one question about your answer, something that I am having a hard time figuring out. You said to eat back a chunk of your workout calories. What if you have no earthly idea how to estimate what you have burned? Are you saying to go with MFP estimates for calories burned and eat half of that back?
NEAT puts my net calorie goal at 1750 and BMR/TDEE is around 2000 - 2100 depending on the site to lose 1 lb/week.
Thanks so much!
If the MFP exercise database is the best option you have, sure, use that and eat 50%. Keep in mind that in 4-6 weeks, if you're losing too fast or too slowly, you will adjust your calorie goal based on your actual weight loss results.
Do wait that 4-6 weeks though, unless you lose so fast that you feel weak, fatigued or have other negative health symptoms. The first few weeks of weight loss are often very uneven. It can start out extra fast or extra slow, but after 4-6 weeks (6 for premenopausal women) it should start leveling off enough to get an approximate average weekly loss that's at least a little bit sensible.
Personally, when I started losing weight, I compared as many different probably-reputable exercise calorie estimating methods as I could, thought about the limitations of each for mt various activities, and estimated conservatively . . . then ate pretty much all of the calories back. I lost weight fine. I'm still doing it the same way, now in year 3 of maintenance. But, since I know others have struggled more with exercise estimates, I advise people to start with 50%.
You know what exercise calorie estimate is guaranteed to be completely inaccurate? Eating back zero.
Best wishes!1 -
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!
Hey! I have one question about your answer, something that I am having a hard time figuring out. You said to eat back a chunk of your workout calories. What if you have no earthly idea how to estimate what you have burned? Are you saying to go with MFP estimates for calories burned and eat half of that back?
NEAT puts my net calorie goal at 1750 and BMR/TDEE is around 2000 - 2100 depending on the site to lose 1 lb/week.
Thanks so much!
If the MFP exercise database is the best option you have, sure, use that and eat 50%. Keep in mind that in 4-6 weeks, if you're losing too fast or too slowly, you will adjust your calorie goal based on your actual weight loss results.
Do wait that 4-6 weeks though, unless you lose so fast that you feel weak, fatigued or have other negative health symptoms. The first few weeks of weight loss are often very uneven. It can start out extra fast or extra slow, but after 4-6 weeks (6 for premenopausal women) it should start leveling off enough to get an approximate average weekly loss that's at least a little bit sensible.
Personally, when I started losing weight, I compared as many different probably-reputable exercise calorie estimating methods as I could, thought about the limitations of each for mt various activities, and estimated conservatively . . . then ate pretty much all of the calories back. I lost weight fine. I'm still doing it the same way, now in year 3 of maintenance. But, since I know others have struggled more with exercise estimates, I advise people to start with 50%.
You know what exercise calorie estimate is guaranteed to be completely inaccurate? Eating back zero.
Best wishes!
I appreciate your response! Yes, it hasn't exactly been a steady thing, which I know is normal. I lost 8 lbs in January, then added in more consistent exercise and have gained 3 back in February. I know it's either water retention or i am not being accurate enough in my calorie estimates. I have upped the wine intake as well (still in my calories, and definitely not 3 lbs of fat worth, lol).
I have the in-laws in town this week, so a few obstacles to overcome. Getting my workouts completed on my lunch hour, but dinner is made before i get home from work (no measuring or knowing exactly what is in the food), and more going out celebrations.
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