I'm a bit confused.

jillybillygoat

I'm a newbie. Just started a few days ago. Mostly to work on eating a little healthier and to hold myself accountable on the days that I don't. (I usually have one or two days a week where I eat way too much junk. On most days I don't eat enough, period.) I would like to lose about 20 pounds however, but I do have a healthy BMI.

My confusion has to do with the BMR. Mine is 1,357 so does that mean I should never eat less calories than that? MFP has me set at eating 1200. I will eat more if I need to, but I don't want to eat more than I have to since I struggle eating enough calories a day with the 1200.

naugustyniak

Your BMR is the calories you need to survive if you just stayed in bed all day. The numbers MFP gives you are the amount you need to eat to lose whatever weight you are trying to lose. If you exercise, you should add at least part of the calories back and shouldn't go below 1200 calories a day or you could go into starvation mode and you will retain weight as a defense mechanism.

jillybillygoat

Thanks. I do understand about exercise calories. I was just wondering if I should stick with what MFP tells me to do, on the days I don't exercise. I've read several posts where people say you should never eat less than your BMR number and I certainly don't want to keep my metabolism from picking up.

~Jill

MaryinBflo

Your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is an estimate of how many calories you'd burn if you were to do nothing but rest for 24 hours.
Your BMR does not include the calories you burn from normal daily activities or exercise.

karelynne1

So does that mean one must eat the "extra" calories earned from excercise? I don't think I could possibly eat that much....unless it was junk!

jillybillygoat

Your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is an estimate of how many calories you'd burn if you were to do nothing but rest for 24 hours.
Your BMR does not include the calories you burn from normal daily activities or exercise.

Which is why I'm thinking I should be eating over that estimate despite the number of calories MFP tells me I should eat?

Maybe I'm more confused than I thought I was.

I just want to make sure I'm not eating less calories than I should. I do that already on my own.

SHBoss1673

Your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is an estimate of how many calories you'd burn if you were to do nothing but rest for 24 hours.
Your BMR does not include the calories you burn from normal daily activities or exercise.

Which is why I'm thinking I should be eating over that estimate despite the number of calories MFP tells me I should eat?

Maybe I'm more confused than I thought I was.

I just want to make sure I'm not eating less calories than I should. I do that already on my own.

The problem lies not in your BMR but in the fact that you chose too ambitious of a goal for the amount of weight you want to lose.

See even though MFP allows you to use whatever amount per week you want, that doesn't mean you should use the highest value. People who need the 2 lbs a week are people who have a lot of fat, and would like to be very aggressive in their loss strategy. For someone with only 10 to 20 lbs to lose, you most likely should choose between 1/2 and 1 lb per week. This way you aren't creating a huge deficit and making it A) difficult to sustain on the calories MFP gives you and hungry all the time.

I assume you chose 2 lbs a week (everyone does), I would go back to your goals and redo them, but choose 1 lb per week instead (or even a 1/2 is fine too, no need to try to do this too fast, it only makes it that much harder).

jillybillygoat

Thanks Banks. I was hoping you'd respond. I've been reading your posts the last couple of days and have learned a lot already.

I actually set my goal to 1 lb a week. Maybe I should knock it down to 1/2 a pound? Although then I'll have to eat a bunch more calories and good grief I was so full yesterday eating just 1200. Like I mentioned in my original post I have a tendancy, on most days, to not eat enough. I will certainly eat more if I need to though. I'm sure I'll get used to it after a while. I don't want to eat more than I need to either.

Anyway, I'm sure I'll understand all this more as I go. I just wanted to make sure I started out on the right foot by not sabotaging myself eating too few or too many calories.

SHBoss1673

Thanks Banks. I was hoping you'd respond. I've been reading your posts the last couple of days and have learned a lot already.

I actually set my goal to 1 lb a week. Maybe I should knock it down to 1/2 a pound? Although then I'll have to eat a bunch more calories and good grief I was so full yesterday eating just 1200. Like I mentioned in my original post I have a tendancy, on most days, to not eat enough. I will certainly eat more if I need to though. I'm sure I'll get used to it after a while. I don't want to eat more than I need to either.

Anyway, I'm sure I'll understand all this more as I go. I just wanted to make sure I started out on the right foot by not sabotaging myself eating too few or too many calories.

how tall are you?

jillybillygoat

5'6" and I have a small frame.

SHBoss1673

I don't know your weight, but I imagine your maintenance is somewhere between 1800 and 2000 calories at 5'6" which would make a 500 calorie deficit somewhere between 1300 and 1500. That's just a guess, but I'm surprised MFP has you at 1200.

How much do you weigh?

Oh wait, you gave me your BMR, so 1350 being your BMR your maintenance calories is probably around 1750 or so, Yeah, I would keep it at 1350 myself. 1200 doesn't seem like enough. It will take a little while to get to your goal, but it's the healthy way to do it.

jillybillygoat

I weight 140. It's on my tracker, but my little runner guy is blocking the number.

I'll bump my calorie intake up to 1350 tomorrow. I've been going with 1200 so far.

Thanks!

~Jill

SHBoss1673

I weight 140. It's on my tracker, but my little runner guy is blocking the number.

I'll bump my calorie intake up to 1350 tomorrow. I've been going with 1200 so far.

Thanks!

~Jill

So at 140 (sorry, you little running dude's leg was right in front of the number, couldn't see it)

that makes your maintenance calories 1950 assuming a lightly active lifestyle. That would make 1 lb a week 1450 or so. 1200 is a big deficit. Glad to hear you're going up, but I still think you can go up even more.

Hope it all works out for you .

-Banks

jillybillygoat

Thanks a bunch. I'll get up to 1350 first and then maybe in another week go higher. Don't think I can do it all at once since I've already been stuggling to get 1200 in.

Going by this website, at the moment I have a sedentary lifestyle since most days I sit at a computer.

dianei

I think I am confused also. My BMR is 1417 but I exercise and burn an average of 200-300 calories a day.( I tend to underestimate calories burned- I use 357 for an hour of spin because of my heart monitor reading) I am eating above 1200 calories a day but when I look at the report that gives net calories I am always below 1200. I was a WW member and lost weight but for the last 4 years I can only seem to maintain my weight (which is heavy-183 for a 5'4" frame) -- I know my food intake is healthy and I know I exercise (always have) . Do I need to increase calorie intake?

Falcon

Dianei it sounds like you're not eating as much as you should, can you share with us with what a day looks like for you?

If you don't mind.

Jilly: I know it may sound difficult to achieve that many cals in a day it can be done. It's not horriably difficult.

jillybillygoat

Thanks Falcon. I know that is the case. I am just not used to it. I'll get there. It'll just take some time learning how to eat that many calories in a healthy way. I've never counted calories before. Only fat. So this is new for me.

dianei

Weight Watchers - Cereal - Honey Almond Crisp, 3/4 Cup (40g) 140 32 2 3 remove
Thomas' - 100 Calorie English Muffin, 1 Muffin 100 24 0 4 remove
Mara Natha - Almond Butter - Natural - No Salt Added, 3 Tbsp 270 9 24 9 remove
Add Food Remember Meal 510 65 26 16
Lunch
Nature's Own - Hamburger Roll, 1 bun 110 23 2 6 remove
Morningstar Farms - Veggie Burger - Tomato & Basil Pizza Burger, 1 Burger 120 7 6 10 remove
Garden of Eatin' - Baked Blue Chips, 1 oz (19 chips) 120 20 3 3 remove
Add Food Remember Meal 350 50 11 19
Dinner
homemade - Tuna Noodle Bake, 1/4 casserole 313 38 5 30 remove
Add Food Remember Meal 313 38 5 30
Snacks
homemade - oatmeal cookies with cherries, 3 cookie 217 41 4 4 remove
Add Food Remember Meal 217 41 4 4
Total: 1,390 194
This a typical day- I tend to eat about 400-500 calories for breakfast, about 350-400 for lunch and dinner varies. The days that I spin; I do eat a heavy meal at night. I also am a swimmer, walker and do some low impact weights. My exercise can be all over the map but during the school year I workout at least one hour everyday. In the summer, to prevent overeating I workout at least twice a day. I know that my eating habits are constant as I have kept food diaries for years but I just think that I'm missing something and it is hard to believe that it is under eating when I eat 1300-1500 calories a day. Thanks for your quick response - it does help to bounce ideas off of other people in the same position- Diane

jillybillygoat

I'm new at this, but it sounds to me that with working out so much you're definitely not eating enough. I'm going to start eating 1350 and that's prior to working out.

Falcon

Diane where are your fruits and veggies? You do drink enough water right?

Try substituting your cookies with 26 almonds and an apple
Try substituting the muffin with a banana and maybe a peach or an orange or with cherries
Try eating a garden salad with all the fixings with a tablespoon of salad dressing.

Cut out the chips and cookies, it's not helping your case much

dianei

Good point- I do try to get 5 fruits and veggies a day but can always add more. I'll go back and look at that as maybe I have let that slip-- thanks diane