Quick Question - Please Clarify, thx.

scorp7003

I calculated my TDEE and BMR, and understand that I should not eat below my BMR. All good there, no problem. The issue is ... my TDEE is only ~400 calories above my BMR. So, if I don't eat below my BMR the best I can hope for is to cut 2800 calories per week, equating to less than 1 lb lost per week. Is that right?

I have A LOT of weight to lose, and while I don't expect to be able to lose 2 lbs per week, I definitely feel that I should be losing at least 1-1.5 which is what I was able to accomplish on Weight Watchers.

I do understand that I can increase my TDEE by exercising more (I calculated based on sedentary, which I'm confident is accurate for my current situation since I work an office job) and only eat back a portion of those calories ... but, in the meantime, before I incorporate exercise, is the best I can hope for really only 3 lbs per month?

Thanks in advance for helping me to better understand this!

LuluProteinFueled

I work in an office job as well, but because I workout, my activity level is set to moderate.

Do you exercise at all? If so, then you'd definitely come under the "light activity" level and your cals should be higher.

Would you mind sharing your numbers so we can help a bit more?

scorp7003

No, I'm not working out at all yet. I will be in the near future, but not yet. I have some injuries that make it difficult, and I am waiting until I drop a bit more weight to lessen the chance of making them worse. I am not disputing the value of exercise, this question is specific to my CURRENT situation which is based on sedentary activity level.

Not sure what other numbers you want me to share, other than what I already have. I already determined my BMR and TDEE at two different websites/calculators, so I am confident that the 400 calorie gap is accurate and I would think would be sufficient for this question to be answered. Thanks.