who really knows their tdee? and who just thinks they do?

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MJ7910
MJ7910 Posts: 1,280 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
i have been wondering about this for quite sometime. does anyone on this site really know their tdee and how did they arrive at that number? trial and error? if you have truly figured out your tdee would like to know how you did it...

for me, i have had it estimated at 1900, 1700, all over the board... i have come to the conclusion that my BMR is lower than i think it is. i seem to gain weight over months with anything more than 1700 even though i work out a lot (5x a week at least for 30 minutes each, circuit training)... so for those of you that actually know their tdee, what is it and how did you figure it out?

Replies

  • montana_girl
    montana_girl Posts: 1,403 Member
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    My TDEE is basically an estimation. I took the figures from three different web sites and averaged them out.... which came out to 1584. So I use that. (A little back ground, I'm 5 ft 2, eating at my desired goal weight of 132, and have it set to Sedentary, but I use HRM when I work out and eat back ALL my exercise calories) Seems to be working for me.... :smile:
  • TrainingWithTonya
    TrainingWithTonya Posts: 1,741 Member
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    As an exercise physiology student, I used the metabolic cart at my university to measure my RMR and also my VO2 while exercising and compared those numbers to the various formulas for determining BMR, RMR (EER), and TDEE. I then picked the formula that gave me the closest estimate to my measured readings to use for my clients, and luckily for me it was also the simplest for doing the math. You can see how I figure it for my clients on my blog at: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/TrainingWithTonya
    16 years Certified Personal Trainer and Group Exercise Instructor
    9 years Certified Sports Nutritionist
    Bachelors in Exercise Physiology with a Minor in Nutritional Science
    ACSM Certified Clinical Exercise Specialist
    NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist
  • MJ7910
    MJ7910 Posts: 1,280 Member
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    Here is what I have trouble with... I work basically a sedentery job but I workout 30-40 minutes a day 6 days a week doing stuff like insanity, jillian michaels, jogging. so it's pretty good exercise. I have trouble trying to decide what multiplier to use. my BMR is probably realistically 1200-1250. so if i use sedentery that means 1440-1500 calories for my base before exercise. if i add in exercise calories maybe 1640-1700 for maintenance... but then other places say i shoudl use a higher multiplier just because i am working out... that maybe i should use (lightly active) and then still add in exercise calories...
  • Glucocorticoid
    Glucocorticoid Posts: 867 Member
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    They are all ESTIMATES. You have to adjust based on real world changes. All the more reason to stop counting/eating back exercise calories and just stick with a moderate absolute deficit.
  • MonkeyBars
    MonkeyBars Posts: 266 Member
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    it's a number so it provides you with a guide!

    they portions may or may not be that accurate, but you've got the idea!

    the speedo in your car has some tolerance, so does your body too,

    my BMR is so ramped at the moment, every time I drop to 80kgs I have to plan a few days to get me back to 82kgs!

    tune it for you, make it yours, it may work for most the population but we're all little different :)
  • Di3012
    Di3012 Posts: 2,250 Member
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    I haven't got a clue what my TDEE is, all I do know is that just because figure **** suits one female, 51, sedentary job, who runs three times per week, does not necessarily mean that exact same figure will suit me.

    I stick to 1200 calories per day, go into my exercise calories by 50 or 100 and leave the rest alone. 1.2lbs to go to my goal, my method seems to be working for me, but for somebody else, it may not.
  • douglasmobbs
    douglasmobbs Posts: 563 Member
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    I don't know it and I don't care about it at the moment. I eat enough to give me the energy to do the work outs I do and the nutrition my body needs. I am losing weight without caring about it so I don't see why I should care about it until I get close to maintenance.
  • pants77
    pants77 Posts: 185 Member
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    I got tested at the gym to determine my VO2max and TDEE. I know they're not laser-accurate, but they're better than guessing completely.
  • HMVOL7409
    HMVOL7409 Posts: 1,588 Member
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    I'm eating at maintence for a few weeks (2000 cals) to see what my body does. I used 3 different online calcs and they are all similar. I know my actual BF% so it helps some. I will adjust as needed. I started at 1800 but I was still losing some and didn't want to. I have it set to moderate bc I work out hard 3 days a week but the other 3 days I'm only running. I didn't choose the higher activity level until my run times increase to over 60 mins. I just make sure I get close to this number as possible and I'm good. I still do low carb days on my day off and eat at BMR + 10% then.
  • chachita7
    chachita7 Posts: 996 Member
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    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ <---- this is how I figured out mine. I set mine at sedentary, then I set my mfp to the TDEE # on MFP didn't calculate any exercise - eat back exercise calories on the days I do exercise (some not all)
  • usteward
    usteward Posts: 112 Member
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    bump
  • timvickroy
    timvickroy Posts: 12
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    All of the online calculators for BMR and TDEE are based on formulas that ESTIMATE the values. They are APPROXIMATIONS, nothing more. The only way to know exactly what your TDEE is every day would be to constantly measure it. This would be unrealistic since you would need to live in a lab to do so. The good news is, you don't need to know exactly what your TDEE is, you just have to get fairly close.

    Here's what has been working for me: I started by using the value that the online calculator gave me (1800 calories) as a daily base. I then add in the calories I burn doing cardio (bicycling) every day. Since the cardio numbers vary so much (600 on easy days to near 2000 on race days) I add those daily as a discrete amount. Then, I make sure I log everything I eat, and I mean everything. If you don't you're only making it more difficult for yourself.

    After doing this for a week or two, you can compare the numbers (calories consumed vs. calories burned) and see where you are. Are you still losing weight? Is it at the rate you expect? If not, your estimation for TDEE may be high. For me, it was too low. I had to increase it so that I could keep up with the amount of cardio I do. Good luck!
  • wookiemouse
    wookiemouse Posts: 290 Member
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    Get a Fitbit. That's been spot on for me. Of course, things vary day to day - more cardio, less steps, etc. But your TDEE is going to be an average anyway.
  • tabinmaine
    tabinmaine Posts: 965 Member
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    I have a BodyMedia fit, my calculated TDEE was 2400 for moderately active, which I am... and guess what... it really is between 2300 and 2800 on a reg day with exercise......

    However, on the the weekends, when i am not sitting at a desk it's more like 3200-3600..... so I was wayyyyyyy under estimating my TDEE.... and therefore, under eating by a lot
  • tenunderfour
    tenunderfour Posts: 429 Member
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    THIS is exactly why I bought a Fitbit. It gives me a better idea of what I burn on a daily basis.
  • fatmom51
    fatmom51 Posts: 173 Member
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    I'm wondering whether I've been way under on my TDEE and my BMR. Using the MFP calculators and leaving my settings at sedentary, I have a BMR of 1,750. MFP estimates that I burn 2,130 every day from normal activities. It is recommended that I eat about 1,200 calories a day to have a loss of 2 lbs. a week.

    Here's the thing: For the past three weeks, I have been over on my calories -- last week I was almost 2,000 over for the week, roughly 250-300 a day. Yet I still lost 3 lbs. in each of the past three weeks. I'm thinking I maybe set my activity too low, but I do eat back my exercise calories -- especially if I deliberately go to the Y to walk the track or treadmill.

    Today, I'm roughly 100 calories over my maintenance. Oh well, I'll have to get some exercise in this week.
  • Debbiedebbiey
    Debbiedebbiey Posts: 824 Member
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    Get a bodybugg. My TDEE is different everyday, but way more than I imagined it was. 2000-2700. My 1st sloth/cheat day in a month was yesterday-1680! Love the bugg!

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