Is calory theory a load of tosh, or is my BMR wrong?

Firefox7275

Thanks for the replies.

Before I started dieting a dietician had me keep a food journal for a week of how much I was eating (without restricting my eating in any way). It showed that I was eating between 2,000 and 3,000 calories a day and exercising one hour a week, and I was gaining the whole time. According to the calculators, I should have been losing the whole time.

I then went on a meat-only zero carb diet for five months, calories were unrestricted and so I stopped counting them. I lost 15lb. Then I got ill and went back to eating carbs and did no exercise. I gained back all of that 15lb. Again I kept a food diary for a week and was eating about 2,000 to 2,500 a day.

I started Atkins in October, 20g carbs a day, did not count calories but I'd guess I was having about 2,500. I lost nothing in 12 weeks of this.

This is why on 2nd Jan I decided to aim for 1,500. (In 21 days I have gone over that on a few days.)

If I increase this to 2,500 to 3,000 I will start gaining again, surely?

What medical tests have been done to ensure you don't have a metabolic reason for not being able to lose? When you were logging for the dietician did you weigh everything or guesstimate, did you consistently log as it went into your mouth or at the end of the day?

There are BMR calculators that work on lean mass not total body mass, you might see if you get a similar or different number. You might also find it helpful to wear a pedometer and see exactly what activity you are achieving on a daily basis, you might not be able to change that yet given that your joints hurt, but it will give you some idea of where you are at and again more accuracy in the calculations. From a lifestyle healthcare professional standpoint, less than about 6000 steps a day is sedentary, some don't achieve this even with a regular workout.

Be aware that if you cut too many calories you won't be getting all the nutrients your body needs, and your body may think there is a famine. It's generally easier to cut 1000 calories a day if you are burning plenty through lifestyle activity and formal exercise, often if you are sedentary it's best to cut no more than about 500 calories a day.

cordianet

My recommendation is about 1600 calories per day. Go to this link and use the calculator on the right that uses body fat %:
http://www.cordianet.com/calculator.htm

stines72

The one you recommend says

Activity Level Daily Calories
Sedentary (little or no exercise, desk job) 2158
Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk) 2472
Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk) 2787
Very Active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk) 3102
Extremely Active (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.) 3416

lucky you. my sedentary is barely 1500.

drelan

My experience has been that as soon as I eliminated sugar and wheat (wheat too is a problem as it contains a fairly high level of fructans that the body easily converts to fructose) my blood pressure started dropping fast---even before I lost much body fat. It also caused me to get an incredible grip on my appetite.

This is why I started low carb. 1 day without sugar or wheat and you will be AMAZED at how incredible you feel. It's completely liberating NOT to be a slave to food. Seriously, I haven't been hungry in a week. :noway:

darleyschroeder

The thing is the larger you are the more calories your body requires. That's why people who have lots of muscle can get away with eating so much and why larger people lose weight fairly quickly.
If you are really worried about your food intake, get your body fat tested. The online calculators will be a little more accurate for you.
If I were you I would eat at least 2,000 calories a day and see how the first 2-3 weeks go. You might not lose weight every single day, but you should see some type of change each week. That's just what I would do. If you're losing weight too quickly after a month then up your calories by 100-200 and see how it goes.

It's different for everybody. Don't try to lose it so so so fast, because your skin won't have time to adjust and could be a problem later down the road.

seadiamond1

http://www.webmd.com/diet/calc-bmi-plus

This site also has bmi info plus aerobic heart rate information as well as fat ratio and waist measurement information.

notworthstalking

Just a thought too, how do you feel on the amount of calories you are eating? If you feel really hungry it could either be from being used to eating so much or you are genuinly hungry. If you feel 'good' you might be getting enough. For excersize I have heard great things about aqua aerobics, so good work :happy: You have said you can barely walk, but can you get up and take a few extra steps everyday. Even laps of you living room? Basically move a little bit more. It might be something you can measure and be an goal to do more steps or something. Good luck

SanteMulberry

Just a thought too, how do you feel on the amount of calories you are eating? If you feel really hungry it could either be from being used to eating so much or you are genuinly hungry. If you feel 'good' you might be getting enough. For excersize I have heard great things about aqua aerobics, so good work :happy: You have said you can barely walk, but can you get up and take a few extra steps everyday. Even laps of you living room? Basically move a little bit more. It might be something you can measure and be an goal to do more steps or something. Good luck

Yes---with my arthritis, aqua aerobics made all the difference for me. But I needed a period of strengthening leading up to it and I attended a class specifically designed for people with arthritis and other joint disorders. I am ready to "graduate" to regular aqua aerobics now. I may even eventually do "Aqua Zumba" :happy: