Giving up on eating above my BMR

Mom2Lizzy

1 1/2 years ago I used MFP and lost 30 pounds in a few months - using their recommendations. I exercised some, but mainly the weight just started dropping off. At some points I worried that I had cancer, because I just kept losing. It was effortless (pretty-much). After a few months of maintenance, I stopped logging. I ate reasonably, not as strict as I had been, but I started to gain. I felt tired all the time. Sometimes just getting out of bed and making breakfast made me so tired I had to lay back down. I just kept gaining, and gaining, and felt exhausted most of the time. When summer came, I was very discouraged that none of my clothes fit. My size 6 shorts laughed at me. I'm now up the entire 30 pounds I had lost. I started logging again about 27 days ago, and have finally stopped gaining, but I'm not losing either. I'm being very strict about logging, eating healthy, exercising, and NOT LOSING. I've had my thyroid tested, my TSH was normal. I'm convinced that something in my hormonal makeup is not right... But, I'll need more testing. SO, to those who say that we are not different - YOU ARE WRONG. In just 1 1/2 years - even I am different. I am not losing weight, despite eating a balanced diet. In addition, I gave up most gluten and most processed food - in hope that that would help. I feel better, not as tired, not having headaches all the time, but it is frustrating to have extra weight that won't budge. You need to do what works for you. Best of luck to you.

Frelling_Tralk

Would it work if you were to reset at 1800 calories? 2000 calories? Maybe. If you did and your maintenance calories became 2000 calories through systematically increasing your metabolic capacity, you'd be able to lose on, say, 1700 or 1600 calories... but if you're not willing to go through the waiting and possibly gaining that would take place while you increase your maintenance to 2000, you will not be happy.

I was told through online calculators that my maintaince for my size was ALREADY 2,200 calories and that I would lose at 1,500, no one said that you has to eat more to first train your body to maintain on 2,000?

Frelling_Tralk

I agree with the above. My calculated BMR was 2200ish when I started, and I never lost a thing. It's much lower now, but I still eat below it, and I have for months. The weight comes off at a normal pace, and I feel fine. Many people will tell you that you HAVE to eat your BMR, but many people are wrong. If you feel healthy, you are probably doing well.
Good luck!

Thanks I have since decided to eat at around 1,500 calories when I'm very active at work and on my feet all day, but in my days off I'm still going to stick to 1,200 calories as that seriously seems to be the only way that I can lose weight. Some people refuse to believe that the BMR calculations don't work for everyone and you have to give it time, but I did spend a month and a half eating the recommended amount and I was not losing weight at the end if the day.

toutmonpossible

Fitness experts -- people with education and credentials -- have written here that you can safely eat below your BMR. I would go back to whatever worked.

michellekicks

Would it work if you were to reset at 1800 calories? 2000 calories? Maybe. If you did and your maintenance calories became 2000 calories through systematically increasing your metabolic capacity, you'd be able to lose on, say, 1700 or 1600 calories... but if you're not willing to go through the waiting and possibly gaining that would take place while you increase your maintenance to 2000, you will not be happy.

I was told through online calculators that my maintaince for my size was ALREADY 2,200 calories and that I would lose at 1,500, no one said that you has to eat more to first train your body to maintain on 2,000?

You shouldn't have to first train your body to burn more, unless you have first trained your body to function on less - like 1200 calories a day for a long period of time. If your body has become accustomed to getting only 1200 calories per day for months or even years, it is absolutely not capable of burning 2200 calories in a day. You would have to re-hab your metabolic capacity by slowly increasing calories to the point where you can eat 2200 calories in a day without gaining weight. Then you could cut at a reasonable intake.

Watch this Layne Norton video on Metabolic Damage/Adaptation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHHzie6XRGk

Dr. Layne Norton's education:
BS in Biochemistry from Eckerd College with honors (>3.5 GPA) in 2004
PhD Nutritional Sciences with honors (>3.5 GPA), University of Illinois 2010

luvnumbers

I do know that all calories are not created equal. If the additional calories included sugar and processed foods, thats not good. If the additional calories were from natural fruits and veggies, that is whats desired. If you are getting in additional healthy calories, the metabolism will burn and you will lose weight I am told. The program I am in said I need to be consuming some form of healthy food every two to three hours to keep the metabolism turned up. The problem is, I don't like veggies! So its hard for me to get in that many healthy calories.

galilanee26

Thanks for this thread.

Lynn_babcock

I was eating the 1,200 calories they recommended for me and lost 7 pounds in the first few weeks of that. Then my weight loss stalled.... eat between 1,500-1,600 calories and you WILL lose weight and it's better for long-term health. I was told to give my body a month at least to adjust. I ate that way for a month and a half and lost maybe one pound during that time.

This past week I have gone back to eating at 1,200 calories and I have dropped 3 pounds. It's really made me wonder if eating above your BMR does work for everyone

Each pound lost is 3,600 calories deficit. The instant weight you are loosing by cutting back has got to be colon content weight. You are talking the difference of @300-400 calories a day, over a week that is the difference of 2100-2800 calories. So the numbers say it is less than a pound a week more you would loose.

If you believe 1200 calories a day works for you.. then why did you stall? Slow and steady...

Personally I believe in changing up your calories so your body doesn't accustom to a certain calorie mark and holds onto weight.

kita_254

Everyone is definitely different. I have found success with slowly increasing my calories. I just increased my calories to 1700 and lost over 2 pounds. I do workout 5 days a week burning around 500 calories a day. The whole idea is to lose weight and be able to sustain the weight loss. You don't want to get to your goal weight and gain back or gave to diet the rest of your life. Remember, no one can tell you how you should lose weight, they can only give advice. Good luck on your journey! You can do it!

walleymama

For instance, if I eat a carb heavy diet or a lot of grains (even whole grains and "good" carbs), or I eat low calorie but with a lot of sugar or junk food, I will not lose and I've even gained weight on 1200-ish.

As with the above quote, I have lost weight readily on a high calorie diet by cutting way down on carbs. That is just my body and I get that it might not work for everybody. My point is that everybody is different. My Dad could eat carbs all day and never gain weight. I just look at a bagel sideways and gain a pound.

I'm now experimenting with eating more carbs but watching caloric intake to see if that works, and to compare it to my past success with low-carb/high-fat. I'm much more active now than when I did the other diet, and I'm hoping this will let me "get away" with eating more carbs (because, frankly, I enjoy such things as rice, beans, sandwiches, etc). My prediction is that I will also lose weight this way, although perhaps not as quickly and easily.

All this is to say that an individual's weight loss depends on so many things. It isn't as simple as caloric intake. You will have to experiment to figure out what works best for your body. Age, current weight, BMR, activity level, eating patterns, types of food you are eating, even the time of year (some people, like myself, tend to gain a couple of pounds in winter and lose in summer and I think it is simply b/c my body doesn't need as much fuel to keep warm as it does in colder weather); all these can affect weight loss.

yarwell

I'm wondering if some peoples metabolisms really are slower than average

It's in the nature of an average that some are above it and some below it, in fact it may apply to nobody - the average number of testicles or breasts per person in the population is probably just under 1.0

Metabolic rate estimates catch about 2/3 of the population within +/- 10% of their prediction so there are loads of people for whom the prediction is not spot on.

It makes me LOL when people quote BMR to 4 significant figures when rounding to the nearest 100 doesn't lose any accuracy.

salvyhead

Yup. Law of averages.

If I ate my so-called "BMR" every day I would weigh 10,000 lbs. My advice: ignore 99 percent of everything you hear or read and just do what works.

Sal

astange83

I tried the 1200 calorie diet for a bit, and lost several pounds quickly, but when I tried to add exercise I stopped losing. Upped the calories to where with my exercise (not eating back the calories) I'd be around 1200 I started to lose again and tone up. If you just eat 1200 you may lose, but it could be muscle and that's just not worth it in the end.

prattiger65

I do know that all calories are not created equal. If the additional calories included sugar and processed foods, thats not good. If the additional calories were from natural fruits and veggies, that is whats desired. If you are getting in additional healthy calories, the metabolism will burn and you will lose weight I am told. The program I am in said I need to be consuming some form of healthy food every two to three hours to keep the metabolism turned up. The problem is, I don't like veggies! So its hard for me to get in that many healthy calories.

I know you mean well, but this just isn't backed up by science. A calorie is a measurement of a unit of energy. A calorie is a calorie. Also, Meal timing being a factor is a myth. You cannot eat a specific thing, a specific time or in a specific way to speed up your metabolism.

OP, you really shouldn't eat below BMR, problem is, most don't know what their BMR is. This sometimes takes some time to figure out. Here is what happens. I know 1200 seems to be the magic number, ever wonder how that became the number? Because that is the lowest number MFP will suggest to anyone. It's no more accurate for you than 2200. Somewhere the is this metabolic number that is specific for you, your very own TDEE. That is the number of calories YOUR BODY burns in a day. What you want to do is find that number, then reduce slightly to lose weight in a healthy way. When you eat too little here is what happens. First, it's very difficult to get appropriate amounts of macro and micro nutrients if you are under eating. Sure, you will lose weight at 1200, question is, is that sustainable? Statistics say it isn't. Most people who lose with this method gain it back once they resume "normal" eating because they still don't understand how it works. I have yet to have anyone tell me, " I lost eating 1200 and I have maintained for over 3 years eating 1200". Not one. Please don't get discouraged, please educate yourself. Don't trust me or anyone else here, find out on you own. Good luck.

pavingnewpaths

Yep, I was told to do the same thing and gained a few pounds. I just went down to about 1300 calories and I've been losing weight for several weeks in a row.

Just do whatever works for you! Sometimes you might need to take breaks to restart your metabolism.

yanniejannie

Silly wabbits!!! I don't care if I lost muscle, fat, or little green men from Mars................I'm at goal using a way of eating and exercise I can live with............1200..........occ. 1000.........sometimes 1400..........but mostly 1200

28lbs........a little over 6 mo.............and it WORKED................period.

cwolfman13

Most likely what is going on is that people are underestimating their intake...they think they're eating 1200 but they're probably eating more like 1400 or 1500....and then they up to 1600 calories or whatever...but really they're consuming more like 1800-2000 calories due to estimation error. Particularly true for people who don't weigh and measure and just eyeball everything...also very true for people who eat out a lot and/or eat a lot of pre-made or packaged foods...both of which are allowed to be about 20% off without penalty.

GraffeoDL

Another problem is people throwing around numbers and acronyms without really knowing what they are talking about. I have read many posts with people stating what their BMR is when they are really talking about their TDEE. Those numbers are not interchangeable but many people are totally mixed up on what is what.

Frelling_Tralk

I do know that all calories are not created equal. If the additional calories included sugar and processed foods, thats not good. If the additional calories were from natural fruits and veggies, that is whats desired. If you are getting in additional healthy calories, the metabolism will burn and you will lose weight I am told. The program I am in said I need to be consuming some form of healthy food every two to three hours to keep the metabolism turned up. The problem is, I don't like veggies! So its hard for me to get in that many healthy calories.

I know you mean well, but this just isn't backed up by science. A calorie is a measurement of a unit of energy. A calorie is a calorie. Also, Meal timing being a factor is a myth. You cannot eat a specific thing, a specific time or in a specific way to speed up your metabolism.

OP, you really shouldn't eat below BMR, problem is, most don't know what their BMR is. This sometimes takes some time to figure out. Here is what happens. I know 1200 seems to be the magic number, ever wonder how that became the number? Because that is the lowest number MFP will suggest to anyone. It's no more accurate for you than 2200. Somewhere the is this metabolic number that is specific for you, your very own TDEE. That is the number of calories YOUR BODY burns in a day. What you want to do is find that number, then reduce slightly to lose weight in a healthy way. When you eat too little here is what happens. First, it's very difficult to get appropriate amounts of macro and micro nutrients if you are under eating. Sure, you will lose weight at 1200, question is, is that sustainable? Statistics say it isn't. Most people who lose with this method gain it back once they resume "normal" eating because they still don't understand how it works. I have yet to have anyone tell me, " I lost eating 1200 and I have maintained for over 3 years eating 1200". Not one. Please don't get discouraged, please educate yourself. Don't trust me or anyone else here, find out on you own. Good luck.

I looked it up for my stats a while ago, it said that my body needs 1,400 calories minimum to survive on, and that my maintaince weight is 2,200 calories. I did listen to advice on here and ate at around 1,500-1,600 calories for well over a month, but all my body did was maintain my weight.

Yes my weight loss stalled at 1,200 calories before, but eating at that amount is still the only time I managed to lose any weight at all, so I just don't know what else to do! I really did try with eating more calories, but after a month of no results I couldn't help but get discouraged when I at least wanted to lose a couple of pounds by then. As little as half a pound a week would have been fine as I'm all for steady weight loss that I have a better chance of maintaining, but I wasn't losing anything at all on that calorie amount. Both times I dropped a pound and thought something was moving finally, I put it back on again

yanniejannie

Well, speaking for myself only, I did not underestimate on cals. Except for when I ate out (rarely) I used my scale every single meal.....every single day.............