mfp or bmr calories??

kathendo1984
kathendo1984 Posts: 111
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi guys, according to mfp i should be eating 1200 calories but when i worked it out on the bmr website it said eat 20% less than your maintenance weight to loose a good amount each week which would mean eating 1420 calories a day, which do you think would be best :)

Replies

  • jealous_loser
    jealous_loser Posts: 395
    How fast are you telling MFP to go?

    I personally eat 1800 calories a day. Not losing fast, but not hungry either. I would try your BMR first because that is going to be a little easier I think.
  • kittyr77
    kittyr77 Posts: 419 Member
    Why don't you go for half way between those numbers? Then you can always review it later if you aren't happy with the results. Good luck! X
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,419 Member
    With the relatively small amount of weight you have to lose, I wouldn't eat below BMR. Generally, people with lots of weight to lose can get away with that.

    Use the site as it is set up. Don't over-think this. Re-evaluate in a month. In the meantime, educate yourself. There are lots of conflicting ways to figure your calories. This site does a good job if you use it honestly and don't try to be too aggressive when setting your weight-loss Goal here. Keep this in mind when using the tools to set up your goals:

    If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal, and
    If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal.
  • jules080670
    jules080670 Posts: 55 Member
    I have just decided to up mine. If you follow the in place of a road map topic, 20% below my TDEE was 1570 but MFP had me on 1270 so I went for the middle ish and upped mine to 1450. I have changed because I've not really lost any weight for a few weeks now! Gonna give it a try anyway!
  • Leahh999
    Leahh999 Posts: 42 Member
    I eat 1800 calories a day too. I don't eat back my workout calories. MFP told me I should be eating 1200, but I wasn't losing and I wasn't happy. I'm willing to lose slower and much happier at 1800/day.
  • Mellie289
    Mellie289 Posts: 1,191 Member
    Hi guys, according to mfp i should be eating 1200 calories but when i worked it out on the bmr website it said eat 20% less than your maintenance weight to loose a good amount each week which would mean eating 1420 calories a day, which do you think would be best :)
    Is 1420 your BMR? That's approximately what mine is. You want to eat 20% below your TDEE not your BMR.
  • kathendo1984
    kathendo1984 Posts: 111
    thanks guys, think im going to try my bmr one. I did put it on mfp to loose 1 1/2lb a week but think this is unrealistic so i changed it to 1lb and thats uped my calories intake to 1420 daily. going to give this a go for a month and see what happens. when i did this back last year i stuck to 1200 but struggled some days and ive only got 27lbs to loose altogether. many thanks :)
  • kathendo1984
    kathendo1984 Posts: 111
    i have no idea how to work out my tdee lol
  • Mellie289
    Mellie289 Posts: 1,191 Member
    i have no idea how to work out my tdee lol
    There are some calculators here you can use to figure that out, and other things like your % body fat.

    http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html
    http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/
  • jules080670
    jules080670 Posts: 55 Member
    There is a topic on here somewhere called in place of a roadmap 2.0. He talks through it all and directs you to calculators. he's called helloitsdan.
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
    I do 1200 a day plus exercise calories. It works for me. Why not try both options and see which works best for you? You should lose either way.
  • kathendo1984
    kathendo1984 Posts: 111
    tdee said 1992, i cant eat that much lol.
  • suzieqcookie
    suzieqcookie Posts: 314 Member
    I eat 1800 calories a day too. I don't eat back my workout calories. MFP told me I should be eating 1200, but I wasn't losing and I wasn't happy. I'm willing to lose slower and much happier at 1800/day.

    same here! i just upped mine... my weight loss kept stalling out and i noticed i lost the most in the 5 days after my cheat day. Someone guided me to fat2fit.com. It uses the same factors as here, but gave me totally different numbers! It shows you a complete guideline and explains the why and hows of it as well. I also know WW had me about 300 cals a day higher than here and buddy slim and 2 other sites had my cals set higher. In the days since raising them my weight is creeping down but i'm NOT STARVING ALL THE TIME like i was on 1500.

    and i think the algorithm here is off!!! if i do nothing but eat my daily calorie allotment and no exercise, it had me losing 17 lbs in 5 weeks instead of the 10 lbs in 5 weeks that i have it set to.
  • cassiegal724
    cassiegal724 Posts: 63 Member
    If you consume too few calories then your body will react poorly and turn calories into fat to store for later use because it goes into crisis mode (unless you are consuming so few that your body basically consumes itself, ie annorexia). Your BMR is the amount of calories you need to live (ie breathe, pump blood, etc). To lose, you should eat about that many calories so that your body has enough to sustain basic functions. If you don't eat back your exercise calories, you should lose. Good Luck!
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,419 Member
    i have no idea how to work out my tdee lol

    Here's that thread referred to above.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12


    Myfitnesspal will figure your TDEE if you set it to "Maintain my weight" in the Goals, too. I prefer to Keep It Simple. Myfitnesspal's tools worked perfectly for me, when I lost 55 lbs in 2007.
  • kathendo1984
    kathendo1984 Posts: 111
    thanks for all your comments guys. think im going to do the higher amount of 1420 calories per day and see where that gets me, this seems more realistic than 1200 :) xxx
  • Mellie289
    Mellie289 Posts: 1,191 Member
    tdee said 1992, i cant eat that much lol.

    Can you eat around 1590? That would be about 20% below your TDEE and it's not that much higher than 1420 calories.
  • kathendo1984
    kathendo1984 Posts: 111
    think il stick to the 1420 first and see how i go then if im struggling il up it to 1590 :) xxx
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    MFP's 1200 calories, plus exercise calories at an estimated 250-300 for a half hour daily exercise, would put you right around the same numbers. It's just different ways of reaching the same ballpark figure.

    I lost my weight eating mostly between 1350-1500 plus exercise calories, or about 1800-2000 a day total.

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