Macros or calories...? Plus daily walking?

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I am trying to lose gradual weight and at the very minimum maintain. If I eat under 1,400 calories a day (my BMR is about 1,600) regardless of what it is, i.e. croissants, crisps, fruit etc. can I meet my goal? Also, I walk about 45 minutes a day (at least 2 miles) for commuting purposes at a brisk pace. Does this help at all?? Any suggestions are welcome!

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  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    To lose weight, you need a consistent calorie deficit over time. All (increase of) daily activity adds to the calorie deficit. You can lose weight eating less of anything. In order to stick to a consistent calorie deficit over time, you need sufficient nutrition, and food you like.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
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    If you BMR is 1600 then why would you eat below it? do you mean your TDEE is 1600?
    Walking helps increase the calorie deficit.
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
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    I am trying to lose gradual weight and at the very minimum maintain. If I eat under 1,400 calories a day (my BMR is about 1,600) regardless of what it is, i.e. croissants, crisps, fruit etc. can I meet my goal? Also, I walk about 45 minutes a day (at least 2 miles) for commuting purposes at a brisk pace. Does this help at all?? Any suggestions are welcome!

    You will lose weight, but things like corissants/crisps are are high calorie and low nutrition. For your nutritional needs as the calorie intake decreases, the % calories in your diet from low nutrient foods needs to decrease more than the % decrease in total calories.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
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    To lose weight, you need a consistent calorie deficit over time. All (increase of) daily activity adds to the calorie deficit. You can lose weight eating less of anything. In order to stick to a consistent calorie deficit over time, you need sufficient nutrition, and food you like.

    ^all of this.

    Also, where did you get those numbers from? Have you entered your stats and goal rate of loss in MFP? What calorie target did MFP provide? Keep in mind that’s a Net target meaning that when you do exercise, even your walk for your commute, those calories should be logged and eaten back. Alternatively, since this is part of your daily routine you could set your activity level to lightly active so that you have a slightly higher target to begin with and then not log and eat back calories from those daily walks.

    Did you have a question about macros OP?
  • cheryldumais
    cheryldumais Posts: 1,907 Member
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    I lost weight eating less and walking daily. It works as long as you are eating less calories than you burn. Eating low nutrient food tends to leave you more hungry but if you are eating less calories than your body needs you will still lose weight. Remember the biggest factor to lose wieght is eating less calories. The exercise component is useful for health, a slight decrease in appetite (for some of us) and the calories it burns. Good luck.