BMR/TDEE and Obesity

remisenforme

Hello!

I am new so please bear with me. I have read your stickies and am very intrigued by this idea! However, I have a question. I have read that when someone is obese (as I am) the numbers that are calculated for your BMR aren't truly accurate and in fact you do not need to eat as much as it says. For example, I am 5'2, 241 lbs, and it is telling me my BMR is around 1870.

If this is the case, and the BMR is inflated, how would someone who is obese go about figuring out a healthy number of calories to eat, while not eating too many and stalling his/her weight loss? Is there a certain percentage or number of calories that should be taken away due to excessive weight messing up the equation?

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

BluthLover

Have you read in place of a road map ? Bump for answer.

Raynn1

Your BMR is what you need in order to survive in a coma.. You need to eat more than that number regardless. YOu need to know your TDEE which is the amount of cals needed for basic everyday functions. Then you take 15% off of that number, and thats what you should be eating...

I am about the same weight as you, and I eat between 2400-2800 cals depending on if Im at cut or at TDEE. If you have read through the stickies, you will find more information on TDEE and how to calculate your number using the scooby site to help you. Make sure you read them thoroughly:)

I have never heard of an inflated BMR for obese people. Obese people actually burn more calories in general simply because you need more energy to move a larger body around. So it would be safe to assume that someone with a weight of 300 pounds has a higher BMR than someone at 200 pounds.

Hope this helps

remisenforme

Have you read in place of a road map ? Bump for answer.

I started reading it and got rather lost the first time around After seeing your comment I went back and found it again and read through it word for word! The more I read about this the more I understand it haha. The first time I didn't get down to the part about going to http://www.fat2fitradio.com/ and calculating it all out... as well as the part about being up to 30% under TDEE if you're obese. I'm going to try upping my calories to 1800 (based on the formula he laid out) and see how it goes! Thanks for the push in the right direction!

remisenforme

Your BMR is what you need in order to survive in a coma.. You need to eat more than that number regardless. YOu need to know your TDEE which is the amount of cals needed for basic everyday functions. Then you take 15% off of that number, and thats what you should be eating...

I am about the same weight as you, and I eat between 2400-2800 cals depending on if Im at cut or at TDEE. If you have read through the stickies, you will find more information on TDEE and how to calculate your number using the scooby site to help you. Make sure you read them thoroughly:)

I have never heard of an inflated BMR for obese people. Obese people actually burn more calories in general simply because you need more energy to move a larger body around. So it would be safe to assume that someone with a weight of 300 pounds has a higher BMR than someone at 200 pounds.

Hope this helps

Thanks for the reply! I read that the BMR is off for people who are obese because the formula is based upon being "average" weight or having average lean body mass in comparison to fat. Not sure if that is accurate or not but I have read it on a few different occasions. It's all new to me so who knows! Just trying to dig through all the material and make the most informed decision possible

ETA: I found this in one of the comments on the "in place of a road map" post that was mentioned above. It is the clearest explanation I have found so far regarding BMR and obesity if you're interested! http://www.cordianet.com/calculator.htm

According to this my BMR is 1362 vs. 1873 using the other method!

"The Katch-McArdle formula differs from the Harris-Benedict formula in that Katch-McArdle takes lean body mass into consideration. This calculation is therefore only possible if you know your percentage body fat. Generally speaking, this is a better measure of caloric need for the obese than Harris-Benedict because it represents your actual body composition and is not based of assumptions about what one "should" weigh.
The formula is as follows:
BMR = 370 + (9.79759519 X Lean Mass in pounds)"

Glitter969

Wow, this all can get so confusing. I have read (think it was on the Scooby site, but I may be wrong) the exact opposite, i.e. that Katch-McArdle is better for average weight people, but not obese people as it only considers the caloric need of your Lean Body Mass, but the rest of your body actually needs calories to maintain it too (just not as much).

Sorry for adding to the confusion!

remisenforme

Wow, this all can get so confusing. I have read (think it was on the Scooby site, but I may be wrong) the exact opposite, i.e. that Katch-McArdle is better for average weight people, but not obese people as it only considers the caloric need of your Lean Body Mass, but the rest of your body actually needs calories to maintain it too (just not as much).

Sorry for adding to the confusion!

Oh no! It certainly is confusing when there is such conflicting info out there! haha.

mphlab

I started losing weight at 235 and strarted EM2WL at about 210 - Obese at 5'5" so it does not matter if you are obese I have lost about 10-12 pounds on it. True, it is slower than starving but much more sustainable for the long haul/realistic. I use the scooy site for numbers. I am doing -15% of TDEE because doing less calories would take me below BMR at my age & activity level. It is all a bit of trial & error, everybody is a little different but try it out and see how it works for you! Best of luck!

HeidiHoMom

I started Em2WL at 198ish and have lost 8 lbs.

When I started losing weight in general I was 220 and was eating 1200 plus exercise cals, so typically around 1600 calories a day plus 500 breastfeeding calories.