calorie intake confusion

babykell19

so, mfp says i should eat 1310 calories a day to lose 1 pound a week to get to my goal of 140. ( i am currently 162 ) I try and work out at least 4 times a week. My BMR says I should eat about 1535 calories. so now I am super confused and don't know what to do. Any insight would be helpful! Thanks!

Francesca3162

You need to know your TDEE then deduct 500 calories from that to create a 3500 calorie deficit to lose one pound.
But if that puts you under your BMR then you should not reduce it that much and switch to 1/2 lb loss per week.
You do not want to be below your BMR if you can help it, you body will store everything for survival.

babykell19

i may sound like an idiot..but i have noo clue what TDEE means. this is all new to me...

fatjon73

Hello

Im new to all this too, but my understanding at the mo is that your BMR states what you need to keep your body functioning at your height and weight etc, but the MFP weight is what you need to eat for you to lose the weights your wanting to lose....

So if you stick at the 1310 Cals a day you should lose the 1lb a week, If you eat 1535 you will stay as you are...

Personally im finding sticking to a set amount each day the hardest part, as during the week I can eat much less than what i'm supposed to, but then the weekend comes and I blow all the good work during the week.

But using MFP to plan my meals and the odd sneaky beer etc has really helped me to understand whaty im eating and how it will affect my wight..

Its early days yet for me, but so far I have lost 3 kgs since I started so hopfully I will keep going int eh right direction..

I hope this helped (If my way of thinking is correct that is of course) and good luck on your goal...

Cheers

Jon

wwoelbel

Your BMR is the number of cals your body burns doing nothing. Add to that any calories you burn from exercise. This gives you your energy outlay. Now start balancing that with your energy intake - food. If you put out more than you take in, you should be losing weight (dont remember how many cals in a pound of human fat). While many people (respected peeps) tell me that I should not eat under my BMR, I usually do as I find that I have to seek out heavy foods to make that bar. The BMR you get by putting in a handfull of measurements is a statistical approximation as are the number of calories/hour of exercises.

What I'm doing? I started with the suggestions of MFP and adjusted my food intake and exercise until I was getting the numbers that I wanted to see (2 pounds per week). It takes a while to get the balance down but its working for me and The MD is pleased.

Bill