Calories and Diet, Am I being stupid? (BMR and TDEE)

therealtomtom

So I just read this old post http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/931670-bmr-and-tdee-explained-for-those-needing-a-guide

I am 36 and want to get down to 11 and a half stone (164lbs)

I started using MfP and it dropped me to 2000 calories, then slowly it has taken me down to 1210 calories a day.

Reading that article I am well under what I should be (according to http://www.fat2fittools.com/tools/mbf/ and http://www.fat2fittools.com/tools/bmr/ )

The say I should be eating at 2081 calories a day and at the moment at around 1666 calories.

As the article says it's hard to get your head around this.

I started this in November at when I got to March I pretty much stopped as I hit a run of birthday parties, events and laziness and ate more or less what I wanted.

My eating habits had changed so most meals were smaller, but there was less worry on counting what I was eating, and at a BBQ I might have one sausage more than I should. (but not the once normal 4 more!)

Over that time I went from 12stone 13lbs to 13 stone 4/6 lbs and was holding and fluctuating mildly around this.

I can't see how eating 2000 calories a day will help me lose weight now. All it will do is add the weight on.

I have a reasonably desk based/computer job, but play 5-a-side once a week (sometimes twice) have a 1 year old at home and play guitar in a band (so gig and move about a bit) at least once a week for practice (then other gigs on top)

So I am semi active.

Has anyone else got experiences of this?

Thanks
Tom

SezxyStef

As a man 1200 is too little...as you lost weight did you change your weekly weight loss goals?

As a woman who is almost 42 I lose weight on 1600...I have a desk job etc too...there is no reason you won't lose on that and probably a lot more.

If you change your weekly weight loss goal to about 1- 1/2lb a week based on what you have left to lose MFP will give you lots of calories.

You haven't been eating too little for so long that you have hurt your metabolism you just need to adjust your numbers and expectations.

yarwell

I would say if you know the calorie intake which maintains your weight then take out 600 calories a day preferably as 150g of carbohydrates and you're good to go.

BMR estimates are +/- 10% they are then multiplied by estimated TDEE activity factors - a "calories to maintain" figure determined by experiment trumps any estimate.

Lemongrab13

UK doctors have said that 1000 calories is the recommended intake for a 1 year old, so I sincerely doubt 200 more calories is enough for a grown man.

LunaStar2008

I sometimes think it is confusing as well. According to my activities I should eat around 2000 calories, but I would gain weight ( I tried it). Since I eat between 1400-1600 calories (no net calories) and keep active I lost about 12lbs. Now I came to a stall again.

I may have to change things up and mix up my foods again. I guess my body adjusted. My food log is open.

therealtomtom

@SezxyStef - Thanks. I started back in November with 2000 calories and MFP would recalculate every 10lbs and I am now down at 1200c a day. I thought it was OK as I guessed the app would not be trying to kill me.....

Maybe starting it again would be way to see what the app says?

@yarwell - I don't know what my intake to maintain is, and at the moment I think If I eat that much I will just put weight back on. It's a hard balance at the moment of not wanting to see the scales rise too much, but also not cause damage to myself as that was never the intention!

OllyJ_79

I'd suggest a good starting point would be to put your details into this site and match your activity level to its table for a reference total calorie target. It makes things much easier to understand.

http://calorieline.com/tools/tdee

Patttience

I lost all my weight fairly easily and quickly by reducing my calories somewhat minimally. Basically avoid going hungry.

I think i used the calories advice on MFP for the first three months. As i wasn't doing any exercise this was fine. I don't know what affect exercise would have had.

Anyway put your numbers into a few different ones. Pick one and go with it for a while logging what you in eat daily in a place where its easy to look back and check.

Stick with the same number for long enough to see what effect its having.

Exercise tends to complicate things somewhat.

Make sure you log every single food or drink continuing calories. One or two calories here or these is of no consequence. But you should log every item of food or drink and try to get your quantities accurate.

I have found by logging my food in an actual spreadsheet, its easy for me to go off calorie counting and just by using the scale keep monitoring my weight effectively.

Don't forget that the scale fluctuates daily with things like salt and hydration so don't get upset or overexcited by them.

_Zardoz_

Have a look at this this will help you to set reasonable goals and make sure you actually eat enough (1200 is not enough for any man unless you're 4 ft tall)

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1175494-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants?hl=guide+to+sexypants&page=1#posts-18361594

SezxyStef

@SezxyStef - Thanks. I started back in November with 2000 calories and MFP would recalculate every 10lbs and I am now down at 1200c a day. I thought it was OK as I guessed the app would not be trying to kill me.....

Maybe starting it again would be way to see what the app says?

@yarwell - I don't know what my intake to maintain is, and at the moment I think If I eat that much I will just put weight back on. It's a hard balance at the moment of not wanting to see the scales rise too much, but also not cause damage to myself as that was never the intention!

Yes that is what MFP does..takes calories as you lose weight IF you leave your weekly weight loss goal the same...

What is under your goals? 2lbs a week? 1.5?

ETA: I can lose on 1600-1900...so you should be able to...go check diet/fitness settings down at the bottom it has what is your goal?

with choices of 2lbs a week and up to maintain to gaining...

WalkingAlong

The app isn't killing anyone. It doesn't have to be confusing. The forum people not agreeing with the app is what makes it confusing.

I guess we each pick which plan we want to follow-- MFP's actual plan, MFP forum's plan or something else.