RMR plus exercise, how many calories to eat?

Ok, I thought I knew the answer but I've read some conflicting info and in addition in doing the guided goals here, I'm a bit unsure that what I know is accurate or not. My resting metabolic rate is about 1900. So, everything I've read is that the best thing for your body to keep your metabolism amped up and to lose weight in the most quality way, is to eat up to your RMR in calories, because obviously your RMR is if you stayed in bed for 24 hours and didn't move, which even though I basically have a desk job, I do move around so I burn more calories.

My question is, if I workout for example 60 minutes and burn 800 calories, what should my calorie consumption be? Does that give me another 800 calories to eat? Or maybe 600 to come a bit under, but my point is I'm unsure as to whether or not exercise and normal calorie burn beyond RMR allows you to eat more, or more specifically, am I damaging my metabolism by only eating 1900 calories, meeting my RMR, but not eating into the calories burned area?

Thanks everyone I'm just trying to really get this down to a science.

Replies

becomingsara

(I tried to ask this exact question yesterday, but I wasn't as clear on details as you). I am eating healthier which naturally puts me under my 1888 rmr quote, but then if I do kickboxing, that burns 800 or more cals so I am left with quite a surplu. All that to say 1 you are not alone & 2 I hope you get some great answers!!!!

JustAmy

curious about this myself:flowerforyou:

JustAmy

Your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is an estimate of how many calories you'd burn if you were to do nothing but rest for 24 hours. It represents the minimum amount of energy needed to keep your body functioning, including breathing and keeping your heart beating.
Your BMR does not include the calories you burn from normal daily activities or exercise.
Our calculator uses the Mifflin-St. Jeor equations to estimate your BMR which is believed to be more accurate than the more commonly used Harris-Benedict equation.

My question is, if my body needs 1450 calories a day just to survive, why does MFP recommend that I only eat 1310 a day???

mzenzer

That's exactly why I posed the question myself. I put in that I work out for 60 minutes 6 days a week and MFP still recommends my intake to be 1900 calories. BUT, obviously as I add an exercise it increases the calorie requirements for the day, and should I eat up to that? Meaning as stated in my original question, do I treat that as my new RMR in a manner of speaking?

I do P90X, and over at Beachbody.com, if I put in the same info my meal plan says I should be eating 2700 calories. Frankly, I trust beachbody, and what I know about nutrition tells me that it is accurate, I just was hoping someone here could say it clearly enough so that the light bulb in my head goes off and I finally really get it.

The difference in the two is pretty obvious, beachbody is making an assumption on how many calories you will burn and MFP is requiring you to add that. I'm just hoping some expert here has the science to explain it all.

JustAmy

I'm doing Chalean Extreme right now and they recommend 1695 calories for me while working out! I usually burn between 400-700 calories each day of exercise. I think I will stick with the Beachbody recommendation too, 1310 really doesn't seem (and isn't, I've tried) like enough calories to function on!

I was hoping for that lightbulb too!!

mzenzer

Ok well I've done a little research and I'm confident in that yes adding exercise does of course increase the amount of calories you can and indeed should eat, but also your RMR never changes, period, based on your activity, at least in the short term and assuming no or little change in body mass/fat percentage. That being said you'd want to re-calculate your RMR based on a change in those numbers. My RMR right now is about 1900 calories, and exercise isn't going to change those base requirements on that given day. However, the body still needs fuel and exercising takes more fuel, so if my daily caloric consumption based on my RMR is 1900, and I add a 600 calorie burning workout, then I'm at 2500, and of course since losing weight is mostly about a caloric deficit, I should come in a couple hundred under that perhaps, as long as I'm getting enough fuel for my workouts. Note the above example does not account for other normal activities above your RMR but between that and exercise. I fall into the "lightly active" category as an office worker but that still equates to about 45% of my RMR.

I found some good posts at the beachbody.com forums, and also a couple of websites, with the most concise one being this one:

http://tim-richardson.net/joomla15/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=22&Itemid=67

Red13

This is from an article I read from SHAPE magazine titled "A smarter way to cut calories". Maybe this can help and you can figure your equation to see if MFP is telling you somewhat the same.

1. Multiply your weight goal by 10. That's the minimum number of calories you need per day without physical activity. For example, if you weight 160 pounds but your weight goal is 120, aim for no less than 1,200 calories.

2. Factor in daily activity. If you have a job that keeps you on your feet or you incorporate movement into your daily lifestyle, add another 3 calories per pound of your ideal body weight. A nurse of busy mom who wants to weigh 120 for example, can afford an additional 360 calories a day. But if you sit at a desk all day, stick to the basic equation.

3. Tack on extra for exercise. On the days you work out, add half the calories you burn to your allotted intake. This will give you the extra energy you need to sail through a sweat session, but won't undo all your hard work.

Wants2bethin

Ive heard (Dr.Oz) that you should only eay half of what you burn off at the gym or a class,

Red13

Ive heard (Dr.Oz) that you should only eay half of what you burn off at the gym or a class,

And I think if needed you can eat everything you've burned. Most people can tell when their body needs more fuel and maybe you happened to be more active in your everyday activities and need a little more. Sometimes people can get too jacked up on the numbers and should really listen to their bodies.

carreen

I didn't read everyone's reply, so you may already have your answer, but if your body burns 1900 calories per day doing nothing, then you need to eat 1900 calories per day to maintain your current body weight. If you are trying to maintain (not lose or gain), then you can eat 1900, or you can eat 2100 and burn 200 = 1900, etc.... just so long as your net calories are 1900.

If you are trying to lose weight, you have to create a deficit of at least 500 calories per day (3500 per week) to lose 1 pound per week, so you would want your calories intake to be 1400 per day. So, if you eat 1400 per day, or eat 1700 and burn 300 = 1400, etc. (whatever puts your net calories at 1400) you would lose 1 pund per week. I hope this helps.

P.S. I'm not saying for you to only eat 1400 calories per day; I'm just explaining the formula based on a 1900 rmr. Please consult your doctor to determine your caloric needs if you are not sure. :happy:

mzenzer

Yeah that's pretty accurate. My goal is 200lbs, so 2000 + 600 calories for normal activities and plus 400 calories, half of your average P90X workout, that brings me to 3000 calories. What I came up using the formulas in that link I posted was 2452, but that only included daily energy expenditures, not exercise. I'm really comfortable in the 2500 calorie range, I lose weight doing that and I feel like I have the energy to get through my workouts and the rest of the day. I might try adding a couple hundred more calories to that to see what affect it has.

mzenzer

If I'm reading you correctly I don't think that is right. If your body burns 1900 calories a day, literally doing nothing as if you slept for 24 hours, then that is your RMR and that is what your body needs to do basic bodily functions. But, we all wake up and do things, and it's that area that both adds to your caloric needs and is the area that your caloric deficit will be in. So my day adds say 1000 calories to my RMR of 1900, it's in that next 1000 calories that I need to find that sweet spot for a deficit. If you eat below your RMR you go into starvation mode and you won't lose weight and it's bad for you on other levels as well.

I didn't read everyone's reply, so you may already have your answer, but if your body burns 1900 calories per day doing nothing, then you need to eat 1900 calories per day to maintain your current body weight. If you are trying to maintain (not lose or gain), then you can eat 1900, or you can eat 2100 and burn 200 = 1900, etc.... just so long as your net calories are 1900.

If you are trying to lose weight, you have to create a deficit of at least 500 calories per day (3500 per week) to lose 1 pound per week, so you would want your calories intake to be 1400 per day. So, if you eat 1400 per day, or eat 1700 and burn 300 = 1400, etc. (whatever puts your net calories at 1400) you would lose 1 pund per week. I hope this helps.

P.S. I'm not saying for you to only eat 1400 calories per day; I'm just explaining the formula based on a 1900 rmr. Please consult your doctor to determine your caloric needs if you are not sure. :happy:

carreen

Hey. Sorry for any confusion. I guess I was assuming that was your RMR with adjustments for activity level. Rather than me confusing you any more, I'll just refer to to the following web page. It explains it very well. Good luck!

http://www.caloriesperhour.com/tutorial_BMR.php

mzenzer

Hey. Sorry for any confusion. I guess I was assuming that was your RMR with adjustments for activity level. Rather than me confusing you any more, I'll just refer to to the following web page. It explains it very well. Good luck!

http://www.caloriesperhour.com/tutorial_BMR.php

That's a pretty cool site thanks! I ran my numbers which are 6ft, 1in, 212lbs, and 41 yrs old and came up with this.

Calculator: BMR & RMR
Next: Make another calculation or click on Calculators.
BMR & RMR Results:
The results of your calculations are: BMR 2,038 RMR 1,920 (calories)
For an explanation of BMR and RMR and important notes on the accuracy of these calculations, see Calculating BMR and RMR. We also explain why RMR is likely to be more appropriate for your needs.
As BMR and RMR only represent resting energy expenditure or calories burned during a day of rest, an adjustment must be made to reflect activity level. This can be done by multiplying by an activity factor:
Factor Category Definition BMR RMR
1.2 Sedentary Little or no exercise and desk 2,446 2,304
job

1.375 Lightly Active Light exercise or sports 1-3 2,802 2,640
days a week

1.55 Moderately Active Moderate exercise or sports 3,159 2,976
3-5 days a week

1.725 Very Active Hard exercise or sports 6-7 3,516 3,312
days a week

1.9 Extremely Active Hard daily exercise or sports 3,872 3,648
and physical job

robin52077

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/23912-links-in-mfp-you-want-to-read-again-and-again

very very very useful thread for most of you here.
There is a lot of wrong info being tossed about here, please read the threads that this link will link you to.

jasong2542

Actually your mistaken. RMR is the rate at which your body burns calories at rest ("or bumming around") not the BMR

psuLemon

Everyone, RMR or even BMR is a base number. You need to use the TDEE multiplier to get your true base calories. For me I am 200 lbs and I have a sedentary job and do P90X.

Now there are two methods, the first one is including your exercise into your TDEE multiplier (which is what I do) or you don't and eat back your exercise calories. So for me.

LBM = Weight - (Weight x Body Fat %)
LBM = 200 - (200 x .12) = 176

BMR = 370+(9.79759519 x LBM)
BMR = 370+(9.79759519 x 176) = 2094

Once you get your BMR, you now want to add in your daily active level (I included my exercise into this).

So for me:

BMR x 1.725 = TDEE
2094 x 1.725 = 3612

And once you get your TDEE you add the deficit for weight loss.

DominiqueSmall

bump

yarwell

My question is, if my body needs 1450 calories a day just to survive, why does MFP recommend that I only eat 1310 a day

because you can get calories from your fat reserves, assuming you have some.

mzenzer

lisharj39

Hello, I know this topic conversation is old, but I GOOGLE searched this topic and came to this post. I would like to share some information that I received from the Army Wellness Center regarding my Personal Weight Management.

My RMR is 1888
the scale is: less than 1408 = slow
1408 - 1866 = normal
above 1866 = fast

So the Lifestyle and exercise calories are (567+250) = 817 calories

Adding my RMR and the 817 calories I come to a WHOPPING 2705 calories in a day that I must consume! This is ridiculous to me. But since I burn 1888 calories at rest, doing nothing, I need to eat for my daily activities - the 817 calories.

In order to lose weight I need to eat 500 less calories than 2705 per day. NO MORE, and NO LESS! Imagine my surprise!

So to make sense of this, I need to understand how to reduce my RMR. LOSE WEIGHT!

from www.bodyfi.com/factorsthataffectmetabolism,pdf

"Restrictive diets consisting of less than 1000 calories per day can result in an acute decrease in resting metabolic rate. Use caution when designing calorie plans below individuals' measured resting metabolism."

That's my two cents. Hope it helps.

carolyn000

Question, If my RMR was 1276 and active burn was 793 total for the day was 2,069. How many calories should I eat to lose weight?
Thanks

Its_Juanito

I'm also learning about this, but from my understanding; If your RMR is 1276, and you actively burn 793 calories per day (which equals to the 2,069), then you should consume about 1,569 calories per day to lose 1 pd per week.

By knowing that 3,500 calories = 1 pd, I divided 3,500/7 (days in a week), which gave me the number 500. I then subtracted the 500 from your total calories of 2,060 to come up with 1,569.

Since you already know RMR and your TDEE, (and knowing that 1pd = 3,500 calories) you can basically adjust your calories to lose weight at the rate you wish.

But make sure you never go below your RMR. (your body still needs to function)

I hope this helped!!!

psuLemon

Question, If my RMR was 1276 and active burn was 793 total for the day was 2,069. How many calories should I eat to lose weight?
Thanks

Anything less than 2069. But generally, a 20% deficit is a good place to start.