What? daily metabolic rate

DaniKenmir

When I started on here it said to maintain my weight I'd have to eat 1750 calories, but I'm trying to lose weight so it told me to eat 1200, which is fine but all the other daily metabolic rate calculators are telling me that to maintain my weight I need to have 1450 a day, so to lose weight I'd have to have under 1000, that's not right surely?

sarah44254

Would you mind sharing with us your

age
height
weight
how active you are

Then we can get a good idea of what your maintenance range might be.

DaniKenmir

I'm 22
65 kilos (around 143 pounds)
I'm 1.63 metres (5 foot 3)
and I'm seditary

yustick

The calculation of 1,750 includes an activity factor. It is 1.2 for sedentary and higher if you are set up as more active. Your BMR is before this factor. There are a variety of methods to determine your daily metabolic rate, but they should show similar results.

DaniKenmir

Oh ok awesome, I had a mild freak out thinking, but I love food, I can't just eat 900...

sarah44254

I'm only an inch taller than you, but a little heavier. I maintain my weight at about 2100.

I don't lose, though, unless I cut down to about 1400 and can keep it there consistently.

It is a common mistake to assume you are sedentary when you might not actually be. If you have a job where you sit all day, then you sit at home and do no cleaning or chores or cooking, then you might be sedentary.

Most people have jobs that require a little walking, maybe to the printer, or to the water cooler to chat, or other more active jobs like waitressing... and if you go home and garden or clean or play around with children or small siblings, that can move your activity up to lightly active or more (giving you more calories to eat)

My best suggestion is to eat at 1750 for about 3 to 4 weeks, and see what your weight does and how you feel. If you do not gain, you can assume that is the correct maintenance level for you.

If you see your weight creep up steadily week after week, this may be too high and the 1400 number might be correct.

It is very difficult to judge person to person, so it takes a little trial and error.

sarah44254

Oh! I read the other comment... did you confuse maintenance level with BMR? phew! Glad you get to eat more. :bigsmile:

In case you don't know, BMR is basal metabolic rate - how much your body uses to run normal functions, breathing, digesting, basic cell repair, etc... imagine a body in a coma, that body needs to eat at least the BMR to keep stable, we just get to eat tastier food than IV solutions

the TDEE, or maintenance level, is your BMR times the activity bonus (like yustick mentioned)