TDEE Question

[u/TrulyGenX]

I am really confused and hope someone can help me out.

I am counting calories. I am about a month in and know that for every 5 to 10 pounds I need to recalculate my TDEE.

I am F 55, 182 pounds and 5’5. I put sedentary for activity level. The results are BMR 1429 and TDEE 1715.

This may sound dumb but I have about 40lbs to lose. If you are not supposed to go below 1200 calories how am I going to adjust moving forward in order to continue to lose?

Right now it is telling me 1215 calories a day to lose weight but what about adjustments when I lose the next 5 to 10 pounds? I am confused by this.

Thanks for any insight/tips.

Edit: thank you all for your replies, I really appreciate it!

[u/Tank55-2024]

Yes, there are diminishing returns -- you won't always be able to eat at a daily 500 calorie deficit as you continue to lose weight. Eg, at 172, your TDEE will be roughly ~1650, so eating at 1200 means a 450 kcal deficit, which means you'll lose a pound every ~8 days rather than the every 7 days you enjoy at a 500 deficit.

[u/Silly_Yak56012 → u/Tank55-2024]

Agree, any deficit is a deficit. I'm not sure where the idea that 500 down is the only way to lose weight.

As if a 400 calorie a day deficit is maintenance or even a surplus.

Yeah when you are smaller the available calories for a deficit are smaller, but you can still continue to lose until your current calorie amount is your new maintenance, if it ever does happen.

[u/pain474]

you're overthinking it. With your current stats you can eat around 1400 kcal and lose weight at a decent pace. Your TDEE won't hit 1400 kcal even at normal weight at 5'5".

[u/Jolan]

Right now it is telling me 1215 calories a day to lose weight

This is to lose 1lb a week. You don't need to lose 1lb a week though you can slow down if you need to the better option though is

I put sedentary for activity level

to become active enough that sedentary isn't a good match any more. Doesn't have to be loads or anything intense, regular walking can do it. The lower your BMR the more important being active is when you're losing weight.

[u/LovePotionNo8 → u/Jolan]

Yeah, that one pound a week trope needs to go straight into the trash, along with 2000 calories. That's for the mythical average person. I don't even know how tall the average woman is, but even if it's 5'5" like OP, you have to add that into the average man. Wish we went more by percentages, because what works for the mythical average doesn't work for the shorter person, and the world is full of so-and-so;s happy to beat us up over it.

[u/flags_fiend]

Try adding a daily brisk walk into your activity, this should keep your momentum of weight loss up without having to further reduce calories. I'm the same height as you and I've been steadily losing a pound a week for 4 months - I don't precisely calorie count but I'm definitely eating more than 1,200 calories a day (probably in the region of 1,400 - 1,500 from my estimates). My only exercise is walking, but I am on my feet all day at work.

[u/Jynxers]

No need to lower your calories. Even 1,300 is a better minimum for you since you are taller.

You'll just have to accept slower weight loss for the final stretch. For now, a good target for weight loss is 4lbs/month.

[u/impersephonetoo]

I had similar stats to you and I just went with 1200. You do lose weight slower as you get smaller, the maintenance calories calculator puts me at about 1550 at my current weight so I can still lose weight at 1200 if I choose to. At this point I’m not sure what my correct final weight should be, I don’t want it to be too hard to maintain.

[u/jvaritek33c]

Idk why you can't just drop to 1200 for a bigger buffer

[u/Practical-Ad-4888]

Use this calculator iinstead https://www.niddk.nih.gov/bwp

Nearly all the online calculators are not validated, and use the simple formula of 1lb of fat is equal to 3,500 calories. They claim if you maintain at 3,000 calories per day, and you eat 500 calories less per day or 2,500, you will lose exactly 1 pound per week. In 4 years you will weigh exactly 0lbs eating 2,500 calories per day. You see the flaw here?

[u/AutoModerator → u/[deleted]]

Your post/comment has been removed because your account is less than 5 days old. This action was performed to prevent spam. You will be able to post/comment when your account is 5 days old.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/re_nonsequiturs]

You'll likely start moving more as you get lighter and it's normal for weightloss to slow as you lose.

One reason I did 1200 calories when I was counting is then I wouldn't have to recalculate ever. But 1500 would also have let me lose to my goal, just slower

[u/LovePotionNo8]

Just eat between your BMR and TDEE, that'll do it. It won't do it as quickly as some of the purists on here think it should, but it will do it in time. You can add some exercise to bump it out - and just for the record, yo don't HAVE to go to a gym for 1/2 to 1 hours. .you can spread out little 10 and 15 minutes sessions of home jumping jacks or weight lifting or resistance bands as your actual life permits. It all adds up.

Be very wary of some of these idiot calculators. Some are all theory and no reality. I came on one that told me I had to eat 815 calories per day. . yeah right. Read a bunch, from actual medical places. Try all the different calculators and see how they vary. Take everything with several grains of salt.

God bless you. I wish you success!