Can someone PLEASE DUMB it down for me!

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  • Barbellerella
    Barbellerella Posts: 1,838 Member
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    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
  • BrettPGH
    BrettPGH Posts: 4,720 Member
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    Eat at a reasonable calorie deficit.

    Exercise.


    That's as simple as it gets and everything you need to know.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    Personally, I would just focus on eating 1500-1800 calories a day and ignore the rest. That's enough food to supply nutritional needs and create a deficit. You are not going into "starvation mode" and, if you are doing resistance work, it is unlikely you will lose any significant lean mass (other than what naturally occurs when your body becomes smaller).

    Once you get down to 160-170 you might need to manage the balance more closely, but for now it's not necessary.
  • LFDBabs
    LFDBabs Posts: 297 Member
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    Bump...same boat. All the numbers & figuring make my thinky thing hurt :)
  • stephvaile
    stephvaile Posts: 298
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    Care to share your stats? (age, weight etc) that you used for the calculations? Something, literally, doesn't add up.

    5' 7" , 203.8 lbs. I'm a stay at home mom (not a sit on the couch mom) I clean a 5 bedroom 2/story house daily, mow lawn, have 4 children, chase a 2 year old and infant all day... along with that I exercise 5-6 days a week extra, doing P90X and 30 day Shred, etc.

    Oh, and I'm 33 lol

    Sounds like a very active life to me. if you spend more time during the day moving then you do sitting maybe you should up your lifestyle level.


    Well, I just upped it from lightly active to active. Even so, Its telling me to 1410 cals a day. Still 200 below my BMR. So, even if I ate 1400 calories a day, then exercise and burn 300 cals a day, and ate the calories back, I would still only be at 1700 calories a day.... almost like exercising and eating back the calories would be the ONLY thing that even got me back up to my BMR level. Sigh :( I just don't understand something.
    well is this not the amount you would av eaten doing it your way 2600 minus 1,000 = 1.600 voila you can up your activity if u like and see if it works its not hurting any :wink: you can always lower it again
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
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    Weight loss - as you all know - is a numbers game. MFP is a TOOL to help you lose weight. What it says isn't set in stone - it is simply a starting point.

    If you're burning between 2000-3000 calories a day, I would push your daily intake up around 1800 or so and see how you feel. There's no reason to starve yourself.

    At the end of the day, you'll have to play around with the numbers (but remember.. give yourself a month or so at each calorie goal to really see how your body is reacting to it!) until you find what works best for you.

    I'm one of those people who can easily lose weight while eating around 2100-2200 NET calories a day. I can easily maintain anywhere from 2300-3000 net calories depending on how active I am that day. I weigh in the 145-150lb range and have been there for almost 2 years. It's all about finding what works for YOU.
  • DanaDark
    DanaDark Posts: 2,187 Member
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    I don't know how or where the "don't eat below your BMR" came from. It has been practiced throughout the decades in weight loss with success. The issue is loss of muscle mass which is mostly associated with types of workouts and protein intake.

    The 2lbs a week thing is individualized, such as the TDEE is.

    Eating below BMR is technically anorexia. Please do not support eating disorders in these forums.

    My advice is very sound. I gladly explain it to each person that asks and explain what my goals are for them on an individual basis. Weight loss can occur in a healthy and controlled way. People do not need to starve themselves (yes, eating below BMR is also technically starving) in order to achieve their weight loss goals.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
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    I am eating at 100 calories under my BMR and losing weight. Once I have been exercising a little longer, then I will eat more, but I don't have the stamina yet for that. Eating at 100 under my BMR is slightly higher number of calories than a 30% cut from TDEE.

    Edit: To clarify, I am not starving. I feel better than I have in years!
  • jesss5885
    jesss5885 Posts: 187 Member
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    Care to share your stats? (age, weight etc) that you used for the calculations? Something, literally, doesn't add up.

    5' 7" , 203.8 lbs. I'm a stay at home mom (not a sit on the couch mom) I clean a 5 bedroom 2/story house daily, mow lawn, have 4 children, chase a 2 year old and infant all day... along with that I exercise 5-6 days a week extra, doing P90X and 30 day Shred, etc.

    Oh, and I'm 33 lol


    jeez you're a hero! (seriously)
    if i'm ever a stay at home mom, i hope i have the energy to get all that done on a daily basis!! :)
  • Lleldiranne
    Lleldiranne Posts: 5,516 Member
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    First off, MFP has never said you shouldn't eat below your BMR.

    Secondly, where did you get these numbers? The highest weight loss rate MFP offers is 2 pounds per week, or TDEE minus 1000.

    I got my BMR from the tools section, and I got my TDEE from a calculator online.
    I know its pretty accurate because I have a FitBit and know I burn on average 2600-3000 calories in a 24 hour period.
    I know 1000 cal deficit should yield 2 lbs weight loss, my confusion comes from the Cals MFP is telling me to eat vs. my BMR and TDEE numbers.

    MFP has you at 1400-ish calories BEFORE EXERCISE, am I right? So when you eat back your exercise calories, it definitely puts you at closer to the 1600, which is losing 2 pounds a week. Or, depending on your exercise, it could give you even more calories.
  • FidalgoGirl
    FidalgoGirl Posts: 39 Member
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    There is a lot of advice coming at you. I would suggest having a talk with your doctor, physician's assistant, nutritionist, or personal trainer who can set you straight and you can feel confident about the track you are on. There are so many variables. We are all so different. Never hurts to ask and be safe! Good luck!
  • daylily2005
    daylily2005 Posts: 203 Member
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    It's really not that hard. TDEE takes into account your exercise and gives you a number burned per day (we all know exercising doesn't just affect your body the day you do it). MFP doesn't count exercise unless you TELL IT that you exercised.

    General rule if you're using TDEE: eat at 15%-20% BELOW TDEE daily, and make sure that number is still ABOVE your BMR.

    Also--I IGNORE the calories added on MFP for exercise days. I'm set at 1800/day now, but on workout days (such as today), MFP wants me to eat 2500 cals. That's too many.

    F/25yrs, 167 pounds, BMR 1570, TDEE 2570 ( 3-5 moderate workouts/week)

    1800 cals/day puts me BELOW TDEE and ABOVE BMR. That's the basic principle. Not that difficult! :)

    Edit: Yes, everyone is different. Yes, all these numbers are estimates. But if you're using all estimates, this is the way you do it. Sure you can go pay some money and get supposedly more accurate results, but this method works just as well. The numbers may be a little off, but the Math and the principle will always stay the same.
  • medicinemantoo
    medicinemantoo Posts: 160
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    Dumb it down? Okay...

    Eat right (some call it clean, meaning fresh veggies and fruit, with meat/fish/dairy included a few times a week)
    Exercise (i.e., move) every day
    Sleep (whatever you need)
    Look yourself straight in the eye(s) in a mirror everyday - your questions and answers will be right there.
  • dublythe
    dublythe Posts: 12 Member
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    Interesting discussion. I just checked my BMR and it is higher than my daily goal here on MFP, but not by much. There's another thread relating this this that I'm reading now.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/558894-eating-below-your-bmr-why-is-it-bad
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
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    I don't know how or where the "don't eat below your BMR" came from. It has been practiced throughout the decades in weight loss with success. The issue is loss of muscle mass which is mostly associated with types of workouts and protein intake.

    The 2lbs a week thing is individualized, such as the TDEE is.

    Eating below BMR is technically anorexia. Please do not support eating disorders in these forums.

    My advice is very sound. I gladly explain it to each person that asks and explain what my goals are for them on an individual basis. Weight loss can occur in a healthy and controlled way. People do not need to starve themselves (yes, eating below BMR is also technically starving) in order to achieve their weight loss goals.

    At my heaviest i weighed about 400lbs. Which give me a very high BMR, I ate 2,500 calories a day, so i was anorexic? come on. I eat below my BMR all the time, and I am not starving at all, i persevered my lean body mass, and i am losing bodyfat. Here's the thing, All those calculations you mentioned BMR, TDEE are all estimates. You don't know their BMR or TDEE, what if they have less than average muscle mass, lower levels of T3(thyroid hormone that control metabolic rate)??? you don't know. You can't just spit out numbers at people and think it's all good.

    Exactly! If you are close to goal weight, that may be different, but when you are morbidly obese, and you have been sedentary for a long time, then eating below BMR is called a balanced diet.
  • reddi2roll
    reddi2roll Posts: 356 Member
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    bump
  • mommamills
    mommamills Posts: 437
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    so how can you "manually" change your goals? My BMR is more than my daily goal set by the site as well but I know I DANG SURE can't handle seeing that I'd be gaining weight if I ate like this everyday when I close out my diary every night! :noway:
  • gypsybree
    gypsybree Posts: 218
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    What am I not understanding here?! Sigh :huh:

    Your BMR is how many calories your body needs to stay the same weight it is now.
    You should never eat below 1200 calories.
    :smile:

    So you can eat up to your BMR and not gain weight. That is why that number is important during your transformation, in case you slip up, want to eat like the world is ending tomorrow, etc etc.
    Your BMR will change if you gain or lose weight.

    Eating below 1200 calories is unhealthy and is the number that most people need to survive and be healthy. There's times where you can go below 1200 and be fine but on a day to day basis it can be very risky without direction of a doctor.

    Apparently you have a small frame and its putting you at 1240 because its your calorie goal. That's normal for small people. Do some additional research on the 1200 calorie intake recommendation. My weight goal has me high enough above 1200 that I haven't done research as its not a concern for me.
  • Mrsbrandnewmeslimandtrim
    Mrsbrandnewmeslimandtrim Posts: 267 Member
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    bump
  • ExplorinLauren
    ExplorinLauren Posts: 991 Member
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    I'm trying to make sure I get enough calories for my body to be healthy, taking in the exercise I do, and the food I eat. I'm not here for a quick fix... I'm in it for the long haul. AND I'm doing it the HEALTHY way.
    That's the reason I'm asking these questions. I wan't to make sure I'm eating the appropriate amount of calories on a daily basis and not withholding anything my body needs.
    That is what worries me between what MFP says I should eat vs what my calorie deficits should be between and resting and active state.
    I don't want to be eating 1200 calories a day if my body needs 1600. AND I don't want to look at my diary every day and it say I'm eating to much and going over every day because I eat 1600 when MFP says I should eat 1200. I want to know the science that links the 2 things together so I can figure out what I need for me.

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