BMR

N1ckL12

HI guys

If my BMR is 1855 should I consume less calories per day to lose weight???

I'm 5'8.5" and weigh approx. 92.5kg.

I do Insanity 6 days a week and as a consequence have a TDEE of 3200.

MFP says that I need net of 1800 calories per day (I have said im very active) which is only just below my BMR.

I am aiming to lose 1kg per week

your help is appreciated

Nick

BenjaminMFP88

stuffyramirez wrote: »

HI guys

If my BMR is 1855 should I consume less calories per day to lose weight???

I'm 5'8.5" and weigh approx. 92.5kg.

I do Insanity 6 days a week and as a consequence have a TDEE of 3200.

MFP says that I need net of 1800 calories per day (I have said im very active) which is only just below my BMR.

I am aiming to lose 1kg per week

your help is appreciated

Nick

MFP and TDEE are two different methods. If you are consistant with your workouts, I'd follow the TDEE method which is basically eat at a slight deficit of your TDEE (~0.80 * TDEE as an example). MFP is better if you are more sporadic with your workouts. It gives you a value that is close to your BMR and you calculate the calories you burned while working out and eat them back. Usually people only eat back a percentage of these calories because machines and online calculators grossly overestimate calories burned during exercise. Ultimately, they should arrive at the same place.

N1ckL12

MFP and TDEE are two different methods. If you are consistent with your workouts, I'd follow the TDEE method which is basically eat at a slight deficit of your TDEE (~0.80 * TDEE as an example). MFP is better if you are more sporadic with your workouts. It gives you a value that is close to your BMR and you calculate the calories you burned while working out and eat them back. Usually people only eat back a percentage of these calories because machines and online calculators grossly overestimate calories burned during exercise. Ultimately, they should arrive at the same place.
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Benjamin

So if I have a TDEE of 3200 and work out 6 days a week I should eat say 80% of my TDEE which is 2560 per day. I am the first to admit that I am overweight and its of a consequence of laziness and boredom. I get home and eat toast before dinner, or a bag of crisps and then have a large dinner or get a takeaway etc.

But when I'm sensible (which is most days) I don't eat that bad so wonder why I struggle with my weight. I would honestly struggle to eat 2560 calories per day.

I'm not hungry after workouts and eat around 2000 calories per day, I net roughly 1200 per day so why aren't I losing weight???

RSEC75

To loose weight you need to eat less than you using.

TDEE means "total daily energy expenditure" and it's the amount of energy you use in a day. The calculations you can do give you an estimate of that. If you eat less than you are actually using each day you will loose weight and the estimates can guide you in knowing if you are dong that.

BMR is the energy you use if you were lying in a coma. It's what keeps your body running (heart beating etc). As soon as you move around even slightly you are using more than that. Some people say you should NOT eat BELOW the BMR though I don't know the ins/outs of that. BMR in it's self does not affect how much you eat, it's a base point for the calculation of your TDEE.

One Method is to calculate a TDEE based on your average activity level (that's your 3200) and then eat at a level below that. This is often referred to as the TDEE method but TDEE is actually just the calculation of how much you use each day.

MFP leads you into a method of calculating your TDEE based on daily activity NOT including exercise (so based on your work and daily life). Then deducts a defecit which gives you a goal below that, but if you exercise you eat more, your exercise has increased the energy expenditure for that day, so to keep the defecit the same you eat more. This means extra exercise does not make you loose quicker, but gets you fitter.

MFP is used by many people for methods other than the one it leads you in to. You just have to set your own goals.

jessupbrady

"if your progress has stalled, but you think you’re eating the right foods and exercising intensely, more than likely your problem is that you’re not eating enough calories to lose weight. Eat as much as you can, get in as many nutrients as possible, and your weight loss will start moving forward again." (http://www.coachcalorie.com/not-eating-enough-calories-to-lose-weight/)

It seems backwards to eat more to lose weight. But, it is a process that works for many - you have to let go of what you think about losing weight. You might see a gain in weight to start off because you are eating more. But, give it a couple weeks. Then adjust to lower you calories. It's a lot easier to convince yourself to drop a couple hundred calories then to add it; especially after you haven't had success with a lot fewer calories.

Keep in mind. Weight alone is not a good measure of progress. Measure your biceps, quads, hips, chest, and neck. Are you losing inches where you want and gaining inches where you do (increased muscle)?

erickirb

all you need to do is consume less than TDEE. It is usually advised not to eat under BMR unless you have a lot of weight to lose.

cwolfman13

Your BMR is the calories you burn merely by the fact that you exist.

Also, MFP uses the NEAT method in that you're supposed to only include your day to day hum drum in your activity level and then log additional exercise and get those calories to eat back...whereas the TDEE method accounts for some estimate of that activity up front in your activity level.

Your TDEE is more than your BMR...if you exercise regularly, it can be far more. My BMR is around 1800 calories...WITHOUT any exercise, my TDEE is around 2300 calories...so when I started and wasn't really exercising I was having to eat pretty close to my BMR to lose about 1 Lb per week. With exercise, however, my TDEE is around 1800 calories so I can actually eat my NEAT maintenance of 2300 calories and lose weight at the rate of about 1 Lb per week.

BenjaminMFP88

stuffyramirez wrote: »

So if I have a TDEE of 3200 and work out 6 days a week I should eat say 80% of my TDEE which is 2560 per day. I am the first to admit that I am overweight and its of a consequence of laziness and boredom. I get home and eat toast before dinner, or a bag of crisps and then have a large dinner or get a takeaway etc.

But when I'm sensible (which is most days) I don't eat that bad so wonder why I struggle with my weight. I would honestly struggle to eat 2560 calories per day.

I'm not hungry after workouts and eat around 2000 calories per day, I net roughly 1200 per day so why aren't I losing weight???

If your workouts are consistant, yes I would eat at 80% of your TDEE. Remember, TDEE should be updated every few weeks as you gain/lose weight. Build up a solid weight and cardio routine and weight your food. Don't guestimate your caloric intake, because you will not be accurate. Stagnant weight could mean a number of things that would take forever to explain on here. But here's a few ideas:

-Increase water retention
-Eating too little and temporarily cause this
-Building muscle at a rate comparable to losing fat
-etc etc etc

On a personal level, I have found that controlling my macros helps me dramatically. Even when eating the same level of calories, If I increase my protein and fat intake to higher then that of carbs, I tend to lose fat faster. People call this their macro split Protein/Carbs/Fat, for me is (40/25/35). Everyone is different, and some like doing this and others hate it. May be something worth checking out

Just my two cents

BenjaminMFP88

cwolfman13 wrote: »

Also, MFP uses the NEAT method

Unless I am mistaken, very possible, NEAT is not an actual method, just a term people applied to the methodology MFP uses. NEAT is Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis which is actually just a component of TDEE.

RSEC75

stuffyramirez wrote: »

So if I have a TDEE of 3200 and work out 6 days a week I should eat say 80% of my TDEE which is 2560 per day. I am the first to admit that I am overweight and its of a consequence of laziness and boredom. I get home and eat toast before dinner, or a bag of crisps and then have a large dinner or get a takeaway etc.

But when I'm sensible (which is most days) I don't eat that bad so wonder why I struggle with my weight. I would honestly struggle to eat 2560 calories per day.

I'm not hungry after workouts and eat around 2000 calories per day, I net roughly 1200 per day so why aren't I losing weight???

How much you should eat below TDEE depends on how heavy you are. If you are only trying to loose a little it can be unhealthy to loose it too fast. Someone somewhere had a chart of how much you are trying to loose vs how much it's safe to loose per week but I can't find it now.

500 calories defecit = 1lb per week weight loss.

If you are not loosing weight there are a few things to consider...
1. Have you acurately calculated your TDEE. It IS just an estimate and there are so many factors that can affect it. Are you doing as much exercise as you think? Have you tried heart rate monitors/step counters to improve the estimate of TDEE based on what you are actually doing.

2. Are you accurately measuring all food and all drink. Get a digital food scale and (at least initially) weigh everything. Don't just trust figures on MFP check weight and double check other sources of nutritional info to get the calories for the weight.

3. Are you drinking enough liquid. I fail to loose weight when slightly dehydrated. The theory I've read is that your body hangs on to all the water it can when slightly dehydrated and that adds weight. It's seems true for me, but it's not talked about as much as other causes.

4. It's contentious of whether muscle gain can hide weight loss. I mention it, but won't get into discussion on whether it's possible or not.

5. Another contentious one is that if your calories are too low your metabolism slows and you don't loose weight. I won't argue that one either but it appeared to be the case when my husband first was trying to loose weight by following my diet, then we realised he was eating about 700 calories below his goal that way, upping his intake he suddenly started loosing weight (and fast). Again, many people argue this is not the case and shout down those who argue it's the case... I'm not getting into those discussions just mentioning that some folks believe it.

N1ckL12

Thanks all

I use a HRM when doing Insanity.

My TDEE has been calculated using an online calculator based upon an active lifestyle (insanity 6 days a week).

There is no way I consume 2500 calories per day, I consume less.

I find it difficult understanding what foods are good to eat. Is potato, pasta, rice, bread?? Things I try to cut out

I have only been doing this for 2 weeks so I will start eating a bit more, log my food better and drink more and then lets see.

Its just disheartening doing 6 days a week and not seeing and difference in my body!!!!

BenjaminMFP88

The journey to health and fitness will not reflect over the course of a few weeks. Keep at it, eat at your TDEE - a few %%, count your calories and see where you are after a few months. If you aren't losing enough, adjust your calories by a few (1-2 hundred) up or down depending on if your losing too much or not losing enough etc. I've never tried insanity so i'm not sure what it comprises of, but I would highly recommend getting set up on a solid weight lifting routine if it's not already one.

Sued0nim

You've set your settings to be 'very active'? Is this just because you do workouts every day or because you are also on the move all day lugging heavy stuff and basically exercising at work.

if using the MFP method, to set to the actual level you do outside of workouts and log workouts separately (with an HRM or using the calories on the database / machines by 1/2 to 3/4 estimate)

Or just go with scoobyworkshop and cut from TDEE

Sued0nim

stuffyramirez wrote: »

Thanks all

I use a HRM when doing Insanity.

My TDEE has been calculated using an online calculator based upon an active lifestyle (insanity 6 days a week).

There is no way I consume 2500 calories per day, I consume less.

I find it difficult understanding what foods are good to eat. Is potato, pasta, rice, bread?? Things I try to cut out

I have only been doing this for 2 weeks so I will start eating a bit more, log my food better and drink more and then lets see.

Its just disheartening doing 6 days a week and not seeing and difference in my body!!!!

Food that's good to eat is food you like

Try to eat whole grains, fresh produce, a range of foods to maximise nutrition but meh ... if you like food you consider bad go for it - just make sure it all stays within your calorie defecit

a good rule of thumb is 80/20 of food you know is good for you vs food you think might be 'bad' .. but carbs ain't bad

I eat carbs because they fuel me for workouts and I'm more interested in being fit and strong .. and my weight loss is a side focus .. but continuing because I am sticking to a defecit

N1ckL12

No I sit at a desk all day, but the Insanity booklet says to put it down as very active on the basis of 6 days exercise. SO my TDEE is to high???

segacs

Yes, your TDEE is too high if all you're doing is Insanity 6 days a week. If you're working out ~45 mins x 6 days, that's about 4 or 5 hours of exercise a week, plus basically sitting at a desk the rest of the time. That would be somewhere between lightly and moderately active. Very active is really reserved for people who are highly active all day, like working construction or something like that.

Try setting it to moderately active, and deducting 20% from there. Track and log for 5-6 weeks, don't log your workouts separately or eat back any additional calories, and see how you do. If you're losing weight at your expected pace, great. If not, adjust upward or downward. Remember that all online calculators are estimates only, and may not apply specifically to your body.

Sued0nim

Yes your TDEE is too high if you're sitting at a desk all day and using MFP to judge your calories then I'd set to sedentary..if you go for a walk each day of at least 30 minutes lightly active ...

Lot each workout but half the calories given as it tends to estimate if you're not using a HRM

Then eat that

Or go somewhere like
weightloss-calculator.net/activity-level-guide/

And choose a cut on your TDEE