Scooby calculator

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zfitgal
zfitgal Posts: 478 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi, has anyone ever used the scooby calculator to measure their tdee? If so...when it says exercise, its states 1-3 hours or extreme cardio exercise per week, 3-5 hours of extreme cardio exercise per week, 5-6 hours of extreme cardio per week and then 7-21 hours of extreme cardio per week...i do cardio 3 days a week and weight train 4...what should my activity level be?

Replies

  • sal10851
    sal10851 Posts: 171 Member
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    I don't even count strength training as calories burned. You burn more calories by walking than most strength training exercises. Every mile burns between 100 to 150 calories depending on your size and level of effort. Unless you are burning more than 300 calories per cardio session I honestly wouldn't even count it. I burn between 400 to 500 calories per cardio session which is usually about an hour 7 days per week. I jog twice per week and I love walking so it's literally a walk in the park for me. Walking is very underated as a cardio exercise. The reality is that cardio exercises your heart which is the most important muscle. It's not as sexy as abs and biceps but it will keep you alive.
  • zfitgal
    zfitgal Posts: 478 Member
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    Weight lifting burns and then there is after burn...
  • zfitgal
    zfitgal Posts: 478 Member
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    Especially when bodybuilding
  • L1zardQueen
    L1zardQueen Posts: 8,754 Member
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    How many hours per week do you workout?
  • zfitgal
    zfitgal Posts: 478 Member
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    L1zardQueen wrote: »
    How many hours per week do you workout?

    6 hours a week.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,429 Member
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    I don't see how that's helpful, unless a person does "strenuous cardio", whatever the heck that is to them. Maybe try Sailrabbit, which I think has slightly more useful descriptions: https://www.sailrabbit.com/bmr/

    @heybales' Just TDEE spreadsheet is also a good option, but I don't have it bookmarked. Maybe he'll notice being mentioned, and offer a link.

    Yeah, strength training burns calories, but less than a person might hope, even considering the afterburn.
    sal10851 wrote: »
    I don't even count strength training as calories burned. You burn more calories by walking than most strength training exercises. Every mile burns between 100 to 150 calories depending on your size and level of effort. Unless you are burning more than 300 calories per cardio session I honestly wouldn't even count it. I burn between 400 to 500 calories per cardio session which is usually about an hour 7 days per week. I jog twice per week and I love walking so it's literally a walk in the park for me. Walking is very underated as a cardio exercise. The reality is that cardio exercises your heart which is the most important muscle. It's not as sexy as abs and biceps but it will keep you alive.

    Since OP is asking about TDEE, the idea of estimating exercise separately (and adding or not adding it) isn't really a consideration.

    As an aside, If someone's doing MFP's NEAT method, as it sound like you are, and I definitely am, then not eating 300 calories of exercise (or somewhat less) is . . . odd, IMO. If I didn't eat the 250 or so calories of exercise (today, 288), I'd lose weight at around half a pound a week . . . which is not exactly a great idea, here in year 5 of maintenance, y'know. It can be useful, for a person doing NEAT method, who plans to continue, to learn to account for exercise calories with reasonable accuracy during weight loss, while there's that cushion of deficit to soften any mistakes along the way. Just my opinion, though.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    edited October 2020
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    Scooby's is based on the same rather old research study formula from 1919.
    ETA - it doesn't "measure" your TDEE - considering how much input you are providing it right or wrong - it calculates an estimate - they all do.

    At least he gives means of using a better BMR estimate based on BF% (Katch) instead of just Harris.

    But is exercise the only difference between you and someone else - what about daily activity levels not mentioned in those TDEE calc's?

    Just TDEE Please spreadsheet - better than rough 5 level TDEE charts from 1919 study.
    https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1G7FgNzPq3v5WMjDtH0n93LXSMRY_hjmzNTMJb3aZSxM/edit?usp=sharing
  • yuko0407
    yuko0407 Posts: 67 Member
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    @heybales Great worksheet! Thanks for sharing!
  • zfitgal
    zfitgal Posts: 478 Member
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    heybales wrote: »
    Scooby's is based on the same rather old research study formula from 1919.
    ETA - it doesn't "measure" your TDEE - considering how much input you are providing it right or wrong - it calculates an estimate - they all do.

    At least he gives means of using a better BMR estimate based on BF% (Katch) instead of just Harris.

    But is exercise the only difference between you and someone else - what about daily activity levels not mentioned in those TDEE calc's?

    Just TDEE Please spreadsheet - better than rough 5 level TDEE charts from 1919 study.
    https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1G7FgNzPq3v5WMjDtH0n93LXSMRY_hjmzNTMJb3aZSxM/edit?usp=sharing

    I'm pretty a tive during the day about 10 thousand steps without exercise, sometimes maybe more. I was doing very strenuous cardio for 1 hour 3 days a week but I was told by my dr that I have to stop all cardio at this point...my dr told me my body is starting...im depleted of nutrients and minerals. T3 is low. Digestions off. Everything off. I just changed my activity level to active and thats 500 calories more that I am sure I should have been eating this entire time, but if increase right now ill gain so much weight...my body will hold onto everything. I'm already 20 pounds up due to this situation on a calorie diet for so long...what should I do? I want to heel myself but I dont want to gain 20 more pounds....help
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    So you had a deficit and were losing weight?

    Then eating more will mean you won't be losing weight - which is what you need now.
    You did it wrong before, good job on being willing to do it better now.

    Remember that first week big weight loss?
    Mainly water weight.
    You'll gain that back. You were going to sometime, so no big whoop.
    You've probably gained a lot of stress induced water weight.
    Help the stress to drop, water weight will drop.

    And just to wrap your mind around it - it wasn't the cardio, it was the deficit you created that caused the problem.
    You could have eaten more when you did more.

    Eat 100 extra daily for a week.
    Next week 100 extra daily more.
    Repeat until eating at maintenance.
    Many find the reduction of stress on body at some point drops a lot of water weight.

    Unless you want to attempt a diet right now and drag this thing out for a very long time.

    Your body will hold onto what it needs, it will burn what it needs. There is no change to what the body does, like it's not going to hold onto everything compared to whatever that means prior.

    What are you using that is giving steps?

    So it really sounds like from your last few sentences you gotta make the mind over - is your health more important than a number on a scale no one sees or knows about unless you tell them?

    If the latter is - I can almost guarantee that the attitude to allow that, will cause you to maybe not reach goal, and if you do won't be able to maintain it. And you'll be doing this again next year or down the road.
    And again, and again.
    You can read stories on here from women that have spent most their lives with a terrible relationship with their bodies and food yo-yo dieting their life away, sometimes not even having that serious of health issues as you have reached.
    You don't have to go down that road, but need to give it some thought.

    After the diet break approaching it differently will be required though. Reasonable rate of loss for amount to lose.
    Except now your body may be more sensitive and more easily stressed, so reasonable for you now may be slower.
  • briscogun
    briscogun Posts: 1,135 Member
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    False advertising on this thread title. Thought I was gonna get this:
    NINTCHDBPICT000536074229-e1572807808559.jpg?strip=all&w=612
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    To add, since scale weight is merely one measurement that doesn't always tell a whole story, or even the best story - if not already measuring several spots, start now.

    So even if water weight keeps going up, those other measurements can help the brain know you aren't gaining that many if any inches, and not where it matters.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,429 Member
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    heybales wrote: »
    So you had a deficit and were losing weight?

    Then eating more will mean you won't be losing weight - which is what you need now.
    You did it wrong before, good job on being willing to do it better now.

    Remember that first week big weight loss?
    Mainly water weight.
    You'll gain that back. You were going to sometime, so no big whoop.
    You've probably gained a lot of stress induced water weight.
    Help the stress to drop, water weight will drop.

    And just to wrap your mind around it - it wasn't the cardio, it was the deficit you created that caused the problem.
    You could have eaten more when you did more.

    Eat 100 extra daily for a week.
    Next week 100 extra daily more.
    Repeat until eating at maintenance.
    Many find the reduction of stress on body at some point drops a lot of water weight.

    Unless you want to attempt a diet right now and drag this thing out for a very long time.

    Your body will hold onto what it needs, it will burn what it needs. There is no change to what the body does, like it's not going to hold onto everything compared to whatever that means prior.

    What are you using that is giving steps?

    So it really sounds like from your last few sentences you gotta make the mind over - is your health more important than a number on a scale no one sees or knows about unless you tell them?

    If the latter is - I can almost guarantee that the attitude to allow that, will cause you to maybe not reach goal, and if you do won't be able to maintain it. And you'll be doing this again next year or down the road.
    And again, and again.
    You can read stories on here from women that have spent most their lives with a terrible relationship with their bodies and food yo-yo dieting their life away, sometimes not even having that serious of health issues as you have reached.
    You don't have to go down that road, but need to give it some thought.

    After the diet break approaching it differently will be required though. Reasonable rate of loss for amount to lose.
    Except now your body may be more sensitive and more easily stressed, so reasonable for you now may be slower.

    QFT, and not just truth, but also the best kind of clear, tough-love brilliance. Thanks, heybales - I always enjoy your posts, but this one is IMO extra good.
  • zfitgal
    zfitgal Posts: 478 Member
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    heybales wrote: »
    So you had a deficit and were losing weight?

    Then eating more will mean you won't be losing weight - which is what you need now.
    You did it wrong before, good job on being willing to do it better now.

    Remember that first week big weight loss?
    Mainly water weight.
    You'll gain that back. You were going to sometime, so no big whoop.
    You've probably gained a lot of stress induced water weight.
    Help the stress to drop, water weight will drop.

    And just to wrap your mind around it - it wasn't the cardio, it was the deficit you created that caused the problem.
    You could have eaten more when you did more.

    Eat 100 extra daily for a week.
    Next week 100 extra daily more.
    Repeat until eating at maintenance.
    Many find the reduction of stress on body at some point drops a lot of water weight.

    Unless you want to attempt a diet right now and drag this thing out for a very long time.

    Your body will hold onto what it needs, it will burn what it needs. There is no change to what the body does, like it's not going to hold onto everything compared to whatever that means prior.

    What are you using that is giving steps?

    So it really sounds like from your last few sentences you gotta make the mind over - is your health more important than a number on a scale no one sees or knows about unless you tell them?

    If the latter is - I can almost guarantee that the attitude to allow that, will cause you to maybe not reach goal, and if you do won't be able to maintain it. And you'll be doing this again next year or down the road.
    And again, and again.
    You can read stories on here from women that have spent most their lives with a terrible relationship with their bodies and food yo-yo dieting their life away, sometimes not even having that serious of health issues as you have reached.
    You don't have to go down that road, but need to give it some thought.

    After the diet break approaching it differently will be required though. Reasonable rate of loss for amount to lose.
    Except now your body may be more sensitive and more easily stressed, so reasonable for you now may be slower.

    I was maintaining 15% fat for years...i went through a very bad divorce which througj my entire body out of whack...my central nervous system was off. I would start shaking with any type of exercise I did. I finally got back to myself but it took so long and then covid hit. I started doing shaunt insanity everyday at home, an hour each day which I believe was putting alot of stress on my body plus I had access to a gym so I was still heavy lifting eat 1660, thats when my whole body took a turn for the first....thats when I started gaining weight, developing digestive issues...i want to put my health first and I know in going to gain weight increasing calories but im so embarrassed. The gym was a place I called home. I identified with it, now I'm 15 pounds up and I know the weoght will continue until my body tells me its good...Im embarrassed to go to the gym and see ppl presenting myself like this when this is not me. I want to get back to feeling and being me again.

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