Hold the FN TRAIN............

farmers_daughter

There was an post on here recently about how many calories you should eat and the topic got put on BMR.

Sooo....curious, I found the BMR calculator. Here goes I'm putting ALL the dirty undies on the line...........


Me = Female 5'4" Weighs 205 Age 29 - BMR is 1711.25 (http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/) taken from this calculator

MFP has my calories at 1760 for a day? Am I missing something? Shouldn't there be a deficit?

WTF and how do I tell MFP to get bent? I've been struggling to keep it under 1760, which makes me sound like an even bigger pig. And what should I be eating? Please keep the math as simple as possible (if possible). I'm kinda siderailed (and a little pissed) at the moment.

I know, I also post too much, but thank you for all the input. I really do appreciate it.

_Khaleesi_

Your BMR is different then your daily expenditure of calories (minus exercise). Your BMR is the number of calories you burn in a coma. You burn more walking, eating, showering, etc. You should NEVER eat less than your BMR. You want a deficit from your "normal daily activity" caloric total, not your BMR

Example: I am 5'9" and my BMR is ~1600. My normal daily activity caloric total is 2,050.
To lose 1 lb a week I need to have a deficit of 500 cals. SO: 2050 - 500 = 1550 cals / day consumption

Does this make sense?

infamousmk

I'm quite simliar: 5'3" and 210lbs. .. I think my BMR is almost the same. I told the MFP system I wanted to lose a pound a week and it dropped my daily calorie allotment to like 1500-ish. Do you have the system set here for maintenance or to lose pounds?

Soultwist

You still have a deficit, you need to eat MORE then your BMR, LESS then your total used calories. Your total calories are your BMR + activity through out the day.

Silvergamma

I would highly recommend checking out the "Fat 2 Fit Radio" pod casts. They are really awesome when it comes to explaining calorie deficits. In general:

BMR = the calories your body uses to maintain organ function. Like jersey3025 said, it is how many calories your would burn per day if you were in a coma. The goal is to eat at least that many calories to keep your organs healthy during your weight loss journey. As you lose weight, your BMR will decrease because it is easier for your organs to maintain their functions when there is less of you to take care of .

Your calorie goal from MFP is just above your BMR. That is totally healthy. Eating anywhere from your BMR to 1.2 times your BMR should result in a sustainable calorie deficit that will lead to weight loss without straining your organs.