What is this BMR thing anyway?

ShifuYaku

I don't understand. Can someone explain it to me? And how does it concern me learning how to lose more weight? D;

sarahlyzzibeth

(deleted)

ShifuYaku

BMR stands for Basal Metabolic Rate... it is the amount of calories you burn naturally without exercising. Say your BMR is 2000, and you decide to eat 1800 calories a day. That means that you will burn 200 calories naturally each day. To lose one pound, you need to burn 3500 calories. So, after 18 days of that, you will have theoretically lost 1 pound without exercising. If you decide to eat above your BMR, then you'll gain weight unless you exercise. Does that make sense?

Ehhh, kinda. OK so I just calculated my BMR and it says I am 1718.4. What does it mean? That I cannot eat more calories than that amount?

robin52077

no, it means you should eat that amount

MakingAChoice

Your Basal Metabolic rate (BMR) is the number of calories your body will burn to survive if you do nothing at all (like being in a coma). The daily activities we do burn calories about and beyond our BMR. Understanding what your BMR is and not eating below it is important. If you eat below your BMR your body will thwart your weight loss efforts by retaining fat because your body is preparing for 'famine'. This is an annoying survival feature of our bodies that helped us survive when food was not plentiful. Today food is readily available and we have to show our body that we are not in famine times and that it can indeed shed fat instead of store it.

There is a BMR tool at www.fat2fitradio.com/tools that can help you figure out your BMR. They also have podcasts that have a lot of information and help people understand topics just like this one. If you would have asked what a BMR was 6 months ago I would have had no clue. So you are not alone, we all need to learn these things to be successful in this journey.

sarahlyzzibeth

(deleted)

robin52077

Let me explain:
Your BMR is the amount of calories you would burn even if you were in a COMA. Your body needs that just to beat your heart and breathe and reproduce cells and such.
As soon as you step out of bed you burn more than that.

Your "activity level" is your BMR multiplied by a factor based on how active you are.
1.2 if you do NOTHING, but lounge around your house all day.
1.55 for a normal person, going to work, and cleaning their house and such.
Up to even 1.9 for an athlete.

THAT is your maintenance calories. That's what to eat to stay the SAME size. Eat less than that but not too much less than your BMR (because you need that) to lose weight.

robin52077

That means that your body naturally burns 1718.4 calories each day. If you decide to eat more than that, then you will have to exercise in order to make your net calories less than 1718 (net calories = calories eaten - calories burned exercising only) in order to lose weight.

For example, if you eat 2000 calories, then that means you will have to burn 282 calories in order to maintain your current weight (2000-1718=282). In order to lose weight, you'll need to burn more than 282 calories to make your body burn more than you eat.

To lose one pound per week, you must have net calories be 500 less than your BMR every day. So, for you, your net calories need to be 1218, either by only eating 1218 calories or by exercising to get your net calories to 1218. On your homepage, MFP calculates your net for you, so all you have to do is check

you are confusing BMR with maintenance. You don't subtract from your BMR to make your deficit. Your maintenance is quite a bit more than your BMR, THEN you subtract from it. You need to eat around your BMR to be healthy, too much below that and you are starving your body of vital nutrients.

gatorflyer

The way I understand it, BMR is basically the number of calories that your body would burn if you did nothing. It's the energy required for normal body maintenance (organ functioning, basic processes, etc). So, at certain height, weight, and level of activity, if your BMR was 1400, if you laid in bed all day and did nothing, it would need 1400 to keep your body alive. You can kind of think about that number as the number of calories that you would need to be under to lose weight, IF you didn't do any exercise. So, if you exercise, then theoretically, you should be able to eat more. The problem is that with age, your BMR decreases, so if you ended up eating the same amount of calories in progressive years, since the BMR decreases, you would gain weight. There are also other things that can reduce your BMR, things like starving yourself, and there are some other things as well that affect BMR. It's kind of confusing, but that's the best I have been able to come up with.

sarahlyzzibeth

you are confusing BMR with maintenance. You don't subtract from your BMR to make your deficit. Your maintenance is quite a bit more than your BMR, THEN you subtract from it. You need to eat around your BMR to be healthy, too much below that and you are starving your body of vital nutrients.

ohhhhhhhh. whoops. i just go by what MFP tells me and let them do the math.

MakingAChoice

BMR stands for Basal Metabolic Rate... it is the amount of calories you burn naturally without exercising. Say your BMR is 2000, and you decide to eat 1800 calories a day. That means that you will burn 200 calories naturally each day. To lose one pound, you need to burn 3500 calories. So, after 18 days of that, you will have theoretically lost 1 pound without exercising. If you decide to eat above your BMR, then you'll gain weight unless you exercise. Does that make sense?

This is wrong or misstated, if you eat above your BMR you will not gain weight. Now with that said, there is a certain amount of calories we burn above our BMR. That would be anything you do other than lay on the couch or in bed. Yes, just walking will burn calories and allow you to eat above your BMR. The area between your BMR and the total number of calories you burn for the day is where you create a caloric deficit. Let me use an example, it might help.

Your BMR is 1718.4, we burn an average of 600 calories just doing day to day activity, maybe you went to the gym and burned another 300 calories. That would mean you could eat 1718.4 + 600 + 300 = 2618.4 calories worth of good food and not gain an ounce. If you wanted to lose weight you can eat as low as 1718.4, but I would not go lower than that. The 600 and 300 are guesstimates for the example and can be figured out with tools such as the one at www.fitbit.com. I highly suggest the www.fat2fitradio.tools site to figure out some basics though. I am living proof that their calculations work. I do not do any 'diet' I eat real food and use the principles the fat2fit guys teach. They are great educators (ones even a teacher) and I hope more people will spread the word of these guys as they have got it right.

MakingAChoice

Let me explain:
Your BMR is the amount of calories you would burn even if you were in a COMA. Your body needs that just to beat your heart and breathe and reproduce cells and such.
As soon as you step out of bed you burn more than that.

Your "activity level" is your BMR multiplied by a factor based on how active you are.
1.2 if you do NOTHING, but lounge around your house all day.
1.55 for a normal person, going to work, and cleaning their house and such.
Up to even 1.9 for an athlete.

THAT is your maintenance calories. That's what to eat to stay the SAME size. Eat less than that but not too much less than your BMR (because you need that) to lose weight.

Excellent description, you nailed it.

robin52077

you are confusing BMR with maintenance. You don't subtract from your BMR to make your deficit. Your maintenance is quite a bit more than your BMR, THEN you subtract from it. You need to eat around your BMR to be healthy, too much below that and you are starving your body of vital nutrients.

ohhhhhhhh. whoops. i just go by what MFP tells me and let them do the math.

TDEE is your BMR plus your normal daily activity.
TDEE-500 = 1 lb per week loss.

My BMR is about 1200, but my TDEE is about 1800 since I work on my feet.
I would need to eat 1300 to lose 1 lb per week...a LOT different than trying to subtract a deficit from my 1200 BMR!

on your homepage click "goals"
on the right it will say "Calories burned: From normal daily activity"
That is your TDEE if you have your activity level set right.

Unless you are practically bedridden and just lounge on the couch all day every day, then you are not sedentary. most people calculate their goals wrong by choosing an activity level way too low. I have to choose VERY active simply because I stand and walk back and forth for 8 hours a day.
Even just doing a load of laundry and some dishes and driving to the post office and back puts you at lightly active for that day....NOT sedentary.

ShifuYaku

That means that your body naturally burns 1718.4 calories each day. If you decide to eat more than that, then you will have to exercise in order to make your net calories less than 1718 (net calories = calories eaten - calories burned exercising only) in order to lose weight.

For example, if you eat 2000 calories, then that means you will have to burn 282 calories in order to maintain your current weight (2000-1718=282). In order to lose weight, you'll need to burn more than 282 calories to make your body burn more than you eat.

To lose one pound per week, you must have net calories be 500 less than your BMR every day. So, for you, your net calories need to be 1218, either by only eating 1218 calories or by exercising to get your net calories to 1218. On your homepage, MFP calculates your net for you, so all you have to do is check

Ahh I see. So now that my BMR is 1718, and I have to have net calories be 500 less, I would have to have 1218? Ok, so today, my net calories are in the 900 range... So this is good?

robin52077

That means that your body naturally burns 1718.4 calories each day. If you decide to eat more than that, then you will have to exercise in order to make your net calories less than 1718 (net calories = calories eaten - calories burned exercising only) in order to lose weight.

For example, if you eat 2000 calories, then that means you will have to burn 282 calories in order to maintain your current weight (2000-1718=282). In order to lose weight, you'll need to burn more than 282 calories to make your body burn more than you eat.

To lose one pound per week, you must have net calories be 500 less than your BMR every day. So, for you, your net calories need to be 1218, either by only eating 1218 calories or by exercising to get your net calories to 1218. On your homepage, MFP calculates your net for you, so all you have to do is check

Ahh I see. So now that my BMR is 1718, and I have to have net calories be 500 less, I would have to have 1218? Ok, so today, my net calories are in the 900 range... So this is good?

NO! see posts by me and by MakingAChoice.
The person you just quoted had it wrong.

sarahlyzzibeth

you are confusing BMR with maintenance. You don't subtract from your BMR to make your deficit. Your maintenance is quite a bit more than your BMR, THEN you subtract from it. You need to eat around your BMR to be healthy, too much below that and you are starving your body of vital nutrients.

ohhhhhhhh. whoops. i just go by what MFP tells me and let them do the math.

TDEE is your BMR plus your normal daily activity.
TDEE-500 = 1 lb per week loss.

My BMR is about 1200, but my TDEE is about 1800 since I work on my feet.
I would need to eat 1300 to lose 1 lb per week...a LOT different than trying to subtract a deficit from my 1200 BMR!

on your homepage click "goals"
on the right it will say "Calories burned: From normal daily activity"
That is your TDEE if you have your activity level set right.

Unless you are practically bedridden and just lounge on the couch all day every day, then you are not sedentary. most people calculate their goals wrong by choosing an activity level way too low. I have to choose VERY active simply because I stand and walk back and forth for 8 hours a day.
Even just doing a load of laundry and some dishes and driving to the post office and back puts you at lightly active for that day....NOT sedentary.

What does TDEE stand for? I found it I was just curious. Thanks for setting me straight

ShifuYaku

you are confusing BMR with maintenance. You don't subtract from your BMR to make your deficit. Your maintenance is quite a bit more than your BMR, THEN you subtract from it. You need to eat around your BMR to be healthy, too much below that and you are starving your body of vital nutrients.

ohhhhhhhh. whoops. i just go by what MFP tells me and let them do the math.

TDEE is your BMR plus your normal daily activity.
TDEE-500 = 1 lb per week loss.

My BMR is about 1200, but my TDEE is about 1800 since I work on my feet.
I would need to eat 1300 to lose 1 lb per week...a LOT different than trying to subtract a deficit from my 1200 BMR!

on your homepage click "goals"
on the right it will say "Calories burned: From normal daily activity"
That is your TDEE if you have your activity level set right.

Unless you are practically bedridden and just lounge on the couch all day every day, then you are not sedentary. most people calculate their goals wrong by choosing an activity level way too low. I have to choose VERY active simply because I stand and walk back and forth for 8 hours a day.
Even just doing a load of laundry and some dishes and driving to the post office and back puts you at lightly active for that day....NOT sedentary.

I'm trying to lose 2 pounds per week...

[EDIT] Calories Burned From Normal Daily Activity 2,200 calories/day
Net Calories Consumed*
Your Daily Goal 1,200 calories/ day
Daily Calorie Deficit 1,000 calories
Projected Weight Loss 2.0 lbs/ week

This is what it tells me.

ShifuYaku

~BUMP~

robin52077

you're better off aiming for 1 lb per week since the 2 lbs puts you so far below your BMR.
You can try netting 1200 a day for a little while but you are most likely going to be really tired and cranky and hungry all the time.


And Sarah, TDEE is Total Daily Energy Expenditure.