Confused! BMR 1500 so why 1200 cal goal??

mummychaz

I'm really confused, my BMR is now 1500 cals & I had been losing about 1-1.5lbs a week on a 1500 cal goal a day (that I usually meet or go slightly over). The past 2 weeks i've lost less than 1lb each week so today I changed my goals to MFP recommended & it says a 1200 cal a day goal, surely that's wrong if my BMR is 1500??
Any help would be much appreciated, really confused

jenfactor

also interested to hear... thought we weren't supposed to go under BMR?

Dexy_

MFP will almost always give you 1200. Eat at or above your BMR

bprague

You shouldn't go under your BMR. How are you supposed to function efficiently if you aren't even fueling enough for a day of sleeping in bed? Mfp has a tendency to set the calorie goal much too low.

ebahde

I'm just curious if your BMR is 1500 currently or if that is what it was when you started.... I just recently changed my setting because i have dropped 7lbs and needed to adjust my calories accordingly to maintain a 1/2lb lose. This only affected my calorie intake by about 50 cals, so not sure why yours is a 300 calorie difference

ElizabethRoad

MFP will almost always give you 1200. Eat at or above your BMR

Are you saying that MFP gives everyone 1200? That's not true at all.

mrsbaileybrown

I was not aware of how the BMR played into my diet plan. So, for the three days I've been on my fitness pal I've been going my the recommended 1200cals if my BMR is 1600 will my eating 1200 stop my metabolism from speeding up?

Dexy_

MFP will almost always give you 1200. Eat at or above your BMR

Are you saying that MFP gives everyone 1200? That's not true at all.

No I'm saying that a lot of the time MFP gives people 1200 even if they should be eating 1400+.

Dexy_

I was not aware of how the BMR played into my diet plan. So, for the three days I've been on my fitness pal I've been going my the recommended 1200cals if my BMR is 1600 will my eating 1200 stop my metabolism from speeding up?

Not sure how metabolism comes into play, but your BMR is how many cals your body needs to function IN A COMA! So you should be eating at or above your BMR

mummychaz

I'm just curious if your BMR is 1500 currently or if that is what it was when you started.... I just recently changed my setting because i have dropped 7lbs and needed to adjust my calories accordingly to maintain a 1/2lb lose. This only affected my calorie intake by about 50 cals, so not sure why yours is a 300 calorie difference

Hello, Today my BMR is 1505 (was about 1600 at beginning) but I have always set my goals manually until today I decided to try the MFP suggested as my weightloss has been stalling & I thought I must be doing something wrong. Just worried that it even suggests eating below people's BMR when all the info says you should never do this :-/

ElizabethRoad

MFP will almost always give you 1200. Eat at or above your BMR

Are you saying that MFP gives everyone 1200? That's not true at all.

No I'm saying that a lot of the time MFP gives people 1200 even if they should be eating 1400+.

It's a pretty simple formula though. They just figure your daily calorie burn and subtract 500 (per pound that you want to lose). So you think that is wrong?

applebobbrush

MFP will almost always give you 1200. Eat at or above your BMR

Are you saying that MFP gives everyone 1200? That's not true at all.

True I'm at 1490, my BMR is 1690. I have a hard time eating at 1490.

CMmrsfloyd

BMR is what your body burns just staying alive - like if you were to lay in bed all day. TDEE is what your body burns during a day of normal activity - MFP calculates that by taking your BMR and multiplying it by a number that corresponds to the activity level you set in your profile. (for example a few weeks ago my BMR was calculated at I think 1343 and my TDEE for a sedentary lifestyle - excluding specific exercise that I account for in my log - was calculated at 1710). Since I told MFP that I want to lose 1 lb per week, it shaved 500 calories per day off of my calculated TDEE to give me a daily goal of 1210 calories, the thing about MFP is that it does not take your BMR into account when determine your goal except as it relates to calculating your TDEE. It won't give you a goal lower than 1200, but it also won't restrict it to your BMR. Many people feel its important to net your BMR. Others feel its fine to stick with the goal MFP gives if you feel well. Lots of people also think that whichever goal you decide to go with, you should eat your exercise calories to fuel your activity. Lots of different opinions.

For me, sticking with the 1200-ish net and eating back my exercise calories has been working really well and I feel better than I have in years. I started on the whole 1200-ish net thing before I got into the forums and started reading all the opinions about BMR and such. Sometimes I do net higher than my goal, I don't stress over it. If I find I hit a plateau, I will probably bump up to net my BMR, plus exercise calories. Seems like a lot of people that plateau find that bumping up to BMR really helps. So I'm keeping that in mind for later. For now, I'm sticking with what has worked really well for me so far. Try what makes the most sense for you, and if it doesn't feel right then try something else.

mummychaz

Thank you all for commenting, hope I haven't caused any panic to others in my situation with the MFP goal calculations, just wanted to be reassured that my understanding is correct. I think I'll just stick to manually setting my goals to at least my BMR & if that means I have to lose really, really slowly then so be it. Really appreciate you all getting back to me so quickly, do love MFP for all this support

servilia

I'm just curious if your BMR is 1500 currently or if that is what it was when you started.... I just recently changed my setting because i have dropped 7lbs and needed to adjust my calories accordingly to maintain a 1/2lb lose. This only affected my calorie intake by about 50 cals, so not sure why yours is a 300 calorie difference

Hello, Today my BMR is 1505 (was about 1600 at beginning) but I have always set my goals manually until today I decided to try the MFP suggested as my weightloss has been stalling & I thought I must be doing something wrong. Just worried that it even suggests eating below people's BMR when all the info says you should never do this :-/

What peer reviewed scientific study says you should never eat below your BMR? Interested in seeing it.

IvoryParchment

If your TDEE is less than 500 calories above your BMR (for instance, if your BMR is low due to small size or being older, or if you aren't very active), your goal calories will be below your BMR to lose one pound a week. Yes, it's less than what it takes to be a barnacle, but remember, the fat you are losing isn't magically disappearing. You're burning it as a calorie source. Your real calorie consumption is 500 calories higher than your calorie goal, because the other 500 calories are your own fat.

1200 comes up a lot because MFP won't allow you to go below it. It is difficult to get enough of all the various nutrients you need if you are eating less than that. Not impossible, but you need to know what you are doing or be under close medical supervision.

vulcangrrl

I'm just curious if your BMR is 1500 currently or if that is what it was when you started.... I just recently changed my setting because i have dropped 7lbs and needed to adjust my calories accordingly to maintain a 1/2lb lose. This only affected my calorie intake by about 50 cals, so not sure why yours is a 300 calorie difference

Hello, Today my BMR is 1505 (was about 1600 at beginning) but I have always set my goals manually until today I decided to try the MFP suggested as my weightloss has been stalling & I thought I must be doing something wrong. Just worried that it even suggests eating below people's BMR when all the info says you should never do this :-/

What peer reviewed scientific study says you should never eat below your BMR? Interested in seeing it.

^This

mummychaz

And I was just saying about all the support you get on here...*sigh*
the info I was referring to comes from numerous sources including health professionals but just because you disagree that doesn't mean you need to be unhelpful & rude!!
If you have nothing useful to say please don't comment it not nice or encouraging for people like me just looking for helpful opinions & advice!

CoraGregoryCPA

I just saw a question being asked. Sorry, maybe the person, like me, wants to learn some additional info too. Why are people so sensitive on here?

And I was just saying about all the support you get on here...*sigh*
the info I was referring to comes from numerous sources including health professionals but just because you disagree that doesn't mean you need to be unhelpful & rude!!
If you have nothing useful to say please don't comment it not nice or encouraging for people like me just looking for helpful opinions & advice!

mamamc03

And I was just saying about all the support you get on here...*sigh*
the info I was referring to comes from numerous sources including health professionals but just because you disagree that doesn't mean you need to be unhelpful & rude!!
If you have nothing useful to say please don't comment it not nice or encouraging for people like me just looking for helpful opinions & advice!

I totally agree with you!! People think that sitting behind a keyboard allows them to wield power and condescend others. I wish I had an answer for you, but I am still in the learning stage as I assume most others here are as well.

Best wishes!
AMc

servilia

And I was just saying about all the support you get on here...*sigh*
the info I was referring to comes from numerous sources including health professionals but just because you disagree that doesn't mean you need to be unhelpful & rude!!
If you have nothing useful to say please don't comment it not nice or encouraging for people like me just looking for helpful opinions & advice!

I wasn't being rude, I was asking a question. You stated a fact, and since I haven't seen that stated in any reliable sources in the past I thought maybe I was missing out on something. I want to know whether I should take that advice seriously (to not eat below BMR) but if this is not supported by research then I'll have to disregard it. Please don't be so sensitive. Take care.