Confused and the search feature didn't help!

IamUndrCnstruction

I am confused about something, and I tried to be a good girl and use the search feature in the forums. I did find a few threads that tried to address my question, but like so many they quickly spiraled into a fight LOL. Never really got an answer. My BMR has been clinically measured at 1760, and I am a sedentary person. I work a desk job, I do not have children to run after, and I need a lung transplant so I while I try to work out I am finding it harder and harder as the disease progresses. My activity now consists of 40-70 minutes of walking 3-4 times a week. We're talking a fairly slow walk, maybe 2.5mph (this is so embarrassing to admit :frown: ) So my question is, when I put in my weight loss goal, 1 pound a week, the number MFP gives me is almost 200 calories less than my BMR. Is this ok? I do find myself kind of hungry...but not ravenous.

samanthahix12

The general consensus is to never eat under your BMR. This is the amount of calories your body would need if you were comatose. Your body needs those calories to function properly. Others may tell you differently but it's ultimately up to you.

Mischievous_Rascal

This calculator takes into account your BMR and your TDEE, which is where you should be taking your deficit from. My BMR is around 1500, but my TDEE is closer to 2200, and I eat around 2000/day and lose - very slowly, but I have less than 10 pounds left to go.

http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

sanndandi

Don't forget you are supposed to eat back your exercise calories, especially if you have selected sedentary as your activity level. Enter your walks even if you don't think they burn that much. It will add them to your daily goal and you will end up being closer to your BMR. You want to NET the goal MFP gives you.

grimendale

MFP only gives out as good as it gets in. If your BMR is above the goal set by MFP, something is off. The below links should help you come up with a better goal.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1058378-oh-noes-i-am-eating-below-my-bmr

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1072049-thoughts-on-tdee-calculators-and-switching-from-mfp-to-tdee

IamUndrCnstruction

Thank you for the responses. I had had it set to lightly active, which gave me a number about 20 calories above my BMR, but that was when I was able to be more active. A stay in the hospital later and I have been told to cut that ***t out. So I figured I had to account for the drop in activity. I am 5'9" 209 lbs.