Rather specific question regarding calories.

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  • RobD520
    RobD520 Posts: 420 Member
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    sunnybeaches105 wrote: »
    RobD520 wrote: »
    sunnybeaches105 wrote: »
    RobD520 wrote: »
    sunnybeaches105 wrote: »
    Francl27 wrote: »
    sunnybeaches105 wrote: »
    Francl27 wrote: »
    synacious wrote: »
    Francl27 wrote: »
    Get some help. You don't need to lose any weight.

    Sorry, but what the hell is this comment? Not everyone aspires to be at the top of their BMI range. I'm 5'3" and right now I weigh 113 pounds and I'm in the process of cutting off five pounds after coming off a bulk. When I'm done, I'll still be in a healthy weight range for my height.

    Overall the forums here are useful, but it's over the top comments like these that test my patience. I've seen people advocate for others to stay higher on the BMI scale if they feel comfortable, yet if someone feels comfortable at the lower end they need help? I don't think so. BMI isn't everything but sheesh. People have fitness goals other than going from obese or overweight to a normal weight. A 5'4", 95 pound person needs to get help, not the OP.

    ... 5'4" and 119 pounds is hardly the 'top of the healthy BMI range', or we're not looking at the same chart at all.

    And wanting to lose even 1 pound a week at that weight IS extremely unhealthy. And eating 1590 calories while being as active as OP at 18 IS also extremely unhealthy.

    Depends on the calculator used and the age of the individual. The bottom end using BMI for a 5'4" woman at age 25 is around 108 pounds. The ideal using several other forumulae is around 119-123 pounds. I'd suggest the overweight folks start focusing on their own weights rather than consistently going after the lighter folks and visa versa.

    I am not overweight by a long shot but thank you for the advice I guess? So rude.

    But I guess it's fine, let's just encourage kids who want to starve themselves.

    How much do you weigh and how tall are you? You should definitely let the internet be the judge of that, considering you're so willing to diagnose the OP of an eating disorder.

    Again, you should probably educate yourself before accusing someone of starving herself.

    The OP is eating 210 per/day above her basal metabolic rate and reports that she is extremely active. I think it is understandable that some people might feel a little concerned for her given that. I don't necessarily claim she is trying to starve herself; but the goal is aggressive and the calories are low.



    So you've been tracking her calories for a few weeks and you know what her basal metabolic rate is? Oh, you're just running that through a calculator that assumes the population mean? Do you know if the OP is Asian? Have you ever looked at similar calculators for places like Japan?

    OK fine "estimated BMR" if you like. I realize we are all dealing with estimates when using any of these calculators or trackers. Even BMI is only accurate for ~80% of the population.

    If 100% perfect information is required for expressing an opinion, they really need to take down this board.

    I would never claim to know for certain what the OP or anyone else should for certain be doing. But based upon the information provided, and assuming she is as active as she claims, the the calorie numbers seem low.

    Perhaps it would be better to start asking the OP questions without immediately jumping to "eating disorder."? Perhaps, something along the lines, of "hey, OP, your calorie count seems low. How much a week are you actually losing and what are your goals with your current program?" I realize that this is a message board and everyone has their opinions (and I certainly could be accused of making assumptions in some of my answers), but when it comes to women on the low end of the BMI spectrum, the reaction in so many of these threads is similar to what happened here. That said, the OP is 18, or at least that is what her profile states, so she isn't going to be expected to be the same weight as someone in her 30s. And 1590 isn't all that low to begin with.

    Edit: to get the calorie count correct

    To be clear, I never said I think the OP has an eating disorder.

    I agree that the approach you suggest is more sensible than just jumping to conclusions.
  • sunnybeaches105
    sunnybeaches105 Posts: 2,831 Member
    edited April 2016
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    jmidd97 wrote: »
    Hi everyone,

    I just have a quick question regarding required calories for today. I'm an 18 year old 5'4" female (119 lbs), and I have my activity level set at Active, due to doing martial arts, swimming and a lot of walking at uni. This gives me 1590 calories a day. Today was a strange day however, and I'm confused about how my calories should be adjusted for it: I went to work, which involved 7 hours of standing (not really walking, pretty stationary). There was also some lifting of 16kg boxes, about one every 5 minutes.
    Should I keep to 1590 today? Or decrease it? My 1590 is for losing 1lb a week, BTW.

    Thanks in advance, hope this isn't a silly question.

    OP, it might be helpful to do a spot check of the MFP calculator. As you are probably aware, MFP uses a NEAT calculation which requires you to add back exercise calories. I've always double checked mine against a TDEE calculator (which includes those exercise calories in the calculation). It helps to get a couple of perspectives and calculations and then track them over time. Interestingly enough, I ran your information and the TDEE calculator using "heavy exercise" as the exercise option, and it gave your basal metabolic rate at 1,305 calories and maintenance calories at 2,251, with your BMI at 20.4 (with a suggested range of 18.5 to 24.99). With that spot check, I'd say keep it where you are and track it over the next 3-4 weeks. It may be slightly low to lose 1 pound a week, and you are rather active, so you can adjust it upwards and also track it from there for the next 3-4 weeks. You are trending to the low end of BMI so you may want to evaluate your goals in light of that. There's nothing wrong with being on the low end though, and every doctor I've ever asked has expressed a preference for the low end absent a history of eating disorders.

    https://tdeecalculator.net/result.php?s=imperial&age=18&g=female&lbs=119&in=64&act=1.725&bf=&f=1

  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,397 MFP Moderator
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    synacious wrote: »
    RobD520 wrote: »
    sunnybeaches105 wrote: »
    Francl27 wrote: »
    sunnybeaches105 wrote: »
    Francl27 wrote: »
    synacious wrote: »
    Francl27 wrote: »
    Get some help. You don't need to lose any weight.

    Sorry, but what the hell is this comment? Not everyone aspires to be at the top of their BMI range. I'm 5'3" and right now I weigh 113 pounds and I'm in the process of cutting off five pounds after coming off a bulk. When I'm done, I'll still be in a healthy weight range for my height.

    Overall the forums here are useful, but it's over the top comments like these that test my patience. I've seen people advocate for others to stay higher on the BMI scale if they feel comfortable, yet if someone feels comfortable at the lower end they need help? I don't think so. BMI isn't everything but sheesh. People have fitness goals other than going from obese or overweight to a normal weight. A 5'4", 95 pound person needs to get help, not the OP.

    ... 5'4" and 119 pounds is hardly the 'top of the healthy BMI range', or we're not looking at the same chart at all.

    And wanting to lose even 1 pound a week at that weight IS extremely unhealthy. And eating 1590 calories while being as active as OP at 18 IS also extremely unhealthy.

    Depends on the calculator used and the age of the individual. The bottom end using BMI for a 5'4" woman at age 25 is around 108 pounds. The ideal using several other forumulae is around 119-123 pounds. I'd suggest the overweight folks start focusing on their own weights rather than consistently going after the lighter folks and visa versa.

    I am not overweight by a long shot but thank you for the advice I guess? So rude.

    But I guess it's fine, let's just encourage kids who want to starve themselves.

    How much do you weigh and how tall are you? You should definitely let the internet be the judge of that, considering you're so willing to diagnose the OP of an eating disorder.

    Again, you should probably educate yourself before accusing someone of starving herself.

    The OP is eating 210 per/day above her basal metabolic rate and reports that she is extremely active. I think it is understandable that some people might feel a little concerned for her given that. I don't necessarily claim she is trying to starve herself; but the goal is aggressive and the calories are low.



    I am curious for the OP to come back and answer this part. The meaning of active varies for people. For weight loss, the general rule is to aim for no more of a loss than 1% of your bodyweight per week, so if OP is aiming for one pound per week, it's within reason. Yes, it's aggressive, but within reason.

    And we have to consider dietary and training context. Online calculators have me at 2000 ish calories for my bmr and i eat 2300. At 5'11 and 174 @16% bf, does that mean i am unhealthy.... no. There is no scientific evidence that even eating below bmr is bad. But certain factors should be known before making blanket statements; training, body composition, diet, lifestyle, age, sex and medical issues all have influence over these things.
  • jmidd97
    jmidd97 Posts: 84 Member
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    Thanks everyone for your contributions!

    Ashliefische is right, I didn't realise 1lb loss per week was aggressive. With many people aiming for 2lb per week, I thought it was perfectly fine. But thinking about it, it does make sense for rate of weight loss to decrease as they lose weight.
    My goals for weight loss aren't anything extreme, and I don't intend to go below a healthy BMI, and I check it regularly. A slow rate of loss is fine with me, as long as its actually happening.
    Apologies for freaking people out; I'm not bordering on anorexia, but like others said, I just look and feel better at a lower BMI. On my frame, any excess fat is very obvious unfortunately. I believe that's true with many shorter girls?
    Regarding my activity levels; I'm not hugely active, being a student I do have to study a lot. I've had to lately cut back on martial arts and swimming due to exams, but should be going back to it soon. The reason I have my activity levels set to active, is because at Lightly Active I felt hungry and "deprived" all the time, being allocated 1380. And yes, I do a lot of walking at uni, at least 8000 steps I should think. I just recently got a fitness tracker, so now I can be more certain of that. To make sure I'm not overdoing it on calories, I usually try aim for between 1400 and 1590, depending on how active I was during the day.
    Just as some extra info, I'm a white NZ European, and have lost 8lbs in 2 months. I think the beginning lbs were just water weight though.

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