Confused on how many calories I should eat

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YoshiZelda
YoshiZelda Posts: 340 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Helloo everyone, so I've been on here for 3 1/2 months, have lost 34 pounds eating 1,480 calories a day ( What MFP gave me ) Now, I know it's not recommended to set it to 2lbs lost a week, but that is what I'm going for seeing I am still pretty high in weight (265.2lbs) ( Also 19 years of age )

I recently seen a topic on the forums that say you should never eat below your BMR, I looked up a BMR calculator and according to it I should be eating 2014 calories a day?

People say not to eat below this, and I'm confused on what I should do. I don't really know much about TDEE or BMR, which I should really do my research on. But I really do feel the cals MFP gives me are low, and often feel weak - and even more weak with exercise.

So what I'm asking is, should I keep eating what MFP is telling me to? Or should I eat my BMR?

Any information is appreciated.

Replies

  • CuteAndCurvy83
    CuteAndCurvy83 Posts: 570 Member
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    From what I know eating at your BMR will keep you in a maintenance zone, the calories given to you by MFP should be what you need to drop to in order to lose weight.
  • angleu
    angleu Posts: 140 Member
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    From what I know eating at your BMR will keep you in a maintenance zone, the calories given to you by MFP should be what you need to drop to in order to lose weight.

    That is FALSE, eating at your TDEE will keep you at your maintenance zone..
  • Skych123
    Skych123 Posts: 96
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    I'm not a pro at this but i think your BMR is just what you use throughout the day so if you're looking to lose then you need to eat less calories than you body uses so it will burn the fat. If you're losing and feeling OK doing whatever you're doing now then just stick with it!

    congrats on the loss BTW!
  • funkyspunky872
    funkyspunky872 Posts: 866 Member
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    First thing's first: you feel weak and even more weak with exercise -- that's a good sign that MFP is way off for you. I would start bumping up your intake slowly as an increase to BMR or 20% below TDEE might be a huge change. :)

    Try http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/.

    ETA: Yes, the goal is to be between BMR and TDEE for weight loss.
  • Big_Daddy6
    Big_Daddy6 Posts: 188
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    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24Iw1thBlLA
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypygfB3wKVs


    Watch these...........she's a bad *kitten*!!!!

    she explains it very well.
  • YoYo1951
    YoYo1951 Posts: 370
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    bump, to come back to
  • angleu
    angleu Posts: 140 Member
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    Ugh such bad info being thown at you no offense above posters.. (the first 2)

    BMR Basal Metabolic Rate; the number of calories you'd burn if you stayed in bed all day. you can google it..

    TDEE, total daily energy expenditure. What you would eat to maintain your weight.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
  • Grinb
    Grinb Posts: 123 Member
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    Good job on the weight loss! and I think MFP set my calories too high lol I am extremely overweight but 2770 seems way to high to be, the most I've done is 1590 in the few days I've been using this tool. When I was in hosp they had me on a 1500 calorie diet while doing rehab so thats my goal in my head lol
  • amnsetie
    amnsetie Posts: 666 Member
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    BMR is defined differently on other sites.
    Your base metobolic rate set by MFP is a totally sedentary figure
    as soon as you move you use more than your BMR.
    so eat more than your MFP BMR

    it seems the site you went to gave you a TDEE instead.
    Which would include all exercise and random movement.

    Eat below your MFP TDEE to lose weight, as you have been
    and above your MFP BMR which you can see in your tools.
  • BeantownSooner
    BeantownSooner Posts: 254
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    Here's the question I'd ask. How is your progress today? You've lost about 10 lbs a month on average. Is that still progressing at the same rate? If so, I'd say, if it ain't broke don't fix it. You see even if you have it set at 1 lb per week today you're still losing 2 so you're probably right there anyway. If you have it set at 2lbs maybe back it down to 1.5 lbs a week to get a little bit more calories. Just keep in the back of your mind that if you do stall out that you will probably want to add 200 calories to you diet for 3-4 weeks to see if that gets you moving again. If you're not eating back your calories make sure that you do so. Also, up your protein and fiber intake at little bit as well as it'll keep you fuller longer and help with the hunger.

    The other thing I would probably do is go back through your goals once again. You're lost a good amount of weight so the calorie goals you had when you started are probably different than what you'll get today. Might not be much but every 100 counts.

    Great job so far, keep it up!!!
  • funkyspunky872
    funkyspunky872 Posts: 866 Member
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    Good job on the weight loss! and I think MFP set my calories too high lol I am extremely overweight but 2770 seems way to high to be, the most I've done is 1590 in the few days I've been using this tool. When I was in hosp they had me on a 1500 calorie diet while doing rehab so thats my goal in my head lol

    In your case, 1500 is way too low, buddy. You're a male and 'extremely overweight' -- you get to eat more. :)

    And by 'get', I mean, you NEED to eat more.
  • ImagineThin
    ImagineThin Posts: 4
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    Honestly, I am confused too... I put my activity level to sedentary and set it to lose two pounds a week. I weigh 285, less or more depending on the day. It says I should eat 1570 calories a day. My BMR is 2101 and my TDEE is 2521 which puts what MFP told me wayyy under too... However, even when I eat a lot in one day, I never go above 2521... Eating around 2000 seems to keep me at the same weight... I feel great when I eat 1500 calories and I actually lose weight that way... I also read that the average person burns 1200 calories if they stayed in bed all day... So... I don't know what to believe.

    Honestly, if you feel weak, eat more. Once you find a good balance, stick to it...
  • angleu
    angleu Posts: 140 Member
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    Good job on the weight loss! and I think MFP set my calories too high lol I am extremely overweight but 2770 seems way to high to be, the most I've done is 1590 in the few days I've been using this tool. When I was in hosp they had me on a 1500 calorie diet while doing rehab so thats my goal in my head lol

    In your case, 1500 is way too low, buddy. You're a male and 'extremely overweight' -- you get to eat more. :)

    And by 'get', I mean, you NEED to eat more.

    She isn't a he =)
  • funkyspunky872
    funkyspunky872 Posts: 866 Member
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    Good job on the weight loss! and I think MFP set my calories too high lol I am extremely overweight but 2770 seems way to high to be, the most I've done is 1590 in the few days I've been using this tool. When I was in hosp they had me on a 1500 calorie diet while doing rehab so thats my goal in my head lol

    In your case, 1500 is way too low, buddy. You're a male and 'extremely overweight' -- you get to eat more. :)

    And by 'get', I mean, you NEED to eat more.

    She isn't a he =)

    What are you talking about? I was quoting and replying to Grinb.
  • kaervaak
    kaervaak Posts: 274 Member
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    2 lbs per week is fine for you since you have a lot to lose. Once you get closer to your goal you'll probably need to scale that back a bit to keep from plateauing. Also, eating under your BMR is also alright at your weight. It really depends on how much fat you have stored up, the more you have, the faster you can lose it.
  • YoshiZelda
    YoshiZelda Posts: 340 Member
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    First thing's first: you feel weak and even more weak with exercise -- that's a good sign that MFP is way off for you. I would start bumping up your intake slowly as an increase to BMR or 20% below TDEE might be a huge change. :)

    Try http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/.

    ETA: Yes, the goal is to be between BMR and TDEE for weight loss.

    So according to this I eat 1,809 ( The site that is ). I'm still pretty confused.
  • geekyjock76
    geekyjock76 Posts: 2,720 Member
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    YoshiZelda, first question: how long have you consistently been eating at a deficit to lose weight?

    Large deficits (greater than 25% below TDEE) are not intended to be maintained for long periods of time. For people of average weight, someone can do a 50% deficit for about 4 days; up to a month for someone such as yourself. The greater the deficit, the shorter the diet duration ought to be. Even VLCDs supervised by doctors will be brief and followed by an intake near maintenance before doing another weight cut.

    I would certainly up your calories gradually so that you are no longer weak throughout the day. Keep going until you notice you aren't losing as much then make some adjustments.
  • YoshiZelda
    YoshiZelda Posts: 340 Member
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    YoshiZelda, first question: how long have you consistently been eating at a deficit to lose weight?

    Large deficits (greater than 25% below TDEE) are not intended to be maintained for long periods of time. For people of average weight, someone can do a 50% deficit for about 4 days; up to a month for someone such as yourself. The greater the deficit, the shorter the diet duration ought to be. Even VLCDs supervised by doctors will be brief and followed by an intake near maintenance before doing another weight cut.

    I would certainly up your calories gradually so that you are no longer weak throughout the day. Keep going until you notice you aren't losing as much then make some adjustments.

    Geeky, I have been eating at that defect for 3 1/2 months now. I have now upped my calories to 1,817 hoping that this will help make me feel not as week. I am also hoping that the weight continues to come off, and maybe now I'll be able to exercise more without feeling like I'm going to pass out lol. Anyway, thanks for the information!
  • YoshiZelda
    YoshiZelda Posts: 340 Member
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    2 lbs per week is fine for you since you have a lot to lose. Once you get closer to your goal you'll probably need to scale that back a bit to keep from plateauing. Also, eating under your BMR is also alright at your weight. It really depends on how much fat you have stored up, the more you have, the faster you can lose it.

    Even with the low cals it was still hard to lose weight, I believe my body is trying to tell me something. So hopefully now that I have up'ed in calories I'll feel better and be able to work out more, and hopefully, keep losing weight at the rate I am now.
  • kaervaak
    kaervaak Posts: 274 Member
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    Even with the low cals it was still hard to lose weight, I believe my body is trying to tell me something. So hopefully now that I have up'ed in calories I'll feel better and be able to work out more, and hopefully, keep losing weight at the rate I am now.

    You lost 34 lbs in 15 weeks according to your first post. That's just over 2 lbs per week, so I'd say that things are going fine for you. However, if you feel that eating more would give you more energy, more satisfaction and better results, then by all means go for it.

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