Question

mrho1130

So My BMR is 2050 and MFP says I need to eat 1950 calories a day to lose 1lb a week. I'm sedentary, male, 23 years old, 195lb, 6'1. But everything says not to eat below your bmr. Plz help

cmriverside

That 2050 sounds like your sedentary TDEE, not your BMR.



Here, from "Help"
https://support.myfitnesspal.com/hc/en-us/articles/360032625391-How-does-MyFitnessPal-calculate-my-initial-goals-

...and from the Sticky "Most Helpful Posts"
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

NovusDies

Your sedentary BMR is about 1930 depending on the calculation used.

mrho1130

So what do i need to eat to lose 1lb a week?

mrho1130

cmriverside wrote: »

That 2050 sounds like your sedentary TDEE, not your BMR.



Here, from "Help"
https://support.myfitnesspal.com/hc/en-us/articles/360032625391-How-does-MyFitnessPal-calculate-my-initial-goals-

...and from the Sticky "Most Helpful Posts"
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

mrho1130

.

kimny72

mrho1130 wrote: »

So what do i need to eat to lose 1lb a week?

You need to eat 500 calories less than your TDEE. Why not try MFPs recommendation for a few weeks and see how it goes? Any calculator is just an estimate. The way you'll learn the right calorie level to reach your goal is thru trial and error.

mrho1130

kimny72 wrote: »

mrho1130 wrote: »

So what do i need to eat to lose 1lb a week?

You need to eat 500 calories less than your TDEE. Why not try MFPs recommendation for a few weeks and see how it goes? Any calculator is just an estimate. The way you'll learn the right calorie level to reach your goal is thru trial and error.

Today is my 1 week point of when I started eating 1920 calories every day.

AnnPT77

mrho1130 wrote: »

So My BMR is 2050 and MFP says I need to eat 1950 calories a day to lose 1lb a week. I'm sedentary, male, 23 years old, 195lb, 6'1. But everything says not to eat below your bmr. Plz help

Keep in mind that with MFP, you're supposed to set your activity level excluding intentional exercise, then log and eat back exercise calories, too. Don't set your activity level at sedentary/not very active, unless you're getting fewer than 3000 or so steps daily (or equivalent non-exercise activity), more or less. "Sedentary" is really, really sedentary.

Keep in mind that BMR is an estimate, not some kind of glowing, magical, absolute metabolic on/off switch below which your body will shut down. Don't try to lose weight aggressively fast (pound a week is OK for a while, maybe, but if only 20 pounds to lose, you should consider 0.5 lb/week); get decent nutrition (for health, not relevant to weight loss per se); pay attention to how you feel, and especially to how fast you actually lose on average after a month's experience.

If muscle preservation is part of your goal, as is often the case for young men in your situation, then lose slowly, get enough protein and overall decent nutrition, strength train (a well-respected progressive program).

mrho1130 wrote: »

kimny72 wrote: »

mrho1130 wrote: »

So what do i need to eat to lose 1lb a week?

You need to eat 500 calories less than your TDEE. Why not try MFPs recommendation for a few weeks and see how it goes? Any calculator is just an estimate. The way you'll learn the right calorie level to reach your goal is thru trial and error.

Today is my 1 week point of when I started eating 1920 calories every day.

That's the right place to start. Stick to it, log carefully, see where you are in a month.

Best wishes!

RockingWithLJ

mrho1130 wrote: »

So what do i need to eat to lose 1lb a week?

500 less calories than what they suggest to maintain (3500 calories to gain a pound)

Redordeadhead

mrho1130 wrote: »

cmriverside wrote: »

That 2050 sounds like your sedentary TDEE, not your BMR.



Here, from "Help"
https://support.myfitnesspal.com/hc/en-us/articles/360032625391-How-does-MyFitnessPal-calculate-my-initial-goals-

...and from the Sticky "Most Helpful Posts"
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

MFP includes the deficit in your calorie goal. If you input that you want to lose 1lb per week, it means 1920 is what you want for 1lb per week.