BMR Tool & Goal Setting
marybsalmon
Posts: 46 Member
I'm not sure I understand the whole BMR tool and how to set the calorie goal.
According to the BMR tool, my BMR is 1,571. I burn an average of 400 per day in exercise (if you take the weekly amount of 2786/7). I've been keeping my net calories to 1,400. (And I haven't been seeing any weight loss in the last month!) So is this telling me I need to increase my net calories to 1,971 average???
According to the BMR tool, my BMR is 1,571. I burn an average of 400 per day in exercise (if you take the weekly amount of 2786/7). I've been keeping my net calories to 1,400. (And I haven't been seeing any weight loss in the last month!) So is this telling me I need to increase my net calories to 1,971 average???
0
Replies
-
I will not speak to whether or not you need to eat your exercise calories, but I will say this...
Your BMR is the amount of calories that you burn in a coma ... you should never eat under your BMR no matter what.0 -
I am not arguing the point of having to eat the BMR calories but my question is, why does MFP set my caloric intake per day lower than the BMR? My BMR is around 2,200, but MFP sets my calorie goal to 1,800...0
-
YES! Exactly...this is so confusing! My BMR is 1571. Here is what my goals say now that I've upped my intake to 1575...
Calories Burned From Normal Daily Activity 2,120 calories/day
Net Calories Consumed*
Your Daily Goal 1,575 calories/ day
Daily Calorie Deficit 545 calories
Projected Weight Loss 1.1 lbs/ week0 -
I am not arguing the point of having to eat the BMR calories but my question is, why does MFP set my caloric intake per day lower than the BMR? My BMR is around 2,200, but MFP sets my calorie goal to 1,800...
MFP is a "dumb tool". It's great, but it's a program. It does not know YOU, nor can it think for itself. All it can do is take the information you gave it (height, weight, target loss per week) and give you a rough number. It's only "fail safe" is that it won't let you go below 1200 calories per day without a manual override.
Research is vital to a healthy successful fitness journey.0 -
Bump0
-
Bump I took too long0
-
I love MFP...trust me I do!
but even their BMR calculator is not 100% correct. The appropriate calculator for BMR is the Harris-Benedict equation ...
please see this website ...
www.fat2fitradio.com/bmr
They use the Harris-Benedict BMR which is correct ...
I have NO IDEA why MFP sets your calories lower than your BMR, but it does it all the time. My BMR is 1900 and it had me at 1700 ... even 2100 is a bit too low for me. I shoot for 2400 most days with a few days in the 2100.
My weight loss is slow, but consistent...
0 -
Thanks! I just entered my info in the websie for Fat2FitRadio. It's pretty accurate to MFP's estimate of 1,571.
Custom BMR Calculation. Thanks for checking your BMR here on Fat 2 Fit Radio.
Entered information: 41 year old female, 70 inches tall, weighing 181 pounds.
From the information that you entered, you'd like to weigh 155 lbs.
Harris-Benedict Formula
There are a few different methods to calculating yourbasal metabolic rate (BMR). One of the most popular, developed in the early 1900's is called the Harris-Benedict formula. Based on this formula, your current BMR is 1579 calories.0 -
if your eating your bmr and your not loseing weight girl friend your eating more than what you think or you are not exercising enough if you had diabeties the doctor would put you on a 1200 to1300 cal diet with exercise included try a exercise that will speed up your hart like do 20 jumping jacks than lift weights. you need to speed up your metabolism so you can burn those cals the reason you don't want drop down to 1200 cals yet is because of saggy skin and we would starve0
-
Thanks! I just entered my info in the websie for Fat2FitRadio. It's pretty accurate to MFP's estimate of 1,571.
Custom BMR Calculation. Thanks for checking your BMR here on Fat 2 Fit Radio.
Entered information: 41 year old female, 70 inches tall, weighing 181 pounds.
From the information that you entered, you'd like to weigh 155 lbs.
Harris-Benedict Formula
There are a few different methods to calculating yourbasal metabolic rate (BMR). One of the most popular, developed in the early 1900's is called the Harris-Benedict formula. Based on this formula, your current BMR is 1579 calories.
Awesome -- yours is alot closer than mine was ... MFP had me at 1750 and F2F had me at 1900...
So did you figure out what you need to eat to get to your goal ... I eat between my activity level and the one just below me!0 -
if your eating your bmr and your not loseing weight girl friend your eating more than what you think or you are not exercising enough if you had diabeties the doctor would put you on a 1200 to1300 cal diet with exercise included try a exercise that will speed up your hart like do 20 jumping jacks than lift weights. you need to speed up your metabolism so you can burn those cals the reason you don't want drop down to 1200 cals yet is because of saggy skin and we would starve
Up until today I've been eating only 1400 net calories and not lost hardly any weight for the past month. I've been exercising an average of 400 calories a day 5x/wk. So no, I was NOT eating my BMR. BMR has me at 1571 but I was only eating 1400. So today I've increased my calories to 1700. Hopefully that will get my metabolism going again...I must have been in a starvation mode and not realized it.0 -
if your eating your bmr and your not loseing weight girl friend your eating more than what you think or you are not exercising enough if you had diabeties the doctor would put you on a 1200 to1300 cal diet with exercise included try a exercise that will speed up your hart like do 20 jumping jacks than lift weights. you need to speed up your metabolism so you can burn those cals the reason you don't want drop down to 1200 cals yet is because of saggy skin and we would starve
Up until today I've been eating only 1400 net calories and not lost hardly any weight for the past month. I've been exercising an average of 400 calories a day 5x/wk. So no, I was NOT eating my BMR. BMR has me at 1571 but I was only eating 1400. So today I've increased my calories to 1700. Hopefully that will get my metabolism going again...I must have been in a starvation mode and not realized it.
Mary - this makes me sooo happy! You may see a slight gain for a period of time, but you have to fuel the machine. I have been telling people this for months and alot of people eventually listen. I have alot of friends who fought me on this but then when they did it, they lost weight. In fact as a joke I posted on my status
"who of my friends is a member of the eat more, move more, lose more army and I got a ton of replies!" It does work ... wouldnt you wanna lose eating as much as possible, makes it that much easier to maintain!0 -
I love MFP...trust me I do!
but even their BMR calculator is not 100% correct. The appropriate calculator for BMR is the Harris-Benedict equation ...
please see this website ...
www.fat2fitradio.com/bmr
They use the Harris-Benedict BMR which is correct ...
I have NO IDEA why MFP sets your calories lower than your BMR, but it does it all the time. My BMR is 1900 and it had me at 1700 ... even 2100 is a bit too low for me. I shoot for 2400 most days with a few days in the 2100.
My weight loss is slow, but consistent...
I've been curious about this too. My BMR on MFP & the website you suggested is exactly the same. Just an FYI.0 -
Someone correct me if I am wrong but...
Your BMR is your body's total energy expenditure in a day for just simple vital functions i.e. if you live a completely sedentary lifestyle IN ORDER TO STAY THE SAME WEIGHT you would need to eat your BMR in calories (if I am 6'0, 25 years old, male, and weigh 216 lb then I will need to eat 2,003 calories a day to STAY at 216 lbs).
This is where the deficit comes in. Most people here "are not interested in staying at their same weight" so if they eat LESS than their BMR calories then they will be putting fewer calories in than what is required to STAY THE SAME WEIGHT and their weight will go down.
I don't believe the BMR is how many calories your body needs to survive, I am pretty sure it is how much energy your body uses in a completely sedentary state to run all of your vital functions to stay your same weight.0 -
Someone correct me if I am wrong but...
Your BMR is your body's total energy expenditure in a day for just simple vital functions i.e. if you live a completely sedentary lifestyle IN ORDER TO STAY THE SAME WEIGHT you would need to eat your BMR in calories (if I am 6'0, 25 years old, male, and weigh 216 lb then I will need to eat 2,003 calories a day to STAY at 216 lbs).
This is where the deficit comes in. Most people here "are not interested in staying at their same weight" so if they eat LESS than their BMR calories then they will be putting fewer calories in than what comes is required to STAY THE SAME weight and their weight will go down.
Your BMR is what your body would burn if you were in a coma... not getting out bed to go to the bathroom, not eating, nothing. It's the essential calories your body needs.
Even a sedentary lifestyle will add calories to your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure). It is your TDEE that is the base number to subtract your deficit from, NOT your BMR.0 -
Someone correct me if I am wrong but...
Your BMR is your body's total energy expenditure in a day for just simple vital functions i.e. if you live a completely sedentary lifestyle IN ORDER TO STAY THE SAME WEIGHT you would need to eat your BMR in calories (if I am 6'0, 25 years old, male, and weigh 216 lb then I will need to eat 2,003 calories a day to STAY at 216 lbs).
This is where the deficit comes in. Most people here "are not interested in staying at their same weight" so if they eat LESS than their BMR calories then they will be putting fewer calories in than what comes is required to STAY THE SAME weight and their weight will go down.
Your BMR is what your body would burn if you were in a coma... not getting out bed to go to the bathroom, not eating, nothing. It's the essential calories your body needs.
Even a sedentary lifestyle will add calories to your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure). It is your TDEE that is the base number to subtract your deficit from, NOT your BMR.
If this is indeed the case then what is it that MFP calculates in the BMR calculator? As many people have said, if your BMR is how many calories you need to consume to simply survive then how is everyone assigned much less than their BMR to eat each day (e.g. my BMR according to MFP's calculator is 2,003. They have me consuming 1,750 without adding in my exercise calories). Wouldn't this mean that I should be dead?0 -
when you exercise get the hart rate up, check your fat intake metablism burns high with exercise not with food it dosent mean anything how much you eat or how littel it matters how much the old hart has to work to pump the blood to give you energy to move i do my bmr witch is 1734 because my eating is out of control and i could not stay on 1200 cals with out eating twice as much when i lose a pound i drop my cals 1734 is the lowest at my weight that means i would have to be in a coma not to drop weight eat what you fill good at don't eat more cals than what you need and if you dont drop weight speed that hart up get the ticker a ticking if i could eat 1200 cals i would0
-
Someone correct me if I am wrong but...
Your BMR is your body's total energy expenditure in a day for just simple vital functions i.e. if you live a completely sedentary lifestyle IN ORDER TO STAY THE SAME WEIGHT you would need to eat your BMR in calories (if I am 6'0, 25 years old, male, and weigh 216 lb then I will need to eat 2,003 calories a day to STAY at 216 lbs).
This is where the deficit comes in. Most people here "are not interested in staying at their same weight" so if they eat LESS than their BMR calories then they will be putting fewer calories in than what comes is required to STAY THE SAME weight and their weight will go down.
Your BMR is what your body would burn if you were in a coma... not getting out bed to go to the bathroom, not eating, nothing. It's the essential calories your body needs.
Even a sedentary lifestyle will add calories to your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure). It is your TDEE that is the base number to subtract your deficit from, NOT your BMR.
If this is indeed the case then what is it that MFP calculates in the BMR calculator? As many people have said, if your BMR is how many calories you need to consume to simply survive then how is everyone assigned much less than their BMR to eat each day (e.g. my BMR according to MFP's calculator is 2,003. They have me consuming 1,750 without adding in my exercise calories). Wouldn't this mean that I should be dead?MFP is a "dumb tool". It's great, but it's a program. It does not know YOU, nor can it think for itself. All it can do is take the information you gave it (height, weight, target loss per week) and give you a rough number. It's only "fail safe" is that it won't let you go below 1200 calories per day without a manual override.
Research is vital to a healthy successful fitness journey.
Consistent undereating will slow your metabolism. It's not an instant "death sentence"0 -
Someone correct me if I am wrong but...
Your BMR is your body's total energy expenditure in a day for just simple vital functions i.e. if you live a completely sedentary lifestyle IN ORDER TO STAY THE SAME WEIGHT you would need to eat your BMR in calories (if I am 6'0, 25 years old, male, and weigh 216 lb then I will need to eat 2,003 calories a day to STAY at 216 lbs).
This is where the deficit comes in. Most people here "are not interested in staying at their same weight" so if they eat LESS than their BMR calories then they will be putting fewer calories in than what is required to STAY THE SAME WEIGHT and their weight will go down.
I don't believe the BMR is how many calories your body needs to survive, I am pretty sure it is how much energy your body uses in a completely sedentary state to run all of your vital functions to stay your same weight.
Well since you asked... I must correct you because you are wrong.
Your BMR is the number of calories your body needs to carry out basic functions, brain function, digestion, heart beats etc.
You are not in a coma... even the most sedentary person moves their arms and legs a little bit and thus increases what they will need to maintain their current weight.
The average sedentary person needs to multiply their BMR x 1.2 to get what they would need to maintain ... but we are not sedentary so this likely does not apply to us.
I was training for a half marathon at 249 pounds. I was exercising like crazy and not losing a thing. It wasnt until I increased my calories to well over my BMR that I started losing. You have to fuel the machine if you want it to perform.
In the last 2 months I have consistently lost 1pounds or so a week ... without crazily modifying my diet and eating about 2400 calories or so...0 -
Someone correct me if I am wrong but...
Your BMR is your body's total energy expenditure in a day for just simple vital functions i.e. if you live a completely sedentary lifestyle IN ORDER TO STAY THE SAME WEIGHT you would need to eat your BMR in calories (if I am 6'0, 25 years old, male, and weigh 216 lb then I will need to eat 2,003 calories a day to STAY at 216 lbs).
This is where the deficit comes in. Most people here "are not interested in staying at their same weight" so if they eat LESS than their BMR calories then they will be putting fewer calories in than what comes is required to STAY THE SAME weight and their weight will go down.
Your BMR is what your body would burn if you were in a coma... not getting out bed to go to the bathroom, not eating, nothing. It's the essential calories your body needs.
Even a sedentary lifestyle will add calories to your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure). It is your TDEE that is the base number to subtract your deficit from, NOT your BMR.
If this is indeed the case then what is it that MFP calculates in the BMR calculator? As many people have said, if your BMR is how many calories you need to consume to simply survive then how is everyone assigned much less than their BMR to eat each day (e.g. my BMR according to MFP's calculator is 2,003. They have me consuming 1,750 without adding in my exercise calories). Wouldn't this mean that I should be dead?MFP is a "dumb tool". It's great, but it's a program. It does not know YOU, nor can it think for itself. All it can do is take the information you gave it (height, weight, target loss per week) and give you a rough number. It's only "fail safe" is that it won't let you go below 1200 calories per day without a manual override.
Research is vital to a healthy successful fitness journey.
Consistent undereating will slow your metabolism. It's not an instant "death sentence"
Hmmmm......
I'm glad I came across this topic...I am going to have to rethink/recalculate some of my goals then (possibly manually). Thanks for the very eye-opening info!0 -
it's all to do with activity your body can't store even if it wants it stores more when your not active0
-
Still a little confused.
Using the Fat2FitRadio BMR calculator above.
Male
25 years old
72 inches tall
216 lbs
17% Body fat
My BMR = 2127
To NOT lose any weight (so to stay at 216 lbs) it tells me that I need to consume 2587 cals/day and due to the fact that I work a desk job (sedentary) and not yet factoring in my workouts:
2587 cals/day
=
18109 cals/week
- 5250 cals/week (to lose 1.5 lbs per week)
=
12859 cals/week
=
1837 cals/day
So to lose 1.5 lbs per week I would need to consume 1837 cals/day which is 290 cals less than my BMR (simply doing the math). Does this imply that I should not even be trying to lose 1.5 lbs per week? Even to lose 1 lb/week I would still be 40 cals under my BMR. So should I not even try to lose 1 lb/week? Should I be calculating based off my exercise level (which is usually 3-5 days a week of an hour+ of basketball each day). Even if I do that doesn't that simply add on the extra calories I would need on average each day above my deficit for the exercise?0 -
Still a little confused.
Using the Fat2FitRadio BMR calculator above.
Male
25 years old
72 inches tall
216 lbs
17% Body fat
My BMR = 2127
To NOT lose any weight (so to stay at 216 lbs) it tells me that I need to consume 2587 cals/day and due to the fact that I work a desk job (sedentary) and not yet factoring in my workouts:
2587 cals/day
=
18109 cals/week
- 5250 cals/week (to lose 1.5 lbs per week)
=
12859 cals/week
=
1837 cals/day
So to lose 1.5 lbs per week I would need to consume 1837 cals/day which is 290 cals less than my BMR (simply doing the math). Does this imply that I should not even be trying to lose 1.5 lbs per week? Even to lose 1 lb/week I would still be 40 cals under my BMR. So should I not even try to lose 1 lb/week? Should I be calculating based off my exercise level (which is usually 3-5 days a week of an hour+ of basketball each day). Even if I do that doesn't that simply add on the extra calories I would need on average each day above my deficit for the exercise?
Well first you need to add in your exercise. Second, as a guy at 17% body fat, you should more than likely only aim to lose 1 lb per week. Even if you only workout 1-3 days a week, you shoudl still be eating 2700 calories. If you scroll to the bottom you will see a chart. This website is good, but I much prefer the Katch McArdle formula. It is what I have used to change my body composition. I dont worry about weight so much but rather I am concerned with BF % loss.
http://www.cordianet.com/calculator.htm0 -
Since we are correcting... Sh0ck did not mention comas. Balseac stated that. Sh0ck said what you quoted above...Someone correct me if I am wrong but...
Your BMR is your body's total energy expenditure in a day for just simple vital functions i.e. if you live a completely sedentary lifestyle IN ORDER TO STAY THE SAME WEIGHT you would need to eat your BMR in calories (if I am 6'0, 25 years old, male, and weigh 216 lb then I will need to eat 2,003 calories a day to STAY at 216 lbs).
This is where the deficit comes in. Most people here "are not interested in staying at their same weight" so if they eat LESS than their BMR calories then they will be putting fewer calories in than what is required to STAY THE SAME WEIGHT and their weight will go down.
I don't believe the BMR is how many calories your body needs to survive, I am pretty sure it is how much energy your body uses in a completely sedentary state to run all of your vital functions to stay your same weight.
Well since you asked... I must correct you because you are wrong.
Your BMR is the number of calories your body needs to carry out basic functions, brain function, digestion, heart beats etc.
You are not in a coma... even the most sedentary person moves their arms and legs a little bit and thus increases what they will need to maintain their current weight.
The average sedentary person needs to multiply their BMR x 1.2 to get what they would need to maintain ... but we are not sedentary so this likely does not apply to us.
I was training for a half marathon at 249 pounds. I was exercising like crazy and not losing a thing. It wasnt until I increased my calories to well over my BMR that I started losing. You have to fuel the machine if you want it to perform.
In the last 2 months I have consistently lost 1pounds or so a week ... without crazily modifying my diet and eating about 2400 calories or so...0 -
Either way below is a link that has some good information on it.
http://www.cordianet.com/calculator.htm0 -
Soo.....my BMR is around 1570 calories a day, and MFP has me eating around 1400 plus exercise calories. Is this too little? Should I be eating 1500 to break roughly even with my BMR?
This information about BMR and adequately fuelling is fascinating, but i still don't understand what to do with the info.
Further notes-slow runner clocking 25ks a week, daily dog walker, chained to desk for ten hours five days a week, definitely not in a coma.0 -
Soo.....my BMR is around 1570 calories a day, and MFP has me eating around 1400 plus exercise calories. Is this too little? Should I be eating 1500 to break roughly even with my BMR?
This information about BMR and adequately fuelling is fascinating, but i still don't understand what to do with the info.
Further notes-slow runner clocking 25ks a week, daily dog walker, chained to desk for ten hours five days a week, definitely not in a coma.
Without looking directly at your F2F website information or your weight... I would guess that you need to be eating about 1600-1700 calories daily and not eating your exercise calories back perhaps?
Did you check out the F2F website ... what did it say?0 -
Either way below is a link that has some good information on it.
http://www.cordianet.com/calculator.htm
According to this site, my BMR is 1565 and with all the other calcuations it's telling me that I need to be eating 1725 calories/day to lose one pound a week. I like that it confirmed my goal weight of 150 is accurate for my height (I'm 5'10"). These calculations are pretty much in line with Fat2FitRadio.com that I checked earlier.
So bottom line according to all the data, I've been in a starvation mode the past 4-6 weeks because I'm not eating enough calories for what my body needs to effectively burn fat.0 -
F2F said that BMR is 1572, and 1760 cals per day based on having a desk job. But....it just seems like a LOT of calories. If I ate 1700 or so, would I not count exercise calories?
I run 3-4 days per week for at least 40 minutes, and walk other days, but always base my intake on desk job/sedentary because I do have to sit all day at work.
Hmm, the Cordianet link (based on moderate exercise, 3-5 times a week) suggested 1625 calories for weight loss.
It all just seems too good to be true, though! I have always been restricted to anywhere from 1200-1400 calories when trying to lose weight, and been hungry almost to the point of being weak! Although now that I think about it.....I never really lost much weight eating that little, and would always snap and eat chocolate or some other such crap.0 -
Remember, food is fuel. In fact I just increased my calories to 3000 a day because I am still hungry at 2800. If you listen to the Katch McArdle formula, like th elink I provide, you do not have to log your exercise calories. In fact, it is calculate into your Total Daily Energy Expenditure number. Do a custom setup and set it at 1700 and just enjoy having to log less. This is the method I have been using for 6 months with success. If you get to a point where you aren't losing weight, UP the number by 200 calories as you might be off on your calculations.
It's the opposite of what you are used to hearing. Now, I would suggest increasing your protein intake and decreasing carbs for a little. say 40/40/20 (carbs/protein/fat). And then after 30 days, increase your carbs by 5% and repeat every 30 days until you get to 60/20/20. It's very similar to calorie zig zagging.0
This discussion has been closed.
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 393.4K Introduce Yourself
- 43.8K Getting Started
- 260.2K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.9K Food and Nutrition
- 47.4K Recipes
- 232.5K Fitness and Exercise
- 426 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153K Motivation and Support
- 8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.7K MyFitnessPal Information
- 24 News and Announcements
- 1.1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.6K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions