Here's why you're not losing weight! Follow this equation!

ladyfingers39

So how much weight are you suppose to lose then? I mean if you stick to that method, how much will you use in a weeks time, ect?

andrea9873

I think your post is awesome and now i need to make some adjustments

deksgrl

To lose 1 pound a week, a 500 calorie deficit a day. To lost 2 pounds a week, a 1,000 calorie deficit a day.

People who do not have a lot more to lose usually are not able to lose a pound a week. A quarter or half a pound may be all they can manage because their BMR is not far from the 1,200 minimum for health.

charming72

Bump!

Figment14300

awesome to know!!! Thanks for sharing! :flowerforyou:

Mojofiendish

Bump for later! Looks very interesting. Thanks for the post

MrsRawwwr

I'm confused actually. MFP says my calorie intake goal to go with my sedentary job is 1600. I thought it was already calculating what I should eat to lose weight. If I don't eat all those calories it says I'm not eating enough.

Can someone clarify?

MFP's recommendations for me were too low. I followed an equation similar to the OP's, which gave me a much higher calorie goal. I gained a bit at first, but have lost all of it and then some. Much more importantly, I feel so much better.

StacyBMe

bump to read later

Katanthus

Great to know that. All my friends said that I ate like a bird, and didn't know why I put on so much weight, as I was incredibly active. I was told my body was going into starvation mode.

I keep track of my food and my exercise, but can't manage to eat enough calories by the end of the day. I drink plenty of water, and I don't want to eat "hollow" calories, so I am not sure what to do.

I exercise for at least 40 minutes a day, and my weight has not changed much. I was told that I COULD be building muscle.

Anyway, thank you for the information.

stormieweather

And for those who have the numbers right, but are STILL not losing weight...it's almost always because either:

a) You aren't being completely accurate in your food logs. Be sure to measure, weigh and log every bite. Cheat days can kill a diet.

b) You are overestimating your calorie burns during workouts. Not everyone burns 900 calories an hour doing cardio.

c) You haven't given it enough time. Often, it takes days or weeks for your weight to reflect what you are doing/not doing. Be patient.

If the above are 100% accurate and you STILL aren't losing:
then,

d) You may have a medical issue, see your physician.

BettyBoop7269

Ok, I'm new here and I know that some of you will probably laugh, but, what is BUMP, what does it mean.....please tell me, it's beginning to drive me crazy xx

bricktowngal

Great post!

Great abs!

raevynn

This is a much more precise calculator: http://www.health-calc.com/diet/energy-expenditure-advanced

It not only shows your BMR (the "do not go below this number or you are literally starving yourself") number, but it also shows the TDEE number.

It is actually best to go 15% below your TDEE. NOT a flat "500 calories"...

I personally use my sedentary TDEE less 15%, then when I do exercise, I eat the exercise calories back. I am losing more weight now that I started doing this.

It isn't strictly a numbers game, since the body is NOT a machine, it is a living organism, and it does adapt to what the conditions are. It is best to feed it well, give it some activity, and treat it nicely... then it will play well with you. :flowerforyou:

Meatsies

BUMP

tbellamy1

Bump...this is some good stuff!

jbond80

bump

Wendyerickson

Bump:smokin:

tigersword

:noway:

I've been quoted...

I want to add a few things to clarify stuff. The "chart" that I posted originally that was quoted was using example numbers of a specific person's BMR. You need to know your BMR for it to work. Conveniently, MFP has a BMR calculator (it's under the Tools tab.) There are also lots of different sites around the internet that have calculators using different formulas, my personal favorite is the Katch-McArdle formula, as that takes individual muscle mass into consideration. Of course, if you don't know your body fat percentage, just stick with the MFP number, it's gonna be close enough.

The full formula I was referring to is "BMR x Activity Factor = TDEE"
TDEE stands for Total Daily Energy Expenditure, which is the total number of calories you burn on a normal day. BMR is the total number of calories you would burn if you were in a coma, in other words, just enough to maintain vital organ function and maintenance. The real goal is to find your BMR, then use that to calculate your TDEE (be honest with your activity level, the only person you hurt lying about it is you,) then NET somewhere between those 2 numbers and you will lose weight.

What does NET mean? It means "Food Eaten - Exercise Calories Burned." This is an important distinction, as most people just pick BMR and decide to just eat that. But, when you burn calories while exercising, you are essentially erasing those calories from your diet for the day. So, if your BMR is 1400, and you choose to eat 1400, and then you exercise and burn 800 calories on a nice long run, then you've only netted 600 calories. Most people will agree that if you eat 600 calories a day without exercising, it's not healthy. Well, netting 600 calories a day is equally unhealthy, as the body doesn't recognize a difference between the too. Either way, it only has 600 calories to run and maintain your vital organs with (when you exercise, your body uses that energy as it happens, it doesn't think about whether it should save some to keep your heart beating, as far as the body is concerned, you aren't on a treadmill, you're running from a tiger, and if the tiger catches you, well, it won't need to worry about keeping your heart beating, anyway.)

So, recap. Use the BMR calculator, and then figure out your TDEE from there. Pick a number between them, and NET it consistently. Lose weight. Enjoy life. :drinker:

UsedToBeHusky

He's my friend. :bigsmile:

xALEXANDROx

thanks for the info