TDEE is everything

i think the way MFP sets up weight loss for the beginner is atrocious. Eating back poorly estimated exercise calories and setting most peoples daily calorie goal below BMR is terrible. No wonder 1/3 posts on this site is about stalling out. People leave themselves no where to go. Most of them exercise 5 times a week so its tough to add another day of exercise, and you sure as hell can reduce their calories anymore.

According to this I should be eating 1500 calories a day to maintain my weight. That is way lower than MFP says.
This may be a stupid question, but at 1500 a day would I NOT eat back my exercise calories, because that doesnt sound right, but I entered in the days I would be working out.

Anyone? Because if I am suppose to net 1500, I am way over eating

1500 a day is NOT way over eating.... read this thread below.....

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/506349-women-who-eat-more-than-1800-calories-a-day

I mean I am over eating. I am set to 1470 a day, but I eat back my calories and workout hard everyday. So I eat like 1700-1900 calories a day. If I am only suppose to be at 1500 even though I workout then no wonder I am gaining weight. However 1500 total no matter how hard I workout seems kinda low.

Well according to my calculations based on the equations for TDEE I have been eating TOO much. MFP estimated my TDEE to be 2020 calories a day but based on the equations it comes out to 1608 calories a day.

Well according to my calculations based on the equations for TDEE I have been eating TOO much. MFP estimated my TDEE to be 2020 calories a day but based on the equations it comes out to 1608 calories a day.

Well according to my calculations based on the equations for TDEE I have been eating TOO much. MFP estimated my TDEE to be 2020 calories a day but based on the equations it comes out to 1608 calories a day.

MFP does not have a TDEE calculator

If you are honest in the Activity Calculator AND you choose "Maintain My Weight" as your GOAL, you will be given your (approximate) TDEE as your calorie goal.

I wouldn't say the IF calculator at http://www.1percentedge.com/ifcalc/ is pure trash but it's roughly 90% accurate. Nothing is 100%, not even a Bodybugg or BM Fit. The calculator you posted is decent but it's also not 100%. It also instructs people to eat less on a rest day, and more on a training day which isn't necessary.

You can take the weekly TDEE average, do the quick math, and then eat the same amount every day and it will be just as effective as switching your calorie intake depending on rest/training days.

When dieting and either trying to lose weight or even gain weight if you are bulking, the most important aspect of your plan is knowing your TDEE. You cannot proceed forward and make progress for the long term without knowing what this is, how to obtain it, and what to do with it.

TDEE = Total Daily Energy Expedenture

TDEE is basically how many calories you burn in a 24 hour period. This is all of your activity including exercises, eating, sleeping, driving a car and yelling at stupid drivers on the highway...whatever it is. If you're doing something, you're burning calories. In all actuality even if you're just sitting down at a desk you're still burning, just not as much.

In order to avoid making this thread a TL;DR thread, I'll be quick and simple. (no snide comments please and you know who you are)

Example to lose weight:

Take a weekly average of your TDEE. Let's pretend you use a Bodymedia FIT and you burn 3000 calories on your workout days (5 days a week), and 2500 calories on your rest days (2 days a week). This would be a weekly average of 20,000 calories for the week.

For the mathematically challenged that's: 3000x5 = 15,000 and 2500x2 = 5000 which equals 20,000. (Yes I really had to break this down for some people)

Moving on....

You are burning 20,000 calories per week. This is your WEEKLY TDEE. Let's pretend you want to lose 1lb a week. Since 1lb is 3,500 calories then you do the math (again):

20,000 - 3,500 = 16,500

This means that you need to eat 16,500 calories PER WEEK in order to lose 1lb for that week. If you are really bored and just don't care, you could technically eat 16,500 calories in ONE DAY and not eat anything the rest of the week and still lose 1lb although you will be completely miserable and you'd probably end up extremely sick if not comatose...but anyways.

Normal people will break this down to eating roughly 2350 calories per day and they will still lose 1lb a week. In order to minimize muscle loss you will need to eat approximately 1g of protein per lb of lean body mass, or if you don't know what that is, you can just use bodyweight. Also, you need to do some sort of resistance weight training and lift heavy to minimize muscle loss as well.

As I typed this, I realized it's not as "short" as I wanted it to be, but I figured I'm making a comeback on the forums so .....

Anyways, take this explanation for what it's worth and above all, you don't need any "diet pills" to lose weight.

Stay disciplined, stick to your plan, make sure you document your food and the weight will come off.

Peace.