BMR

hannahncakes

hi,
I'm Hannah & I'm new here! I've looked up my BMR which is apparently 1666.9 I understand that this is the rate I burn calories at but can anyone tell me how to use this to work out how to lose weight?
It's all a bit confusing!!
Thanks x

sabrads

Hi Hannah,

To loose weight you need to eat less calories than you burn in a day. Each 1lb of fat requires a burn of 3500 calories.

So if you have a BMR of 2000 and you want to loose 1lb a week then you would reduce your calorie intake to 1500 per day.

(2000-1500) = 500 * 7 =3500

However you can burn extra calories by doing exercise, as I understand it the way the myfitnesspal works is that you get extra to eat with the exercise calories and you shouldnt use these to loose weight, you should eat your exercise calories. Part of this is that when you drop below about 1200 calories intake your metabolism can slow down, and that then reduces your BMR.

The benefit of the exercise is that you are toning up muscle and so you will be trimmer.

Hope this helps - there are some FAQ type posts in various sections.

Steve

hannahncakes

Many thanks

robin52077

Sorry, but Sabrads answer is wrong.
Your BMR is the amount you burn if you were in a COMA, or stayed in bed all day. That number doesn't even take into account simple things like walking around your house, getting dressed, showering, etc., it only takes into account the calories your body uses to beat your heart, breathe, reproduce cells, etc.

THEN you have to add in your ACTIVITY level calories, which is when MFP asked you to choose Sedentary, Lightly Active, Active, etc. That greatly increased that number, and only THEN do you subtract 500 a day to lose a pound a week.
If you subtract the 500 from your BMR you are starving yourself and denying your body the calories it needs to keep you alive.

sabrads

I knew I had forgotton something in my reply - yes you do have to add in your activity level.