help figuring caloric intake. (calories vs. bmr).

rocket_ace

guys - need some help. I'm certainly not a noob at this but its hard for me to figure out. I've been a follower of the Harris Benedict formula for quite some time. And I'm a believer truly of the eat clean/less, exercise more philosophy. That formula (which I admit I got from the Menshealth forums years back when I played w/ weight loss) is:

Men BMR = 66 + (6.3 x Body Weight in lbs) + (12.9 x Height in inches) - (6.8 x age)
Women BMR = 655 + (9.6 x weight in kilos) + (1.8 x height in cm) - (4.7 x age)

so, I am currently 6' (ie 72 in), I weight 223.2 lbs, and am (cough) -- yrs old. Given that, my breakdown is:

Men BMR = 66 + (6.3 x Body Weight in lbs) + (12.9 x Height in inches) - (6.8 x age) -->
Men BMR = 66 + (6.3 x 223.2) + (12.9 x 72) - (6.8 x --) -->
Men BMR = 66 + (1406.16) + (928) - (265.2) --->
Men BMR = 2134.96

You are then supposed to take this number and multiply it by an Acitivty Multiplier, where: Activity Multiplier means:
desk job = 1.2 (little exercise)
Light = 1.375 (light exercise 1-3 days)
Moderate = 1.55 (moderate exercise 3-5 days)
Active = 1.725 (vigorous exercise 6-7 days)
very Active = 1.9+ (heavy exercise/sports, extremely physically demanding job)

I work a desk job in NYC, but I walk about 2 miles back and forth to work, and a little less at lunch, and then most days I go to the gym to jog or weight lift. So under the above formula, the activity multiplier for me would be "light" 1.375 right? (ie - desk job, try to walk a few times a day, and go to the gym a few times a week? I guess I could make it moderate but am afraid of overestimating it when I am realistically not running an hour each time or doing super weights yet.

so my BMR x Activity Multiplier = Caloric Maintenance value, which would be:

2134.96 x 1.375 = 2935.57

so this 2936 number is what I need to maintain weight, and then to lose weight I need to opt for a maximum of 1000 calorie deficit to lose a max of 2 lbs a week (where 3500 calories = 1 pound, and thus 1000 calories over 7 days is 7000 calories or 2 lbs). Which means I need to keep up my current routine and eat only 1935 per day. This sounds about right. Some people say you shouldn't go under 2000 calories for men, but so far I think I'm good to go. If I had estimated my acitivity multiplier as 1.55 (moderate), this value would have increased to eating only 2309 calories per day to lose 2 lbs per week. So I'm in the ball park I think if I stay at about 2000.

Now, on Myfitnesspal, it has set my goal at 1460. That seems low, so I'm assuming that doesn't include any sort of activity multiplier. If I deduct 1000 calories per day (which I think is also MFP's max caloric deficit) from my original resting BMR (2135), that gives me 1100 calories per day, which is less that 1460. So then I'm perplexed as the two numbers are off by more than 300 calories. If I use the MFP 1460, I would certainly need to eat back calories as many of you avow, so that's like 700 calories if I measure it out as activities entered per day. Adding an additional problem is that, instead of adding exercise in manually, I have a fitbit linked to the account, which adds a value which ranges from 500 calories to over 1200 calories for exercise depending on my day (I've checked the steps on my fitbit and they are fairly accurate).

So, as you can see, the values range all over the board. What I seem to ken from all this is that I need to keep up the activity and (probably) eat around 2000 calories. But, I would like to be more scientific and "eat back" calories like many of you do .... but I have found that if I eat much more than 2300 calories or so, I stop losing weight...which shouldn't be the case as I should still be in a caloric deficit set for at least a pound a week. In fact, I may even slowly gain weight at 2300.

Is my metabolism screwed up? Any advice? (sorry, lots of numbers in here).

drmerc

I notice people who try to keep it simple have more success

Why not start with what MFP is showing and adjust from there depending on results?

cmcollins001

I notice people who try to keep it simple have more success

Why not start with what MFP is showing and adjust from there depending on results?

This...seems to be working for me.

rocket_ace

thanks guys - I hear ya. before MFP or Loseit and the like, the Harris Benedict formula was the only way - and for what it is, its fairly simple. and that formula and MFP or Fitbit/Loseit (which I think both use it in some form), they all need fine tuning. I'm generally using MFP (have been since last year, but its never precise I feel....as I feel calories are overestimated due to my linkage w/ fitbit, and otherwise perhaps under-estimated if I de-link the fitbit.....

FitBeto

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/845000-whats-a-caloire

LaDonnaF

all of the fitness people I follow say myfitnesspal is notorious for low calorie setting - 1200 for every women I've spoken to regardless of age, height, or weight.

Go with your harris formula.. you can change your goal in myfitnesspal - don't eat back exercise calories because you already factored them in by multiplying by your activity factor.

deksgrl

Try this spreadsheet, it is pretty cool and allows you to customize to your particular goals. It uses the Katch McArdle formula which factors in your estimated body fat %.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/717858-spreadsheet-bmr-tdee-and-deficit-calcs-macros-hrm

rocket_ace

awesome thanks guys

LennyInFlorida

How do you figure out your energy balance? To determine energy balance (calories you need to lose or maintain) I use the equation in the link below and let the energy equal zero to maintain OR -3,500 calories per pound per week I want to lose and I adjust it every month (the Energy Balance article is written by Written by John Berardi). I posted the article on my Google Drive for you: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HNuXTjB_7Xq5b8KlYVRVMIzluK7gHO6dQgIRbE-EbEM/edit