Finding your calorie needs, BMR, RMR and TDEE is trial and error.

Verity1111

I keep seeing people complain that they are not losing weight and they swear they are doing everything right. They are weighing their food and not losing or that they are losing very fast and asking can they eat more. I also was just arguing with people who were telling me that I can't possibly be burning what I am. I just want to put this out there that losing weight for a lot of us is trial and error. It takes time to find out what works for you. You may find out that you are lucky and can eat more than what calculators would assume because after all that is just averages and does not work for each individual. You may be unlucky and find that although you were told you burn 1800cal per day you burn a measly 1400 per day and need to lose at a slower pace than most. This is life. Life is unfair and unpredictable at times, but it is not our fault if you under-ate and could have been enjoying more cookies than you were or over-ate and need to try again. We provide what help we can here, but we also admit that it doesn't work for everyone. It's a case-by-case basis I guess. It's trial and error. And it doesn't ALWAYS mean you are logging incorrectly, but it is common. However, if you are weighing your food and have no diagnosed metabolic disorders, but people can't figure out what's wrong, it could be that you are simply burning less (or more) than you thought. Alter your calorie goals accordingly. I found this quote and it puts it clearly:

"Unfair as it seems some people simply burn calories quicker than others. (Some burn them slower.) The hereditary aspect of metabolism is not fully understood.

It may be to do with your body composition. (It may not.)

"You are born with a certain type of body type, you may be naturally lean with low body mass or you may be more portly," says Dr Naufahu.

"To a certain extent we do inherit our metabolic rate from our parents," according to Miguel Toribio-Mateas, chairman of the British Association for Applied Nutrition and Nutritional Therapy."

Age is also more of a factor for some people than it is for others. I know someone who had their RMR drop by hundreds in a short period of time. Add in more activity if you feel like you can't eat enough and still lose weight. Keep trying and tweaking your goals and you will figure out what works for you. If all else fails, get your RMR, VO2 and body fat % tested to help make it a bit easier.