BMR: what does it mean?

Cedura

I recently looked at my BMR score and found out that in a 24 hour day of doing nothing my body would need 1,717 calories. But I am, of course, trying to lose weight. So my calorie goal everyday is 1650 (less than my BMR). Does this mean I am eating too few Calories? Or does eating less than my BMR allow me to lose weight?


What does this number mean and should it affect anything I am currently doing?

acogg

Base metabolic rate. Essentially, it is the calories your body burns with no exercise.

SLLRunner

I recently looked at my BMR score and found out that in a 24 hour day of doing nothing my body would need 1,717 calories. But I am, of course, trying to lose weight. So my calorie goal everyday is 1650 (less than my BMR). Does this mean I am eating too few Calories? Or does eating less than my BMR allow me to lose weight?


What does this number mean and should it affect anything I am currently doing?

Your basic metabolic rate is the amount of calories you would need if you were comatose or if you sat on the sofa all day long and did nothing at all but lay on the sofa all day long.

It's important to eat above your BMR not below. In order to lose weight you must eat below your TDEE-total daily energy expenditure.

How did you figure a BMR of 1,717 and calorie goal of 1,650? Seems to me your calculations might be off just a bit.

For example, I am 52 and 5 ft. 4.5 inches tall and my last weight was 153. I strenuously work out every day. Using this calculator I came up with the following:

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

BMR: 1,370 <

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must not eat below this amount
TDEE:2,364 <

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must not eat above this amount
Calorie goal to lose .5 pounds a week: 2,127 <

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10 percent reduction of calories.

The starting place is to not eat below your BMR or above your TDEE, but reduce calories from your TDEE according to how much you want to lose each week (2 pounds is usually the max, especially if you have lots of weight to lose, and .5 is healthy if you have little to lose).

tiggerlgh

You need to calculate you TDEE if you want to use this method and then take a cut off of that. Do not cut from your BMR.

ETA: Or Read SLLRunners very informational post

Cedura

I calculated my calorie goal by using what MFP gave me when I put in my height, weight, goal weight and amount to lose a week, along with daily activity level. MFP also calculated my BMR under thier apps tab.

This is why I am confused about the 2 numbers. Because it would not seem healthy to eat less than what my body needs simply to survive.

michellekicks

When you have a fair amount to lose it's not that bad to start there, but really you're better off with a goal that is slightly over your BMR and then you're going to add your exercise as you "earn" it.

So do about 1800+exercise calories daily. So make your target 1800 (over BMR) and then eat your exercise calories back. Your whole daily deficit will come from other activity you do in a day. Then you can stick with that goal for the entire duration of your weight loss. Over time, as your BMR decreases, so will your deficit and you'll slowly ease in to your healthy weight.

SLLRunner

I calculated my calorie goal by using what MFP gave me when I put in my height, weight, goal weight and amount to lose a week, along with daily activity level. MFP also calculated my BMR under thier apps tab.

This is why I am confused about the 2 numbers. Because it would not seem healthy to eat less than what my body needs simply to survive.

Eating under your BMR IS unhealthy. When MFP figures out your calorie count based on how much per week you want to lose, the deficit is already built in. Therefore, you only need to not go over that calorie limit, unless you exercise, in which case you eat back your exercise calories and NET that calorie limit given to you.

TDEE and MFP is an either/or situation: you use on or the other not both.

HollyB1223

My net calories burned is supposed to be 1200, but honestly, I DO NOT lose weight eating 1200 calories/day!

My metabolism is extremely efficient when I cut calories and increase exercise.

The only thing I have found that works for me, is from the advice of a nutritionist. She said I need to cut out ALL sugars - even fruits except for non-sweet fruit. Also cut out all starchy anything, and all grain - based anything.

Basically this leaves some citrus fruits, lean meats, veggies of all types in any amount especially fresh veggies, nuts, and legumes.

What a surprise, it is actually much simpler to plan around a simple, healthful diet such as this.

Cedura

Eating under your BMR IS unhealthy. When MFP figures out your calorie count based on how much per week you want to lose, the deficit is already built in. Therefore, you only need to not go over that calorie limit, unless you exercise, in which case you eat back your exercise calories and NET that calorie limit given to you.

TDEE and MFP is an either/or situation: you use on or the other not both.

So the 1650 that MFP gives me has already taken into consideration the BMR? And I should be eatting almost all of those 1650 + exercise cals back? Having a day where I only get 1300/1650 is then not good?

WalkingAlong

Eating under your BMR is not unhealthy if you're overfat, which is why MFP and every other diet plan has no BMR floor. 1200 is the floor in the MFP plan and many other plans. Most of us have a BMR above 1200. Though people here will defend that myth tooth and nail so it's easier to just let it go unchallenged.

cwolfman13

I recently looked at my BMR score and found out that in a 24 hour day of doing nothing my body would need 1,717 calories. But I am, of course, trying to lose weight. So my calorie goal everyday is 1650 (less than my BMR). Does this mean I am eating too few Calories? Or does eating less than my BMR allow me to lose weight?


What does this number mean and should it affect anything I am currently doing?

you cut from TDEE, not BMR. There is no reason really to eat below your BMR...you BMR is what you'd burn in a coma. Obviously, you're not in a coma...you crawl out of bed, **** shower and shave, and do any manner of other daily activity...exercise on top of that too. Eating below your BMR consistently for prolonged periods of time will ultimately lead to more muscle loss than anything else. It can be sustained by largely overweight and obese individuals who have a lot of fat storage for longer...but once you start leaning out, you're really doing yourself a disservice.

So the 1650 that MFP gives me has already taken into consideration the BMR? And I should be eatting almost all of those 1650 + exercise cals back? Having a day where I only get 1300/1650 is then not good?

MFP is just a tool...it spits out whatever based on what you input...you supply the brains.

again, if you have substantial fat stores you can sustain larger calorie deficits longer and being slightly below your BMR isn't as big of an issue as some people make it out to be...it's not like if you're under your BMR by a hundred calories or something that the sky is going to fall...where people do run into substantial issues in not understanding their BMR is that they have a BMR of 1500 calories or something, but they're on a 1200 calorie plan and they exercise like crazy and don't eat back exercise calories and end up netting like 500 calories or whatever...then they end up back here on MFP wondering why they're lost their periods and why their hair is falling out, etc.

BenjaminMFP88

I recently looked at my BMR score and found out that in a 24 hour day of doing nothing my body would need 1,717 calories. But I am, of course, trying to lose weight. So my calorie goal everyday is 1650 (less than my BMR). Does this mean I am eating too few Calories? Or does eating less than my BMR allow me to lose weight?


What does this number mean and should it affect anything I am currently doing?

BMR = Basel Metabolic Rate this is mostly interchangable with RMR = Resting Metabolism Rate

TDEE = Total Dialy Energy Expenditure = how many calories are burned by an individual during a 24-hour period

TDEE is cromprised of three primary components:
1 - RMR = Resting Metabolism Rate AND TEF = Thermic Effect of Feeding - These two essentially make up the amount of energy required to keep homeostatic processes (regulation of organ systems and body temperature)
2 - TEPA = Thermic Effect of Physical Activity - This is also known as NEAT = Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis
3 - TEF = Energy required for digestion/absorption/transport/metabolism and storage of consumed food

Under general circumstances, you don't want to net a caloric intake below BMR as this can have negative effects on your bodies systems. Ideally, for healthy fat loss, you should net a caloric intace slightly above BMR which should equate to a value to what most will call TDEE - %20.

Cedura

All of these acronyms make me think I just need to go see a nutritionist and be done with internet guess work.

heybales

I calculated my calorie goal by using what MFP gave me when I put in my height, weight, goal weight and amount to lose a week, along with daily activity level. MFP also calculated my BMR under thier apps tab.

This is why I am confused about the 2 numbers. Because it would not seem healthy to eat less than what my body needs simply to survive.

Did you select the recommended 1 lb weekly goal loss?

Are you honestly sedentary for 45 hrs a week with desk job and long commute, and on the weekends just a bump on a log - out side exercise you log separately?

So are correct, no confusion.

MFP needs to show fast results if they are going to retain subscribers. So give you options and add some confusion to allow you to make it a tad faster - never mind the weight loss can be bigger and bigger portion of muscle mass.
The fact your weight loss may slow down or stop later doesn't matter then because you'll stay on MFP trying to make it work.
Number of active subscribers is what gives MFP the ability to charge ad prices wherever they are at.

And even if you did the above options correctly, perhaps Lightly Active and 1 lb weekly goal, and got 1650, with BMR at 1717, that is only the eating level on non-exercise days.
Any exercise is logged and eaten back, therefore you are eating more.

heybales

All of these acronyms make me think I just need to go see a nutritionist and be done with internet guess work.

Unlike a car where you may never have the tools to diagnose or work on it - you'll have your body forever, and the knowledge as to how it works and how you use it is invaluable.

So gonna go pay a nutritionist each time you have a change because you don't want to understand some basic (perhaps not easy though) principles?
That's valid, but it means you can never make good decisions, or you'll get stressed out about stuff that doesn't matter, or you'll do things that do matter and you should be aware about.

pittdan77

Ding, ding, ding!

Yes, let a pro figure out what your goals should be and then keep track of everything. Just be honest with yourself and your logging. Wouldn't hurt to see a doctor for a physical too just in case there is some other issue.

WalkingAlong

All of these acronyms make me think I just need to go see a nutritionist and be done with internet guess work.

They try to make it into rocket science here. The vast majority of people will lose weight on 1500 calories a day.

Or even simpler-- are you maintaining? Eat less, move more. Are you gaining? Eat a lot less, move more.

JMD412

Hi Cedura, my recommendation for you is to visit scoobys workshop and calculate your TDEE. I find it to be the easiest way to go about the weight loss process. Establish your TDEE and then substract 500 calories from that and eat that. For example my TDEE is 2283. I set my calories for 1750 a day so that gives me a deficit at the end of the week of 3500 which equates to a one pound loss. I understand it can be confusing, it was confusing for me at first too. I have done extensive research into it, and instead of calculating every exercise I do daily and putting it in on my fitness pal I find it easier to just substract 500 from my TDEE. I do track my exercise though by just putting it in an exercise note. Keep in mind though as you lose weight, your TDEE will go down. The scoobys workshop site recommends recalculating your TDEE every 5 lbs you lose. I use the mifflin-st jeor method because it is regarded as more accurate then the Harrison benedict. I hope that helps! Best of luck!

QuietBloom

All of these acronyms make me think I just need to go see a nutritionist and be done with internet guess work.

The nutritionist is going to use the same calculations to 'guess' what to set you at. You might as well put a little effort into it yourself, as weight loss and maintenance (the hardest part of weight loss) are all up to you.

QuietBloom

All of these acronyms make me think I just need to go see a nutritionist and be done with internet guess work.

They try to make it into rocket science here. The vast majority of people will lose weight on 1500 calories a day.

Or even simpler-- are you maintaining? Eat less, move more. Are you gaining? Eat a lot less, move more.

*sigh*