*Total Metabolism Forecaster Thread*

[Robby Coker]

Since this is now on page 30, here are the links to the current version of Total Metabolism Forecaster.

TMF v1.99 (MS Excel)
TMF v1.99 (MS Excel 2007+)
TMF v1.99 (OO.org)

[talarone]

This calculator seems to be messing up on my horrid system...but yeah...

Did IF for a bit, stalled at 1800 cals per day, now doing JUDD and this is what im going by....I don't know if im eating too little or too much for cutting, but yeah, macros are mainly fat and protein, but i did up my carbs to around 20%, and keeping protein to atleast 100g per day...I drink plenty of coffee, a lot of my carbs come from half and half and french vanilla international delight cream...also drink around 6 liters of water per day, i am 18 and i workout 5 times per week, avg of 6.5 per day, 20 mins per day on treadmill paired with weight lifting .

Monday: 2382 net cals
Tues: -344 net due to rigorous exercise (I'm put it all on the lowest setting though, so prolly burned more).
Weds: 2545 net
Today: 267 net
Tomorrow: Hoping to get in around 25-2700
Saturday: 500 or less
Sunday: 2500

=10550 this week, which is around 1507 cals per week as a male 5'9 152 pounds, hm...may up my DD cals by 100....Wait, it's based on net, right?

I strength train and do a bit of running...but running less these days....only on UD do i run more than 20 mins xD

What % do you think i am?

Warning, kinda bloated since i ate an hour ago and had water / coffee, but i think you can get a good idea :P
Eh, I've come far, but really gotta work on em lats and everything else...still cutting though....but i think it's okay...since ive low carbed for awhile and not I'm doing ADF with IF....

No flexing or anything fancy...flab but eh
i1079.photobucket.com/albums/w514/talarone/IMG_20121010_190416.jpg?t=1349910596

i1079.photobucket.com/albums/w514/talarone/IMG_20121010_190450.jpg?t=1349910583
lol that sternum...

i1079.photobucket.com/albums/w514/talarone/IMG_20121010_190502.jpg?t=1349910569 arm

i1079.photobucket.com/albums/w514/talarone/IMG_20121010_190511.jpg?t=1349910555

back...

actually surprised my back looks this good! Except the love handles are eh....was 250 when i started, now I'm around 151...not too shaby, strength is better too...hoping to hit around 9% and then bulk to 10-12 and get HUGE

[Robby Coker]

This calculator seems to be messing up on my horrid system...but yeah...

Did IF for a bit, stalled at 1800 cals per day, now doing JUDD and this is what im going by....I don't know if im eating too little or too much for cutting, but yeah, macros are mainly fat and protein, but i did up my carbs to around 20%, and keeping protein to atleast 100g per day...I drink plenty of coffee, a lot of my carbs come from half and half and french vanilla international delight cream...also drink around 6 liters of water per day, i am 18 and i workout 5 times per week, avg of 6.5 per day, 20 mins per day on treadmill paired with weight lifting .

Monday: 2382 net cals
Tues: -344 net due to rigorous exercise (I'm put it all on the lowest setting though, so prolly burned more).
Weds: 2545 net
Today: 267 net
Tomorrow: Hoping to get in around 25-2700
Saturday: 500 or less
Sunday: 2500

=10550 this week, which is around 1507 cals per week as a male 5'9 152 pounds, hm...may up my DD cals by 100....Wait, it's based on net, right?

What do you mean by net?

I strength train and do a bit of running...but running less these days....only on UD do i run more than 20 mins xD

What % do you think i am?

Warning, kinda bloated since i ate an hour ago and had water / coffee, but i think you can get a good idea :P
Eh, I've come far, but really gotta work on em lats and everything else...still cutting though....but i think it's okay...since ive low carbed for awhile and not I'm doing ADF with IF....

No flexing or anything fancy...flab but eh
i1079.photobucket.com/albums/w514/talarone/IMG_20121010_190416.jpg?t=1349910596

i1079.photobucket.com/albums/w514/talarone/IMG_20121010_190450.jpg?t=1349910583
lol that sternum...

i1079.photobucket.com/albums/w514/talarone/IMG_20121010_190502.jpg?t=1349910569 arm

i1079.photobucket.com/albums/w514/talarone/IMG_20121010_190511.jpg?t=1349910555

back...

actually surprised my back looks this good! Except the love handles are eh....was 250 when i started, now I'm around 151...not too shaby, strength is better too...hoping to hit around 9% and then bulk to 10-12 and get HUGE

I'd estimate current body fat percentage at about 15. You're looking good. Congratulations on your progress!

To get to 9% body fat, with a typical fat/muscle loss ratio of 70%, you would need to get to 140 pounds. With a fat/muscle loss ratio of 80%, 141 lbs.

Factoring in estimated body fat %, your Resting Energy Expenditure is lower (goes from 1702 to 1639 Calories).

On the dietary side, if you have stalled, my advice would be to take a break and eat at maintenance Calories for one week. At your current level of body fat, you should be doing a refeed once per week at maintenance or slightly (e.g. 250 Calories) above it. This will keep your metabolism up.

However, a better long-term approach, which will also help to keep the fat off, would be to become more flexible with your diet (with more balanced macronutrient ratios). Check out the following thread, which pertains to flexible dieting:
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=148565793

[talarone]

Woot! I'm lower than i thought and i meant net as in figuring in activity level (lowest setting) thanks a lot for the advice! I'm getting so close, I'll get there

[Robby Coker]

Woot! I'm lower than i thought and i meant net as in figuring in activity level (lowest setting) thanks a lot for the advice!

You're welcome.

I'm getting so close, I'll get there

Good luck on your goals.

[eazy57]

Fantastic program Rob. A lot to it. I"m going to have to play with it a little, but it covers just about everything. Than you very much!

[Verint]

Very good program man. I really like it and props for the time you spent making it!

[Spalding13]

Very helpful and interesting,but how can i tell in which activity category i go?

[Robby Coker]

Very helpful and interesting,but how can i tell in which activity category i go?

In the "docs" folder, there is an Occupational Activity Guide that can help assess your daily level of activity.

[AK7777]

Sorry to bump such an old thread, but it seems to be the most recent for this tool. I hope I'm not breaking any rules by bumping this. I have a few questions about strange forecast estimations (massive lean body mass loss while cutting).

Here are my parameters:

Height: 69 in (5'9")
Weight: 161 lb
BF%: 15%

Metabolism: moderate
Ratios: 35% protein/40% carbs/25% fat
Occupation: light, 40 hrs/wk

Biking: 50 miles/wk
Weight-lifting: 4 times/wk, mod-hi intensity, 25 min each

Sleep: 8 hrs/night

Water: 100 oz/day
Caffeine: 1 cup coffee/day
Calcium: 1 cup milk/day
Hot foods: once/day
Creatine: 4 times/wk

Goal: 10% BF
Loss rate: 1.5 lbs/wk

I'm projected to hit this goal in 10 months, over which time my lean body mass will drop from its current 136.9 lbs to 86.8 lbs, and my final weight will be 96.4 lbs. This means I will lose 14.5 lbs of fat and 50.1 lbs of lean body mass. This is at a daily calorie deficit of 660. Why is it predicting so much lean body mass loss?

Also, it is estimating a daily calorie expenditure of 3073. This seems very high.

Any insight would be appreciated, thanks.

[Robby Coker]

Sorry to bump such an old thread, but it seems to be the most recent for this tool. I hope I'm not breaking any rules by bumping this. I have a few questions about strange forecast estimations (massive lean body mass loss while cutting).

Here are my parameters:

Height: 69 in (5'9")
Weight: 161 lb
BF%: 15%

Metabolism: moderate
Ratios: 35% protein/40% carbs/25% fat
Occupation: light, 40 hrs/wk

Biking: 50 miles/wk
Weight-lifting: 4 times/wk, mod-hi intensity, 25 min each

Sleep: 8 hrs/night

Water: 100 oz/day
Caffeine: 1 cup coffee/day
Calcium: 1 cup milk/day
Hot foods: once/day
Creatine: 4 times/wk

Goal: 10% BF
Loss rate: 1.5 lbs/wk

I'm projected to hit this goal in 10 months, over which time my lean body mass will drop from its current 136.9 lbs to 86.8 lbs, and my final weight will be 96.4 lbs. This means I will lose 14.5 lbs of fat and 50.1 lbs of lean body mass. This is at a daily calorie deficit of 660. Why is it predicting so much lean body mass loss?

Also, it is estimating a daily calorie expenditure of 3073. This seems very high.

Any insight would be appreciated, thanks.

Welcome to the forums, AK7777. It's nice to have you here.

You entered in a wrong value under the Projected Fat Loss %. Fat Loss % denotes the percentage of body weight lost as fat. Depending on the diet you follow, this can typically range from 60-80%. In other words, 60-80% of total weight lost is fat. So, using a Projected Fat Loss % of 70, you would end up with only 2 pounds of lean body mass loss.

For your level of activity, the TDEE (Total Daily Calorie Expenditure) level you mentioned is reasonable for someone your weight, height, and BF%. However, I just I ran your listed parameters through and actually got a TDEE of 3350. Is there something else you put in that you haven't mentioned yet? Factoring in 7% starvation mode (since you're cutting), however, you would have to get down to 2264 Calories to lose at the 1.5 lbs/week rate. At 14% starvation mode, you would have to get down to 2037 Calories.

[Bissen]

First off, Robby - super awesome work on this calculator! You've really put a lot of work into it. Deep respect.

Anyways, I don't know - as for many others here, its calculations just seem a little high for me. I read all the docs, but I must be super unintelligent, as I can't really seem to figure it out the results... I don't reeeeally understand why I have to put in a daily calorie intake, myself (and thus I haven't- Recently been around 2000, though, and feeling tired, motivation loss etc.).


My stats:

Female
~66kg (my scale is pretty lousy, though)
23 years old
169cm
BF% not tested, but absolutely below 20%
Non-Italian

Mesomorph (I believe)
Occupation: Student
Biking: 70km/week, avg. 10km/t
Walking: 10km/week (-ish)
Calisthenics: 4/week, moderate, 25min sessions

8 hours sleep
No alcohol/smokes
1L oolong/day
1L water/day

This is what the calculator gives me:
http: //i1086.photobucket.com/albums/j447/Rorbak/Random%20uploads/TMFScreen_zps3ac46c8d.png (remove space after http: - I can't post links yet)

Does this look right?

[Robby Coker]

First off, Robby - super awesome work on this calculator! You've really put a lot of work into it. Deep respect.

Thanks.

Anyways, I don't know - as for many others here, its calculations just seem a little high for me. I read all the docs, but I must be super unintelligent, as I can't really seem to figure it out the results... I don't reeeeally understand why I have to put in a daily calorie intake, myself (and thus I haven't- Recently been around 2000, though, and feeling tired, motivation loss etc.).


My stats:

Female
~66kg (my scale is pretty lousy, though)
23 years old
169cm
BF% not tested, but absolutely below 20%
Non-Italian

Mesomorph (I believe)
Occupation: Student
Biking: 70km/week, avg. 10km/t
Walking: 10km/week (-ish)
Calisthenics: 4/week, moderate, 25min sessions

8 hours sleep
No alcohol/smokes
1L oolong/day
1L water/day

This is what the calculator gives me:
http: //i1086.photobucket.com/albums/j447/Rorbak/Random%20uploads/TMFScreen_zps3ac46c8d.png (remove space after http: - I can't post links yet)

Does this look right?

Entering a Calorie intake up top is not required.

It looks right to me except for the 0 in the Calorie intake field (unless you plan to be eating 0 Calories/day during your current dietary regimen ).

Have you used the regimen forecaster at the bottom yet? You can enter your fat loss goals, and it will show you suggested Calorie intakes for achieving your goals. There are several levels of them shown with each of them taking a level of starvation mode into account. Your metabolism will tend to slow down in response to lower Calorie intakes.

[Bissen]

Thanks for the quick response!

I just tried messing a little more with the forecaster - I couldn't get it to work last (well, I didn't read the instructions properly). I'll try this out!

Thanks again!

If I'm already in starvation mode (it seems I am, judging by these numbers), the way to up it would be to slowly up my calories?

[Robby Coker]

Thanks for the quick response!

I just tried messing a little more with the forecaster - I couldn't get it to work last (well, I didn't read the instructions properly). I'll try this out!

Thanks again!

If I'm already in starvation mode (it seems I am, judging by these numbers), the way to up it would be to slowly up my calories?

The ~2750 figure is your total daily Calorie expenditure at maintenance. When you are running a deficit, your total Calorie expenditure will be less.

At an intake of around 2000 Calories/day, the following are your levels of Calorie expenditures based on the following starvation mode levels.

Scenario, Total Daily Calorie Expenditure
__________________________________
If Not In Starvation Mode, 2693
If In 3.0% Starvation Mode, 2612
If In 7.0% Starvation Mode, 2504
If In 14.0% Starvation Mode, 2316

So, at around 2000 Calories/day, without starvation mode, your deficit would be almost 700.

At below 20% body fat, you are quite lean. The leaner you are, the more easily your body enters starvation mode in response to Calorie deficit. So you may have to go with a smaller deficit. I'd recommend starting out raising the Calories up to 2250.

How has your progress so far been at around 2000 Calories/day?

[arturiano112]

Hey guys is anyone able to help me with that metabolic forecaster thing, my english is not very good so i don't understand very much about it and what that metabolic forecaster means
If anyone can help me with it ?
Some info:
17 years
173 cm
58 kg
before bulking started today i ate like 1600 kcals a day
male

[Bissen]

The ~2750 figure is your total daily Calorie expenditure at maintenance. When you are running a deficit, your total Calorie expenditure will be less.

At an intake of around 2000 Calories/day, the following are your levels of Calorie expenditures based on the following starvation mode levels.

Scenario, Total Daily Calorie Expenditure
__________________________________
If Not In Starvation Mode, 2693
If In 3.0% Starvation Mode, 2612
If In 7.0% Starvation Mode, 2504
If In 14.0% Starvation Mode, 2316

So, at around 2000 Calories/day, without starvation mode, your deficit would be almost 700.

At below 20% body fat, you are quite lean. The leaner you are, the more easily your body enters starvation mode in response to Calorie deficit. So you may have to go with a smaller deficit. I'd recommend starting out raising the Calories up to 2250.

How has your progress so far been at around 2000 Calories/day?

Well... no fatloss, it seems. Just feeling down, tired, lazy and unmotivated to do much of anything. Plus, cravings kicked in.
I'll up my calories!

[Robby Coker]

Hey guys is anyone able to help me with that metabolic forecaster thing, my english is not very good so i don't understand very much about it and what that metabolic forecaster means
If anyone can help me with it ?
Some info:
17 years
173 cm
58 kg
before bulking started today i ate like 1600 kcals a day
male

Since you are below 18, the results given by this program won't be as reliable as those at your age are generally still actively growing.

However, I would try to do an estimation for you, but I will need more info than what you've listed. List your activity level, your dietary composition, the amount of exercise you do per week.

[Bissen]

Hey again,

In the column "Calorie needs to lose X% bodyfat/week", there I'm pretty sure there must be something wrong.
It tells me I need 2414 calories (fine), but split into: 121g protein, 604g carbs an 67g fat. Calculating protein and carbs for 4 cals/g each, and fat 9cal/g, I hit 3400+ calories.

I think it may be doubling the carbs or something.

[Robby Coker]

Hey again,

In the column "Calorie needs to lose X% bodyfat/week", there I'm pretty sure there must be something wrong.
It tells me I need 2414 calories (fine), but split into: 121g protein, 604g carbs an 67g fat. Calculating protein and carbs for 4 cals/g each, and fat 9cal/g, I hit 3400+ calories.

I think it may be doubling the carbs or something.

I looked into it and couldn't duplicate the problem.

Are you using the most recent version of TMF (v1.99)? When the "Macronutrient Needs As" feature was first implemented, there was a bug, but it was fixed for v1.91.

[Bouks]

So .. what happens if for 8 months and now moving in 9th month I have been restricting calories drastically and more than I should have? Because I have definitely done that and I am having trouble losing now.

[Robby Coker]

So .. what happens if for 8 months and now moving in 9th month I have been restricting calories drastically and more than I should have? Because I have definitely done that and I am having trouble losing now.

It depends on how lean you are. If you are at a higher body fat %, then you can usually get away with larger Calorie deficits. At lower body fat %'s, your body will tend to go enter starvation mode more quickly.

Given the amount of time that you've been cutting up to this point, I'd recommend taking a break and eating at maintenance Calories for two or so weeks.

[Bouks]

It depends on how lean you are. If you are at a higher body fat %, then you can usually get away with larger Calorie deficits. At lower body fat %'s, your body will tend to go enter starvation mode more quickly.

Given the amount of time that you've been cutting up to this point, I'd recommend taking a break and eating at maintenance Calories for two or so weeks.

I seriously underestimated my body fat when I started actually. I thought I was 30 but I was 40 and maybe a bit more. Now I am at 22-23 I believe and obviously I have a long way to go. I want to reach 150 and then re-evaluate. Problem is I probably have to reverse-diet to find my maintenance at this point because I am not going to lie ... I tried to go for relatively low calories (<1700) and my results were less than satisfactory.

You think 2 weeks are enough to get back on track? Sounds optimistic but then again I have no idea about this subject.

[Robby Coker]

I seriously underestimated my body fat when I started actually. I thought I was 30 but I was 40 and maybe a bit more. Now I am at 22-23 I believe and obviously I have a long way to go. I want to reach 150 and then re-evaluate. Problem is I probably have to reverse-diet to find my maintenance at this point because I am not going to lie ... I tried to go for relatively low calories (<1700) and my results were less than satisfactory.

You think 2 weeks are enough to get back on track? Sounds optimistic but then again I have no idea about this subject.

2 weeks should be fine. When you resume cutting, make sure you don't eat at below the level of your REE (Resting Energy Expenditure).

[Robby Coker]

This release fixes a couple of bugs involving the Resting Energy Expenditure calculation section. The fixes are listed in the "What's New?" list below.

The References document was updated also to fix some broken links.

11/13/13 - Version 1.99 to Version 1.995
---------------------------------------

* This is a bug fix version.

-A user reported a bug in the Resting Energy Expenditure calculation section. In this section, the Harris-Benedict calculation was being used instead of the Katch-McArdle calculation upon entering or calculating a body fat % whenever BMI or body fat % exceeded a certain value. This was also happening if the Katch-McArdle value was less than the Harris-Benedict value. This is fixed now, and the program now uses the Katch-McArdle value everytime a body fat % is entered in or calculated.

-The Resting Energy Expenditure display did not show the REE value from factoring in auxiliary parameters although the program itself was using it to calculate the TDEE. This is now fixed, and the REE display should now show the REE from factoring in auxiliary parameters.

* In the program in general:

-I updated the References file as there were some links that were broken.

[ndavis5425]

Hey Robby,
I tried to use the calculator and since I'm under 18 I didnt know how to adjust, can you find my calorie needs? thanks! here's my stats:
Male
5'11"
172lbs
Student at OSU, on break now though!
Steady run 4x a week at around 8mph for 27mins
Lifting 6x a week at mod-high intensity for 45min each
Sleep around 7.5hrs a night
3 pills at 1.2g per pill Omega-3's
2 cups spinach, 1 scoop whey
I take creatine when I workout
I take fat-burners 2ce a day every day
I want to cut and I'm at around 14-16%bodyfat and I want to be 7%
Thanks so much!!

[Robby Coker]

Hey Robby,
I tried to use the calculator and since I'm under 18 I didnt know how to adjust, can you find my calorie needs? thanks! here's my stats:
Male
5'11"
172lbs
Student at OSU, on break now though!
Steady run 4x a week at around 8mph for 27mins
Lifting 6x a week at mod-high intensity for 45min each
Sleep around 7.5hrs a night
3 pills at 1.2g per pill Omega-3's
2 cups spinach, 1 scoop whey
I take creatine when I workout
I take fat-burners 2ce a day every day
I want to cut and I'm at around 14-16%bodyfat and I want to be 7%
Thanks so much!!

I ran these parameters through, and your total maintenance energy expenditure comes out to 3077 Calories.

Calorie needs to lose 1 pound per week:
If Not In Starvation Mode: 2527
If In 3% Starvation Mode: 2436
If In 7% Starvation Mode: 2315
If In 14% Starvation Mode: 2103

Calorie needs to lose 1.5 pounds per week:
If Not In Starvation Mode: 2252
If In 3% Starvation Mode: 2162
If In 7% Starvation Mode: 2042
If In 14% Starvation Mode: 1831

Start out with the Calorie intake level for no starvation mode.

If 70% of weight is lost as fat, you would need to get to around 153 lbs to achieve your body fat % goal. If 80% of weight is lost as fat, then 156 lbs.

[jassi03020]

HI CAN U HELP ME WITH CALORIE NEED
MALE 28
NO WORK NO STUDY ONLY TRAINING 1 TO 1.30 HR IN GYM..6 DAY 1 DAY REST
98 kg ,no muscle only fat .my diet include -2 whole grain bread,1 cup oat and brocoli,1 or 2 cup brown rice,6egg [2 with yolk ],1 glass milk,
i think my body fat is 30%,,my waist is 37 inch ,my jean size is 38 inch..i will buy protein powder tommorow...

[OutlawRider14]

Well crap, according to this, I'm pretty far into starvation mode.
I should be closer to 3k calories and I'm nowhere near that.

[dseaman]

I ran through the calculator my calorie needs are 2273 for not in starvation mode. I'm trying go from 18% BF to 10%. I have a very hard time being creative with what I eat and trying to count calories, let alone get the macro ratio right. Are there some web sites that are good for meal planning where I can input total calories and macro ratios and out pop some decent meal suggestions?