I'm so confused reading all these BMR TDEE posts!!

msgunder

I am 5'3 and currently weigh 219 lbs. MFP has me set at 1610 calories a day and if I work out it goes up. I have not been able to eat all of those calories yet. Am I supposed to be??? I'm just so confused

cmriverside

Try it. For a month. If it doesn't work, change it . This is all an experiment.

Do lots of research.


These forums will confuse the heck out of you. Take 'em with a grain of salt.

gpstrucker

You're going to get a lot of different answers from different people. A lot of people "do their own thing" and others follow the MFP numbers. I follow the MFP numbers and so far it has been working for me.

The important thing is to make sure your profile information is filled out as accurately as possible, including the lifestyle part (sedentary, active, etc).

If you are going to follow the MFP program then yes, you should try to eat the calories you have available to maintain a steady calorie deficit. It is hard some days and even though I try to stick as close as I can there are some days I don't eat them all either. Some days I go over. The main thing is to be as close as possible at the end of the week.

But, like I said, you're going to get different answers here so don't expect this thread to alleviate your confusion.

islandnutshel

I am the same height and weight and MFP set me at 1200, so I would double check your settings. Have you overestimated your activity level? I would suggest setting it at seditary and adding in your exercise. Are you set at maintaining or losing. -1 to -2 pounds a week? I think your settings might be off.

I start at the 1200 mark and exercise to eat more. I usually add about 300-500 extra with exercise and eat most of it back. I am losing at the rate of 2pounds / week.

ck the settings and let me know, K?

mcarter99

In my opinion, if you really aren't hungry and are not eating at a huge deficit, you're ok listening to your body. Try to make them healthy calories.

Awkward30

BMR is the amount of calories you would burn in a coma. Most people advise not eating below this number. While that hasn't been scientifically proven to be a magic number, it has been shown that a more moderate calorie deficit is better for diet adherence and body composition (the amount of muscle kept is greater with a smaller deficit).

TDEE is the amount of calories you burn in a day including exercise. If you eat this many calories you should maintain your current weight. If you eat 500 calories less than this each day, you should lose a pound a week (approximately).

You can calculate these numbers online via any number of sites. I like fat2fitradio.com although if you do that one, you need to put in your current weight as your goal weight in order to see accurate TDEE calculations.

The way that MFP calculates things is slightly different. You put in your activity level without exercise. Then, as you exercise, you are given those calories back and ARE supposed to eat them. Many people prefer to eat only a portion of them as there are many inaccuracies in calorie reporting.

If you are honestly full off whatever amount of calories, I say that as long as you are eating healthy foods it is fine. You could incorporate higher calorie healthy foods like nuts and nut butters, avocados, and fats in general (dietary fat doesn't make you fat, excess calories do) if you are worried about it.

konerusp

check out this site
http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

BMR- is the basic energy required to sustain your bodys functions.
TDEE- is including all your workouts,your cooking,cleaning,walking to the car etc.

Eating your BMR calories is a good start.Do you workout?how old are you?you can put in your information in that site and it will give you your numbers.
What MFP gives is the net calories ie including your workout.So if it gave you 1610 eat 1610.dont eat excercise calories here since it is already taking your excercise calories into account in this number.good luck.

Awkward30

I am the same height and weight and MFP set me at 1200, so I would double check your settings. Have you overestimated your activity level? I would suggest setting it at seditary and adding in your exercise. Are you set at maintaining or losing. -1 to -2 pounds a week? I think your settings might be off.

I start at the 1200 mark and exercise to eat more. I usually add about 300-500 extra with exercise and eat most of it back. I am losing at the rate of 2pounds / week.

ck the settings and let me know, K?

1200 is the lowest goal that MFP will give you. It is what happens when you pick an aggressive weight loss goal. The OP probably picked the recommended 1 lb per week loss rate.

DorisInTheDena

I personally think the exercise calories added are too many. That's my opinion.

salemnye

Okay what I've been reading (and doing) Is eating BETWEEN my BMR and TDEE I'll use me as an example. I went here to calculate my TDEE http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html

My TDEE came out to be 2541. That is moderate exercise 3-5 times a week (I run close to 2 miles a day....or that's my goal for the week).

I would have to eat a consistent 2541 to NOT lose weight but maintain my current weight.

Now for BMR I go here: http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/ and use 2 tools. First the military body fat calculator (I am currently 38.7% body fat) then the bmr (1645 for me).

Okay that 1645 is what my body uses in a coma without expending any energy....

So what I personally do is eat in between my BMR and TDEE. I typically am under 2000 calories a day any ways and my short running burns about 400-500 calories a session. I don't eat the calories back but half a protein bar to help with the soreness that will come later. (I don't see why you should eat the calories back if you're trying to lose weight)

At the end of the BMR calculator it'll give you a rough estimate of calories you could be eating a day. Again here's my example:


Activity Level Daily Calories
Sedentary (little or no exercise, desk job) -- 1771
Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk -- 2030
Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk) -- 2288
Very Active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk) -- 2546
Extremely Active (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.) 2804

So my goal of eating between my TDEE and BMR all works out in the end. I've lost 1lbs doing it but I've only been at it for a week so yeah

msgunder

Ok. Below is a copy of my settings for this site. I work a desk job 5 days a week and sit 95% of the day. I'm 33 years old. I started last Tuesday weighing 224. The next day I weighed 220 (obviously lost water weight in that one day). This Tuesday I weighed 219. So I did lose one lb. I weigh myself daily to see where I'm at. As of this morning I'm still 219. I was unable to work out today and I still have about 500 of my caloris left out of 1610.


Current Weight: 219 lbs
Goal Weight: 175 lbs
Height: 5 feet 3 inches
Gender:
Female
Date of Birth: February 24 1979

How would you describe your normal daily activities?
Sedentary: Spend most of the day sitting (e.g. bank teller, desk job)

How many times a week do you plan on exercising? 4 workouts / week 30 min. / workout
What is your goal? Lose 1 pound per week - RECOMMENDED


Also, I hope to get at least 4 workout days in a week and have been doing about 5-6. I've mainly been doing the elliptical for 20-30 minutes each workout depending on how long my lunch is.

msgunder

bump

mcarter99

msgunder- What questions do you have left? You started last Tues. and you're 6 lbs. lighter and you have no trouble eating at or under the calorie goal MFP has set for you. Sounds ideal!