Eating below my BMR?

Karissa_Clohan

I am a 19 year old female, 5'4, and 242 pounds. I set my activity level as sedentary then log my exercise as I go. I drink no less than 64 ounces of water a day, and I'm currently trying to drink more.

According to fat2fit tools, my BMR is 1,873 calories. MyFitnessPal has my calorie goal set at 1,320 for a projected weight loss of 2 lbs a week.

I've noticed that I feel the need to binge eat every few days, and I typically feel ravenous as the day progress despite eating a protein filled breakfast. As a result, I go over my calorie goal by about 300-500 calories. Could this be because I'm not eating enough?

If I should increase my calories, how much should I aim for - and how can I calculate that?
If I'm fine as is, what can I do to reduce the desire to binge?

__leis__

Have you calculated your TDEE yet? You should be eating 20% below your TDEE to lose about 2lb a week plus you eat back your calories that you burn if you do decide to start working out.

vismal

At your height and weight, for the time being, you can probably make decent progress eating a bit more then 1300 calories. It is okay to eat below your bmr when you have a whole lot of weight to lose, but it usually isn't necessary. If eating 1300 calories is hard for you to be compliant with then I would absolutely increase your daily calorie goal. 1800 seems like an okay number. Do it for a month and see what your results are like. You need to find a number that both gets you results but is also sustainable in the long run as you aren't going to achieve your goals overnight. Also play around with meal frequency. Some people can be more compliant eating many meals a day, others do better eating 1 or 2 meals a day. I personally save the majority, if not all of my daily calories for the evening simply because that method is most sustainable for me. I always found eating breakfast made me more hungry then skipping it did so I rarely have it when I'm in a fat loss phase.

FredDoyle

Yes, eat more. Think of it this way, at 5`4`` you might be 100lbs overweight. That`s like a 142 lb person carrying around 100 lb knapsack all the time. That takes energy. You could probably lose weight by eating 2000 kcals per day at first.
As your weight decreases, you can cut back the amount you`re eating to maintain a deficit. If you cut your intake too low at first, you may give up trying to lose, and you`ll lack the energy you need to move more which will help.

VelveteenArabian

2 pounds a week is a pretty steep loss. In order to achieve that, it means you have to have a deficit of at least 7000 calories every week. I would try lowering your loss to 1 or 1.5 pounds per week.

strassenkoenigin

I am the same height, but much older and weigh 128 pounds. My BMR is about 1000 calories and I try to eat that. I am also very active. You should really not worry about eating not enough, your body has enough resources to fall back on. There is no chance that you will starve.
The first thing you have to find out is which food causes the craving. I completely gave up anything with flour in it. I used to love bread but I was not able to restrict myself to just one slice, but often caught myself eating the whole loaf. Same thing with cookies or cakes. The problem nowadays is that this stuff is made with GMO flour and whatever you buy which is made by big corporations is designed by specialists to make you addicted. The only recourse is not to eat it. I know that sounds not easy, but if you ever want o get down to a normal weight, you have to take the right steps.

Once you start eating healthy , not processed food, food which has no added hormones in it you will eventually see that the cravings will go away. It also helps to be as active as possible. Try to find something you like doing. For me it was biking. I spend every free minute on my bike. When I come back from a long bike ride, I am not hungry. An added benefit.

Karissa_Clohan

Thanks everyone!

I'm going to try increasing my calories to 1,500 a day and see how that goes for awhile. I also plan on eating more protein, since I've noticed it definitely helps curb the hunger throughout the day. I'm also going to try saving the majority of my calories for the afternoon, like vismal suggested.

It's safe to eat over the recommended amount of protein, right?


I'm going to calculate my TDEE - 20% right now.

Karissa_Clohan

My TDEE - 20% is 1,785.6 calories. Still higher than what MFP has set for me.

This is all confusing for me.

Kalikel

I think you made the smart choice. If you still feel the need to binge, you'll know it's not because you aren't eating enough. If you don't lose, you can always drop it. It's trial and error and every body is different.

If you haven't been to the doctor, be sure to go get checked out. Make sure there is nothing physical causing those cravings.

Karissa_Clohan

Thank you!

I'm currently without insurance, but as soon as I get another policy - I'm RUNNING to a nutritionist and my family doctor!

shifterbrainz

I am the same height, but much older and weigh 128 pounds. My BMR is about 1000 calories and I try to eat that. I am also very active. You should really not worry about eating not enough, your body has enough resources to fall back on. There is no chance that you will starve.
The first thing you have to find out is which food causes the craving. I completely gave up anything with flour in it. I used to love bread but I was not able to restrict myself to just one slice, but often caught myself eating the whole loaf. Same thing with cookies or cakes. The problem nowadays is that this stuff is made with GMO flour and whatever you buy which is made by big corporations is designed by specialists to make you addicted. The only recourse is not to eat it. I know that sounds not easy, but if you ever want o get down to a normal weight, you have to take the right steps.

It seems this post has it right. If you're goal weight is 120 pounds (just guessing) the numbers seem to indicate 1350 calories is about the BMR. I may be overly simplistic, but that appears to indicate that your hunger is more a result of WHAT you are eating than HOW MUCH you are eating.

Until a nutritionist can help, I'd try some experimenting to identify what foods(meals) leave you feeling hungry soon after eating and what foods(meals) keep hunger at bay. For me, I found I get hungry shortly after eating fruits, crunchy veggies, and sweet things so I try to leave those for between meal snacks. I also save my dessert treat for an hour or so before bedtime. I savor the sweet, sleep thru the hunger it causes, and wake ready for a good breakfast. It's funny too that when I skip dessert, my blood sugar will invariably be higher in the morning. Of course, ymmv

Good luck

Christine_72

I drink a meal replacement/protein shake which has 117 calories, and it keeps me full until the next meal.