Finding your BMR
Options
Paschen81
Posts: 150 Member
So... I went to iifym website after seeing a post suggesting it for finding BMR.
Long story short... It says 2148 uh.... Bwahahaha is this a joke? I have NEVER eaten that many calories in a normal day ever... Even when I was gaining 5 lbs a week for the 12 week span before going to the doctor. After all the labs came back normal he had me log my intake for a week (turns out at that time I was eating around 1800 calories per day) and decrease it by 100 calories a day each week until I started losing. I did this and once I got to 1400 I finally stopped gaining but didn't start losing until I got to 1200. Right now eating between 1000 to 1200 a day and losing about 2 pounds per week... How on earth can my BMR really be over 2000 when any more than 1400 I gain? Seriously how can I find an accurate BMR?
Long story short... It says 2148 uh.... Bwahahaha is this a joke? I have NEVER eaten that many calories in a normal day ever... Even when I was gaining 5 lbs a week for the 12 week span before going to the doctor. After all the labs came back normal he had me log my intake for a week (turns out at that time I was eating around 1800 calories per day) and decrease it by 100 calories a day each week until I started losing. I did this and once I got to 1400 I finally stopped gaining but didn't start losing until I got to 1200. Right now eating between 1000 to 1200 a day and losing about 2 pounds per week... How on earth can my BMR really be over 2000 when any more than 1400 I gain? Seriously how can I find an accurate BMR?
0
Replies
-
Stats?2
-
I haven't looked at the IIFYM site for a while, but the new-ish calculator includes exercise settings. Are you including your exercise in the calculator?
If I set it for "sedentary" and the minimum exercise values, it calculates similar to other Miffin St.-Jeor BMR calculators.
Either way, your TDEE or NEAT is much more relevant to weight management than BMR.
0 -
Must have been your TDEE.
BMR does not include activity and digestion.5 -
What stats do you want? I'm 40 Female 6'1" currently 297 (down from 312) highest weight 319 3 years ago lowest adult weight 175 over 22 years ago. My ultimate goal is 150 but could be content with 175.
Exercise varies. Minimum is 2 days a week for about an hour or so. When it doesn't get dark by 6pm I'll exercise more frequently... Or when I am on vacation I'll exercise more.0 -
So... I went to iifym website after seeing a post suggesting it for finding BMR.
Long story short... It says 2148 uh.... Bwahahaha is this a joke? I have NEVER eaten that many calories in a normal day ever... Even when I was gaining 5 lbs a week for the 12 week span before going to the doctor. After all the labs came back normal he had me log my intake for a week (turns out at that time I was eating around 1800 calories per day) and decrease it by 100 calories a day each week until I started losing. I did this and once I got to 1400 I finally stopped gaining but didn't start losing until I got to 1200. Right now eating between 1000 to 1200 a day and losing about 2 pounds per week... How on earth can my BMR really be over 2000 when any more than 1400 I gain? Seriously how can I find an accurate BMR?
If you're losing 2 Lbs per week eating 1,000 - 1200 calories per day then this would suggest that your TDEE (not BMR) is around 2,000 - 2,200 calories...because math. There's no way you gain at 1400 calories and lose 2 Lbs per week at 1000 - 1200...because math. You were eating more than you thought you were.
I think you're confusing BMR and TDEE...your BMR is just the calories you burn merely existing...your TDEE includes your BMR and all of your activity.12 -
-
So... I went to iifym website after seeing a post suggesting it for finding BMR.
Long story short... It says 2148 uh.... Bwahahaha is this a joke? I have NEVER eaten that many calories in a normal day ever... Even when I was gaining 5 lbs a week for the 12 week span before going to the doctor. After all the labs came back normal he had me log my intake for a week (turns out at that time I was eating around 1800 calories per day) and decrease it by 100 calories a day each week until I started losing. I did this and once I got to 1400 I finally stopped gaining but didn't start losing until I got to 1200. Right now eating between 1000 to 1200 a day and losing about 2 pounds per week... How on earth can my BMR really be over 2000 when any more than 1400 I gain? Seriously how can I find an accurate BMR?
You can't "find" an accurate BMR. You can have your RMR (Resting compared to Basal) test, but that's a tad higher than BMR.
You can merely attempt to find best estimate - but without an actual test how would you even know it was "best" estimate?
You can't.
You can take into account body composition with a 5% accurate bodyfat% known and Katch BMR formula.
That value you received was for TDEE, not BMR.
And from past comments from people that had weight results calculated TDEE, that site was always lower estimate than what reality showed for them.
And guess what if your math was right - eating 1000-1200 and losing 2 lbs weekly (if only fat being lost that is, which is big iff and not likely)
1000 to 1200 + 1000 deficit to cause 2 lbs weekly = 2000 to 2200 TDEE.
And your math must be way off - or you have misunderstanding about what the gains are.
Because if you truly gained fat eating over 1400, that would be your TDEE (maintenance).
Therefore eating 1000 to 1200 would only cause a 1lb weight loss every 2 or more weeks about with 200 to 400 deficit.
I'd imagine your food logging is very inaccurate. And when eating more that effect is worse.
And when you eat more your body is finally getting to replenish some carb stores with attached water - so water weight gain.
Just putting back water that everyone loses when they start a diet.
Now - if you have messed up your system so bad, you are likely losing muscle mass too - so that formula for 3500 calories per pound is not accurate - that's only if fat loss only. Include muscle and that's 600 / lb about. So math is all off.2 -
AnthonyX150X wrote: »
OK... Well when I was in high school I would eat one meal per day... Dinner and consist of things like a hamburger on a bun with lettuce tomato and mayo and a single serving bag of chips. Or an 8oz bowl of chili with a tbs of sour cream and a small pinch of shredded cheddar. Or a 2 cup salad with a mix of different veggies (love veggies) with 2oz of vinegrette dressing Max as too much dressing and that's all you taste and becomes just black. Or a small plate of spaghetti
In my 20s I ate very similar for dinner but sometimes I would grab a small order of fries for lunch when I had time to take a lunch break at work. Or a half order of mac n cheese if the cafeteria had it that day. Or on the rare occasions of Cherokee casserole... I'd get a half order of that even if I didn't have time for lunch I'd take it home for part of my dinner.
It wasn't until my late 20s early 30s that I started eating a regular lunch as well as dinner... But still wouldn't eat breakfast. This is the time I gained from 175 to about 220ish but it wasn't really noticeable. I went from a size 14 to a size 16.
3 years ago (edit: holy hell it's been 5 years ago now that I think about it... /edit) after not changing my eating habits from above... I went from 220 to 255 in 3 months. Went to the doctor everything came back normal. At that point I started changing my eating habits reducing how much I ate and what kinds of food I ate. By the time I got down to 1400 calories and stopped gaining I weighed 285. I got down to 245 before an injury kept me from exercising and stress made gain again. Now a size 22 and 297...I'm determined to get down to a normal BMI again.
And while I know it's just an excuse genetics have a negative impact on my weight loss.0 -
You're kind of missing the point. If you are losing 2lbs per week on 1200 calories (or what you think is 1200 calories, we don't know the accuracy of your logging) then it's a scientific impossibility that 1. you can't lose on 1400 and 2. gain the second you eat 1401. Because in order to lose 2lbs per week you need a daily deficit of 1000 calories. It's just science. And maths (or math over the pond).10
-
VintageFeline wrote: »You're kind of missing the point. If you are losing 2lbs per week on 1200 calories (or what you think is 1200 calories, we don't know the accuracy of your logging) then it's a scientific impossibility that 1. you can't lose on 1400 and 2. gain the second you eat 1401. Because in order to lose 2lbs per week you need a daily deficit of 1000 calories. It's just science. And maths (or math over the pond).
Yes I know accuracy is off... That's why I overestimate every chance I get when I know I won't be accurate. Sometimes I can be very accurate like my lunch today 2 pieces of 35 calorie whole grain wheat bread 4 slices ham (the serving size listed on the package) 1 slice munster cheese (serving size listed on the bag). That was my lunch and is how I logged it. Last night was mini penne. I had 2 serving spoon fulls. The serving size is 2/3rds cup but I don't know the capacity of the spoon only that the portion was slightly bigger than my fist which is about one cup in size so I logged 1.5 servings of the 2/3rds cup serving size figuring that would be 1 cup of which is my fist size... Yeah I probably should have marked 2 servings to make sure I wasn't underestimating... I might go back and change that to a higher number and see if that would add more than 200 calories and put me over 1200.0 -
The numbers given to you by any given service is irrelevant except as a vague starting point. You think your TDEE should be around 1400? So eat that much religiously for a few weeks and see what happens. Then adjust as necessary.
This whole thing is shockingly easy.9 -
AnthonyX150X wrote: »
OK... Well when I was in high school I would eat one meal per day... Dinner and consist of things like a hamburger on a bun with lettuce tomato and mayo and a single serving bag of chips. Or an 8oz bowl of chili with a tbs of sour cream and a small pinch of shredded cheddar. Or a 2 cup salad with a mix of different veggies (love veggies) with 2oz of vinegrette dressing Max as too much dressing and that's all you taste and becomes just black. Or a small plate of spaghetti
In my 20s I ate very similar for dinner but sometimes I would grab a small order of fries for lunch when I had time to take a lunch break at work. Or a half order of mac n cheese if the cafeteria had it that day. Or on the rare occasions of Cherokee casserole... I'd get a half order of that even if I didn't have time for lunch I'd take it home for part of my dinner.
It wasn't until my late 20s early 30s that I started eating a regular lunch as well as dinner... But still wouldn't eat breakfast. This is the time I gained from 175 to about 220ish but it wasn't really noticeable. I went from a size 14 to a size 16.
3 years ago (edit: holy hell it's been 5 years ago now that I think about it... /edit) after not changing my eating habits from above... I went from 220 to 255 in 3 months. Went to the doctor everything came back normal. At that point I started changing my eating habits reducing how much I ate and what kinds of food I ate. By the time I got down to 1400 calories and stopped gaining I weighed 285. I got down to 245 before an injury kept me from exercising and stress made gain again. Now a size 22 and 297...I'm determined to get down to a normal BMI again.
And while I know it's just an excuse genetics have a negative impact on my weight loss.
You would not have gained weight from 175 to 297 if you never ate over your BMR. I don't think you are logging your calories accurately if you are losing 2 lbs per week at 1200 calories, then think you gain if you go over 1400 calories.
I used Myfitnesspal's BMR Calculator for a 6'1" 297 pound 40 year old woman and the result was 2,145. Remember this is excluding your TDEE.6 -
If you aren't weighing your food you can't be sure your logging is accurate. Just because the package says 1 serving of ham is 4 pieces doesn't mean 4 pieces weighs the amount listed per serving. Say the serving is 100 grams, but those 4 pieces actually weigh 150 grams. You've just eaten half an extra serving and didn't even know it. Same for measuring by the spoonful, you probably ate much more than you realized.
So many more things here, but I'll leave it at that. You aren't logging accurately.7 -
xmichaelyx wrote: »The numbers given to you by any given service is irrelevant except as a vague starting point. You think your TDEE should be around 1400? So eat that much religiously for a few weeks and see what happens. Then adjust as necessary.
This whole thing is shockingly easy.
I religiously try to eat much less than that but then my doctor starts yelling at me for not eating enough. I was just wondering about long term... Am I really stuck eating 1200 to 1400 calories for the rest of my life? Should I really be limited to only 2 fist sized portions of food per day? And never really be able to eat my yummy veggies or fruits because I have to save that space for proteins. Ugh. This is frustrating. Ok. So from what you all are saying. I'm stuck staying under 1400. Thank you all for helping. Sometimes I really just hate me body lol. Why couldn't I have been lucky to have one of those fast metabolisms where you have to eat thousands of calories just to maintain *sigh* oh to dream.... Lol.
0 -
xmichaelyx wrote: »The numbers given to you by any given service is irrelevant except as a vague starting point. You think your TDEE should be around 1400? So eat that much religiously for a few weeks and see what happens. Then adjust as necessary.
This whole thing is shockingly easy.
I religiously try to eat much less than that but then my doctor starts yelling at me for not eating enough. I was just wondering about long term... Am I really stuck eating 1200 to 1400 calories for the rest of my life? Should I really be limited to only 2 fist sized portions of food per day? And never really be able to eat my yummy veggies or fruits because I have to save that space for proteins. Ugh. This is frustrating. Ok. So from what you all are saying. I'm stuck staying under 1400. Thank you all for helping. Sometimes I really just hate me body lol. Why couldn't I have been lucky to have one of those fast metabolisms where you have to eat thousands of calories just to maintain *sigh* oh to dream.... Lol.
No one is saying that.... They are saying your maintenance IS probably close to the IIFYM numbers. Based on the math, losing 2 lbs per week (1000 calorie deficit) and eating 1200 = 2200.
How much protein are you eating that you have no room for fruits/veggies? There are tons of low carb fruit and veg options out there that you can eat in bulk without making a huge dent on calories...1 -
I can meet my protein needs in 600-700 calories. That leaves all my other calories free for veggies, that's a lot of veg!3
-
And again. You are missing the point. This is not about your logging accuracy but that you are losing 2lbs per week currently. Meaning your current maintenance level is 2200 at least. Not the 1400 you seem to think it is. because if that were true you wouldn't be losing 2lbs per week on 1200 calories.3
-
The calculation is high because of your weight. Go back to the site, enter all your stats and put in your goal weight and it'll tell you what your BMR for a normal weight is, probably in the 1500's. With your weight being 297 your body requires more energy just to power your cardiovascular system. I started at 305 with MFP and IIFYM and I'm 6'2" tall so my BMR was similar (actually a tad higher). Keep in mind that BMR number is the amount of calories you need to simply exist and keep your weight. If you want to lose weight without any exercise, you'll have calculate a deficit into that BMR number. So if your BMR was 2148, and you wanted to lose 2lbs a week max, that's 7000 calories a week you need to deduct, so 7000/7 = 1000 calories a day, puts you at 1148/day goal, and by MFP standards no less than 1200 per day is what it will assign you, so it would set you at 1200 (I wouldn't honestly go that low at your height). Also, if you're gaining weight at 1400 calories a day and your stats are correct, then there's something either wrong with your exercise calories you're eating back, or the way you're logging your food, or there may be a medical problem. Just my opinion.
Also when I plug in your stats at iifym, it gives me:
Your BMR Is: 2148
Your TDEE Is: 2470
So your TDEE, set at light activity and sedentary with no exercise means you burn those extra calories just getting up going to the bathroom, fixing food, etc. No real exercise calculated in. So setting yourself at a deficit of 1000 cals per day would mean 1470/day with no exercise. If that gains you weight, again, there's something wrong with the logged food amounts or you could have other issues (thyroid, etc.).2 -
AnthonyX150X wrote: »
You would not have gained weight from 175 to 297 if you never ate over your BMR. I don't think you are logging your calories accurately if you are losing 2 lbs per week at 1200 calories, then think you gain if you go over 1400 calories.
I used Myfitnesspal's BMR Calculator for a 6'1" 297 pound 40 year old woman and the result was 2,145. Remember this is excluding your TDEE.
OK... So even with overestimating I'm still eating way more than I am allotting for. But seriously can packaged thin sliced ham really vary so much that the serving size of 4 slices could actually be the weight of 6 slices? Hmm... Interesting... Guess I should be reducing my intake alot more than I have been already but continue to report the portion as before
So anything prepackaged is really grossly inaccurate? Guess salad plates need exchanged for dessert plates for better portion control.
0 -
So anything prepackaged is really grossly inaccurate? Guess salad plates need exchanged for dessert plates for better portion control.
Not everything, but you'd be really surprised. Get a scale, it saved my bacon (ok now I want bacon lol!). For instance I'll make a protein shake in the mornings, and it takes 2 scoops. On the container it says 2 scoops is 82g. 2 scoops is actually, if I weigh it, somewhere around 90g or more if I pack it in just right. The protein bars I eat for snacks every day say they are 72g, but in reality are usually way more than that, up to 10g heavier. I'm in maintenance mode now so I don't really care, but when I was dieting it made a big difference. Also don't forget to include things like condiments, additions to sandwiches, sauces (big BIG offenders), salad dressings (calories in these are ridiculous most of the time, always weigh them). Until I got a scale I was figuring 2 tbsp or even 4 tbsp of salad dressing on my salads.. but when I weighed it, I was hitting 6-10tbsp which was sometimes as much as a 200 calorie difference I wasn't logging. A good accurate scale is your friend.
3
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 392.1K Introduce Yourself
- 43.6K Getting Started
- 259.9K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.7K Food and Nutrition
- 47.4K Recipes
- 232.4K Fitness and Exercise
- 403 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.8K Motivation and Support
- 7.9K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.4K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 982 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.4K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions