Should I eat at my BMR?

pbandz

i have read a few places that your body only needs the calories you burn so basal metabolic rate . Mine is about 1380 and I know I eat that or more daily. If anything i average 1400. If I want to lose weight I have to eat 500 less calories than that daily? 880? That isn't possible. My weight really isn't moving but I've not gained weight eating more than 1380. I'm sick right now and have been for two days and I know I'm eating too much.
Also for the past two weeks I've consistently walked 5-7 miles daily and at least half an hour of that at 50% MHR .
So is 1380 my ideal calorie intake or? Thanks sorry if this is confusing im sick and tired

pbandz

Also I am 5'1 ~112 and want to lose weight. I want to know if 1380 is where I lose weight or is that 880?

hncary

No, your BMR is what your body burns just because you're alive. You want to eat at a deficit from your TDEE. Usually 300-400cal deficit

CatHunterFit

No your BMR is what your body needs if you don't move at all, all day! Your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is the number you want to work from which also takes into consideration your activity level. See http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/ for more

hncary

http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

Go there to figure out your TDEE

CatHunterFit

Great minds think alike @hncary

SherryTeach

Just for reference, I'm 5'1", weigh 105 pounds and I maintain that weight at around 1400 calories with moderate exercise. But I'm also 60 years old. Younger people would get to eat a lot more.

PeachyPlum

You need to eat at least your BMR at a bare minimum. Your BMR is what you'd burn if you stayed in bed and watched TV all day.
You would want that 500 calorie deficit to be taken from your TDEE, which is the total number of calories you burned all day.
So if you're eating 1400 calories, you want your TDEE (BMR + energy burned doing normal daily activities + exercise calories) to be around 1900.

hncary

Furrycatpig wrote: »

Great minds think alike @hncary

haha I guess so

Train4Foodz

I'm with the above replies on this one.
You really need to work out your TDEE if you're looking for a more 'advanced' method of tracking. MFP does in-fact factor in your TDEE when giving you an 'allowance' based on your goals though.
Either way, whatever you do.. Eating at your BMR wouldn't be a healthy or sustainable way to loose weight.

Have an awesome day/evening/night!

Unknown

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simplydelish2

You are currently in the healthy range of BMI. In addition, you may want to recalculate your BMR - MFP has it at just over 1,000 calories. My advice would be to think twice before deciding to focus on losing weight vs. sculpting your body.

eckhofft

Here's a great MFP post to help you understand all this better: BMR and TDEE Explained
I would recommend you figure your TDEE based on any of the online calculators you can find and then eat at that calorie range for 4-6 weeks to see if you maintain at that calorie number. If you maintain at that calorie goal then create a deficit of 500 calories from that number to lose weight. Here's another option of a TDEE Calculator

uvi5

SherryTeach wrote: »

Just for reference, I'm 5'1", weigh 105 pounds and I maintain that weight at around 1400 calories with moderate exercise. But I'm also 60 years old. Younger people would get to eat a lot more.

Just had to say, you look great! Inspiring!

pbandz

Fitbit and multiple websites have my BMR at ~1380 not 1000.

pbandz

It said my total calorie expenditure was ~2100

pbandz

Also to maintain at 1400 means in order to lose I need to eat like 1000 calories. I was 106 last year and gained weight and now I can't lose it

NotQuiteNorm

pbandz wrote: »

Also to maintain at 1400 means in order to lose I need to eat like 1000 calories. I was 106 last year and gained weight and now I can't lose it

Your BMR is right at around 1100-1300 according to IIFYM (unless you have an insanely low body fat percentage), I'd suggest you try to eat about 1200 calories a day for a week or two to see how your body reacts!

pbandz

According to online calculators my BMR is ~1200 but by doing the math by hand I got ~1380. I feel naturally I eat ~1600 or fewer calories I day. I don't count daily since I don't have a scale and can't measure super accurately, plus it makes me crazy. When I am walking and moving and doing as much as I do while not eating 2000 calories, surprised I can lose weight I once lost. When I lost it before I went off of medication and it melted away after a few months. Now I can't go off meds and it's annoying the hell out of me. I also have been doing strength training among tons of damn cardio and yoga

NotQuiteNorm

What medicine are you taking? I had mirtazapine for a while and literally left my second prescription un-claimed when I found out that not only did I lose my appetite - I gained like 10lb in 3 weeks!

sheldonklein

BMR is irrelevant to weight loss and is clearly confusing you. Either let MFP set your calories or use TDEE. Make sure you understand the difference between the two methods.

PeachyPlum

pbandz wrote: »

According to online calculators my BMR is ~1200 but by doing the math by hand I got ~1380. I feel naturally I eat ~1600 or fewer calories I day. I don't count daily since I don't have a scale and can't measure super accurately, plus it makes me crazy. When I am walking and moving and doing as much as I do while not eating 2000 calories, surprised I can lose weight I once lost. When I lost it before I went off of medication and it melted away after a few months. Now I can't go off meds and it's annoying the hell out of me. I also have been doing strength training among tons of damn cardio and yoga

If you're not counting calories, then what is the point of trying to figure out how many calories to eat?

Forget your BMR, it's not helping you. If your total calorie expenditure is 2100, take a cut off that. To lose a pound a week, you'd take 500 calories off, and eat at 1600.

But all of this is pointless if you aren't going to weigh your food and count your calories.

hncary

I think you'd be very surprised at how many calories you are probably actually eating without weighing and measuring everything. And you don't need to eat 1000 cal. You just need to properly weigh your food and eat around 1600 or 1700 cal/day (400 or 500 cal deficit of you TDEE not your BMR- forget about the BMR right now)

SLLRunner

pbandz wrote: »

Also I am 5'1 ~112 and want to lose weight. I want to know if 1380 is where I lose weight or is that 880?

Hi Jordan,

Your ticker says you have lost 18 pounds and want to lose more to get to 108 pounds. It sounds like you have been successful, so I'm confused as to why you're asking about calories to lose weight.

You should be eating 250 calories less than your TDEE to lose .5 pounds per week. Anything other than that is too aggressive.

Finally, why are you trying to lose weight when you are clearly in a healthy weight range for your height? http://www.healthchecksystems.com/heightweightchart.htm

I encourage you to look into body recomp instead of trying to lose more weight.

SLLRunner

sheldonklein wrote: »

BMR is irrelevant to weight loss and is clearly confusing you. Either let MFP set your calories or use TDEE. Make sure you understand the difference between the two methods.

And this.

slideaway1

Think of your BMR as how many calories it would take to keep you alive in a coma. (Breathing, Organ function).
Think of your TDEE as how many calories it takes to sustain you doing your everyday stuff (Walking about, going to work, walking to the shops, consuming food, doing housework, exercise whatever).
Eat 200-500 cals less than your TDEE. And within reason, eat what you want.

slideaway1

slideaway1 wrote: »

Think of your BMR as how many calories it would take to keep you alive in a coma. (Breathing, Organ function).
Think of your TDEE as how many calories it takes to sustain you doing your everyday stuff (Walking about, going to work, walking to the shops, consuming food, doing housework, exercise whatever).
Eat 200-500 cals less than your TDEE. And within reason, eat what you want.

This kind of crazy Pseudoscience will never take off.

RGv2

SLLRunner wrote: »

pbandz wrote: »

Also I am 5'1 ~112 and want to lose weight. I want to know if 1380 is where I lose weight or is that 880?

Hi Jordan,

Your ticker says you have lost 18 pounds and want to lose more to get to 108 pounds. It sounds like you have been successful, so I'm confused as to why you're asking about calories to lose weight.

You should be eating 250 calories less than your TDEE to lose .5 pounds per week. Anything other than that is too aggressive.

Finally, why are you trying to lose weight when you are clearly in a healthy weight range for your height? http://www.healthchecksystems.com/heightweightchart.htm

I encourage you to look into body recomp instead of trying to lose more weight.

^^^Yep, basically everything I planned to say.

lemurcat12

sheldonklein wrote: »

BMR is irrelevant to weight loss and is clearly confusing you. Either let MFP set your calories or use TDEE. Make sure you understand the difference between the two methods.

This.

Unknown

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NotQuiteNorm

Basically I think what's best for you is:

• To invest in even a cheap set of scales and from there weigh everything! I'm a little shorter than you so I can understand if the problem is you've plateaued. I don't have much to lose and it's definitely putting up a fight!
• To do some research on your medicine - find out if it's making you retain water, etc.
• If logging each thing drives you crazy... make big batches of meals as you can use scales to check the calories with the Recipe section just that once and then have pre-portioned tubs frozen or chilled (I even put "no. of calories stickers" on my frozen meals so I can grab and go).
• Either get MFP to decide your calories or start at a 500 deficit to what you think you use daily. 2100-500=1600 calories a day. Give it a week or two while correctly logging then maybe take another 100. Repeat until you find the best fit.
• And remember that you need to give real weight loss time!