BMR

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SaintsGal
SaintsGal Posts: 62
in Health and Weight Loss
This may seem a silly question but I'm confused :/

My BMR is 1550 so I try to net 1550 calories a day. However, does that not mean I am not eating anything because my BMR uses these calories?

Please explain if I have got this wrong

x
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Replies

  • mcarter99
    mcarter99 Posts: 1,666 Member
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    Your body uses more than your BMR calories. If you're eating your BMR and your exercise, what you have left to contribute to your deficit is roughly your 'activity level' calories, so if sedentary, around .2 x BMR or 300 calories a day. But of course it's all just estimates.
  • SaintsGal
    SaintsGal Posts: 62
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    Ok so say my maintenance calorie goal was 2500. Does that mean I could eat 2500 with no exercise, then minus my 1500 BMR to leave 1000. Would that mean I had another 1500 calories to eat?

    Please explain if I am wrong
    x
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
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    Ok so say my maintenance calorie goal was 2500. Does that mean I could eat 2500 with no exercise, then minus my 1500 BMR to leave 1000. Would that mean I had another 1500 calories to eat?

    Please explain if I am wrong
    x
    NO. The 2500 already includes your BMR. You can't count it twice.

    I'm not sure where you got your numbers, but let's say your correct.
    You eat 2500 calories, burn 1500 BMR, burn another 1000 through activities, leaving you with zero. That's good - if you eat another 1500 then you'll have 1500 EXTRA calories that will be stored as fat.
  • SaintsGal
    SaintsGal Posts: 62
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    Quote:
    You eat 2500 calories, burn 1500 BMR, burn another 1000 through activities, leaving you with zero. That's good

    OK but then wouldn't your body be running on zero calories which is not good?

    Sorry once again I just don't understand as BMR is calories burnt by the body if you were to do nothing so these calories are burnt regardless

    x
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
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    No, it's not running on zero calories. It's running on 2500 calories! What do you think your body needs calories for, exactly?

    Your BMR is the calories needed to run your body. You need calories to run your organs and so forth (BMR) and you need calories to fuel your activities. There IS NO OTHER need for calories.
  • SaintsGal
    SaintsGal Posts: 62
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    AS I'VE SAID I'M SORRY IF PEOPLE ARE LOSING PATIENCE I AM JUST STRUGGLING TO GET MY HEAD AROUND THIS.

    So if ate around 2000 calories daily, and my BMR is 1500 would I be netting 500 or 2000 calories?

    x
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
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    AS I'VE SAID I'M SORRY IF PEOPLE ARE LOSING PATIENCE I AM JUST STRUGGLING TO GET MY HEAD AROUND THIS.
    And what prompted this shouting? I've been trying over and over to help you and suddenly you're offended?
    So if ate around 2000 calories daily, and my BMR is 1500 would I be netting 500 or 2000 calories?
    Total amount eaten minus exercise equals net. Don't subtract your BMR, it is NOT EXERCISE.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,104 Member
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    AS I'VE SAID I'M SORRY IF PEOPLE ARE LOSING PATIENCE I AM JUST STRUGGLING TO GET MY HEAD AROUND THIS.

    So if ate around 2000 calories daily, and my BMR is 1500 would I be netting 500 or 2000 calories?

    x

    Okay, but you ar hung up on that word "Net"......as I explained in your other thread about Maintenance calories: just eat till you get to zero at the bottom of your Food Diary. Stop looking at the "Net" ....if you don't understand BMR or Maintenance calories, please do some research. It's been explained, but maybe we don't use the right words for you to understand.
  • SaintsGal
    SaintsGal Posts: 62
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    So although you need to eat your BMR calories you don't actually burn them as such?
    x
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
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    So although you need to eat your BMR calories you don't actually burn them as such?
    x
    BMR is the number of calories your body burns to stay alive. Yes you actually burn them.
  • SaintsGal
    SaintsGal Posts: 62
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    Ok I think I may need to do more research because I am struggling to understand why if you ate 1500, and your BMR burn was 1500 why you cannot eat these calories back? Because if your BMR calories are burnt why are these not taken off your calorie intake for the day?

    Thank you for your help I am just not understanding this at all
    x
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
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    OK just answer this question: what do you think you need calories for? What does your body do with them?
  • SaintsGal
    SaintsGal Posts: 62
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    Our bodies needs some calories just to operate — to keep your heart beating and your lungs breathing. As a kid/teen, our bodies also needs calories to help us to grow and develop.

    The chemical side of it I'm not too sure about but that's a general thing we got told at school (that was a couple of years ago now though)
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
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    Our bodies needs some calories just to operate — to keep your heart beating and your lungs breathing. As a kid/teen, our bodies also needs calories to help us to grow and develop.
    Exactly! That is BMR.
  • SaintsGal
    SaintsGal Posts: 62
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    Ok so that is BMR so would our bodies burn this amount of calories even if we didn't eat anything?

    x
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
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    Ok so that is BMR so would our bodies burn this amount of calories even if we didn't eat anything?

    x
    Well yes, but if you don't eat food you'll lose weight and starve to death...
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,104 Member
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    Our bodies needs some calories just to operate — to keep your heart beating and your lungs breathing. As a kid/teen, our bodies also needs calories to help us to grow and develop.


    And that is the definition of BMR.

    Maintenace calories (also called Total Daily Energy Expenditure or TDEE) is your BMR plus whatever number of calories you use doing stuff other than breathing, growing hair, staying warm etc. Like for instance, you walk to the mailbox, you take a shower, you fix lunch, you go to school or work, you walk to the bathroom. All that extra movement and activity needs more calories. How many more depends on how much you do in the day. It can be anywhere from 250-1000 MORE than your BMR.

    Your weight-loss calorie recommendation is calculated by eating more than your BMR and LESS than your TDEE. Don't eat less than your BMR. Eat less than your Total Daily Energy Expenditure. Myfitnesspal figures all this for you. Don't make it complicated, just use the Food Diary as it is set up.
  • SaintsGal
    SaintsGal Posts: 62
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    Don't worry I'm not going to starve myself I was just asking haha

    But if our bodies were to burn that amount of calories even if we weren't eating that would mean we would be at, in my case -1550 calories for the day?

    This is where I get confused so thank you ElizabethRoad for trying to help

    x
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,104 Member
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    I give up. Good luck.
  • kekl
    kekl Posts: 382 Member
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    Okay, I will try. :)

    BMR = the calories your body burns lying in bed breathing, organs operating, etc. Let's say your BMR is 1500.

    TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) = the TOTAL calories your body burns doing everything it does in a day - sleeping, breathing, your organs working, walking, sitting, and exercising. Since we've said your BMR is 1500, this would be your BMR (1500) plus however many calories you burnt doing your daily activities, lets say this is 1000.

    So TDEE = BMR (1500) + Daily Activities (1000) = 2500 calories

    So 2500 - This is how many calories you need to maintain your weight. So if you eat less, you will lose weight, and if you eat more, you will gain weight.

    I hope that made sense! Feel free to message me if you have any more questions!

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