Below BMR?

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ilike2moveit
ilike2moveit Posts: 776 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
On another site, it says that if I eat below 1500 then I am eating below my BMR. MFP has me eating 1200 for 2 lbs. per week and 1300 for 1 lb. per week. I'm not sure how many colories to eat. I have been eating between 1200-1400 and haven't lost much weight. I'm wondering if I should up my calories to 1500 as per the suggestion of this other site. Any suggestions?
My stats:
age: 41
CW: 169
GW: 124
height: 5' 6"
BMI: 27.3
Activity level: Sedentary
BMR: 1448

Replies

  • nashbear
    nashbear Posts: 131 Member
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    You should be eating below your BMR. The BMR is the amount of calories that your body needs for day to day activity. If you eat at or above your BMR you will not lose weight. You may even gain weight. The other option is to eat at your BMR and exercise daily to burn calories. That will help you lose weight. The optimal is to eat below your BMR AND exercise to lose weight faster.
  • ilike2moveit
    ilike2moveit Posts: 776 Member
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    Thank you!
  • healthynotthin
    healthynotthin Posts: 223 Member
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    Erm... the above poster is very much incorrect. Eat at your BMR but make sure your BMR is accurate (i.e. go to the doctor's instead of using a calculator) and exercise if you will, but know that your energy level will go WAY down. Instead, I would find out your TDEE (what you ACTUALLY expend in energy per day) and get somewhere between that and your BMR. If you think that may be high, you can always assume the calculators are generous and go down 100-200 calories. But don't eat below BMR, unless you really are doing nothing all day.
  • Greenrun99
    Greenrun99 Posts: 2,065 Member
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    I agree that person saying eat below your BMR is wrong, its eat below your TDEE to lose weight.

    Your activity level is sedentary? you sit around all day, don't really go for walks, no exercise/strength training? Try eating 1500 - 1600 for a month to see if there is any progress.. limiting high sodium meals and trying to eat protein with every meal.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    I agree that person saying eat below your BMR is wrong, its eat below your TDEE to lose weight.
    True, however eating below BMR guarantees you're below TDEE anyway.
  • msgabismit
    msgabismit Posts: 195
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    You should be eating below your BMR. The BMR is the amount of calories that your body needs for day to day activity. If you eat at or above your BMR you will not lose weight. You may even gain weight. The other option is to eat at your BMR and exercise daily to burn calories. That will help you lose weight. The optimal is to eat below your BMR AND exercise to lose weight faster.

    I believe it's incorrect..I've been eating 200 above my BMR and I'm losing weight..I've been eating in between my BMR and my TDEE and it's working out so far.
  • ilike2moveit
    ilike2moveit Posts: 776 Member
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    MFP has me eating below my BMR. The other website warns me against eating under my BMR. They conflict!
  • Mrsbrandnewmeslimandtrim
    Mrsbrandnewmeslimandtrim Posts: 267 Member
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    interesting bump
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,389 MFP Moderator
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    MFP has me eating below my BMR. The other website warns me against eating under my BMR. They conflict!

    Mfp is what you call a dumb system. Its only as smart as the person who is inputting it. If your bmr is 1500 and you want to lose a lb and you are sedentary, mfp does the below.


    =1500 *1.2 - 500 = 1300


    Now my question is are you truly sedentary? Do you exercise?
  • kmmealey
    kmmealey Posts: 76 Member
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    go to a website like http://scoobysworkshop.com and click on "fitness tools" on the right side of the page. It wil help explain the whole eating at BMR concept, why it's important, how to calculate, etc. I struggle to eat that many calories some days but know that it is important to do so especially if you've eaten at a low calorie diet for a while already.
  • GabyG69
    GabyG69 Posts: 213
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    I think u should eat somewhere in between your BMR and TDEE. Not only is it healthier, but it will be easier to keep up in the long run. At least, it has helped me. Best of luck to you! :)
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,389 MFP Moderator
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    One last thing, intuitively your metabolism has the ability to adapt. If you consistently eat below your bmr then it will adapt to burn less calories or acquire energy from an alternate source such as the amino acids in your muscle. This is why people suggest cutting 20% from your tdee, eat higher protein (~ .8g per lb of weight) and doing resistance training. RT will prevent loss of lean body mass and maintain your metabolism. The one issue is figuring out your true bmr which can only be done through testing.
  • chrisc16
    chrisc16 Posts: 94
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    From http://www.fitnessfrog.com

    Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) quantifies the number of calories you burn in a day. This measure is best estimated by scaling your Basal Metabolic Rate to your level of activity. TDEE is critical in tailoring your nutrition plan to desired fitness goals.

    Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) quantifies the number of calories your body burns in its idle state.

    In short, the TDEE is reduced (usually 0.8*TDEE or thereabouts) to give the calories needed to lose weight, not the BMR.
  • ilike2moveit
    ilike2moveit Posts: 776 Member
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    I have an idea, forgot about BMR and eat as many calories you need to do to lose weight.

    I think you are misunderstanding. I'm TRYING to figure out how many calories I need to eat to lose weight!
  • Crying_In_Color
    Crying_In_Color Posts: 246 Member
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    I have an idea, forgot about BMR and eat as many calories you need to do to lose weight.

    This! Seriously, losing weight isn't that hard. Simple: burn more calories then you consume. People are looking WAY to into things. You guys aren't doctors and really don't need to know all the technical information behind it. What works for some will not work for everybody. Eat healthier and eat the correct serving sizes and the weight will come off.
  • jzammetti
    jzammetti Posts: 1,956 Member
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    You should be eating below your BMR. The BMR is the amount of calories that your body needs for day to day activity. If you eat at or above your BMR you will not lose weight. You may even gain weight. The other option is to eat at your BMR and exercise daily to burn calories. That will help you lose weight. The optimal is to eat below your BMR AND exercise to lose weight faster.

    With all due respect, I completely 100% disagree with this advice. Your BMR is the minimum number of calories your body needs to operate basic organ function properly if you are in a coma in the hospital. If you eat below it, you may lose weight for a while...but in the meantime you are screwing up your body. If you are not sure what to believe, call a doctor's office and ask. Try fitnessfrog.com or fat2fitradio.com to calculate your estimated TDEE and eat at a 20% deficit.

    While the TDEE method (and every method) is based on estimates, I found that method to work. it scared me at first because I used to be a l ow calorie eater too and adding 500 calories a day when I had been stuck for nearly 4 months scared the crap out of me. Well, after 1 month of those added calories, I got off the damn plateau and began losing again. 7 weeks into TDEE method and I am down 4 more pounds.
  • onyxgirl17
    onyxgirl17 Posts: 1,721 Member
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    You should be eating below your BMR. The BMR is the amount of calories that your body needs for day to day activity. If you eat at or above your BMR you will not lose weight. You may even gain weight. The other option is to eat at your BMR and exercise daily to burn calories. That will help you lose weight. The optimal is to eat below your BMR AND exercise to lose weight faster.


    no no no no no, bad advice alert!!
  • jzammetti
    jzammetti Posts: 1,956 Member
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    I plugged your info inito fat2fitradio.com and this is what I got:

    Custom BMR Calculation

    Thanks for checking your BMR here on Fat 2 Fit Radio. If you're not already subscribed to Fat 2 Fit Radio, consider doing so today. Please visit the Subscribe page to get the podcast delivered automatically to your iTunes, Juice, e-mail inbox or the podcatcher of your choice for FREE.

    Entered information: 41 year old female, 66 inches tall, weighing 169 pounds.

    From the information that you entered, you'd like to weigh 124 lbs.


    Harris-Benedict Formula


    There are a few different methods to calculating yourbasal metabolic rate (BMR). One of the most popular, developed in the early 1900's is called the Harris-Benedict formula. Based on this formula, your current BMR is 1508 calories.


    How Many Calories Should I Eat?


    Based on your goal weight, the following chart was generated. The chart shows the number of calories that you should eat on a daily basis to reach your goal weight. At Fat 2 Fit Radio we advocate eating like the thin, healthy person that you want to become. The calorie levels you see in the chart are not extreme, but they do create that all important caloric deficit that is required to get you to your goal weight in a safe manner. Once you reach your goal weight, you will continue eating the same number of calories for the rest of your life to maintain that weight. You'll never be on a diet again.

    Based on how much activity you do on an average day, the calories in the right column will be the number of calories that you will be able to eat at your goal weight. If you start eating those calories right now (eating like the thinner you), you will eventually become that thinner person. As you get closer to your goal weight, your weight loss will start to slow down. It is OK to eat a few hundred calories less per day (200-300) to speed up your weight loss at this point.



    Activity Level

    Daily Calories



    Sedentary (little or no exercise, desk job)

    1574



    Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk)

    1804



    Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk)

    2034



    Very Active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk)

    2263



    Extremely Active (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.)

    2493


    NOTE: Please remember that this calculation is just a guideline. Your metabolism may be higher or lower based on the amount of lean muscle you have. Use these numbers a a starting point and tweak them up or down based on your weight loss or gain. It may take a couple weeks to get your exact calorie level.

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