Finding your BMR

135

Replies

  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Paschen81 wrote: »
    But what if your meal is more of a mixed bag. Like veggies are mix of corn, asparagus, carrots, onion.

    Weigh and jot it down when chopping or otherwise getting them together for cooking.
    And what if your protein is not straight meat but a casserole or meat mixture like my Italian meatloaf which uses hamburger, sausage, bread crumbs, eggs, onions, tomato sauce, tomatoes, mozzarella, and ricotta cheese all in one loaf?

    Create a recipe. It can be easily adjusted each time you make the same meal. Or again jot stuff down when cooking and log them separately and divide into portions.
    And salads?! Good lord I like to put all kinds of veggies in my salads 3 or more kinds of lettuce, cucumber, carrot, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, green onions, radishes, tomatoes, peas, edamame... You get the idea lol.

    Super easy -- put a bowl, add ingredients, tare after each one. With lettuce I usually don't bother worrying about logging different types, though, and just log it all together (and will even estimate sometimes), since it has so few calories.
  • SusanMFindlay
    SusanMFindlay Posts: 1,804 Member
    To gain weight up to nearly 300lbs you didn't eat over 2100 calories a day, ever? Lol

    She might not have. She might have drank the calories. Lots of people don't even think about all the calories in Starbucks style drinks, milkshakes, cream in coffee, alcohol, etc.
  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
    LAWoman72 wrote: »
    Paschen, watch this. This woman tracked her calories by estimating what she ate. See how much she thought she ate vs. how much she actually ate:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KA9AdlhB18o

    Also, here's a picture of me when I thought I was eating 1200 or less calories a day and swore I couldn't lose weight. I used to keep track in my head and swore I was overestimating portions:

    8dac81xkjls8.jpg

    This is me after getting a food scale, and I learned how to weigh, measure, and log what I was eating and got real with myself and stopped telling myself lies:

    s2mbos9cdm9v.jpg

    You have a decision to make. You can keep pushing back against the advice you've been given in this thread, or you can make progress and lose weight.

    Your choice.

    This is extremely inspiring (and I marked it so).

    Thank you!

    I'm going to start talking to Paschen again...

    I also wanted to point out for Paschen that I am older (54, I was 52 when I started doing this properly) and also have 2 forms of arthritis and a bad thyroid.

    I saw you mention metabolic issues. I have them to. And used to think they were influencing my weight as well.

    They weren't.

    I ate too much, and until I could admit that, I couldn't lose weight.

    The same applies to you.

    Furthermore, it's not just admitting you eat too much, it's being willing to really understand how the body works (not some silly "oh muh metabuhlizum") and how weight loss works. The basic math of it. Even though calories in vs. calories out are only estimates, they're close enough for most people. Even people with metabolic conditions. Sometimes, we have to make adjustments (maybe 100 calories or so vs. someone who doesn't have our condition), but otherwise? We work the same as everyone else.
    This, and your post before, are INCREDIBLE and very inspiring! Thank you so much for taking the time to write these.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    LAWoman72 wrote: »
    Paschen, watch this. This woman tracked her calories by estimating what she ate. See how much she thought she ate vs. how much she actually ate:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KA9AdlhB18o

    Also, here's a picture of me when I thought I was eating 1200 or less calories a day and swore I couldn't lose weight. I used to keep track in my head and swore I was overestimating portions:

    8dac81xkjls8.jpg

    This is me after getting a food scale, and I learned how to weigh, measure, and log what I was eating and got real with myself and stopped telling myself lies:

    s2mbos9cdm9v.jpg

    You have a decision to make. You can keep pushing back against the advice you've been given in this thread, or you can make progress and lose weight.

    Your choice.

    This is extremely inspiring (and I marked it so).

    Me too!
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    LAWoman72 wrote: »
    Paschen, watch this. This woman tracked her calories by estimating what she ate. See how much she thought she ate vs. how much she actually ate:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KA9AdlhB18o

    Also, here's a picture of me when I thought I was eating 1200 or less calories a day and swore I couldn't lose weight. I used to keep track in my head and swore I was overestimating portions:

    8dac81xkjls8.jpg

    This is me after getting a food scale, and I learned how to weigh, measure, and log what I was eating and got real with myself and stopped telling myself lies:

    s2mbos9cdm9v.jpg

    You have a decision to make. You can keep pushing back against the advice you've been given in this thread, or you can make progress and lose weight.

    Your choice.

    This is extremely inspiring (and I marked it so).

    Thank you!

    I'm going to start talking to Paschen again...

    I also wanted to point out for Paschen that I am older (54, I was 52 when I started doing this properly) and also have 2 forms of arthritis and a bad thyroid.

    I saw you mention metabolic issues. I have them to. And used to think they were influencing my weight as well.

    They weren't.

    I ate too much, and until I could admit that, I couldn't lose weight.

    The same applies to you.

    Furthermore, it's not just admitting you eat too much, it's being willing to really understand how the body works (not some silly "oh muh metabuhlizum") and how weight loss works. The basic math of it. Even though calories in vs. calories out are only estimates, they're close enough for most people. Even people with metabolic conditions. Sometimes, we have to make adjustments (maybe 100 calories or so vs. someone who doesn't have our condition), but otherwise? We work the same as everyone else.
    This, and your post before, are INCREDIBLE and very inspiring! Thank you so much for taking the time to write these.

    Thank you (except now you preserved my typo for posterity! :P I just hope the OP comes back and sees them.
  • Paschen81
    Paschen81 Posts: 152 Member
    Yes. I watched it. I really hope that my diary isn't that incredibly under estimated as the person in the video. I can easily cut back to what I ate on the NS diet... Maybe I won't go hypoglycemic going another round. But when I get paid I'll get a scale and start weighing the portions.
  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
    Paschen81 wrote: »
    Yes. I watched it. I really hope that my diary isn't that incredibly under estimated as the person in the video. I can easily cut back to what I ate on the NS diet... Maybe I won't go hypoglycemic going another round. But when I get paid I'll get a scale and start weighing the portions.

    You won't need to drastically cut back.

    You don't gain weight at 1400 calories and then lose two pounds at 1200.

    When you are measuring accurately, you can eat more than you think.

    Please, I implore you -- let go of what you think you know and start fresh. Read the stickies at the top of the forum.

    Plug your stats into MFP and let it calculate your loss for you.

    You've said you have Marfan's. That means you're tall. You're overweight. Tall people who have a lot to lose can lose at the rate of 2 pounds a week on much more than you think. You're probably eating that, you just don't realize it.

    Quick edit: I just ran your stats. Your total daily energy expenditure is around 2500 calories. To lose 2 pounds a week, you'd have to eat around 1,500 calories. Which is likely what you're eating when you think you're eating 1,200 and not being accurate.
    Another outstanding post!
  • Paschen81
    Paschen81 Posts: 152 Member
    Well today is my first day using a scale. I ve purposely mirrored a previous day's breakfast and lunch to see how bad my presumed overestimate was actually underestimated. So... So far it's not as bad as I was expecting. My breakfast that I estimated was 122 calories more than the breakfast I weighed (and I even used more cream cheese this morning than I normally do.)

    Lunch was mixed. The bread weighed one gram more than listed on the bag for what 2 slices would be. But the 4 slices of ham weighed 3 grams less than what was listed on the bag. The cheese slice however was dead on exact with the bags info. The mayo came in at less than a serving as listed as well. So after all that I was 60 calories less than what I estimated for.

    Not to shabby I don't think... I'm anxious about dinner. That may be where the greatest of the underestimation could reside
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    Paschen81 wrote: »
    Well today is my first day using a scale. I ve purposely mirrored a previous day's breakfast and lunch to see how bad my presumed overestimate was actually underestimated. So... So far it's not as bad as I was expecting. My breakfast that I estimated was 122 calories more than the breakfast I weighed (and I even used more cream cheese this morning than I normally do.)

    Lunch was mixed. The bread weighed one gram more than listed on the bag for what 2 slices would be. But the 4 slices of ham weighed 3 grams less than what was listed on the bag. The cheese slice however was dead on exact with the bags info. The mayo came in at less than a serving as listed as well. So after all that I was 60 calories less than what I estimated for.

    Not to shabby I don't think... I'm anxious about dinner. That may be where the greatest of the underestimation could reside

    yeah and sometimes the other slices of cheese may be more or less. my bread the last few days has been 7g over for 2 slices. so it does pay to weigh in my opinion. the shocking part was the peanut butter and the oils.
  • savithny
    savithny Posts: 1,200 Member
    Be 100% sure that you count everything with calories. Biggest surprise in logging for me was how many calories I was consuming just in coffee with cream/sugar at work (I use milk at home). Coffee creamer, peanut butter, and sandwich spreads were the real diet busters.

    Also: You have to track all beverages, especially alcohol, even alcohol you don't have with meals.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,311 Member
    Paschen81 wrote: »
    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 was just wondering about long term... Am I really stuck eating 1200 to 1400 calories for the rest of my life? .. Lol.

    I admit I am lazy and did not even work out my BMR or TDEE, I just plugged my stats into MFP and ate what it told me to eat.

    and I realise some people's metabolism is bit different to others- but even allowing for that - No you cannot possibly need to eat 1400 for the rest of your life - ie after reaching goal weight and eating to maitenance.

    I am nearly a foot shorter than you and probably quite a few years older - and My maitenance calories are 1710 - net calories, before any exercise calories are added back in.

    I LOST on 1460.

    Even in the losing stage of your journey your calorie allowance has to be more than 1400.

  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,336 Member
    edited November 2016
    @Paschen81 you have (or should have) a goodly amount ahead of you to lose your weight and develop some good habits that will stand you in good stead.

    You mentioned a couple of things (feeling cold, brittle hair, hypoglycemic), plus a fairly rapid rate of loss (2lbs a week) which leads me to think that your belief that you're eating 1200 calories currently may not be too far off. And if that's the case you are running a higher risk of eventually having an appreciable slow down in the calories that you burn daily.

    Because of your current weight and height, you're in the lucky position where you will lose weight whether you eat 1000, 1200, 1400, 1600, or even 1800 calories. In fact, with a little bit of extra, for example, walking, you can probably lose weight, and fairly fast at that, while eating 2000 calories a day.

    I would urge you to calculate the TDEE (maintenance calories) of a person your height at your GOAL weight with a lightly active activity level.

    And to try to develop the habit of eating that amount of food on average from now on, while relying on your currently higher weight and on increased daily activity (and down the road increased more vigorous exercise) to create the 15% to 20% (25% while obese) caloric deficit you need to lose weight.

    While this will probably NOT create a 2lb a week rate of loss, it will still create a rapid enough rate of weight loss, and it will help you build good habits for the future!

    Move more, eat more, lose lots!
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
    To gain weight up to nearly 300lbs you didn't eat over 2100 calories a day, ever? Lol

    She might not have. She might have drank the calories. Lots of people don't even think about all the calories in Starbucks style drinks, milkshakes, cream in coffee, alcohol, etc.

    A bit of a pedantic response but maybe I should have used the word consume.
  • Paschen81
    Paschen81 Posts: 152 Member
    edited November 2016

    She might not have. She might have drank the calories. Lots of people don't even think about all the calories in Starbucks style drinks, milkshakes, cream in coffee, alcohol, etc.

    I'm not one who really drinks calories yes I do have creamer in my coffee but I've realized over the last three days was starting to weigh by milliliters that I am not even drinking the 60 calories that I had been logging in my diary. after my first cup of coffee I switch to either herbal or green tea sweetened with stevia or monk fruit. I do tend to drink a lot of water and if the water is flavored it is usually flavored with a non calorie Stevia sweetened or monk fruit sweetened additive.

  • Paschen81
    Paschen81 Posts: 152 Member
    Ok... Now I have a question... When I tried to enter my oatmeal packet by weight I couldn't find an entry that didn't list as "1 pouch" only. I couldn't find or change it to show by grams and of course the weight listed on the pouch was less than the weight that the oatmeal had on the scale. Grrr so for 43g listed weight on the pouch it actually weighed 115g on the scale. How do I make for a correct entry so I know how many calories over the 160 listed I've eaten?
  • Paschen81
    Paschen81 Posts: 152 Member
    And... Eye opening moment... I had leftover pasta for lunch Sunday... OMG! 1 cup of pasta I would have marked as 500 calories before... After weighing it 1000 calories?! Holy hades!! I'm never going to eat Olive Garden ever again if that 1 little cup of homemade pasta was 1000 I can only imagine olive garden sized meals are in the 3000 calorie range. For my love of pasta I fear that I may have to give it up as being too calorie dense.
  • ladyreva78
    ladyreva78 Posts: 4,080 Member
    Paschen81 wrote: »
    Ok... Now I have a question... When I tried to enter my oatmeal packet by weight I couldn't find an entry that didn't list as "1 pouch" only. I couldn't find or change it to show by grams and of course the weight listed on the pouch was less than the weight that the oatmeal had on the scale. Grrr so for 43g listed weight on the pouch it actually weighed 115g on the scale. How do I make for a correct entry so I know how many calories over the 160 listed I've eaten?

    For things like that you can always add it under 'my foods'. It'll take you a few moments to feed the info (I assume you have the nutrition info on the package). I recommend using 100g as the base serving size to simplify the maths:

    Serving size: 100g
    Servings per container: 1

    This way you can weigh it and easily log it. So for example, if it's 65g you log 0.65 servings or if it's 105g then you log 1.05 servings.

    I have a few foods I use often that I set up under my foods (and didn't share with the database so that no one can go and change things in them). It might take a bit of time, but for foods you use a lot it's worth it. That way you know it's as accurate as can be and you don't have to guess.
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    Wait wait. Are you checking for dry weight vs cooked weight? Because 43g vs 115g sounds completely not right to me. That's 3 times the stated serving.

    Same could go for pasta, though it can be quite the shocker, especially if it's in a creamy sauce. I looked at Olive Garden and Cheesecake Factory nutritional info once, my word are those calorie bomb eateries.
  • ladyreva78
    ladyreva78 Posts: 4,080 Member
    Paschen81 wrote: »
    And... Eye opening moment... I had leftover pasta for lunch Sunday... OMG! 1 cup of pasta I would have marked as 500 calories before... After weighing it 1000 calories?! Holy hades!! I'm never going to eat Olive Garden ever again if that 1 little cup of homemade pasta was 1000 I can only imagine olive garden sized meals are in the 3000 calorie range. For my love of pasta I fear that I may have to give it up as being too calorie dense.

    For pasta (which I love) I usually make 50-65g of pasta and bulk it and the sauce with veggies. Not only does it end up being an eyeful on the plate (carrots, red peppers and beetroots add a nice splash of color for not much calories) but it also adds a nice bit of micro-nutrients.

    But I agree, I don't usually have pasta when I eat out. The servings tend to be huge and the sauces dripping with added oil or cream where not much is needed. I'm just not willing to use up that many calories for something I can make a lot yummier, with a lot less calories, at home. :wink:

    It's a question on whether you can compromise on those things or not. There are some, like pasta, where I will and others, like chocolate, where I won't.
  • Paschen81
    Paschen81 Posts: 152 Member
    Wait wait. Are you checking for dry weight vs cooked weight? Because 43g vs 115g sounds completely not right to me. That's 3 times the stated serving.

    Same could go for pasta, though it can be quite the shocker, especially if it's in a creamy sauce. I looked at Olive Garden and Cheesecake Factory nutritional info once, my word are those calorie bomb eateries.

    They're cooked weights if I'm eating it cooked raw weights if I'm eating it raw. Does that make sense? Basically I weigh each food item as I put it on the plate/bowl taring the weight before adding the next item. Once the portion I plan to eat is met then I sit and eat lol.

    But that brings me to another question... There are many times when I don't eat everything on my plate.... In the past I would just leave the calories I didn't eat logged as if I had. I do this alot especially with meats or fatty/greasy foods... I don't really like fat. Not sure if it's a texture thing a taste thing or both. But I tend to mutilate my meat and cut off all the fat to feed to my dog and sometimes ill have marked a 4oz piece of steak but only end up eating 3 or 4 small bites of it and have 2/3rds of the 4oz left uneaten...

    So what do you do with uneaten portions already logged? Just leave them logged? Or go through the process of weighing the remaining and subtracting the weight from the previously logged amount?
  • ericwhitt
    ericwhitt Posts: 87 Member
    Paschen81 wrote: »
    And... Eye opening moment... I had leftover pasta for lunch Sunday... OMG! 1 cup of pasta I would have marked as 500 calories before... After weighing it 1000 calories?! Holy hades!! I'm never going to eat Olive Garden ever again if that 1 little cup of homemade pasta was 1000 I can only imagine olive garden sized meals are in the 3000 calorie range. For my love of pasta I fear that I may have to give it up as being too calorie dense.

    Make sure you are measuring all your meats raw, all your rice and pasta dry and all your veggies raw. All your liquids via measuring cups. For condiments, best practice is weigh the bottle, tare the weight, use the condiment and reweigh it. The difference is how much you used. Similar concept for fruits like apples and peaches. Weight it, eat it and reweigh the core/leftovers and that's how much you ate.

    I think you're starting to realize what people were saying that your claims of losing 2lbs a week at 1200 vs gaining at 1400 are due to estimate errors. Math/Science is rarely wrong in these situations, I was in the same boat, didn't realize how much I was eating until the wife bought us a food scale and we realized that our standard dinner was almost 1200 calorie servings.

    Eating out is definitely much harder to do and stay under your limit. Restaurants use so much high calorie fillers, you order a stir fry it's 90% rice, Italian is 90% pasta. Not to mention you most likely got bread sticks while you're at Olive Garden... it sucks when you realize how much your favorite restaurants are pretty terrible in the end.

    Oh, and have you checked the calorie count on Movie theather popcorn? :'( Breaks my heart, I can't go to a movie without popcorn, so we only go see a movie like once a month now, and make sure it's on a day we plan very light meals.
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    You need to check what the packet says for raw or cooked weight. I suspect your oatmeal has the serving listed raw and you weighed it cooked?

    As for not finishing your meals. Perhaps you could buy less fatty cuts of meat if you're causing so much food waste? The alternative is to weigh your leftovers and deduct it (I do this with boned meat, I weigh the bones afterwards).
  • Paschen81
    Paschen81 Posts: 152 Member
    ericwhitt wrote: »
    Paschen81 wrote: »
    And... Eye opening moment... I had leftover pasta for lunch Sunday... OMG! 1 cup of pasta I would have marked as 500 calories before... After weighing it 1000 calories?! Holy hades!! I'm never going to eat Olive Garden ever again if that 1 little cup of homemade pasta was 1000 I can only imagine olive garden sized meals are in the 3000 calorie range. For my love of pasta I fear that I may have to give it up as being too calorie dense.

    Make sure you are measuring all your meats raw, all your rice and pasta dry and all your veggies raw. All your liquids via measuring cups. For condiments, best practice is weigh the bottle, tare the weight, use the condiment and reweigh it. The difference is how much you used. Similar concept for fruits like apples and peaches. Weight it, eat it and reweigh the core/leftovers and that's how much you ate.
    weigh meats raw? But what if it's already cooked when you get it? And what of leftovers? I don't like waste...

    I think you're starting to realize what people were saying that your claims of losing 2lbs a week at 1200 vs gaining at 1400 are due to estimate errors. Math/Science is rarely wrong in these situations, I was in the same boat, didn't realize how much I was eating until the wife bought us a food scale and we realized that our standard dinner was almost 1200 calorie servings.
    well that one cup of pasta that I logged as 998 calories was already cooked. Other than that (and eating a 100 calorie salad to stay under 1400 for the day) my first 3 days of using a scale show that previously I was logging 1000 to 1100 when after weighing my intake is now between 1300 and 1400. So I was off by about 300 calories. But 300 calories times 7 days could be why I'm only losing around 1-2 pounds per week and *gasp* I gained a pound last week... But I ate 3 meals that had 2/3rds of a cup of cooked pasta... If those 300 calories were actually 800... Well... Like I said already... No more pasta for this pasta lover.
    Eating out is definitely much harder to do and stay under your limit. Restaurants use so much high calorie fillers, you order a stir fry it's 90% rice, Italian is 90% pasta. Not to mention you most likely got bread sticks while you're at Olive Garden... it sucks when you realize how much your favorite restaurants are pretty terrible in the end.
    yeah... This will be a battle until the end of time... Perhaps no more eating out is in order too
    Oh, and have you checked the calorie count on Movie theather popcorn? :'( Breaks my heart, I can't go to a movie without popcorn, so we only go see a movie like once a month now, and make sure it's on a day we plan very light meals. good thing I can't stand popcorn... Love the smell of it... Taste... Bleck

    My response is bolded

  • Paschen81
    Paschen81 Posts: 152 Member
    This weighing everything is alot of work lol but I am committed to losing this weight.
  • Paschen81
    Paschen81 Posts: 152 Member
    You need to check what the packet says for raw or cooked weight. I suspect your oatmeal has the serving listed raw and you weighed it cooked?
    .

    The package doesn't specify raw vs cooked it just states Serving Size: 1 Pouch (43g) calories 160. Then lists the percentage of vitamin, minerals, Carb, protein, sugar etcetera.
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    always weigh your oatmeal before its cooked. that will be the serving size, since it swells up when cooked its going to give you more oatmeal(well seems like it) but the calories will still be the same. weigh the package,dump oatmeal into bowl and weight the empty package and subtract. you will get the amount of oatmeal. so if its 43g according to packet info and the package is 2g then you would enter 41g of oatmeal,so you would have 0.9534g(or 0.95g) of oatmeal. I always add the other 2 numbers to be more accurate but thats me. If I am going to eat pasta I make sure I either get more exercise in or I just have a light breakfast and lunch and make it fit into my calories. I know I cant eat as much as I did before but thats what got me here in the first place lol.
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