BMR

lkcuts
lkcuts Posts: 224
in Health and Weight Loss
Ok I know this has probably been asked before but I need it broke down as If you were talking to a first grader. My calorie goal intake is 1350. My bmr is 1750 (how much my body uses if i did nothing). To lose weight I need to keep my calorie intake under my bmr? If I have gone up in calories from 1400 to 1500 one day and the calories show in the red, as long as I am under my bmr I will lose weight? People get on here and give these formulas that totally confuse me. I just want to make sure, if I slow down losing weight, that its not because I am eating too few calories, yet I don't want to eat too many to not lose at all.. before this site I didn't know bout all this stuff to watch for that could help me..its quite a science I am finding out.. Thanks for your help in advance!

Replies

  • Fay84Vegan
    Fay84Vegan Posts: 225 Member
    Hi :)

    I feel exactly the same - i get very confused with all the formulars and numbers.

    Everything i have ever read suggests that you should eat NO LOWER than your BMR!

    BMR is what your body needs just to work. If you're eating less than that you're not allowing your body to do it's job and not helping your body to lose body fat!

    Stay above your BMR 1750 and no lower

    xxx
  • HideNGeek
    HideNGeek Posts: 136 Member
    Yeah eating below your BMR is bad, your BMR is what you body needs to function properly. Your calorie intake figure of 1350 is net, i.e. Intake - Exercise. You need to eat at least your BMR, and work off the deficit to get down to 1350.
  • lkcuts
    lkcuts Posts: 224
    OK thas a little clearer.. at first I thought why have a calorie goal at all why not just eat around your bmr..butI see the calorie goal is where you want to be AFTER your bmr intake minus your calories. I guess i feel guilty seeing red in my diary thinking I have over gone my calories! So on the days I do no cardio, its ok to eat over the bmr goal even if the diary says I went over?
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    If your BMR is 1750 then sitting around all day and eating etc you'll use at least 20% more let's say 2100 calories a day. These are estimates, accurate to no more than 10%.

    If you sit around all day and want to lose weight you have to eat less than the 2100 you expend, or whatever you expend in practice.

    The 1350 is less than 2100 by a fairly high margin, perhaps a bit too high, but you would lose weight at that.

    BMR is only a component of your total daily calorie spend, it's eating less than you expend that matters. You can lose weight under it or over it providing you eat less than you use in total.
  • TheCakeLover
    TheCakeLover Posts: 3 Member
    I wouldn't really call it losing weight, its more like your body wasting away.

    If you don't give your body enough food to fuel itself to function, it will have to get the nutrients from somewhere and your muscle is pretty good for that... You might lose weight but your body will be flabby with no tone.

    You'll also kill your metabolism. Your body will go into starvation mode so if you do eat anything, it will hang onto it and store it. Not exactly effective for trying to lose weight...

    I don't recommend it...
  • Fay84Vegan
    Fay84Vegan Posts: 225 Member

    The 1350 is less than 2100 by a fairly high margin, perhaps a bit too high, but you would lose weight at that.

    You'll also kill your metabolism. Your body will go into starvation mode so if you do eat anything, it will hang onto it and store it. Not exactly effective for trying to lose weight...

    This

    Eat a MINIMUM EVERYDAY of 1750 (BMR) If you exercise on top of that eat more!!

    I'm not sure your GOAL on your food diary is set right?? (it shouldn't be set any lower than your BMR) Did you adjust it yourself?
  • HideNGeek
    HideNGeek Posts: 136 Member
    OK thas a little clearer.. at first I thought why have a calorie goal at all why not just eat around your bmr..butI see the calorie goal is where you want to be AFTER your bmr intake minus your calories. I guess i feel guilty seeing red in my diary thinking I have over gone my calories! So on the days I do no cardio, its ok to eat over the bmr goal even if the diary says I went over?

    You'll hear different things from different people on here, but for me personally I worked out my BMR and my TDEE (1850, and 2250) respectively, and I eat somewhere in the middle, 2000 calories net, this has enabled me to lose weight at a rate of 1 pound a week since I started doing it. I will eat more than 2000 calories on a day when I expend extra calories (gym etc) but my workout will mean my net intake is still below 2000 calories. On a day when I don't go to the gym I never eat more than 2000 net. This means my body never goes hungry, and as I eat breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, there is always fuel there for my body to use.
  • Fay84Vegan
    Fay84Vegan Posts: 225 Member
    OK thas a little clearer.. at first I thought why have a calorie goal at all why not just eat around your bmr..butI see the calorie goal is where you want to be AFTER your bmr intake minus your calories. I guess i feel guilty seeing red in my diary thinking I have over gone my calories! So on the days I do no cardio, its ok to eat over the bmr goal even if the diary says I went over?

    You'll hear different things from different people on here, but for me personally I worked out my BMR and my TDEE (1850, and 2250) respectively, and I eat somewhere in the middle, 2000 calories net, this has enabled me to lose weight at a rate of 1 pound a week since I started doing it. I will eat more than 2000 calories on a day when I expend extra calories (gym etc) but my workout will mean my net intake is still below 2000 calories. On a day when I don't go to the gym I never eat more than 2000 net. This means my body never goes hungry, and as I eat breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, there is always fuel there for my body to use.

    I Agree with this! :)
  • Ahluvly
    Ahluvly Posts: 389 Member
    This is my advice to you.

    Work out your TDEE from this link:

    http://www.jillianmichaels.com/fitness-and-diet-tips/determining-your-AMR

    This is your BMR x Daily Activity Rate + Daily calories burned (if you do exercise). This then gives you your TDEE, what you need to eat in order to maintain the weight you are at. As you want to lose weighet, I suggest you reduce this figure by 10-20% and then set your macros (carbs, protein and fat) on MFP to 40%, 30% and 30% respectively.

    I strongly advise you to stop eating below your BMR. This is what you need to take in each day to merely lie in bed, basic functions. I hope that helps :)

    Ok I know this has probably been asked before but I need it broke down as If you were talking to a first grader. My calorie goal intake is 1350. My bmr is 1750 (how much my body uses if i did nothing). To lose weight I need to keep my calorie intake under my bmr? If I have gone up in calories from 1400 to 1500 one day and the calories show in the red, as long as I am under my bmr I will lose weight? People get on here and give these formulas that totally confuse me. I just want to make sure, if I slow down losing weight, that its not because I am eating too few calories, yet I don't want to eat too many to not lose at all.. before this site I didn't know bout all this stuff to watch for that could help me..its quite a science I am finding out.. Thanks for your help in advance!
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    this has enabled me to lose weight at a rate of 1 pound a week since I started doing it
    So you have a deficit in practice of 500 calories a day ?
  • lkcuts
    lkcuts Posts: 224
    no I didn't adjust it myself. At first i put in sitting sedatary and it came out 1200 calories..I was starving so i put in moderate since 3 days a week i am on my feet alot. it boosted the cals up to the 1350 mark. i am not sure what TDEE is? thats another thing i get confused about BMR<TDEE. Maybe I should adjust the calories myself to meet my BMR? I do cardio and light weights 3 days a week. right now started at 30 mins cardio and 15 mins light weights
  • HideNGeek
    HideNGeek Posts: 136 Member
    this has enabled me to lose weight at a rate of 1 pound a week since I started doing it
    So you have a deficit in practice of 500 calories a day ?

    3,500 calories a week deficit, some days it's more than 500, some days less, but the end result seems to be going the same (so far anyway)
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    TDEE is Total Daily Energy Expenditure - what you use. The sum total of BMR + other stuff + exercise.
  • lkcuts
    lkcuts Posts: 224
    It depends some days 300 under other days when i excersise I eat more, and my diary still shows a deficiet, but doesn't tell me that i have eaten too few calories. like on the days I do not cardio/weight lift
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    3,500 calories a week deficit, some days it's more than 500, some days less, but the end result seems to be going the same (so far anyway)
    I was trying (and failing) to reconcile eating net 2000 with a TDEE of 2250 and a deficit of 500 average.
  • HideNGeek
    HideNGeek Posts: 136 Member
    3,500 calories a week deficit, some days it's more than 500, some days less, but the end result seems to be going the same (so far anyway)
    I was trying (and failing) to reconcile eating net 2000 with a TDEE of 2250 and a deficit of 500 average.

    I don't aim for a particular deficit per day, or even per week, I just set myself a goal of 2000 net and see what happens. Some days the deficit would only be 250 (non gym, 2000 calorie days), some days much higher, depending on the amount of calories that I burn at gym. I don't eat back all of my exercise calories either, only some of them.

    I would also imagine that my TDEE is outdated as I have lost weight, increased muscle, and go to the gym now, which I didn't do when I worked out the TDEE before. TDEE could possibly be closer to 2,500 now, no idea.

    EDIT: Just gone through the TDEE calculator now, which is giving me a TDEE of 2705. That'll be where the deficit comes in then. Thanks for questioning it Yarwell :)
  • lkcuts
    lkcuts Posts: 224
    ty I went to the site and it wants me to join something, however it was insightfull to reset to 40/30/30 on my intake nutrition because I am an apple shape. Thanks for your input!
  • thriftycupl
    thriftycupl Posts: 310 Member
    Check out the group here on MFP -- Eat More to Weigh Less. They have a lot of really great infomation on BMR, TDEE, what you should be eating and why. There is lots of existing information but if you have additional questions, someone will answer. There is a lot to read.
  • Ahluvly
    Ahluvly Posts: 389 Member
    You really have to be careful when it comes to eating enough. Someone who is 10st eating a deficit of 500 will affect them more, say compared to someone who's 15st which is why I think a % reduction works better. If you do a heavy duty job or a lot of exercise just make sure you are eating enough to fuel you through the day and your work outs in particular.

    Good luck to everyone on their journey :)
  • lkcuts
    lkcuts Posts: 224
    great insite! I will check it out Thanks!
  • siriusalien
    siriusalien Posts: 207
    OK Can someone confirm my math?
    age-46
    weight 204
    goal weight 165
    Height in inches 66" 5'6"
    I consider myself sedentary as I have a desk job. Work out with trainer one hour 2x week and TRY 2 30 min cardio sessions alone

    I think my BMR is 1636 So now what do I do with that info? I'm eating as per MFP and lose it 1350-1535( resepctivly) calories a day

    Any help appreciated. i apologize for being so dense
  • HideNGeek
    HideNGeek Posts: 136 Member
    OK Can someone confirm my math?
    age-46
    weight 204
    goal weight 165
    Height in inches 66" 5'6"
    I consider myself sedentary as I have a desk job. Work out with trainer one hour 2x week and TRY 2 30 min cardio sessions alone

    I think my BMR is 1636 So now what do I do with that info? I'm eating as per MFP and lose it 1350-1535( resepctivly) calories a day

    Any help appreciated. i apologize for being so dense

    Different people say different things, you should eat at least 1636 calories a day, with a sedentary lifestyle your TDEE is 1963, so having a net intake of between 1636 and 1963 will enable you to lose weight, at what pace, I can't say. I eat between my BMR and my TDEE, and i'm losing quite steadily, but i'm sure it varies person to person.

    Edit: Eating anything less than 1963 will let you lose weight, but eating less than 1636 could compromise your metabolism and energy levels.
  • siriusalien
    siriusalien Posts: 207
    Thanks for the input. I just went over to the Jillian Michaels site and confirmned my BMR at 1626. If I do her further calculations with my activity level 1.1(desk job) and according to my HRM I burn 360-400 in an hour of training I get the "magic number" of calories 1389

    May I ask how you got my TDEE?
  • HideNGeek
    HideNGeek Posts: 136 Member
    I multiplied your BMR by 1.2, as I did with my own, I believe the way to calculate TDEE is BMR * one of these:

    -Sedentary................BMR x 1.2
    -Lightly active...........BMR x 1.375
    -Moderately active.....BMR x 1.55
    -Very active.............BMR x 1.725
    -Extremely active......BMR x 1.9
  • siriusalien
    siriusalien Posts: 207
    Thank you for all the help. Again, I apologize for being dense. It is so remarkable to me that I have received such varied calorie intake suggestions from on line diet fitness applications.
    So, with MFP, the daily calories "alloted" to me are 1400.. Is this not correct? Do I ignore this number and purposefully eat 1626 calories a day weather I work out or not? AND having worked out and created a greater deficit, do I eat BACK to 1626?
  • alasin1derland
    alasin1derland Posts: 575 Member
    right or wrong, i eat what my fitness pal tells me and then eat all my exercise calories, my fitness pal has given me the correct deficit before exercise because i am set to sedentary due to i have a desk job. if i don't exercise i eat what it says, i log my exercise and eat the extra calories the system allows me. that is averaging my loss to 2 lbs per week.
  • siriusalien
    siriusalien Posts: 207
    right or wrong, i eat what my fitness pal tells me and then eat all my exercise calories, my fitness pal has given me the correct deficit before exercise because i am set to sedentary due to i have a desk job. if i don't exercise i eat what it says, i log my exercise and eat the extra calories the system allows me. that is averaging my loss to 2 lbs per week.

    Thank you for the advice.
  • lkcuts
    lkcuts Posts: 224
    This calulation helped me alot! copied it down. because i am sometimes less active on certain days I can ajust accordingly by these equasions.Thanks!

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