Mfp has me eating below bmr?! Help!

mari5283

Hi guys!
I would appreciate any kind of insight/help! I've been on Mfp for about two weeks now and have lost weight according to the scale but I still look the same and my clothes seem to fit the same as well. I've been calculating my bmr and two different websites put me between 1430 and 1435. Mfp calculates my bmr at 1325. However Mfp also puts me at a 1200 calorie limit! Am I not eating enough calories? I'm worried that I'm losing muscle instead of fat! Help would be much appreciated! I'll also open my diary in case anyone wants to look at it. Help, please!

yarwell

how much have you lost ?

Your diary is often quite low on protein.

mari5283

8 lbs so far supposedly...I weighed myself today and I've lost 3.5 lbs since last Wednesday...

yarwell

8 lbs so far supposedly...I weighed myself today and I've lost 3.5 lbs since last Wednesday...

it's working quite well then - stick at it until the loss rate falls away then reconsider.

UrbanRunner81

I always eat above my BMR.
What did you set weight loss per week for? Bump it down to a pound or 1/2 pound a week and see what it gives you to eat.

sherim71

At first MFP had me eating below BMR. I lost five pounds right away, then slowed down to a stop. I increased 200 cals per day putting me just over BMR and bam, it's falling off again. I try to make sure to get a good amount of protein in as well.

deksgrl

It is because you set your "I want to lose x number of pounds per week" higher than it should be.

You should eat at least your BMR. And more to fuel your workouts.

mari5283

So I tried changing my weight loss goals and when I put it to losing 1/2 each week it bumps me up to 1410 calories. I was hoping to lose at least a pound but at that rate it still leaves me at 1200. Should I just go ahead and up mt calories to 1400 or move up slowly?

teetiefunk

mfp had me at 1200 as well to lose 2lbs...ive been eating at my bmr which is 1540 for three weeks and lost 2lbs last week and 1 lb this week? go figure.

deksgrl

I am guessing that with a BMR of around 1300, you probably don't have a lot of weight to lose? If you are trying to lose 25 pounds or less, I would go with the slower weight loss. People who have more to lose can take off more per week. They can create a bigger safe calorie deficit than someone who has less to lose.

UrbanRunner81

I am guessing that with a BMR of around 1300, you probably don't have a lot of weight to lose? If you are trying to lose 25 pounds or less, I would go with the slower weight loss. People who have more to lose can take off more per week. They can create a bigger safe calorie deficit than someone who has less to lose.

^^^ agreed.

also you are less likely to plateau which can lead to frustration. slow and steady wins the race

mari5283

mfp had me at 1200 as well to lose 2lbs...ive been eating at my bmr which is 1540 for three weeks and lost 2lbs last week and 1 lb this week? go figure.

I think I will try eating at my BMR then! Did you use the Mfp bmr calculator? Just wondering because Mfp gives me 1325 as my bmr and other websites give me about 1430.

deksgrl

I would use the 1430. Because 100 less would make me very cranky.

BamaGirl_Tricia

At first MFP had me eating below BMR. I lost five pounds right away, then slowed down to a stop. I increased 200 cals per day putting me just over BMR and bam, it's falling off again. I try to make sure to get a good amount of protein in as well.

Same exact thing happened to me.!

mari5283

I am guessing that with a BMR of around 1300, you probably don't have a lot of weight to lose? If you are trying to lose 25 pounds or less, I would go with the slower weight loss. People who have more to lose can take off more per week. They can create a bigger safe calorie deficit than someone who has less to lose.

Yup, I am trying to lose between 20 and 25 lbs. thanks for the info. I didn't think that it would make a difference in how much I can lose per week but I see that it does!

Kiki829

After seeing this post, I checked my BMR as well. MFP has me eating 500 calories below BMR. I just started this on Sunday, and I wasn't planning on weighing myself for a month to give my body time to adjust to the exercise and healthy eating, but now i'm wondering if I should re-think that. I just don't want to get discouraged if the scale doesn't show what I want it to, hence the one month break.

mari5283

Thanks for all the great info! I will def be upping my calories then! I was beginning to have doubts about eating at 1200 because I've noticed ive been feeling kind of out of it and getting tired way too fast, so im excited to see if upping my calories will improve!

deksgrl

Don't confuse BMR (basal metabolic rate) with TDEE (total daily energy expenditure).

BMR means that is the basic number of calories your body needs if you did not move from bed all day, just to fuel your breathing, heart, organs, brain.

When you take that number and multiply to factor in how active you are, sedentary, lightly active, moderately active, very active - that is your TDEE. Also known as "maintenance calories". You would not gain or lose at that number of calories. You want to create a calorie deficit off of that number, not off of BMR.

Some people use those terms interchangeably and they are not at all the same. You should eat more than BMR but less than TDEE.

jenshare

This has been a very interesting thread to read. Just wondering how exercise falls into the daily calorie allotment. MFP has me at 1200 calories per day, other websites say around 1600. I exercise daily and end up with a daily total of 1400-1500 calories (after exercise is added back in). I am new to this site and have lost 8 pounds in the last 3 weeks, all of it being in the first 2 weeks, none this week.

deksgrl

MFP is set up so that you will lose weight just on calorie reduction alone. So when you exercise, it adds in more calories, to fuel the workout. You will see the numbers change on your diary. You should NET at least 1,200 calories per day.

The other websites will include your exercise calories. A safe weight loss is to figure 15-20% off your TDEE number. Remember that the TDEE number includes how active you are, how much you exercise.

Either way you figure it, either the MFP way with base calories plus exercise calories, or the other way, TDEE less 15-20%, that number should work out to be more than BMR but less than TDEE.

jenshare

Thank you for the information! I think like the original poster, I am also not eating enough calories.

jfaure23

I feel so much better since increasing my cals for a slower weight loss. I'm losing 1, sometimes 2, pounds per week, so I am satisfied. Way better than stopping at 1200!

uniqsol

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/567092--read-this-figuring-out-your-calorie-goals

That link was super helpful to me when I joined! It's an older post w/ lots of great info. Follow the links w/in it to Fat2Fit's site & check out the tools they have there. It's not a site like this one...more informational than useful for everday calorie counting. BUT, there are calculators to figure BMR & other tools that have helped to get me on the right track.

As a fellow newbie, feel free to add me if you like