MFP's BMR Calculator Vs MFP's Recommended Caloric Intake

justesje

So if MFP BMR calculator tells me "Your estimated BMR is: 1,563 calories/day*" and my activity level is 6+ workouts a week, why on earth is my recommended caloric intake 1200? No wonder my weight loss has stopped. Am I not eating enough? Am I in starvation mode? Help me people!

auryngirl

I don't know about whether you're not eating enough, but MFP will not recommend that you eat less than 1200 calories for any reason. That's just the way the site is. If you want to set your goal calories lower, you can do it manually, but it will never suggest a lower amount than 1200 to you, no matter your BMR/workout situation.

robin52077

She's not asking to lower it, she's asking why it's so low to begin with....

ushanya - the amount of workouts you enter does not affect the calories, that's just there as a guide to see if you meet your workout goals for the week. The part that affects the calories is the part where you choose sedentary, lightly active, active, etc...
If you have chosen sedentary and set for 2 pounds a week loss, for example, it would give you 1200.
Try changing it to half a pound a week at lightly active and see what it says. You can play with those numbers all you want and can always put it back to where it was without messing anything up, so no worries....

justesje

I don't know about whether you're not eating enough, but MFP will not recommend that you eat less than 1200 calories for any reason. That's just the way the site is. If you want to set your goal calories lower, you can do it manually, but it will never suggest a lower amount than 1200 to you, no matter your BMR/workout situation.

You are not getting me, I think it should be higher than 1200 because for an activity level like mine, apparently you multiply BMR by 1.7. When I do that I get 2657.1. Read on a website that to lose weight you drop it by 500-1000 calories which still takes it to 1657.1. I have been eating way less than that and now I am stuck.

justesje

Thanks robin52077. I have readjusted it and now it is at 1450 a day. I didn't realise you needed to lower the weight loss figure to 1/2 to get higher calories. Thinking about it logically now, it makes sense. I have been suffering these awful headaches and unable to workout in the mornings so far this week and was wondering if it was due to the caloric intake being too low. So with some exercise, I think that would be a better goal for me. Thank you again.

de1amo

my bmr is 1693 according to a computer--for general life this increases to 2200(500 more for living) mfp sets me to lose 1000 calories a day therefor 7000 over a week--to lose 1lb of weight you need to reduce your intake by 3500 calories a week so i am losing 2lbs which i am--the exercise gives you extra credits to thrive on-

-what confuses me is that i get 1200 allowance and so does my wife but she is much smaller and less atheletic(and probably a slower bmr?)

justesje

So how do you answer the question below? Based on your life before you started working out or now that a workout daily. Work means I sit at a desk all day but I do between 30mins to 1hr of working out daily now.

How would you describe your normal daily activities?
Sedentary: Spend most of the day sitting (e.g. bank teller, desk job)
Lightly Active: Spend a good part of the day on your feet (e.g. nurse, salesman)
Active: Spend a good part of the day doing some physical activity (e.g. waitress, mailman)
Very Active: Spend most of the day doing heavy physical activity (e.g. bike messenger, carpenter)

de1amo

for the majority of the day i sit on my arm! but i am a school teacher and never sit down in classes but i count myself as sedantry as a lifestyle but i work out 3 or 4 times a week to counter balance this---i eat ok on 1200 calories but struggle to ever eat my exercise calories. i think i eat healthily and get at least 5 fruit and veg a day.
i think if you want an all inclusive answer you must set a hrm going on yourself and pedometer!

Rea_K

So how do you answer the question below? Based on your life before you started working out or now that a workout daily. Work means I sit at a desk all day but I do between 30mins to 1hr of working out daily now.

How would you describe your normal daily activities?
Sedentary: Spend most of the day sitting (e.g. bank teller, desk job)
Lightly Active: Spend a good part of the day on your feet (e.g. nurse, salesman)
Active: Spend a good part of the day doing some physical activity (e.g. waitress, mailman)
Very Active: Spend most of the day doing heavy physical activity (e.g. bike messenger, carpenter)

Hi Ushanya,

I have a desk job, and I work out for at least an hour every day, as well as some walking that I really count towards my exercise. I still describe my normal daily activities and sedentary though. I personally think you can either describe yourself as lightly active/active, and not eat your exercise calories, or be sedentary, and eat your exercise calories. I do it this way as if you describe yourself as active due to working out everyday, and also eat your exercise calories, you could be overeating.
I'm not saying this is what you're doing though, as you're probably undereating like you say! How tall are you?

You messaged me asking about my diary, but seeing as I'm writing here I can share with you what I eat. For the last 5 months I have eaten the same things almost everyday, which I'm not bored of. I just see it as a routine now:

I have one satchet of oats so simple original porridge every morning which is 183 calories, and a banana. For lunch I buy these 'fresh tastes' fresh ready meals from Asda that are around 350 calories. There is a huge selection and they taste homemade. They contain at least one of your five a day. The ones I buy are low in everything, including sodium and sugar! For dinner I usually make a stir fry or salad with lots of veg and prawns, chicken, or turkey. That's always around 350 calories also. This usually adds up to 1000 calories a day. On Thursdays I go to my in laws for dinner, which is usually a high calorie 3 course meal. I just don't log these meals, as I could never guess the calories. I also have a 'day off' on Sundays (weigh in day!).This is why on all other days I only have 1000 calories. I also never eat my exercise calories. I think whatever I eat on Thursdays/Sundays makes up for this. A few of weeks ago my weight loss slowed to 1lb a week. I tried upping my calories to 1200 each day, and I also tried eating my exercise calories. I didn't lose any weight. Last week I went back down to my usual daily intake and lost 3lbs. I know by the end this week I'll only lose 1lb or even half that, I've just accepted that as I'm coming to the end it is harder for me to lose.

Different things work for different people. This is what has worked for me since day one, and so I know however long it takes, the last 5 lbs will eventually drop off.x

This has worked for me so far, but we are all different.

SHBoss1673

it depends, if your work day is a desk job, but you actively try to get up every hour and do 5 minutes of activity, and you work out every day for 45 minutes to an hour, then at your age, you're not sedentary, probably closer to the midway point between sedentary and lightly active, so take the BMR with a grain of salt, plus, remember, MFP's calorie goals calculator is a "dumb" tool, I.E. it doesn't care what your activity level is, and it doesn't attempt to correct your deficit to account for how realistic it is to have a large goal. So basically I'm saying that even though only those who are obese should realistically be trying for a 2 lb per week weight loss, even someone with only 15 lbs to lose can choose 2 lbs a week in MFP, that doesn't mean you'll achieve it, and it doesn't mean it's safe for that person, it just means (assuming that 2 lbs a week deficit is above 1200 calories a day) MFP will still help you try to acheive it.

In these situations it's a matter of using your best judgement on what your deficit should be. I.E. if you only have a small amount to lose (for most people less than 25 lbs or so) then you shouldn't be thinking of much more than 1/2 lb per week as a weight loss goal, while a small percentage will be able to consistantly lost more than that even with a small amount, generally, the body will reject large deficits (by raising the starvation response hormones, and fat storage) and will make weight loss seem very difficult.

As a side note, when I say 25 lbs to lose, that doesn't include that last 10 or so lbs that is considered vanity weight. I.E. most people assume they should be at a lower weight than they actually need to be, your body doesn't care about that, and thus you should consider (unless you have already done so) a smaller number as your maintenance weight.

de1amo

i started building a diet that i am happy with and can live forever with--i eat my 5 fruit and veg a day --i keep my fiber up and i keep variety in it all.--i am in my last 6lbs to get to a vain weight and a bmi of 22,3--i havent noticed difficulty or a decrease in loss--in fact i am taking it easier and eating more than i did before joining here.
The bmr rates used here are for average people doing average jobs which by average means generally we are average.-i should think only pro sports people need to go outside the guidelines and readings--i had my bmr read by a computer under controlled conditions and it was roughly the same as the mfp--

arewethereyet

So how do you answer the question below? Based on your life before you started working out or now that a workout daily. Work means I sit at a desk all day but I do between 30mins to 1hr of working out daily now.

How would you describe your normal daily activities?
Sedentary: Spend most of the day sitting (e.g. bank teller, desk job)
Lightly Active: Spend a good part of the day on your feet (e.g. nurse, salesman)
Active: Spend a good part of the day doing some physical activity (e.g. waitress, mailman)
Very Active: Spend most of the day doing heavy physical activity (e.g. bike messenger, carpenter)

Ok for me, I started out sedentary. Sitting at a desk, parkign as close as possible, never carry a bag when you can use a cart, jump on the elevator or escalator for 2 floors............
I then became lightly active when I started getting up from my desk and walking to the printer instead of waiting for someone to bring it to me.
I became Active when I started walkign around the bldg on breaks, doing push ups on the bathroom :laugh: parking at the back and pushing in a cart on the way, getting dog food first and shopping from the back of the store 1st-meaning I had to push the 35ll bag along with the laundry soap, milk and such........

My exercise is calculater EXTRA.......so if you have 1400 to start, burn 600 in a workout, you should be eating closer to 2000 calories a day. I know it sounds insane................but I STOPPED losing when I stopped eating!!

Good luck :flowerforyou:

de1amo

before i joined here i was surviving on only about a 1000 calories and exercising 6 days a week for 3 hours at a time--i still only lost 2lbs a week!
on here i eat better and exercise less--i rest between gym days and i dont feel i am scared of eating some extras in my diet--i still lose 2lbs a week and i am in my last 6lbs of loss--i was 30lbs over weight at the start.--the one thing i have to control myself on is carbs--i am a carb person and could eat them til the cows come home!!--variety is the spice in diet and eating your fruit and veg!

justesje

Thank you all so much. I was really down about it today so I am glad you guys have dispensed such great advice. I will incorporate some of them into my routine and see how that works. I will give you updates on what happens. Thanks again xoxo

arewethereyet

it depends, if your work day is a desk job, but you actively try to get up every hour and do 5 minutes of activity, and you work out every day for 45 minutes to an hour, then at your age, you're not sedentary, probably closer to the midway point between sedentary and lightly active, so take the BMR with a grain of salt, plus, remember, MFP's calorie goals calculator is a "dumb" tool, I.E. it doesn't care what your activity level is, and it doesn't attempt to correct your deficit to account for how realistic it is to have a large goal. So basically I'm saying that even though only those who are obese should realistically be trying for a 2 lb per week weight loss, even someone with only 15 lbs to lose can choose 2 lbs a week in MFP, that doesn't mean you'll achieve it, and it doesn't mean it's safe for that person, it just means (assuming that 2 lbs a week deficit is above 1200 calories a day) MFP will still help you try to acheive it.

In these situations it's a matter of using your best judgement on what your deficit should be. I.E. if you only have a small amount to lose (for most people less than 25 lbs or so) then you shouldn't be thinking of much more than 1/2 lb per week as a weight loss goal, while a small percentage will be able to consistantly lost more than that even with a small amount, generally, the body will reject large deficits (by raising the starvation response hormones, and fat storage) and will make weight loss seem very difficult.

As a side note, when I say 25 lbs to lose, that doesn't include that last 10 or so lbs that is considered vanity weight. I.E. most people assume they should be at a lower weight than they actually need to be, your body doesn't care about that, and thus you should consider (unless you have already done so) a smaller number as your maintenance weight.

I did a calculator on a nother site that doesn't care about the 1200 suggested lowest intake (or my health!) to see what I would have to eat to lose 2 lbs a week. 600 calories! OMG.........the good news is I would be in the hospital for 2 wks being tube fed so those last pesky pounds (of muscle) would slide right off!

The fact that the media of all kinds touts 2 lbs a week as a general weight loss goal is BS.....7000 calories less a week when you weigh 135 pounds and need to lose 15? Impossible without messing with your system.