BMR confusion

Kenzie82

I keep reading that staying under your BMR is how you lose weight. I also keep reading that you shouldn't eat under 1200 calories a day, and that you should eat what you burn through exercise. I used the BMR calculator and it says mine is 1200, and the daily calorie goal set by MFP is 1200. So how is there a deficit - how am I supposed to lose weight?

IronSmasher

Exercise?

McKayMachina

Yes, if that's really the case, then exercise.

What are your starting and goal weights?

yanicka

to calculate your BMR, your take your weight x 10 ( or x 9 if you are in the obese category)

That is only to existe before your even take one step.

You can lose weight when you eat over your BMR...... since you move, clean, do groceries, pick up the kids and go thru your day. Then you exercice and you spend even more calories.

People are confusing BMR and what you really spend every days.

yanicka

oups

NemesisJRM

Your calories is what you should be eating in relation to your BMI etc, Minimum Cal's for 1 day for anyone is 1200. Excerising will increase the figure by X, if you stay eating 1200 cals a day and excerises then your consuming less cal's than your body needs and weight loss begins.

Under 1200 cals a day causes your body to go into starvation mode and starts converting everything you eat into fat stores, because it doesnt know when your next meal is coming.

MFP give you a base of 1200 because this is what you'd need if you stayed in bed all day and did nothing, to allow you to function, such as breathing, moving etc. Its the bare minimum you can survive on healthly.

It not all about cal's tho, its also what you eat to get those cal's, for example you could live on a diet of pure chocolate but stay under your cal goal. Its not healthy and your not gona lose weight but its possible.

meggonkgonk

Staying under your BMR is NOT how you lose weight. In fact, as you get close to your goal, your BMR should be your guideline to how 'low' you can take your calories.

BMR is how many calories your body needs to perform its most basic functions, like pumping blood and breathing- its what you would burn if you were in a coma. Anything else you do at all during the day (exercise or not) is more calories burned on top of this.

MFP asks you a bunch of questions when you fill out your profile- age, height, weight, and daily activity level- so it can determine how many calories it estimates you burn every day. From there it calculates your deficit. So if you go to your "GOALS" page, on the right you should be able to see "Calories burned from daily activity" will be that esitmate. If you want to lose 1lb/wk, your daily calorie goal will be 500 calories less than this.

daisyelaine

Read this- it's a post about the best guide to figure it all out.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits

Hope this helps!

Kenzie82

Exercise?

So does that mean I shouldn't eat back exercise calories as everyone advises?

I don't really know my starting weight exactly as I don't have scales. I guesstimated 59kg. I don't have a goal weight necessarily either, I don't really care what I weigh - but I have put on weight, in a short amount of time. It is really visible around my stomach and hips (probably more so because I am small) and I'm not fitting into certain clothes that I fit into just a month ago, so I've gone up a size (on the bottom only!). My goal, then, is to go back to my original size and to trim and tone up as well. If I had to put a figure on it, I was probably around 52kg when I looked my best (have been less but I looked underweight), so that's probably what I would set as a goal.

I've started exercising 5-6 times a week after not really doing any for a few months. 30 minutes alternated running/walking every second day (hope to increase the running time in this as I get some fitness back) and 30-50 minutes pilates and varied strength exercises the other days. I feel I should be doing more/longer workouts, but I'm currently working an average of 10 hours a day, often more (which will go back to normal in October), so it's difficult to fit anything else in.

JennsLosing

your BMR is the amount of calories you burn if you were to lie in bed all day and do nothing, so the moment you get out of bed and start your daily routine, your already burning more than your bmr. MFP has done the math for you, and it tells you to eat your exercise calories because its already made a deficit for you to lose weight.

JennsLosing

Exercise?

So does that mean I shouldn't eat back exercise calories as everyone advises?

I don't really know my starting weight exactly as I don't have scales. I guesstimated 59kg. I don't have a goal weight necessarily either, I don't really care what I weigh - but I have put on weight, in a short amount of time. It is really visible around my stomach and hips (probably more so because I am small) and I'm not fitting into certain clothes that I fit into just a month ago, so I've gone up a size (on the bottom only!). My goal, then, is to go back to my original size and to trim and tone up as well. If I had to put a figure on it, I was probably around 52kg when I looked my best (have been less but I looked underweight), so that's probably what I would set as a goal.

I've started exercising 5-6 times a week after not really doing any for a few months. 30 minutes alternated running/walking every second day (hope to increase the running time in this as I get some fitness back) and 30-50 minutes pilates and varied strength exercises the other days. I feel I should be doing more/longer workouts, but I'm currently working an average of 10 hours a day, often more (which will go back to normal in October), so it's difficult to fit anything else in.

i dont have a HRM, so when i log my workouts i only end up logging half of what i work out, because MFP has a tendency to over exaggerate calories burn from what i hear. ive been logging half, and eating back those calories and so far its been working for me. and any exercise is good for ya! so whatever you been doing, just keep going at it.