TDEE - What is it and why you should not eat below your BMR

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Replies

  • 31prvrbs
    31prvrbs Posts: 687 Member


    Thanks for the answer. Sorry, but what I still worry about is that my BMR (1514) and my moderate level TDEE-25% (1562) are pretty much the same, so if I do any exercise, I will automatically go under my BMR, which you said is bad. Therefore at the moment I do eat all my exercise back . Would it be simpler to just set my TDEE to no exercise and eat all back or carry on with a moderate TDEE-25% and just eat 1562 and not eat exercise back . Ugh, just don't want to eat too much and lose the progress I made. Thanks

    This is why it's recommend that you do TDEE -15%. I would honestly be more concerned w/eating to *little* and losing progress. It's much more detrimental. Is there a reason why you are choosing a 25% deficit? How much weight do you have to loose?
  • Coni888
    Coni888 Posts: 7 Member


    Thanks for the answer. Sorry, but what I still worry about is that my BMR (1514) and my moderate level TDEE-25% (1562) are pretty much the same, so if I do any exercise, I will automatically go under my BMR, which you said is bad. Therefore at the moment I do eat all my exercise back . Would it be simpler to just set my TDEE to no exercise and eat all back or carry on with a moderate TDEE-25% and just eat 1562 and not eat exercise back . Ugh, just don't want to eat too much and lose the progress I made. Thanks

    This is why it's recommend that you do TDEE -15%. I would honestly be more concerned w/eating to *little* and losing progress. It's much more detrimental. Is there a reason why you are choosing a 25% deficit? How much weight do you have to loose?

    The site I used to calculate TDEE gave me different options and I just picked the option that gave me the 500 deficit that I read you should have to lose 1lb a week. Would like to lose 18kg (~40lbs), done 5kg (11lbs) so far with old MFP suggested calorie level. The reason for swapping over to TDEE is that my body packed up on the calories MFP gave me and I started to feel really dizzy, so tired and hungry, constantly overate and therefore had to do more exercise. Going on holiday in June and would like to be a reasonable weight (aiming more for fit than thin). Thanks.
  • ANewLucia
    ANewLucia Posts: 2,081 Member
    Okay, I think I have this down. I've read most a good chunk of the posts, but for some reason this stuff is kind of eluding me.

    I calculated my BMR at 2483

    I calculated my TDEE at 2978

    TDEE-15% = 2531

    So based on those calculations, I ALWAYS need a net calorie intake of ~2500 cals?

    Why does that not seem right?

    Here are my stats if anyone wants to duplicate:

    Age:32
    Height: 6'2"
    Weight: 272 lbs
    Activity level: Sedentary

    Yes sounds right, I saw numbers and guessed you are a male. So try to incorporate some lifting and eat your cut value everyday. Add some walking on nonlift days.
  • BUMP
  • n8na
    n8na Posts: 76 Member
    bump
  • OccupyFitness
    OccupyFitness Posts: 145 Member
    bump!

    Great topic. Still trying to figure it all out.
  • canroadrunner
    canroadrunner Posts: 203 Member
    Okay, can someone see if I'm on or off track?

    My TDEE is 2583 ( I work out 6 days a week currently.)

    My cut value is 2195 (or 2200).

    My BMR is 1497 (1500).

    I'm training for a Spartan Sprint so, although I don't lift weights, I do body weight exercises in conjunction with cardio 3 times a week, generally about 700 calorie burn through HRM.
    Cardio I do on the other days - usually same burn.
    One rest day.

    I try and eat back my exercise calories.

    I was at 1400 calories net, two weeks ago I went to 1600 calories net. No weight loss or gain but the fat% went down a bit.
    Today I upped to 1800 calories net. (don't want to go up too fast).

    Today, in order to eat back my exercise calories to 1800 net, I will have consumed about 2500 calories of food. (Today was a body weight day).

    Am I eating too much or not enough?

    And I assume since TDEE and BMR is age and weight dependent, we will need to adjust our numbers with birthdays and weight loss?

    Thanks.
  • Laoch_Cailin
    Laoch_Cailin Posts: 414 Member
    Hiya just had a wee read, went off and did all my calculations and just wanna have someone tell me if I'm right or wrong.

    Name : Laura (I know this is right lol)
    Age : 30
    Weight 146lb - maintaining
    Height - 5ft 8"
    Activity - tend to work out cardio 3 times a week and do about 5min weighted exercises every morning / so moderate exercise

    TDEE - 2266
    BMR - 1469

    So I should never ever eat below 1469 and shouldn't really go over 2266 for maintaining, is that right? Or should I not go under 1469 and just eat back my exercise cals on days I do some??

    Thanks in advance for any replies and feel free to friend me anyone, I try and support were I can xxx
  • econut2000
    econut2000 Posts: 395 Member
    Thanks for this info. I am going to try this approach. I get terrible cravings ALL THE TIME and have always attributed them to my health issues (screws with my hormones - I'm sure that's part of it). BUT maybe it's partly because I'm just hungry!?! lol. (Or is that wishful thinking?) Right now I'm eating around 1400 cals, but according to your calcs I should be eating around 1850 (TDEE - 15%). I'm nervous because with my health issues I'm unable to workout regularly (or work!) so I kinda think even the sendentary setting is too high for me but what the heck! What I've been doing isn't working. I'm going to go up gradually by 100 cals per week and see where that gets me. My BMR depending on the calculator is 1550 (MFP calculator) -1650 (your calcs above) so I'm going to make sure, at the very least to get above that. Once I get to 1850 and stay there for a bit, I'll see where I stand and adjust if needed.

    I don't eat much meat, I'm flexitarian so I don't think it's possible for me to eat 30% protein everyday especially since I try to stay away from the processed meat substitutes, but I try to get over the recommended 15%. I will experiment and see if I can get a little higher than that.

    Thanks for starting this group and for providing all this info!! You must be passionate about this topic :flowerforyou:
  • LauraDubbleya
    LauraDubbleya Posts: 79 Member
    hey there.. OMG if I knew I was going to have to do math for all of this I would have paid more attention in school!! gah!!!

    Anyways I did my calculations and got these numbers

    TDEE=2043 -15%=1736
    BMR=1486

    What I want to know and have checked thoroughly, is how do I change my settings on MFP to allow for the 40/30/30 Macronutrient profile? I'd LOVE to have that factored in here too.

    As well, MFP still has me at 1550 for calories.. how do I change it to reflect the real numbers? or can I?

    Thanks in advance.
    Laura
  • 31prvrbs
    31prvrbs Posts: 687 Member
    Okay, can someone see if I'm on or off track?

    My TDEE is 2583 ( I work out 6 days a week currently.)

    My cut value is 2195 (or 2200).

    My BMR is 1497 (1500).

    I'm training for a Spartan Sprint so, although I don't lift weights, I do body weight exercises in conjunction with cardio 3 times a week, generally about 700 calorie burn through HRM.
    Cardio I do on the other days - usually same burn.
    One rest day.

    I try and eat back my exercise calories.

    I was at 1400 calories net, two weeks ago I went to 1600 calories net. No weight loss or gain but the fat% went down a bit.
    Today I upped to 1800 calories net. (don't want to go up too fast).

    Today, in order to eat back my exercise calories to 1800 net, I will have consumed about 2500 calories of food. (Today was a body weight day).

    Am I eating too much or not enough?

    And I assume since TDEE and BMR is age and weight dependent, we will need to adjust our numbers with birthdays and weight loss?

    Thanks.

    You would only eat back exercise cals that net you below 1500 (BMR). TDEE is recalculated w/ change in age, weight by 5lbs (up or down), or activity level.



    TDEE - 2266
    BMR - 1469

    So I should never ever eat below 1469 and shouldn't really go over 2266 for maintaining, is that right? Or should I not go under 1469 and just eat back my exercise cals on days I do some??

    Thanks in advance for any replies and feel free to friend me anyone, I try and support were I can xxx

    Laura- Your TDEE-15% is 1892. So you should aim to eat that amount (w/already includes exercise cals). Only eat back exercise cals if you burn more than the 423 which is already figured in (which would bring you under your BMR)
    hey there.. OMG if I knew I was going to have to do math for all of this I would have paid more attention in school!! gah!!!

    Anyways I did my calculations and got these numbers

    TDEE=2043 -15%=1736
    BMR=1486

    What I want to know and have checked thoroughly, is how do I change my settings on MFP to allow for the 40/30/30 Macronutrient profile? I'd LOVE to have that factored in here too.

    As well, MFP still has me at 1550 for calories.. how do I change it to reflect the real numbers? or can I?

    Thanks in advance.
    Laura

    Laura, from your home page, click on "goals". Then "change goals", then "custom" settings. You should be able to set up your cals and macro goals there.


    Kiki
  • Jen8np
    Jen8np Posts: 50 Member
    WOW Thank you so much!!!!!! I have been eating 1350 cals + some exercise calories. I started at 1200 and bumped up to that and last week I lost 1.4 pounds eating at 1350. I hope bumping them up doesn't make me gain :/ Kinda nervous but Ill try it for this week and go from there ! Thanks so much !!! :)

    I felt the same way but remember to gain you have to eat above your TDEE. I know u mentioned that your TDEE is 1,600 but does that include workouts? Was that with the 15% deduction? That seems like a low TDEE. So let's say u burn 400 cals a day. That means u have to eat over 2,000 a day to start gaining (my guess is your TDEE is much more if your active and also workout. But anyways keep in mind anything under your TDEE is deficit so by the rules of science u WILL lose. It just may take awhile for your body to adjust. Patience is the hardest part of all of this and I know first hand! But don't be afraid to increase cals. Keep in mind u have to eat a lot more to have a true gain :)
  • kneubee7
    kneubee7 Posts: 47 Member
    bump! awesome info!
  • VVEXVVEX
    VVEXVVEX Posts: 132 Member
    So thankful for this thread. I'd appreciate someone who'd "got this" checking the below as my head is spinning:

    I get 1407 BMR and 2262 TDEE on http://www.health-calc.com/diet/energy-expenditure-advanced.

    Using the TDEE thread here (thanks Kiki!) I get 1350 RMR and 2222 TDEE.

    Soooo ... I've set my MFP daily goal to 1900 cals and 40/30/30. Does this sound right?

    The background: I've been at net 1200 (eating back most exercise calories) for 8 months on MFP. I have not lost anything since January (after dropping 11 August - January). I'm strength training 3x a week and one-hour walks 2-3 more times.

    Any insights greatly appreciated!
  • 31prvrbs
    31prvrbs Posts: 687 Member
    So thankful for this thread. I'd appreciate someone who'd "got this" checking the below as my head is spinning:

    I get 1407 BMR and 2262 TDEE on http://www.health-calc.com/diet/energy-expenditure-advanced.

    Using the TDEE thread here (thanks Kiki!) I get 1350 RMR and 2222 TDEE.

    Soooo ... I've set my MFP daily goal to 1900 cals and 40/30/30. Does this sound right?

    The background: I've been at net 1200 (eating back most exercise calories) for 8 months on MFP. I have not lost anything since January (after dropping 11 August - January). I'm strength training 3x a week and one-hour walks 2-3 more times.

    Any insights greatly appreciated!

    Looks great to me ;)

    Just remember that exercise cals are included in TDEE calculations, so no need to eat back what MFP gives unless you burn more than the range that is figured in (550 cals), thus netting below BMR.

    Kiki
  • VVEXVVEX
    VVEXVVEX Posts: 132 Member
    So thankful for this thread. I'd appreciate someone who'd "got this" checking the below as my head is spinning:

    I get 1407 BMR and 2262 TDEE on http://www.health-calc.com/diet/energy-expenditure-advanced.

    Using the TDEE thread here (thanks Kiki!) I get 1350 RMR and 2222 TDEE.

    Soooo ... I've set my MFP daily goal to 1900 cals and 40/30/30. Does this sound right?

    The background: I've been at net 1200 (eating back most exercise calories) for 8 months on MFP. I have not lost anything since January (after dropping 11 August - January). I'm strength training 3x a week and one-hour walks 2-3 more times.

    Any insights greatly appreciated!

    Looks great to me ;)

    Just remember that exercise cals are included in TDEE calculations, so no need to eat back what MFP gives unless you burn more than the range that is figured in (550 cals), thus netting below BMR.

    Kiki

    Got it. Thanks so much!

    Now I'll hold steady, try to find the courage not to freak if the scale sneaks up a bit at first, and wait for metabolism magic to kick in and be my friend. I'll report back with progress results in six weeks or so.

    Again, THANK YOU for sharing your experience and insights.
  • Laoch_Cailin
    Laoch_Cailin Posts: 414 Member
    ''TDEE - 2266
    BMR - 1469

    So I should never ever eat below 1469 and shouldn't really go over 2266 for maintaining, is that right? Or should I not go under 1469 and just eat back my exercise cals on days I do some??



    Laura- Your TDEE-15% is 1892. So you should aim to eat that amount (w/already includes exercise cals). Only eat back exercise cals if you burn more than the 423 which is already figured in (which would bring you under your BMR)



    Kiki''
    [/quote]

    Thank you so much Kiki, I've reset my settings and thats what I'm aiming for now x
  • nniimmcckk
    nniimmcckk Posts: 74 Member
    After an afternoon of reading through this groups posts, I'm going to commit (nervously!) It makes sense to me on a biological level. I've changed my settings, used the links to calculate my BMR & TDEE, as was just getting confused with my own calculations! I think I've got it right.

    I have a concern as I am off work with mild sciatica and have been advised not to do weights, but a conservative light half hr cardio every other day and daily core exercises. Do you have to be weight lifting regularly for this to work? Am gonna look into buying the book (with the long title!) thats been recommended.

    Looking forward to living this challenge with everyone here. Group moderators you are so supportive and patient! :happy:
    Nicky
  • 31prvrbs
    31prvrbs Posts: 687 Member
    After an afternoon of reading through this groups posts, I'm going to commit (nervously!) It makes sense to me on a biological level. I've changed my settings, used the links to calculate my BMR & TDEE, as was just getting confused with my own calculations! I think I've got it right.

    I have a concern as I am off work with mild sciatica and have been advised not to do weights, but a conservative light half hr cardio every other day and daily core exercises. Do you have to be weight lifting regularly for this to work? Am gonna look into buying the book (with the long title!) thats been recommended.

    Looking forward to living this challenge with everyone here. Group moderators you are so supportive and patient! :happy:
    Nicky

    Nicky,

    Any activity counts ;) We just recommend lifting weights because it's the best way to change body composition. But doctor's orders are doctor's orders. Safety first. :flowerforyou:

    Kiki
  • silvercanoe
    silvercanoe Posts: 95 Member
    Thank you!
  • nniimmcckk
    nniimmcckk Posts: 74 Member

    Nicky,

    Any activity counts ;) We just recommend lifting weights because it's the best way to change body composition. But doctor's orders are doctor's orders. Safety first. :flowerforyou:

    Kiki

    Thanks Kiki, I'm just looking for any voice to tell me to work hard in the gym and I'll do it! am finding it a tad frustrating! The thing is the more I work out, the stronger my core will get and hopefully the problem will resolve. But little steps.....

    It was nice eating sort of "normally" today. Thanks for sharing all this info xx
  • JennBona
    JennBona Posts: 255 Member
    Bump :)
  • Bump
  • Femtec74
    Femtec74 Posts: 347 Member
    Wow! I FINALLY understand. After MONTHS of confusion, the light bulb has come on. Thank you so much for this post!
  • ktbazzy
    ktbazzy Posts: 110 Member
    Wow, this is eye opening! I discovered after starting to log here that I've been starving myself (eating between 900 & 1200, then binging on occasion) and my metabolism is ALL screwed up. I did a program called Slimgenics which restricted calories to the extreme. When I finished the program I was down 30lbs. but started gaining back. So I continued to restrict calories, thinking that would help. I started MFP at 155.8, been on for 5 weeks, and have been see-sawing between 148-151 ever since. MFP set my cals at 1200. My TDEE is 1931 - 15% is 1640! I'm trying to figure out how to eat more, but am struggling with what to eat and fear of gaining. I've been lifting but not heavy because of a neck injury 2x week, waiting for clearance to lift more, and light cardio 3-4x week. Anyone else in this situation please add me!
  • Bump :happy:
  • jhonbaez
    jhonbaez Posts: 2
    I love it. I can eat all I want and lose weight. I think is amazing... :)
    :drinker: to it... lol
  • Naybelline
    Naybelline Posts: 407 Member
    I fail at any type of math, (dyslexic)

    I didn't understand any of this lol!

    anyone care to help me please?

    my Tdee is - 2941
    BMR is - 3201

    I'm 249lbs, 5ft 8 age 33 years.
  • canroadrunner
    canroadrunner Posts: 203 Member
    Something has gone wrong there. Your BMR can't be above your TDEE.
    Use these calculators.
    http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html

    This is for TDEE and you can find BMR in the side menu.
  • My TDEE is 1571 and BMR is 1315
    If I subtract 15% from TDEE = 1336 calories on non-workout days
    If I lift weights add 200 = 1515 calories
    If I do cardio eat back the calories I burn plus eat my BMR which is 1315, so if I burn 500 cardio cals, I eat 1800 calories.

    If this correct. Eating 1300 calories on non-workout days seems very low.

    Currently I work out 5-6 times a week, burn about 500 cals a workout, so if MFP gave me 1200 cals, I add 500 to get 1700 calories, which I can live with, but to only eat 1300 on the 1 or 2 days that I don't workout, seems low.

    I'm new and don't really understand MFP yet and how they determine by numbers.

    Can you sort if out for me.

    I'm 32 yrs old, weigh 121.6lbs, 5.0 feet tall and have a desk job, however, very active in my fitness. I do P90X and a Combat classs at the gym once a week, plus I run when the weathers nice or on my treadmill, depending on the mood I'm in, but I work out min 5 days a week. PS. I love WEIGHTS!!
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