Bmr and weight loss

spatticus

Can someone please explain to me bmr? I've read other posts but I'm not sure I understand fully. MFP says my bmr is 1553. My calories for the day are set at 1200 and I do the 30 shred every night and eat back those calories so I'm at 1400 for the day. I've barely lost any weight this week... Am I eating the right number of calories? I'd like to up my cardio and if I do how much should I eat? I'm also on a new medication with weight gain as a side effect. I am 5'8" 165 lbs and would like to get back to the 140 I was! Thanks on advance!

Caper88

I tired another BMR calculator online and it listed mine as lower then what it was posted on this site.

spatticus

bump

happy_vegan

i'm confused why you'd eat 1400 when it tells you to eat 1200. the 1200 is based on the fact that you shouldn't be eating less than that for nutrition purposes, but definitely a reduced calorie diet. it's okay to eat more than 1200 but you will lose weight more slowly, which doesn't seem to be what you want.

your bmr if you only laid in bed would be 1530, your bmr for light sedentary work (like office work) is actually around 1800... (i'm your same weight/height). a pound of fat is 3500 calories, a pound of muscle is 600 calories. based on your diet and exercise you can lose either of these types of weight.

if you cut out 400 calories a day then supposedly you'd lose 2800 calories a week, less than a pound.

Caper88

I think she means she is eating the work out calories

spackham

You can eat those "work out" calories but do you really WANT to? I mean, you worked your fanny off to work your fanny off, right? BMR is if you were in bed all day, add another 200 cals if you actually walk around with a sedentary life.

LaurenRose2011

Hey girl,

BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is the amount of calories your body burns through maintaining normal body function at rest in addition to sustaining your typical daily activities (e.g. getting dressed, showering, moving). I actually think your BMR is higher than 1553. Given your age, sex, height, current weight, and your brief description of your physical activity I estimate your BMR to be closer to 2,000 calories per day.

2,000 calories per day is what you would need to eat to maintain your current weight. In order to lose 1 lb. you need a deficit of 3,500 so you would need to eat 1,500 calories per day to create this deficit in one week. Given that you are just barely overweight you shouldn't attempt a loss greater than 1lb per week or you will burn away lean mass, reduce your metabolism, and end up gaining weight.

If you're planning to increase your cardio workouts then you will need to increase your calories accordingly. You should be eating about 1,500 per day right now. So, if you increase your cardio I would suggest upping it to 1,650 or 1,700 per day depending on how much you burn during your new routine.

Additionally, 140 is a perfect goal for you, and if you can just manage to find the perfect balance of exercise and consumption I bet you can reach it by the end of July. I know that seems like a long time, but at 1 lb. per week it will take you about 25 weeks. You might be able to increase your loss rate to 1.5 lbs per week safely, but I would definitely talk to your doctor first. To lose 1.5lbs. per week you would need a deficit of 5,250 calories per week and your intake would have to be 1,200 calories per day.

You also need to weigh yourself only once per week. I get the feeling that you weigh yourself more often. Weight fluctuates a bit throughout the week which is why it is important to weigh on the same day at the same time each week. Preferably this will be after your morning urination & bowel movement, and you will be nude. You get the most accurate body weight this way.

Given your current net of 1,400 calories I suggest that you reduce your net to 1,200 calories after you consult your doctor. Make sure you're getting eating breakfast, and that you get a workout in before breakfast. A healthy (high fiber, high protein, 250-400 calorie) breakfast combined with a 15 minute morning cardio workout is a rocket booster for the metabolism. If you're not getting this combination it can inhibit weight loss.

Well, I hope this helps you out. Good luck reaching your goal!

P.S. Do yourself a favor and don't take my advice or anyone elses on this site. This site is full of misinformation and just plain bad nutritional advice. I have the education to back my advice, but I still recommend you schedule an appointment with your doctor to discuss it with her.

spatticus

Thank you so much! So basically I need to work out more and eat more? You say I need to eat 1500-1700 calories but only net 1200 Calories a day so I need to workout and burn 300-500 calories a day?

chuckanderson

BMR is NOT including all those things like getting around.... BMR is how much it would take to lay in your bed in a coma. Hence even the least active people (who can stand) have a multiplier of like 1.125 or so