BMR

runnergirl117

Does everyone eat their BMR number everyday or do you eat the MFP suggested calories? I eat under my BMR everyday. Does that help me lose weight or make it harder?? It's coming off, but slowly. Any suggestions about eating BMR??

coliema

I eat the MFP suggested calories, I try to either be a little under or just at my calorie goal. It's coming off slowly, but only because I haven't worked out in a while, starting 30DS for the second time,today!

dlwyatt82

Does everyone eat their BMR number everyday or do you eat the MFP suggested calories? I eat under my BMR everyday. Does that help me lose weight or make it harder?? It's coming off, but slowly. Any suggestions about eating BMR??

That depends a bit on what your current weight is, what your BMR is, and what MFP has listed as your target.

My initial target is about 100 calories under my BMR, but many days I wind up eating more than BMR after I figure in a little bit of exercise calories. Some people will tell you never to eat less than your BMR, but that advice may not really apply to everyone. Obese people can get away with it, while those very close to a healthy weight may see poor results.

A good suggestion in general, though, is that if MFP has listed a target less than your BMR, then just do a little cardio exercise each day to increase your calories burned. When you eat back those exercise calories, your total consumption for the day will wind up being over your BMR.

JoJ74

I think if you're not very overweight then eating your BMR will not really result in weightloss unless you are exercising a lot. If you eat what you burn off how are you going to get the defecit? It takes a lot of exercise to burn enough to lose even 1lb (3600 cals apparently).

http://bwsimulator.niddk.nih.gov/

This calculator helps show what a change in intake or exercise will achieve over a period of time - hope link works )

JoJ74

Copy and paste into browser if it doesn't - you need Java for it to work.

dlwyatt82

I think if you're not very overweight then eating your BMR will not really result in weightloss unless you are exercising a lot. If you eat what you burn off how are you going to get the defecit? It takes a lot of exercise to burn enough to lose even 1lb (3600 cals apparently).

http://bwsimulator.niddk.nih.gov/

This calculator helps show what a change in intake or exercise will achieve over a period of time - hope link works )

Eating your BMR will *always* result in weight loss, unless you're in a coma. You burn some number of calories above your BMR each day just by getting out of bed and going about your day.

JoJ74

Most websites like this factor in an actual burn of 1.2 times BMR for an adult living a slightly active life. Sorry but that won't result in big long term weight loss unless you do a lot of exercise. Also don't forget as you do lose weight your BMR will reduce as well. Check out the link if you really want to crunch the numbers.

dlwyatt82

Most websites like this factor in an actual burn of 1.2 times BMR for an adult living a slightly active life. Sorry but that won't result in big long term weight loss unless you do a lot of exercise. Also don't forget as you do lose weight your BMR will reduce as well. Check out the link if you really want to crunch the numbers.

My BMR is roughly 2400 calories, which using that 1.2 estimate puts my TDEE at 2880. A 480-calorie deficit each day (assuming I ate 2400 calories per day) is almost eactly what is recommended by doctors to sustain 1 pound of weight loss per week.

For people with smaller BMR numbers, the deficit and weight loss would be less, but still measurable.

chrisb75

I think if you're not very overweight then eating your BMR will not really result in weightloss unless you are exercising a lot. If you eat what you burn off how are you going to get the defecit? It takes a lot of exercise to burn enough to lose even 1lb (3600 cals apparently).

http://bwsimulator.niddk.nih.gov/

This calculator helps show what a change in intake or exercise will achieve over a period of time - hope link works )

Wow this couldn't be more wrong if you tried. Eat below your BMR (which is the BARE minimum your body needs to function) and you will KILL your metabolism.

dlwyatt82

Most websites like this factor in an actual burn of 1.2 times BMR for an adult living a slightly active life. Sorry but that won't result in big long term weight loss unless you do a lot of exercise. Also don't forget as you do lose weight your BMR will reduce as well. Check out the link if you really want to crunch the numbers.

The calculator you posted seems to agree with me. I entered my own current stats as a starting point, selected their lightest activity levels (which resulted in a multiplier of 1.4 times BMR), and specified under Lifestyle change that I would eat exactly my BMR calories per day (2432, according to their simulator) for one year. It resulted in 59.5 pounds of weight loss, and that was without adjusting the calories eaten to account for the lower BMR as the weight came off.

Using a manual activity modifier of 1.2, the weight loss reduced to 31.6 pounds, but again, that was assuming you ate the same calories for the entire year, without adjusting your targets as the weight was lost.

Edit: The simulator mistakenly refers to BMR as RMR, but you can tell by the context what they are referring to. RMR is higher than BMR, and takes into account the calories you burn performing normal light activity without exercise.

JoJ74

That may be so for your current weight. But, if I put my stats in and run it as if I was going to eat my BMR calories for the next year, I'd lose 10lbs. In a year. If I do it for 1200 cals, 240 below BMR, I'd lose 36lbs in 6 months. So as I said, if you're not *that* overweight then eating your BMR will mean a very slow weight loss. Perhaps the OP could run her own stats and come to her own conclusions.

Anyone who says you can't lose weight if you eat less than your BMR has never met a thin person!

chevy88grl

That may be so for your current weight. But, if I put my stats in and run it as if I was going to eat my BMR calories for the next year, I'd lose 10lbs. In a year. If I do it for 1200 cals, 240 below BMR, I'd lose 36lbs in 6 months. So as I said, if you're not *that* overweight then eating your BMR will mean a very slow weight loss. Perhaps the OP could run her own stats and come to her own conclusions.

Anyone who says you can't lose weight if you eat less than your BMR has never met a thin person!

I think you may be confusing BMR and TDEE. I am pretty average size (5'4", large frame and I usually fluctuate between 145-150lbs). My BMR (basal metabolic rate - the bare minimum amount of calories I need in a day just to live) is around 1338. My TDEE (total daily energy expenditure - which is your BMR and times your activity level and the number of calories your body burns in a day with day to day activities) is around 2449. If I were to eat below my BMR, I would be creating a HUGE deficit off my TDEE and I wouldn't even be giving my body the basic number of calories it needs just to live. Instead of creating the deficit off your BMR, you need to figure out your TDEE and create your deficit from there.

I can easily lose weight while consuming 2100-2200 NET calories a day. If I were to try and eat at or below my BMR, I would be a starving, cranky mess who was threatening to eat small household pets or my own limbs.

I know quite a few thin people on this site and ALL of them eat far more than their BMR. You have to fuel your body if you want to lose weight in a healthy, sustainable way. Unless you have a medical condition that is being supervised by a doctor - there's no reason to eat below your BMR in order to lose weight. There are TONS of people on this site (myself included) you have lost a significant amount of weight and they've done so by eating a deficit off their TDEE and not off their BMR.

JoJ74

No I'm not confusing the two at all, as you would see from reading my previous reply and from looking at the calculator. I love the way people on here assume everyone else is stupid.

myfitnessnmhoy

Does everyone eat their BMR number everyday or do you eat the MFP suggested calories? I eat under my BMR everyday. Does that help me lose weight or make it harder?? It's coming off, but slowly. Any suggestions about eating BMR??

I eat the recommended calories as per the site, or as close as possible. I try to be under, but by no more than a couple hundred calories, daily. I eat as many of my exercise calories back as I can. I've already got a 1,000 calorie deficit and I'm losing 2 pounds a week (give or take), so I'm happy with losing weight at a comfortable pace while being energetic enough to get good vigorous workouts in.