I Had My BMR Tested - It's 1032 Calories

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Replies

  • 3foldchord
    3foldchord Posts: 2,918 Member
    You do not eat at your BMR to lose weight. you eat your TDEE MINUS 20%. If your BMR is 1032 you still need to eat more more than to lose weight.
    like the person below said!
    Hmm it actually makes perfect sense. of course your BMR is going to be 1032. BMR represents your body's energy consumption if you were just to lie down and do nothing (or in this case, the above BMR you got from the test represents what what you were doing during that test) basically the energy your body with its organs etc needs to live. TDEE is the energy your body needs when you do regular activities everyday (and that differs from person to person) . To lose weight, from my understanding is to cut the intake from your TDEE NOT your BMR. Say, if your TDEE is an average of 2100, then losing weight would mean about 1800 or so depending on how much you want to lose in a specified period. I hope this clears up the confusion.
  • love4fitnesslove4food_wechange
    love4fitnesslove4food_wechange Posts: 6,897 Member
    I'm frustrated by all the people saying BMR isn't TDEE. Duh, it's not, but it's the base for those calculations. Based on a 1.3 modifier for her as sedentary, maintenance would be 1342. Since her low BMR probably also lowers her calories burned during exercise (I don't know that for sure, but would assume it to be true, she would probably need to work out over an hour a day to eat 1200 cals a day and lose 1 lb a week. Or if her tdee is 1651 (gave her a 1.6 modifier) she would need to eat 1151 to lose 1 lb per week (and this is in agreement with her maintaining at ~1700.

    My point: 1200 isn't categorically too low.

    It is categorically low--losing 1 pound a week would be simply unfeasible for someone with a TDEE of 1651. In any case--I wouldn't use an activity multiplier in her case aside from SEDENTARY and then add on ACTUAL calories burned from exercise.

    1032 x 1.2 = 1238 and add walking for errands and/or exercise, workouts, etc. It can easily add up to more. From the total I would subtract 15% for a modest deficit.
  • Faye_Anderson
    Faye_Anderson Posts: 1,495 Member
    The thing that worries me about posts like this is the responses like "wow, thanks for this post", you do realise that some people reading this are at their wits end wondering why 1200 isn't helping them to lose weight and after seeing this could drop their calories lower?
    Like you said this is what works for you, but probably not for the majority. I can't understand why you would feel the need to broadcast this to generally impressionable people? It's not like you need to justify what works for you, just get on and do it.

    Because there ARE those people out there with similar situations like mine. Sharing my experience is meant to help them, not hurt them. If you feel as if you need to drop your calories to 1000 calories a day after reading this it's NOT because of this thread, it's because you have a borderline eating disorder.

    And you think there aren't people like that here?

    Yes, of course. But that does not justify a good enough reason to NOT share my experience.

    I'm sorry, but I must of missed the forum rule that said,

    "Unless your post applies to everyone, don't post it. "

    Did you miss the MFP warnings that tell people to eat at 1200 minimum?
  • niki87lewis
    niki87lewis Posts: 147 Member
    The thing that worries me about posts like this is the responses like "wow, thanks for this post", you do realise that some people reading this are at their wits end wondering why 1200 isn't helping them to lose weight and after seeing this could drop their calories lower?
    Like you said this is what works for you, but probably not for the majority. I can't understand why you would feel the need to broadcast this to generally impressionable people? It's not like you need to justify what works for you, just get on and do it.

    Because there ARE those people out there with similar situations like mine. Sharing my experience is meant to help them, not hurt them. If you feel as if you need to drop your calories to 1000 calories a day after reading this it's NOT because of this thread, it's because you have a borderline eating disorder.

    And you think there aren't people like that here?

    Yes, of course. But that does not justify a good enough reason to NOT share my experience.

    I'm sorry, but I must of missed the forum rule that said,

    "Unless your post applies to everyone, don't post it. "

    Obviously all posts now should come with a disclaimer. Christ! :tongue:
  • Generalle
    Generalle Posts: 201 Member
    The thing that worries me about posts like this is the responses like "wow, thanks for this post", you do realise that some people reading this are at their wits end wondering why 1200 isn't helping them to lose weight and after seeing this could drop their calories lower?
    Like you said this is what works for you, but probably not for the majority. I can't understand why you would feel the need to broadcast this to generally impressionable people? It's not like you need to justify what works for you, just get on and do it.

    Because there ARE those people out there with similar situations like mine. Sharing my experience is meant to help them, not hurt them. If you feel as if you need to drop your calories to 1000 calories a day after reading this it's NOT because of this thread, it's because you have a borderline eating disorder.

    And you think there aren't people like that here?


    Of course there are, but the op isn't to blame for encouraging them to eat next to nothing, she was just posting about her personal circumstances.
    I wore my hrm to bed one night, slept for around 7hrs and was surprised to find I'd 'burnt' 600+ calories, this would make my bmr around 1800.
    Everyone is different!!!!
  • CATindeeHAT
    CATindeeHAT Posts: 332 Member


    Obviously all posts now should come with a disclaimer. Christ! :tongue:

    Tried that.
    This is just my experience, I do not claim to be an expert and I'm not suggesting anybody change their diet - So PLEASE try and resist ripping this thread apart to shreds.

    Obviously it didn't work.
  • love4fitnesslove4food_wechange
    love4fitnesslove4food_wechange Posts: 6,897 Member
    I got torn to shreds today for posting tips--I feel for you OP. But again I think too many people don't know what to do with this information and that's where the danger lies.
  • CATindeeHAT
    CATindeeHAT Posts: 332 Member


    Did you miss the MFP warnings that tell people to eat at 1200 minimum?

    NOWHERE IN MY POST DID I EVER SUGGEST ANYONE EAT BELOW 1200 CALORIES!!!

    Did you even read it??? I HIGHLY doubt it.

    I have also said in MULTIPLE replies that I was going to try and eat 1200 to 1450 calories a day.

    Please read. I have NO idea where you are getting your information.
  • healthynotthin
    healthynotthin Posts: 223 Member
    OP - I'm really encouraged to hear this. I've been given so much grief for not eating 1700+ per day by my peers, and they don't understand what I believe about BMR and TDEE. Thank you for this insightful post, and I hope these people don't give you too much grief! :flowerforyou:
  • cherbapp
    cherbapp Posts: 322
    Thanks for sharing your experience! It does help those of us who struggle to lose even with religious tracking and weighing to realize that just because a calculator says we should burn X amount of calories, we may not be.

    I have been tracking for a year now and I know for a fact that I burn less calories to survive than others with my stats. I know my BMR is about 300 calories less than the calculators say it is. I found this from keeping a spreadsheet of calories in vs calories out, with every device I could find...HRM...food scale...etc...and if I added 300 calories per day to my food...my weight loss equaled my deficit perfectly over that time. So this makes total sense to me.

    And if anyone thinks you are wrong for posting because someone may be convinced to drop their calories too much...ignore it. The disclaimer is on every page about this is not medical advice...blah blah blah.

    :)
  • CATindeeHAT
    CATindeeHAT Posts: 332 Member


    I have been tracking for a year now and I know for a fact that I burn less calories to survive than others with my stats. I know my BMR is about 300 calories less than the calculators say it is. I found this from keeping a spreadsheet of calories in vs calories out, with every device I could find...HRM...food scale...etc...and if I added 300 calories per day to my food...my weight loss equaled my deficit perfectly over that time. So this makes total sense to me.

    This is a FANTASTIC idea. Thank you!
  • OSUalum
    OSUalum Posts: 449 Member
    Great post!
    I had mine tested over a year ago. It was very informative. If I listened to MFP I would be starving. Everyone is different. I hope your post encourages people to get correct medical advice and not use a standard chart for their caloric intake.
  • CATindeeHAT
    CATindeeHAT Posts: 332 Member
    I hope your post encourages people to get correct medical advice and not use a standard chart for their caloric intake.

    Amen. :)
  • runbyme
    runbyme Posts: 522 Member
    Very interesting and thank you for sharing. My only question would be is did they take into consideration getting you up every 4 hours to walk on the treadmill? If they had let you alone and let you sleep, I would think it would be easier to calculate your BRM. With waking you up and making you walk, you would think that would throw your count off a little!

    Thanks again for posting!

    That's why they tested me right when I woke up and again right before I went to sleep again, after walking on the treadmill. They did this several times to get an average in an attempt to rule out any extremes.
    Thank you and good luck on your fitness journey!:flowerforyou:
  • CATindeeHAT
    CATindeeHAT Posts: 332 Member
    Very interesting and thank you for sharing. My only question would be is did they take into consideration getting you up every 4 hours to walk on the treadmill? If they had let you alone and let you sleep, I would think it would be easier to calculate your BRM. With waking you up and making you walk, you would think that would throw your count off a little!

    Thanks again for posting!

    That's why they tested me right when I woke up and again right before I went to sleep again, after walking on the treadmill. They did this several times to get an average in an attempt to rule out any extremes.
    Thank you and good luck on your fitness journey!:flowerforyou:

    Thanks lady!!!!

    You as well! :flowerforyou:
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    losing 1 pound a week would be simply unfeasible for someone with a TDEE of 1651

    err, why ? 1651 - 500 = 1151 if you subscribe to 3500 cals per pound.
  • KBrenOH
    KBrenOH Posts: 704 Member
    This is interesting =) thanks for sharing!
  • mulderpf
    mulderpf Posts: 209 Member
    The thing that worries me about posts like this is the responses like "wow, thanks for this post", you do realise that some people reading this are at their wits end wondering why 1200 isn't helping them to lose weight and after seeing this could drop their calories lower?
    Like you said this is what works for you, but probably not for the majority. I can't understand why you would feel the need to broadcast this to generally impressionable people? It's not like you need to justify what works for you, just get on and do it.
    ETA: I think the majority of the MFP population would know what works and what doesn't, but maybe not everyone, didn't mean to offend!

    That's exactly what I was thinking when I was reading this post. People seem to be overjoyed at the fact that suddenly there's a reason for their 1200 calorie diets not working and dropping their calories even more!!

    There's also all kinds of things that can affect BMR as it is in effect a measurement of your metabolism. If you were dieting or on a severely restrictive diet before this, it could have slowed this right down - also if you are on some medication, it tends to really affect it. If you were there for other tests, it's likely that you were on medication which could yield some "interesting" results.
  • Keltinator
    Keltinator Posts: 265
    This was a really interesting post! I'm surprised that there wasn't a huge debate about it... not that there should have been. I'm fairly short (5'3") and if I were to eat 2000 calories like the government says I can, my weight would skyrocket!
  • deniseblossoms
    deniseblossoms Posts: 373 Member
    Thanks for sharing.

    I would imagine havin such a number will help you dial into your needs and make your efforts more effective.
  • CATindeeHAT
    CATindeeHAT Posts: 332 Member

    There's also all kinds of things that can affect BMR as it is in effect a measurement of your metabolism. If you were dieting or on a severely restrictive diet before this, it could have slowed this right down - also if you are on some medication, it tends to really affect it. If you were there for other tests, it's likely that you were on medication which could yield some "interesting" results.

    Thank you for demonstrating that you did NOT actually read the original post.
  • kelly_e_montana
    kelly_e_montana Posts: 1,999 Member
    I guess all i would say is why don't people just play around with their calories and figure out if they're losing weight. I lost 60 pounds in the past before people even used the internet and/or talked about BMR. We just did it the old fashioned way: SWAG (scientific wild-*kitten* guess).
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
    NO YOU'LL STARVE TO DEATH IMMEDIATELY ON 1200 CALORIES!! LIFT STEAMSHOVELS AND EAT 4000 CALORIES A DAY IT'S THE ONLY WAY TO SURVIVE

    Just kidding. Finding out your BMR is so low must really suck. But at the same time it's kind of nice to have a scientifically calculated number, for most of us it's a guess at best. Thanks for sharing that info with us.

    I think the reason there hasn't been much debate is the fact that you have Science on your side, which most of us fear
  • CATindeeHAT
    CATindeeHAT Posts: 332 Member
    Thanks for sharing.

    I would imagine havin such a number will help you dial into your needs and make your efforts more effective.

    Exactly! I feel as if I have a better grasp on things now. Like I just got introduced to my own body :smile:
  • CATindeeHAT
    CATindeeHAT Posts: 332 Member
    I guess all i would say is why don't people just play around with their calories and figure out if they're losing weight. I lost 60 pounds in the past before people even used the internet and/or talked about BMR. We just did it the old fashioned way: SWAG (scientific wild-*kitten* guess).

    LMAO :laugh:

    I love this.
  • reasnableblonde
    reasnableblonde Posts: 212 Member
    I had mine tested (I breathed into a mask for 20-30 minutes) and it was remarkably close to your number, a little higher. I was advised to try to net about 1350 calories a day if I wanted to lose weight. Now that I'm lifting and exercising more, I try to net 1600, but I'm not losing any pounds... just gaining muscle.
  • alsunrise
    alsunrise Posts: 386 Member
    bump for later
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
    I had mine tested (I breathed into a mask for 20-30 minutes) and it was remarkably close to your number, a little higher. I was advised to try to net about 1350 calories a day if I wanted to lose weight. Now that I'm lifting and exercising more, I try to net 1600, but I'm not losing any pounds... just gaining muscle.

    Can I ask where you got this done and what prompted it? I guess some sports medicine clinics will do it but I haven't found one
  • CATindeeHAT
    CATindeeHAT Posts: 332 Member
    NO YOU'LL STARVE TO DEATH IMMEDIATELY ON 1200 CALORIES!! LIFT STEAMSHOVELS AND EAT 4000 CALORIES A DAY IT'S THE ONLY WAY TO SURVIVE

    Just kidding. Finding out your BMR is so low must really suck. But at the same time it's kind of nice to have a scientifically calculated number, for most of us it's a guess at best. Thanks for sharing that info with us.

    I think the reason there hasn't been much debate is the fact that you have Science on your side, which most of us fear

    Lol if I ate 4000 calories a day I would have a perma food-baby.
  • buzzcogs
    buzzcogs Posts: 296 Member
    Cool, I think that's what a lot of people need to here. 1200 a day for us ladies is a good goal to shoot for. You can lose weight on it and not starve yourself.
    Good luck, now I want to get mine tested. I'm way older than you so I bet my BMR is something like "12"! ;-0

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