So confused about bmr and what my calorie goal /should/ be

AsellusReborn

All right, over the past week I have been perusing the forums and trying to research this. I am done being fat but in no way wish to crash diet and plunge to end up yo-yoing; I want real weight loss by eating better and exercising more. Please forgive me about another thread on this as I realize to seasoned vets it's been discussed to death, but please understand that to someone new to this it's very confusing.

Going into this I thought it was as simple as exercise 30-60minutes a day and cut calories to 1500 (500 deficit based on a 2000cal diet).

I am 28, female, 5'3" and 190lbs (or rather I was 190 on 6/15 when I started this - I don't have another weigh in until 7/2 but I'm assuming that's still pretty close to accurate). Using a BMR calculator to factor my activity level in (general sedentary but adding in the exercise I've been doing daily) I came up with a bmr of 1646. Using this to determine my TDEE I got 2551 O_O (http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/harris-benedict-equation/ is the calculator I used).

This is putting my brain into knots. Exercising 30min a day on average, about 200cal as it's only been cardio - I haven't gotten to weights yet but I will - and cutting to 1500 calories (honestly most days I come under this but I'm not reaching for less food - most of my excess calories were milk/tea/pop, which I have cut entirely), MFP says net I am eating 1300ish. (I'm OCD about measuring what I eat - I even took out a tbs and measured the steak sauce at lunch today, haha - and my kitchen scale is my best friend - so I'm pretty sure that's an accurate representation of my caloric intake) Given a bmr of 1646 am I risking going into starvation mode? I don't feel hungry outside of meal times - like I said, I'm eating about what I was but just cut out calorie heavy drinks - and I feel good, but I want to do this the healthiest way.


Any input is very highly appreciated. I realize there are differing opinions and at the end of the day I have to do what feels right but I feel fitness-stupid :P

jlmoses91

I dont think you're putting yourself in starvation mode. And I have never used a BMR and dont really see the point, like you said its very confusing and time consuming. If I were you I would keep doing what you are already doing, even up your cardio a bit. Are you going outside, elliptical, or treadmill? They all make a big difference for how many calories you burn. But other than that just try to keep it simple, if your eating sugars, make sure they are healthier and not processed. Plenty of protein and stay at your goal! I am 5'9'' weigh 190 and only eat 1300 average a day. I do have alot of muscle but trust me your not starving yourself. Congrats on your journey to being healthier! You can do it!

AsellusReborn

I have been dancing with the Wii, which when I researched it for 30min was 190cal if I was 130lbs, so I've been calling it 200 to have a round number. I have a HRM coming today so I'll know shortly more accurately. I plan to start P90X shortly, just trying to figure out how to build an hour into my day.

mcarter99

Ignore the 'you can't eat under BMR' baloney. Use the floor MFP does-- 1200. As long as you're over 1200, you're fine. Good luck!

rose313

I personally don't eat under BMR because I do not lose that way and it is not good for my body, but that is a personal decision. If you are losing at 1300 net (not 1300 minus exercise cals, because that lowers your net) and you still feel good then you can continue that. However, you will still lose as long as you are eating well and under your TDEE. So you CAN go higher if you need to. Keep that in mind.

MinnieInMaine

I get really confused about the TDEE stuff too, especially since different calculators tell you different things. What I've been trying to do is aim for netting about my BMR (1500) - which means I end up eating a total of somewhere between 1800 and 2100 calories per day. If you have a hard time getting enough calories in, you can easily bump up your total by a couple hundred by having some nuts, seeds, PB or fruit.

For the person who said eating below your BMR is baloney, think again my friend. Your BMR is how many calories your body needs to function at is basest level, as if you were in a coma. 1200 is a general # that's been put out there for women but obviously won't work for everyone. My friend who's 5'10", fit and very active is obviously going to need more calories than my other friend who's 5'1", lean but not very active. When you eat at your BMR, you are using a more personalized #. Sure it's still not 100% accurate but it's definitely better than saying everyone should eat 1200 calories...

Captain_Tightpants

Your sedentary level TDEE is around 1975 calories per day... Meaning if you ate 1975 daily, without exercise, you should technically remain right around the same weight you are at now.

Anything lower and you will lose weight. If you are netting 1500 cals a day you should see a nice loss. Especially with that exercise.

Don't worry about "starvation mode" you're eating enough.

Captain_Tightpants

Re: eating below your BMR.

Whether you do or don't is entirely dependent on your own individual situation. It's all about energy. BMR is just a name for the number of calories (amount of energy) that your body uses to perform its basic functions - heart beating, lungs pumping, cells rebuilding etc. What will happen if you eat below it? Well, your body will just draw upon its other reserves of energy - glycogen in the muscles, and fat reserves to fuel itself. If those reserves get really taxed then it will also start to break down its own proteins (muscle) for energy which is why you don't want to starve yourself. But as for eating below or above BMR - it really doesn't matter, it's not gonna kill you either way. "Don't net below BMR" is just a useful guide phrase thrown out there to prevent people from eating so little that they waste away. It's not an unbreakable biological rule.

AsellusReborn

Looking back through my food diary it looks like I've been netting 1150-1200 after adjusting for exercise. I guess I'll make an effort to have a bigger lunch especially since that's right after I work out.

ladyraven68

All right, over the past week I have been perusing the forums and trying to research this. I am done being fat but in no way wish to crash diet and plunge to end up yo-yoing; I want real weight loss by eating better and exercising more. Please forgive me about another thread on this as I realize to seasoned vets it's been discussed to death, but please understand that to someone new to this it's very confusing.

Going into this I thought it was as simple as exercise 30-60minutes a day and cut calories to 1500 (500 deficit based on a 2000cal diet).

I am 28, female, 5'3" and 190lbs (or rather I was 190 on 6/15 when I started this - I don't have another weigh in until 7/2 but I'm assuming that's still pretty close to accurate). Using a BMR calculator to factor my activity level in (general sedentary but adding in the exercise I've been doing daily) I came up with a bmr of 1646. Using this to determine my TDEE I got 2551 O_O (http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/harris-benedict-equation/ is the calculator I used).

This is putting my brain into knots. Exercising 30min a day on average, about 200cal as it's only been cardio - I haven't gotten to weights yet but I will - and cutting to 1500 calories (honestly most days I come under this but I'm not reaching for less food - most of my excess calories were milk/tea/pop, which I have cut entirely), MFP says net I am eating 1300ish. (I'm OCD about measuring what I eat - I even took out a tbs and measured the steak sauce at lunch today, haha - and my kitchen scale is my best friend - so I'm pretty sure that's an accurate representation of my caloric intake) Given a bmr of 1646 am I risking going into starvation mode? I don't feel hungry outside of meal times - like I said, I'm eating about what I was but just cut out calorie heavy drinks - and I feel good, but I want to do this the healthiest way.


Any input is very highly appreciated. I realize there are differing opinions and at the end of the day I have to do what feels right but I feel fitness-stupid :P

if your TDEE is 2551, you have 2 choices

1 - go with the MFP pkan, and eat th e1500 + exrcise calories

or 2 go with the TDEE minus a deficit, and no need to worry about your exercise calories

You've already said you don't want to crash diet, so personally I wouldn't take the defict too high, as it will need to be adjusted as you lose weight, and if you start too low you'll have nowhere to go.

Maybe start at 1750, and assess where you are after a month.

Good luck

mcn79

I'm having the same problem. I'm eating every 2-3 hours and I'm focusing on fruits, veggies and lean proteins. I'm eating towards the top of my calories per MFP - usually right around 1700-1900 after my exercise. Because I'm at a high weight to begin with, my BMR is 2084 and my recommended calories are 2585. I don't think I can eat clean and eat 2585, but should that be what I'm shooting for? I'll make my diary public if anyone wants to take a look and make suggestions.

CoderGal

I'm having the same problem. I'm eating every 2-3 hours and I'm focusing on fruits, veggies and lean proteins. I'm eating towards the top of my calories per MFP - usually right around 1700-1900 after my exercise. Because I'm at a high weight to begin with, my BMR is 2084 and my recommended calories are 2585. I don't think I can eat clean and eat 2585, but should that be what I'm shooting for? I'll make my diary public if anyone wants to take a look and make suggestions.

How tall are you? Larger people will be debated more so then others since your BMR is about what most daily nutritional information is based on (2000 cals/day for most women). That being said, I know many people who took a cut of their TDEE who started off very over weight and are now doing fantastic. Also, if you're eating about 2000 it's fairly easy to get your recommended daily nutritional intake (all your vitamins and stuff). I also know people who went on low cal diets (VLCD) that ended up crashing even though they were supervised by a doctor. Every single last person I know personally who has been on a VLCD absolutely hated it and felt sick all through it....They were doing it for health which didn't make a whole lot of sense to me.

My recommendation? Do what feels right, not what gets your results quicker. If you're starving, eat. Especially if you're eating good foods with a broad nutritional profile. Just for comparison I'm 5'7 and 120 lbs and usually eat over 2000 calories a day. I exercise fairly regularly (but not always hard core, sometimes it's just walking). Plus I think the VLCDs are evil for most people.

mcarter99

Re: eating below your BMR.

Whether you do or don't is entirely dependent on your own individual situation. It's all about energy. BMR is just a name for the number of calories (amount of energy) that your body uses to perform its basic functions - heart beating, lungs pumping, cells rebuilding etc. What will happen if you eat below it? Well, your body will just draw upon its other reserves of energy - glycogen in the muscles, and fat reserves to fuel itself. If those reserves get really taxed then it will also start to break down its own proteins (muscle) for energy which is why you don't want to starve yourself. But as for eating below or above BMR - it really doesn't matter, it's not gonna kill you either way. "Don't net below BMR" is just a useful guide phrase thrown out there to prevent people from eating so little that they waste away. It's not an unbreakable biological rule.

But your body has to break into its reserves for weight loss, period. If you're at a deficit above BMR or below it, it's the same thing. (I'm not arguing that bad things don't happen if you go too far below it. Just that 1200 isn't considered too far below it.)

2BeHealthy4Life

MFP pal Anewlucia started the group EAT MORE TO WEIGH LESS ....I copied and pasted this information below from one of her threads that may helpful.

You can get your bmr and tdee number from here :http://www.scoobyworkshop.com/calculators

What is BMR? Your basal metabolic rate, or BMR, is the minimum calorific requirement needed to sustain life in a resting individual. It can be looked at as being the amount of energy (measured in calories) expended by the body to remain in bed all day!

What is TDEE? TDEE is the common abbreviation for Total Daily Energy Expenditure which is a metric to calculate the amount of calories your body needs to function in a day. This is quite similar to BMR; in fact, you need your BMR to calculate your TDEE; but your TDEE accounts for your average daily activity as well to give a figure truer to your specific situation. Basically, the TDEE calculation relies on categorizing your daily activity into one of the metrics' predetermined groupings:

Sedentary - desk job and little to no exercise Lightly Active -light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk Moderately Active - moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk (****SIDE NOTE - even if you have a desk job most people fit right here when you workout 3-5 days a week) Very Active - hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk Extremely Active - hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or training Once you have determined where you fit in on the TDEE activity rate scale, this activity rate is used to weight your BMR giving you a more accurate assessment of how many calories you really need throughout the course of the day.

Here is a link to a site that you plug in your information and it will provide your BMR and TDEE along with your Cut value (again, if you workout 3-5 times a week select "Moderate" and the "Select Your Goal" option you will select is "Lose Fat - 15% caloric reduction.

So now, you should have your BMR, TDEE, and Cut Value (TDEE - 15%)

Here is a video that talks about this in great detail that hopefully will clear up any questions you may have: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYi9xjIRvbY&feature=g-all-u

If TDEE is figured out correctly, then exercise cals don't *have* to be eaten back because, technically, TDEE figures them in. The underlying factor here, is that most people underestimate their activity levels, (for fear of being told to eat "too much") and then proceed to under eat. If a person is burning 1000 cals/day in exercise, then that should be figured into their TDEE, meaning their TDEE should be AT LEAST 1000 cals more than their BMR. If this is not the case then they are undercutting themselves on the cals. So a person w/a BMR of 1300, that puts up 1000 cal burns should have come up w/a TDEE calculation of 2400 or more. So any situation where a person is not getting those calculations, they should be eating back some of those exercise cals.

So if you come up w/BMR=1300, TDEE=1800, you need to either A)eat back some cals, or recalculate your TDEE to include the *actual* burns that you're getting.

So to cut using *true* TDEE figures, you'd just eat a flat TDEE (-15%), as long as TDEE is correct. It should be fine. But if you are using MFP's calculations, or are not getting a TDEE that includes the amount you burn each day *plus* BMR, you need to eat back some exercise cals.

mcn79

I'm having the same problem. I'm eating every 2-3 hours and I'm focusing on fruits, veggies and lean proteins. I'm eating towards the top of my calories per MFP - usually right around 1700-1900 after my exercise. Because I'm at a high weight to begin with, my BMR is 2084 and my recommended calories are 2585. I don't think I can eat clean and eat 2585, but should that be what I'm shooting for? I'll make my diary public if anyone wants to take a look and make suggestions.

How tall are you? Larger people will be debated more so then others since your BMR is about what most daily nutritional information is based on (2000 cals/day for most women). That being said, I know many people who took a cut of their TDEE who started off very over weight and are now doing fantastic. Also, if you're eating about 2000 it's fairly easy to get your recommended daily nutritional intake (all your vitamins and stuff). I also know people who went on low cal diets (VLCD) that ended up crashing even though they were supervised by a doctor. Every single last person I know personally who has been on a VLCD absolutely hated it and felt sick all through it....They were doing it for health which didn't make a whole lot of sense to me.

My recommendation? Do what feels right, not what gets your results quicker. If you're starving, eat. Especially if you're eating good foods with a broad nutritional profile. Just for comparison I'm 5'7 and 120 lbs and usually eat over 2000 calories a day. I exercise fairly regularly (but not always hard core, sometimes it's just walking). Plus I think the VLCDs are evil for most people.

I'm 5'6" and my goal weight is 200... which is still above "healthy guidelines" but pretty perfect for me. I don't feel like I'm starving and I'm not interested in "eating just to eat," that being said, on days I'm really hungry I don't hesitate to eat all of my calories. I guess maybe I'll shoot for closer to 2000 calories on the days I exercise (which is most) and see if I have better results. I'm 10 days in and haven't seen any results.

I appreciate the feedback!