BMR calculations

paprad

I am a newbie here and first of all, I'd like to thank everyone on this community for the great discussions and advice that I've found here. I've been reading a lot of the threads and it's been a massive eye-opening on many issues.

I had a doubt here which got sparked off by this post in another thread. (Thank you, Banks for a highly informative and useful thread)

So just so I don't have to keep doing this (not that I mind, it's just that I'm pretty much doing the same calculation for everyone, all I'm changing is the numbers). I'll detail the steps this time so you guys can do it on your own. It's not anything magical, just some numbers, and a little intuitive thinking based on past experience and research.

So I'll use alf as our guinney pig

numbers:
age : 44
Sex : F
height: 5'5"
weight : 133.5
activity level : somewhat active (??? dunno but guessing)

so I just go to the mayo clinic calorie calculator
(http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/calorie-calculator/NU00598 ) and put in the numbers
and for Alf I get : 1750 caloires for maintenance

Here's what is confusing me. As per the Mayo Calorie Counter, my BMR is 1450 calories (and that takes into account my activity level (fairly sedentary)

As per the MPF Tools section, my BMR (resting/Bed) is 1360 calories.

As per the goals calculated for me by MFP, the Calories Burned From Normal Daily Activity = 1,710 calories/day . I get the point that the 1360 is resting and the 1710 is what my body needs to carry on life.

How do I reconcile this with the Mayo number? Is that a resting one? But it asked for my activity level, so that is unlikely

I am currently eating 1200 cals per day, for a 1 lb per week loss (and eating exercise cals when logged). I am confused whether I should be reducing it further, if the Mayo one is the accurate BMR.

PS (edited for clarity) - I assume there are different methods for calculating BMR, and so there would be a range of values. My question is : is the 1360 (MFP) equivalent to the 1450 (Mayo)? That would be acceptable. However, if the 1710 (MFP) is equivalent to the 1450 (Mayo), then that would be way off

ChasingHaven

I'm new here too, but let me see if I can help.

From what I understand, MFP calculates your BMI at resting, then you use that number to calculate your TDEE. Total daily.... Calories you burn from your daily activity. Then you subtract 500 calories from your TDEE to get the calories you want to lose weight. From what I understand you don't want to eat below your BMI and 1200 usually isn't recommended. Let me see if I can give you one of the links I found that was explained by someone who's been here awhile...

splashwags

bump

ChasingHaven

Ok, I read your post again and spotted thiis:

"As per the goals calculated for me by MFP, the Calories Burned From Normal Daily Activity = 1,710 calories/day . I get the point that the 1360 is resting and the 1710 is what my body needs to carry on life."

The 1360 is what you need to carry on life and the 1710 is what you should reduce by 500. Your calorie intake for weight loads should be 1510.

Have I got this right MFP'ers?

As for the Mayo number- isn't that poster figuring maintenance rather than weight loss?

paprad

Thank you, ChasingHaven, yes, I go that bit - that MFP knocks off 500 from my maintenance BMR - there was a very helpful post from Banks explaining that.

I edited my original post - and that my have cross posted with your reply, so I will repeat my doubt here : My question is : is the 1360 (MFP) equivalent to the 1450 (Mayo)? Then both are my resting BMR and the difference is acceptable. However, if the 1710 (MFP) is equivalent to the 1450 (Mayo), and both are my maintenance BMR, then the difference is quite a bit.

paprad

The 1360 is what you need to carry on life and the 1710 is what you should reduce by 500. Your calorie intake for weight loads should be 1510.

My bad, i should have worded it better - yes, 1360 is for just living - in bed! - the 1710 is what i need for carrying on daily routine acitivities

What did you mean by the 1510 being intake for weight loads? Not sure where you got that number from, could you explain?

Krissie_Triaxis

The answer is both are correct depending on what formula you use.

These are the two formulas that are used by most dietians and food diary sites.

The Harris-Benedict equation for BMR: (used by Mayo)

For men: (13.75 x w) + (5 x h) - (6.76 x a) + 66
For women: (9.56 x w) + (1.85 x h) - (4.68 x a) + 655

The Mufflin equation for RMR: (used by MFP)

For men: (10 x w) + (6.25 x h) - (5 x a) + 5
For women: (10 x w) + (6.25 x h) - (5 x a) - 161

Where:

w = weight in kg
h = height in cm
a = age

These equations are then multiplied by a certain factor depending on your activity:

Activity Factor Category Definition
1.2 Sedentary Little or no exercise and desk job
1.375 Lightly Active Light exercise or sports 1-3 days a week
1.55 Moderately Active Moderate exercise or sports 3-5 days a week
1.725 Very Active Hard exercise or sports 6-7 days a week4
1.9 Extremely Active Hard daily exercise or sports and physical job

So if you've calculated your BMR in one without any activity at all and then in the other you've added in that you are sedentary, it will have a marked difference on the total.

hope that helps

staceyseeger

bump

paprad

Thank you, Krissie_Triax, that was very helpful.

I input the same activity level in both, so the difference can only be due to the formula - anyway, both are being multiplied by the same constant, isn't it, so it can't be the activity level, the formula themselves have a difference.

I am confused that many threads refer to the Mayo method - how come? shouldn't we be going only by the MFP one? Is there any research to indicate one method is more accurate than the other? The reason i ask is that the Maintenance BMR is such a crucial starting point, we could all be over eating or under eating if we go by one rather than the other.

JeSuisPrest

Wow...the Mayo Clinic give me more calories, than any other calculator Ive used!

paprad

Are you getting a higher maintenance BMR from Mayo? I am getting a lower one.

Acg67

Thank you, ChasingHaven, yes, I go that bit - that MFP knocks off 500 from my maintenance BMR - there was a very helpful post from Banks explaining that.

I edited my original post - and that my have cross posted with your reply, so I will repeat my doubt here : My question is : is the 1360 (MFP) equivalent to the 1450 (Mayo)? Then both are my resting BMR and the difference is acceptable. However, if the 1710 (MFP) is equivalent to the 1450 (Mayo), and both are my maintenance BMR, then the difference is quite a bit.

i think you're getting confused here, maintenance =/= BMR. You need to multiply BMR by an activity factor to get an estimate of maintenance

joclougherty

Wow...the Mayo Clinic give me more calories, than any other calculator Ive used!

Just did mine and it gave me 2100, but that is including exercise so you would maintain on that without adding your exercise cals on. This means I'd have to eat 1600 to have a 500 deficit per day to lose 1lb per week. If I put inactive on Mayo I only get 1750 per day, so I'd only have 1200 after a 500 deficit then I could add exercise and eat back those calories. It's swings and roundabouts really.

paprad

I am confused - but not on that point - clearly Maintenance MR is more than the R(esting)MR, which is my whole question : MFP gives me 2 values - one for resting and one for maintenance. My question is whether the Mayo value is the resting MR or the maintenance MR.

I looked up wikipedia and it says that the Mifflin method is slightly less than the Harris-Benedict equation, so I presume the Mayo one is also the resting MR, which is odd, because they asked for the activity level as well. Anyway, the Mifflin one is apparently slightly more accurate, so I guess we can all ignore the Mayo method and stick to the MFP one.

ChasingHaven

The 1360 is what you need to carry on life and the 1710 is what you should reduce by 500. Your calorie intake for weight loads should be 1510.

My bad, i should have worded it better - yes, 1360 is for just living - in bed! - the 1710 is what i need for carrying on daily routine acitivities

What did you mean by the 1510 being intake for weight loads? Not sure where you got that number from, could you explain?

Lol, My bad.. Auto correct changed loss to loads...and apparently I can't subtract 500 from 1710 before 6 am correctly. Duh.

My head is spinning after all those posts Clearly my brain is not a math brain, lol..I ran my numbers on the Mayo site as well, so since it gives me calories to survive with my normal daily activity, I would subtract the 500 calories off that number for weight loss. And it doesn't match up with MFP either..It's about 300 calories lower than MFP allows. Mayo wants 1,300 and MFP 1610.

And actually, I use a calorie counter and formula from another site I used in the past. (Sparkpeople.com) The app is already on my phone and it has a lot of my favorite foods already stored. This actually seems to be a happy medium between the MFP and Mayo sites. It doesn't just give me a number, but I have a range between 1200-1550. All the macros have a range as well. So i can effectively zig-zag my calories on a regular basis. It worked before - just gotta make it stick the second time around.

I have to agree with you. Choose one and disregard the other. Good luck!

Krissie_Triaxis

I am confused - but not on that point - clearly Maintenance MR is more than the R(esting)MR, which is my whole question : MFP gives me 2 values - one for resting and one for maintenance. My question is whether the Mayo value is the resting MR or the maintenance MR.

I looked up wikipedia and it says that the Mifflin method is slightly less than the Harris-Benedict equation, so I presume the Mayo one is also the resting MR, which is odd, because they asked for the activity level as well. Anyway, the Mifflin one is apparently slightly more accurate, so I guess we can all ignore the Mayo method and stick to the MFP one.

Aye the Mifflin is the original, older (somewhere around 1911 if memory serves) and the Harris-Benedict is much later and apparently more accurate. Both are essentially rough guesses either way you look at it as unless you go have a full body scan to work it out which takes in your individaul make up (which costs a lot) then the next best guess is better than nothing at all.

I use the Harris-Benedict equation as supplied by MFP, although when I started I used Mifflin and it served it's purpose very well.

It's like everything with weight loss, it's what works best for you.

Krissie_Triaxis

I am confused - but not on that point - clearly Maintenance MR is more than the R(esting)MR, which is my whole question : MFP gives me 2 values - one for resting and one for maintenance. My question is whether the Mayo value is the resting MR or the maintenance MR.

I looked up wikipedia and it says that the Mifflin method is slightly less than the Harris-Benedict equation, so I presume the Mayo one is also the resting MR, which is odd, because they asked for the activity level as well. Anyway, the Mifflin one is apparently slightly more accurate, so I guess we can all ignore the Mayo method and stick to the MFP one.

Aye the Mifflin is the original, older (somewhere around 1911 if memory serves) and the Harris-Benedict is much later and apparently more accurate. Both are essentially rough guesses either way you look at it as unless you go have a full body scan to work it out which takes in your individaul make up (which costs a lot) then the next best guess is better than nothing at all.

I use the Harris-Benedict equation as supplied by MFP, although when I started I used Mifflin and it served it's purpose very well.

It's like everything with weight loss, it's what works best for you.

And I obviously mean those equations the other way around - this is what typing first thing in the morning before coffee does to me

The H-B is the older of the two - Mifflin is the newer, and the one used by MFP.

Sorry, must remember to wake up before posting

Rokoska_wechanged

The answer is both are correct depending on what formula you use.

These are the two formulas that are used by most dietians and food diary sites.

The Harris-Benedict equation for BMR: (used by Mayo)

For men: (13.75 x w) + (5 x h) - (6.76 x a) + 66
For women: (9.56 x w) + (1.85 x h) - (4.68 x a) + 655

The Mufflin equation for RMR: (used by MFP)

For men: (10 x w) + (6.25 x h) - (5 x a) + 5
For women: (10 x w) + (6.25 x h) - (5 x a) - 161

Where:

w = weight in kg
h = height in cm
a = age

These equations are then multiplied by a certain factor depending on your activity:

Activity Factor Category Definition
1.2 Sedentary Little or no exercise and desk job
1.375 Lightly Active Light exercise or sports 1-3 days a week
1.55 Moderately Active Moderate exercise or sports 3-5 days a week
1.725 Very Active Hard exercise or sports 6-7 days a week4
1.9 Extremely Active Hard daily exercise or sports and physical job

So if you've calculated your BMR in one without any activity at all and then in the other you've added in that you are sedentary, it will have a marked difference on the total.

hope that helps

Hi, so I have a question...
I am 28. 84 kg, 167 cm. and let's say sedentary. I calculated my bmr and its 1893. I want to loose 2 pounds per week. So should I not be eating 893...why does MFp give me 1200. Is that the standard minimum? I do exercise daily with Hrm And eat back my calories in addition to 1200... I also get 500 for nursing exclusively.... But haven't seen much loss. What am I doing wrong? Thanks for your help.