MFP warning about eating under BMR

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  • Cupcake596
    Cupcake596 Posts: 44
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    WHY does weightloss have to be so confusing! This is why i never get below 155pounds in any diet ive ever done!
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19198647
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18198305

    The first one of these looks at free living overweight people for 6 months, with either 25 % calorie reduction, 12.5% calorie reduction and 12.5% more calories by exercise, or a low calorie diet of 890 kcal/day for 3 months followed by 3 months of maintenance.

    The biggest weight loss was on the low calorie diet group which also had the biggest fat loss. Both at 3 months. BMR was 1450 - 1600 and the LCD was under this by >37%.

    25% calorie reduction was ahead of 12.5 CR + 12.5% exercise in weight loss at month 3, but similar at month 6. Both were less effective than the LCD.

    Calorie reduction combined with exercise maintained the TDEE corrected for weight loss. Without exercise the TDEE fell due to a reduction in Sleeping RMR of about 120 calories and a more significant reduction in activity levels. All groups reported improvement in physical functioning with the intervention.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19198647
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18198305

    The second paper is an earlier publication possibly from the same data. It also involved 25% calorie reduction, 12.5% CR + 12.5% EX, and 890 calorie LCD groups. The LCD group diet until 15% weight loss then maintain, the others continue for 6 months.

    The LCD group lost more fat and more weight by month 3 than the other groups by month 6.

    Statistically significant reductions in RMR were seen in the 25% CR group at month 3 and in the LCD and CR + EX groups at month 6. These reductions are comparing measured RMR with expected RMR given the weight losses. Physical activity levels decreased in the CR and LCD groups at month 3.

    The LCD was substantially below the lowest average RMR, by at least 25%.

    ' Men Women
    Baseline (Week 0) RMR (kcal/d) 1737 (33) 1407 (27)
    Baseline (Week 0) energy requirements (kcal/d) 3248 (72) 2449 (55)
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2680474

    A study of 12 obese women over 12 weeks on either diet + exercise (4 h per week on 55 per cent of VO2 max) or diet only (690 - 840 calorie restriction) did not show any statistically significant differences in fat mass or total weight loss between the groups.

    The D+E group did lose more weight and fat than the D group, but with only 12 participants the difference was not big enough to be statistically significant.

    "The suggestion that a reduction in normal activities of daily life in a diet-exercise group is the explanation for the absence of significant differences in weight and fat loss between a diet-exercise and a diet group is not confirmed in this study. Daily physical activity showed a significantly higher increase for the diet-exercise group than for the diet group, while the decline of SMR and 24-EE tended to be smaller."

    The full paper is at http://arno.unimaas.nl/show.cgi?fid=1565 in the first 4 weeks the food intake of both groups was 700 calories a day, rising to 840 a day for the next 8 weeks.

    The diet only group had larger reductions in SMR and 12 h overnight energy expenditure.

    The two groups were matched for BMI but unfortunately the Diet only group were taller (statistically significant) and had a 6kg / 13 lb higher average weight. The diet only group therefore had a higher energy deficit due to their greater TDEE, sufficient to compensate in part for the other goup's exercise !

    Food intake was well below SMR throughout. Extra food was not eaten to compensate for the exercise in the D+E group.
  • TourThePast
    TourThePast Posts: 1,753 Member
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    The low 1200 numbers are given to people who choose "Sedentary" and "Lose two pounds a week."
    Or short women like me, who choose "Lose half a pound a week" when in fact someone as small as me could get all the nutrition they need on fewer than 1200 calories. My BMR is around 1000 btw.

    EDITED TO ADD: Before I get the calorie police coming down on me, my actual intake is more like 1400 - 1500 a day.
  • cynlynn38
    cynlynn38 Posts: 7 Member
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    Bump
  • sarvalfon
    sarvalfon Posts: 58 Member
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    I agree. I thought this site was correct as i've been eating 1200, where can I go to find out my real Cals??

    http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/ is a good one.

    MFP uses good calculations (Mifflin St Jeor, if I'm not mistaken), it just takes out the activity factor and gives you back "exercise calories"... which can be misunderstood, misused, abused, etc.

    Thanks! This is great!
  • jp0623
    jp0623 Posts: 22 Member
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    Bump
  • MindyG150
    MindyG150 Posts: 1,296 Member
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    My BMR is 1510.6. So what does that mean??? Do I eat 1510 cals per day to stay at this weight?? Or do I eat that to loose. I'm lost. help!!

    I set my calories at my 'GOAL WEIGHT' BMR (1384)...it's working :)

    The best part is that I am learning to eat the right portions for the rest of my life...or untill my BMR lowers.
  • CoderGal
    CoderGal Posts: 6,800 Member
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    My BMR is 1510.6. So what does that mean??? Do I eat 1510 cals per day to stay at this weight?? Or do I eat that to loose. I'm lost. help!!

    I set my calories at my 'GOAL WEIGHT' BMR (1384)...it's working :)

    The best part is that I am learning to eat the right portions for the rest of my life...or untill my BMR lowers.

    ^Not this.

    You eat around your TDEE to stay at this weight (from what I've found it's usually a bit more then what is calculated)
  • nannabannana
    nannabannana Posts: 787
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    bump
  • mcarter99
    mcarter99 Posts: 1,666 Member
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    Where do people get the idea you need to eat your BMR amount? I think the site uses a 1200 minimum because that's the more medically acceptable value, not BMR. There is no reason someone who is overweight needs to take in their BMR daily. Body fat is a perfectly acceptable fuel and if you're carrying so much it's a detriment to your health, you are better off dipping into it and lowering it up to 2 lbs/week, not trying to achieve a deficit through additional activity alone.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,002 Member
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    Where do people get the idea you need to eat your BMR amount? I think the site uses a 1200 minimum because that's the more medically acceptable value, not BMR. There is no reason someone who is overweight needs to take in their BMR daily. Body fat is a perfectly acceptable fuel and if you're carrying so much it's a detriment to your health, you are better off dipping into it and lowering it up to 2 lbs/week, not trying to achieve a deficit through additional activity alone.

    QFT


    Good luck with that here. People are stuck in parrot mode.
  • chukwuwally
    chukwuwally Posts: 93 Member
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    Eating at your BMR does not work for everyone. I've seen a few cases here on mfp where the people eating at bmr actually gained weight rather than loosing. I have a friend who has lost over a hundred pounds eating only 1300 calories and she never hit a plateau. what works for you may not work for another person. As long as you are not eating below 1200 cals a day you really do not have any problem. A nutritionist actually adviced me that the best way to loose weight an be consistent is to change things up every now and then. So that your body doesn't get used to thesame thing. So weather or not someone eats at their bmr depends on the persons body and how it responds to food, so unless you are a certified nutritionst you shouldn't tell someone that is eating 1200 cals a day that they are wrong, cause you don't know how their body functions. Thank you

    P. S. - I wasn't trying to be rude, I'm just sick and tired of people who assume that people who eat at a recommended calorie range (1200) are doing something wrong
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    Where do people get the idea you need to eat your BMR amount? I think the site uses a 1200 minimum because that's the more medically acceptable value, not BMR. There is no reason someone who is overweight needs to take in their BMR daily. Body fat is a perfectly acceptable fuel and if you're carrying so much it's a detriment to your health, you are better off dipping into it and lowering it up to 2 lbs/week, not trying to achieve a deficit through additional activity alone.

    For FYI - 1200 is medically acceptable minimum lower limit recommended to never go below, outside direct Dr care.

    It is hardly an acceptable value for weight loss for probably 95% of people, who have no idea what they used to eat previously that they should be removing 1000 calories off of daily.
  • mcarter99
    mcarter99 Posts: 1,666 Member
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    For FYI - 1200 is medically acceptable minimum lower limit recommended to never go below, outside direct Dr care.

    It is hardly an acceptable value for weight loss for probably 95% of people, who have no idea what they used to eat previously that they should be removing 1000 calories off of daily.

    Do you have a source or is this just opinion?
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    Do you have a source or is this just opinion?

    Your kidding me, you've never seen that mentioned anywhere, the phrase is almost anywhere that discusses diet in some form similar to this.

    "According to ACSM guidelines, women should eat at least 1,200 calories per day, and men should eat at least 1,800."

    Here is their site link on it, you'd have to log in for the actual papers it appears.

    http://www.acsm.org/about-acsm/media-room/acsm-in-the-news/2011/08/01/metabolism-is-modifiable-with-the-right-lifestyle-changes

    http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/harris-benedict-equation/calorie-intake-to-lose-weight.php

    http://www.shapefit.com/basal-metabolic-rate.html
  • futiledevices
    futiledevices Posts: 309 Member
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    Even If I set my goal to lose .5 lb per week, MFP will still give me 1200 calories (I eat 1300). I feel like the "rules" can be bent more for short people.. some of us have a low BMR. My maintenance is only 1700-1800, so how am I supposed to lose weight? I don't want this process to be extremely slow.
  • mcarter99
    mcarter99 Posts: 1,666 Member
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    Do you have a source or is this just opinion?

    Your kidding me, you've never seen that mentioned anywhere, the phrase is almost anywhere that discusses diet in some form similar to this.

    "According to ACSM guidelines, women should eat at least 1,200 calories per day, and men should eat at least 1,800."

    Here is their site link on it, you'd have to log in for the actual papers it appears.

    http://www.acsm.org/about-acsm/media-room/acsm-in-the-news/2011/08/01/metabolism-is-modifiable-with-the-right-lifestyle-changes

    http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/harris-benedict-equation/calorie-intake-to-lose-weight.php

    http://www.shapefit.com/basal-metabolic-rate.html

    I was asking if you had a source for the "95% of people the 1200 calorie minimum is too low for" comment.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    Even If I set my goal to lose .5 lb per week, MFP will still give me 1200 calories (I eat 1300). I feel like the "rules" can be bent more for short people.. some of us have a low BMR. My maintenance is only 1700-1800, so how am I supposed to lose weight? I don't want this process to be extremely slow.

    If your maintenance is 1700 - 1800 and you eat 1300 - you have a 400 - 500 deficit - thats approx. a 1lb a week weight loss.

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