BMR Clarificataion

Gizziemoto

Hi! I have been reading all of these post about eating your BMR and was wondering if someone could explain it very simply for me. I am having a hard time finding out how much I need to eat to loose weight.

My current goal on this site is 1710 calories and set at sedentary (just updated this line). So when I am eating, I should aim for the 1710 and not eat my exercise calories back or should I aim for being close to my net?

I understand that everyone has a different "magic" number and combination for losing weight. Using the BMR calculator and the Harris Benedict equation, my BMR is 1634 times 1.2 equals 1961.

Thank you for you help.

Gizziemoto

Bump.

sneckerdoodle

For me, after playing around with calories going in for a while now, i finally figured out that no matter how much
I excercise which is 6-7 days a week, as long as i have a net calorie at the end of the day at close to 1400 (with my
BMR being 1481) I have been losing weight steadily. I usually have 1 day a week when i go over 1400 a little bit, but that
doesn't damage me too much. so i would try and net close to your BMR after excercise is done. hope this is helpful!

Gizziemoto

Is 1481 your resting BMR?

myfitnessnmhoy

To put it the most simply:

Go through the wizard, set up your lifestyle as "sedentary" unless you have a very active lifestyle, and log all exercise not included in the lifestyle you set.

Set the tracker so you are tracking Calories, Protein, Fat, Carbohydrates, and Sugar.

Try to get all the little green "remaining" numbers at the bottom as close as possible to zero at the end of each day.

NOTE: Re-reading this, the post sounds a little condescending, I guess. PLEASE don't take it that way. The site already does all the BMR/TDEE/etc math for you, and I've seen people get really hung up trying to make the site a lot more complicated than it needs to be.

SHBoss1673

BMR is Basal Metabolic Rate, I have a whole blog post on it here if you want to read it.

http://bankshealth.wordpress.com/2011/06/07/overview-of-bmr/

Gizziemoto

Thank you. I will look up the blog.

mustgetmuscles1

BMR would not include your exercises so that is not your BMR. Your BMR is your base calories before you add ANY activity. If that 1700 calories already includes exercise then you would not eat back your calories. IF you did they would be getting counted twice.

Gizziemoto

Sorry that was my base as set by this site at at sedentary level. My exercise goal is 30 minutes 5 times a week. Still getting used to this site. :blushing:

bayertablets

This is the blog that made it so easy for me to udnerstand:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/lillebanon/view/my-take-on-eating-more-to-weigh-less-254554

She suggests using the following website to determine BMR (Basal Metobolic Rate = what your body burns if you stayed in bed all day), TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expednditure = what calories you need to maintain your current weight given your current activity level), and your TDEE Cut (the 5-20% cut in calories you should take if you want to lose weight).

http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

You can also figure out your bodyfat % by using measurements on sites like this:

http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/cbbf/

She recommends eating at your TDEE Cut everyday, regardless if you're exercising or not, and NEVER netting below your BMR calories. Check out the following group for more info, and good luck!

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/3834-eat-more-to-weigh-less

mustgetmuscles1

Sorry that was my base as set by this site at at sedentary level. My exercise goal is 30 minutes 5 times a week. Still getting used to this site. :blushing:

Its very confusing for everyone. There are so many ways to figure out your calories and log them. This site tries to get you to eat back your calories so I find it easier to find out what my maintenance calories are at sedentary and subtract 500. Then eat back my workout calories. But you could also use other sites that include your maintenance AND your workout calories but then you would not want to eat back your workout calories because they are already being counted.

People also set their activity level based on their workouts which, again, can cause you to double count your workout calories if you eat them back.

Gizziemoto

Bump

ShaSimone

I found this to be easy enough for me.

Find out the BMR and TDEE for the weight I want to be at, 150 pounds.

If I eat at the sedentary TDEE for the my goal weight I should be losing weight, since this number should be a deficit of my current TDEE.

If I exercise that is extra calories burned and I do not eat those back...too much confusion on here to figure out how many exercise calories to eat back.

StaceyL76

BMR - this is the minimum your body needs to just function. This is the number that you are aiming for as your net calories.

For example mine is 1596 (I had the new leaf metabolic test done) this is the amount of calories my body burns just to exist - even if I laid in bed all day. Now when you add your lifestyle - let’s say sedentary for me it put me near 2200 calories to.

Now if I want to lose weight.. I could eat between 1600 and 1900 calories and have a deficit of 300 calories daily. This is without exercise.

If I add exercise - I want to eat those calories back... This is the idea. Because no matter what - I don't want to go below a net of 1596 - because that is what I need just to exist as I am...

If I were to go below that for too long.. my body will metabolize itself and I could end up losing muscle and slowing down my metabolic rate.

At least this is my understanding. I hope this helps
.

Gizziemoto

Thank you everyone! I am assisting others with learning this. :happy: