BMR & Goal Weight - any Suggestions?

back2twentyfive

I am a 65 year old female, 5'3.5", current weight 157.4, BMR 1,550. I have lost 37.6 lbs. since 5/25/14, starting at 195 lbs. My goal weight is 118 lbs., which is within normal weight range for my height.

The MFP BMR calculator lists the following for me:

149.5 lbs., BMR 1,199 (which is actually in the overweight BMI category)
118 lbs., BMR 1,065

I spent my twenties and teens ~118 lbs. and felt great at that weight, which is why I chose it as my goal weight.

Does age really matter that much when it comes to goal weight? I find it hard to believe that at maintenance, I will be able to eat only 1,065 cal./day.

I would appreciate any insights into what to do and re how BMR is calculated. I really do want to get to my goal weight. Thanks for any suggestions!

sheldonklein

BMR does not equal maintenance. BMR is your calorie burn merely from being alive--imagine staying in bed all day without even rolling over. It is an essentially meaningless number that causes much more confusion than its worth. To get a maintenance number, go to a TDEE calculator and enter your data.

Liftng4Lis

Awesome job on your loss thus far. Age doesn't matter when it comes to your goal weight.
Your caloric allowance is definitely going to be different at 65 than it was at 20. Remember all of these calculators are just guessing when it comes to your actual TDEE, so you're probably going to need to play with the number a bit.

back2twentyfive

Thank you, sheldonklein!

The TDEE calculator at IIFYM lists the following at goal weight:

118 lbs, exercise 3x/wk, TDEE 1,444

That makes so much more sense! I think I will be able to deal with 1,444 cal./day at maintenance.

At my current weight of 157.4, the TDEE calculator lists 1,688, which seems accurate because if I have a few days of eating on average 1,550 cal. now, I still lose a little bit.

This is very helpful -- thank you!

MKEgal

back2twentyfive wrote:

Does age really matter that much when it comes to goal weight? I find it hard to believe that at maintenance, I will be able to eat only 1,065 cal./day.

As you get older, it's OK to be moving toward the heavier end of the healthy BMI range.

As for how much to eat at maintenance, Harvard Medical School says that if you're active 30 min/day you'll need about 15 cal/lb.

Once you get to goal, nudge your calories up by 50-100 at a time, wait a couple weeks & see what happens. When you stop losing & aren't gaining (maybe wavering around the same 5 lb or so) you've found what's right for you.

back2twentyfive

MKEgal & Lifting4Lis, thanks for your advice! Nudging up the calories very slowly at maintenance sounds very right, as it might be tempting to go whole hog, which would not be a good habit to get into. I've flagged this post to remember that, when the time comes.

I took a look at MKEgal's "About Me" -- it is so inspiring! I really like how you made goals and have been accomplishing them, something for me to think about as it becomes more difficult to lose weight as quickly. 2015 will be the year of more exercise for me but I haven't decided on anything specific yet. Harvard's 15 cal./lb. at 118 lbs.=1,770 cals.--it will be less than that my age (and height), as Liftg4Lis pointed out, but I could live with 1,444, or more depending on the amount of exercise. When the time comes, I now know to be cautious and slowly find the right number of calories for maintenance. First, I have to get there, but this is very helpful.

Much appreciated!