BMR question

Jnt1979

I dont understand what the BMR is. Is that a number of calories I should be eating to lose weight...or to maintain?? HELP! lol

I have been sucessful eating around 1300 ish. I do 5/6 days of cardio a week and lose around 2lbs a week.

Thanks!!!

3dogsrunning

It is neither.

BMR is the basal metabolic rate. It is the amount of calories your body burns just to survive. So basically, if you laid in bed all day, this is what you would burn.
But most of us don't lay in bed all day. We burn calories by brushing our teeth, walking to the car, prepped food, even sitting at the computer.
Your TDEE is your total daily energy expenditure. Its your BMR plus all those other calories we burn in daily life. Most calculators account for your exercise in there, MFP does not, which is why they say to eat those calories. That TDEE is the number that you can eat without gaining or losing weight.
The TDEE is also the number you subtract the deficit from to lose weight.

3dogsrunning

Also - you should not net below your BMR.

Here is a chart that suggests what your weekly weight loss goal should be depending on how much you have to lose.
If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal, and
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal.


1 lb a week is 500 calories less per day. So .5 would be 250 less, 2lbs would be 1000 less, etc.

CRSE1214

3dogs, why should I not be eating less than my BMR? I'm at a plateau of eating roughly 1,300-1,400 calories (my BMR is 1635) so I'm curious?

rileysowner

3dogs, why should I not be eating less than my BMR? I'm at a plateau of eating roughly 1,300-1,400 calories (my BMR is 1635) so I'm curious?

Since BMR is the minimum calories you need to simple keep your vital functions . . . well . . . functioning, you should at least eat that much. Remember, you will burn more than your BMR simply by getting out of bed and doing your normal daily activity. Even a sedentary person will burn on after 1.2 times their BMR. So if you ate your BMR, you would lose weight. Having said that, realize that unless you have been tested on an actual machine BMR is an estimate, it will be close (within a couple of hundred calories give of take) unless you have some major metabolic condition like diabetes, thyroid problems, PCOS or others, but it is not exact. If your BMR is 1635 you should probably try eating that for a while. The only people who I know who would really have no problem eating less than their BMR would be those who are obese with lots of body fat to use. Even people who are simply overweight probably would do better in the long run eating at their BMR.

Jnt1979

See this is why I am confused. I Have 60 more to lose and I eat around 1300 calories. My BMR is 1700 calories. I just dont see how I would lose weight still by eating 1700 calories a day?

like I said I do go 5 to 6 times a week to the gym or do some type of work out. I like to do an hour of cardio (zumba, swimming laps, treadmill, bike or eliptical) IDK im just so confused lol

3dogsrunning

Ok, first I am going to suggest you read the post in this topic by HelloitsDan. Excellent post explains this all although in this he is talking about the 1000-1200 calorie a day diet, which is not exactly the case but it all still applies. In case the link doesn't take you right there, it is on page 3.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/520938-anyone-else-annoyed-by-other-dieters?error_user_id=11867214&error_username=3dogsrunning&page=3

Here is an excerpt
"Physiologically speaking the human body can only lose so much fat in 1 day or 24 hour cycle.
The fatter you are the more fat you can lose.
Once this quota is met the body Hormonally switches to another fuel source.
You work our and damage lean tissue AKA muscle and your body will target that first.
The reason is if it can burn off some lean tissue, its active tissue and uses calories, it can slow you down.
This is why we call the 1200 calorie diet the "Skinny-Fat" diet.
You are making a smaller version of your former fat self.

Another reason why 1k-1200 calories a day, depending on your height, is stupid is because its normally below the BMR.
Eating below BMR slows metabolism and forces the body to slow itself down.
It does this by Hormonally switching gears, preserving fat, catabolizing lean mass and thus...making you a smaller version of your former fat self. "

erickirb

See this is why I am confused. I Have 60 more to lose and I eat around 1300 calories. My BMR is 1700 calories. I just dont see how I would lose weight still by eating 1700 calories a day?

like I said I do go 5 to 6 times a week to the gym or do some type of work out. I like to do an hour of cardio (zumba, swimming laps, treadmill, bike or eliptical) IDK im just so confused lol

If your BMR is 1700, you would lose weight eating anything less than 2040 (1.2*1700) if you have a desk job and/or are not very active.

When you workout you increase your maintenance for that day, so say you burn another 400 cals from the elliptical, then your maintenance would be 2440 (2040+400) and you would lose weight eating under that amount

DavesKitten

Hey, I would like to jump in here too.

If my estimated BMR is: 1,625 calories/day*...I should be eating that and I will be shedding the weight?
I need to lose about 65 pounds.

I thought if I ate less calories then that is better to lose more weight.

Icandoit66

Bump for later.

3dogsrunning

See this is why I am confused. I Have 60 more to lose and I eat around 1300 calories. My BMR is 1700 calories. I just dont see how I would lose weight still by eating 1700 calories a day?

like I said I do go 5 to 6 times a week to the gym or do some type of work out. I like to do an hour of cardio (zumba, swimming laps, treadmill, bike or eliptical) IDK im just so confused lol

If your BMR is 1700 calories, you still need to factor in the other calories you burn.
This is not the same formula MFP uses. But here is the activity multiplier chart. -
Activity Multiplier
Sedentary = BMR X 1.2 (little or no exercise, desk job)
Lightly active = BMR X 1.375 (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk)
Mod. active = BMR X 1.55 (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk)
Very active = BMR X 1.725 (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk)
Extr. Active = BMR X 1.9 (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.)


So if you work out 5-6 times a week for an hour of cardio, we will go with Moderately active. So your BMR is 1700 x 1.55 = 2635. That is the number you can eat and not gain weight.
You are looking to lose another 60 lbs, so your ideal goal should be 1.5 lbs/week, which is 750 calories less per day.
2635-750 = 1885.

If you follow MFP and select 1.5 lbs a week, your numbers will be different, since it doesn't account for exercise, but suggests you eat the calories back. You will find if you are accurate with logging activity calories, you will pretty much end up in the same place.

Eating too few calories may work in the short term, but has a negative effect in the long term. It isn't just about the number on the scale, it is about the effect we are having on our bodies and our metabolism.

And I would highly recommend adding some strength training into the mix. It will help preserve your lean muscle mass, which helps metabolism. Dieting makes you look good in clothes, lifting makes you look good naked.

erickirb

Hey, I would like to jump in here too.

If my estimated BMR is: 1,625 calories/day*...I should be eating that and I will be shedding the weight?
I need to lose about 65 pounds.

I thought if I ate less calories then that is better to lose more weight.

You will lose more by eating less but your metabolism may slow down slightly and a higher % of your loss will come from lean muscle. This is more likely with the less you have to lose, but can still happen somewhat with a lot to lose. Those that are morbidly obese or obese can usually safely eat under BMR, but that does not mean it is recommend.

3dogsrunning

Hey, I would like to jump in here too.

If my estimated BMR is: 1,625 calories/day*...I should be eating that and I will be shedding the weight?
I need to lose about 65 pounds.

I thought if I ate less calories then that is better to lose more weight.

Eat less is not better. See the link above for the post by HelloitsDan

BMR is NOT the number you should eat. You need to figure your BMR, then your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure), then create a deficit from that.
Or just let MFP do the math. Just make sure you choose the right weight loss goal. If you want to lose 65 lbs, tell MFP your goal is 1.5 lbs a week.

3dogsrunning

My suggestion to all with questions -

Keep it simple. Use MFP. Look at the goal weightloss chart, select the proper one for your weightloss and let MFP do the calucations. Be as accurate as you can with exercise calories and eat at least some of them back.

The biggest problem with MFP is that people automatically choose the highest goal, which isn't best. Choose the right goal. The other problem is overestimating workout calories. Just becareful. If you get a super high number, and you don't feel you worked that hard, you probably didn't.

Jnt1979

3dogs.. You are awesome..THANK you so much! It makes more sense now!!

Jnt1979

I think alot of my problem is I have it in my head that if I eat more then like 1300 calories a day Ill gain weight! EEK

DavesKitten

Awesome, thanks y'all!

CRSE1214

Thanks for the advice and taking the time to answer my question.

reddcat

Great thread! Thanks to all those that contributed. Been here awhile, but learned something new. Thanks!

msmissylowe

Thank you for that helpful advice on BMR! That was very informative.

jjean905

Bump