Still lost on how many calories!

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vsecret921
vsecret921 Posts: 100 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So MFP says I Ned to at 1200 then I check mym BMR and it says it's 1501 and my TDEE is 1801. Since I'm not supposed to eat below my BMR should I eat more than 1501 or do what MFP says and eat 1200?

Please help....

5'3
155
Female
26
«13

Replies

  • Welsh_Rarebit
    Welsh_Rarebit Posts: 14 Member
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    Is your MFP at 1200 what you need to LOSE weight at the rate you fed into the calculation, and the 1501 for BMR what you need to maintain your current weight?
  • vsecret921
    vsecret921 Posts: 100 Member
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    Welsh what I have been reading is the BMR is what your body needs just to stay alive. So you need to eat above it so your body doesn't go into starvation mode. But I'm confused on why MFP is 200 calories less. And right now I have a sedentary job so I'm not getting much movement at all....
  • IronSmasher
    IronSmasher Posts: 3,908 Member
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    Come on now, what have you set your weekly loss to?
  • melissachipman123
    melissachipman123 Posts: 64
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    You have to eat below it in order to loose weight or otherwise you would just stay the same. So if your 1500 bmi and you ate 1200 you would be banking 300 calories a day or 2100 a week. Without exercise you would loose a little over 1/2 a pound a week.
  • IronSmasher
    IronSmasher Posts: 3,908 Member
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    You have to eat below it in order to loose weight or otherwise you would just stay the same. So if your 1500 bmi and you ate 1200 you would be banking 300 calories a day or 2100 a week. Without exercise you would loose a little over 1/2 a pound a week.

    Amazing
  • vsecret921
    vsecret921 Posts: 100 Member
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    What I'm confused about is the fact that I have read so many places not to eat below your BMR
  • ChantalGG
    ChantalGG Posts: 2,404 Member
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    Do you exercise? If so eat 1500 and dont eat it back unless you are training for a marathon or something.
  • holleysings
    holleysings Posts: 664 Member
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    MFP does not care about your BMR it only cares about how much weight you want to lose per week. So if you want to lose a certain amount, it's going to set you lower regardless of your BMR. You can manually set your goals if you want to eat at BMR. That's what I do!
  • douglasmobbs
    douglasmobbs Posts: 563 Member
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    BMR is just an estimated number do not get too hung up on it.
  • dare2love81
    dare2love81 Posts: 928 Member
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    Never eat below your BMR!!! MFP calculates way too low. It told me I should be eating 1400 a day to lose two pounds a week, yet my BMR is between 1700-1800. So no, don't eat below your BMR - ESPECIALLY if you're exercising.
  • vsecret921
    vsecret921 Posts: 100 Member
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    Okay I didn't realize it does not take into account your BMR. So I can manually set it for a different number.

    Thanks everyone!

    Is there a way to estimate how many lbs I will lose a week if it set it to a different number?
  • JoniBologna
    JoniBologna Posts: 653 Member
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    Wow. There is a lot of very very bad information in this thread. Do not eat below your BMR. You were right to think that. BMR is what your body needs to function if you were laying in bed all day. You should definitely eat below your TDEE. Set your goals to lose 1lb a week. Right now, you have overridden the system MFP uses because you did not use the recommended weekly weight loss goal.
  • douglasmobbs
    douglasmobbs Posts: 563 Member
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    Wow. There is a lot of very very bad information in this thread. Do not eat below your BMR. You were right to think that. BMR is what your body needs to function if you were laying in bed all day. You should definitely eat below your TDEE. Set your goals to lost 1/lb a week. Right now, you have overridden the system MFP uses because you did not use the recommended goal.

    Thanks for adding to the bad information
  • 1jacqua
    1jacqua Posts: 5
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    Thanks for the info. I had been wondering how would I know how many calories I would need to maintain once I reach my goal.
  • JoniBologna
    JoniBologna Posts: 653 Member
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    Wow. There is a lot of very very bad information in this thread. Do not eat below your BMR. You were right to think that. BMR is what your body needs to function if you were laying in bed all day. You should definitely eat below your TDEE. Set your goals to lost 1/lb a week. Right now, you have overridden the system MFP uses because you did not use the recommended goal.

    Thanks for adding to the bad information

    Sorry, I must've missed the part where you were enlightening us all.
  • ChantalGG
    ChantalGG Posts: 2,404 Member
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    I did the 1200 CAL and eating back it didnt work for me. I switched it to 150 and ate 1400 to 1800 each day and started losing weight. 1200 calories didnt work for my body.
  • ScottRy76
    ScottRy76 Posts: 31 Member
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    Never eat below your BMR!!! MFP calculates way too low. It told me I should be eating 1400 a day to lose two pounds a week, yet my BMR is between 1700-1800. So no, don't eat below your BMR - ESPECIALLY if you're exercising.

    tbh you shouldn't be trying to lose 2 pounds a week not healthy at all
  • vsecret921
    vsecret921 Posts: 100 Member
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    Thanks for all the advice but I think I'm more confused due to all the conflicting information :(
  • Bobby_Clerici
    Bobby_Clerici Posts: 1,828 Member
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    That's quite a load of muck.
    Keep it simple.
    Just eat lean meats, low fat dairy, nuts, whole grains, fresh fruits and veggies. And follow MFP recommendations for 1 lb per week as a goal. It's easy.
    And track your training both cardio and resistance and eat back those exercise calories to maintain a steady deficit every day.
    Simple.:bigsmile:

    Good Luck!
  • vsecret921
    vsecret921 Posts: 100 Member
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    I'm not trying to lose 2 lbs a week

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