Clarification on caloric intake levels effecting weight

avasano

I would like some clarification on caloric intake levels effecting weight.
I am a little confused about calories. I keep seeing people post saying
people are eating far too little calories. Well, what is the science there?
Less calories and increased exercise over a period of time should result in
weight loss right? Can someone logical explain why fewer calories can be
insufficient?
I am interested because I watch calories and exercise and even if I don't
plump up, I am heavier. My body gets more firm but I on the scale I weigh
more.
Now, to me the number on the scale shouldn't really matter as long as I have
a great BMI and lower body fat. However, my employer weighs me; and uses
the results of my age, BMI and weight as qualifiers for retention
considerations as well as promotions.

Thank you for your help.

now_or_never13

First off, why does your employer weigh you and base that on promotions and retention? What do you do for a living that your weight has an impact on keeping your job or moving up? I don't imagine that is legal.

For the calories, yes, you eat less and lose weight. Eating too little creates too large of a deficit which causes you to lose a large amount of muscle if you continue with the too large deficit for a long period of time. Losing muscle lowers your metabolism.

For BMI, I personally don't believe it should be something that is used. It does not take into account lean muscle mass. Muscle, is denser than fat (takes up much less space) therefore you could be smaller but actually weigh more. Two people could be the same weight, same height, same age, both female for example... however one could be much larger than the other due to the body fat % and lean muscle mass amount.

windyday61

bump

cwolfman13

First off, a lot of the comments that "you aren't eating enough" stem from the fact that many people do not thoroughly research how this tool works. MFP gives them a goal based on their inputs and they think that it is a goal to shoot under...they have a 1,200 calorie goal and then they do a 500 calorie workout burn and net 700 calories. That is called STARVING yourself and is unhealthy and unsustainable and will ultimately lead to a number of issues, including organ damage, metabolic stall, malnutrition (all kinds of implications), etc. MFP gives you a goal...it's a goal...something to be achieved, not to be undershot. MFP means for you to eat back exercise calories as there is already a substantial caloric deficit built into the caloric goal it gives you.

Secondly, there's this thing called BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate)...sometimes also referred to as RMR (Resting Metabolic Rate). This is the rate at which your body burns calories while in a coma just to maintain proper organ function. Eating below your BMR for a significant amount of time will result in all of the things I've already mentioned. 1,200 calories per day is the absolute bare minimum of calories to NET to...even then, it is often somewhat below BMR for many, if not most women and virtually every man on the planet. Obese and morbidly obese individuals can sustain a caloric intake below their BMR for much longer than someone who only need to lose 1-50 Lbs because they have massive fat stores to provide the energy to offset such a large caloric deficit.

Thirdly, there is a number called TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure)...this is the number of calories your body needs to perform daily activities beyond BMR to maintain a certain weight...not lose, not gain. This number can be somewhat tricky as it involves a lot of estimation of your daily activity.

If you have a calorie goal that is below your TDEE, you have a caloric deficit. If your caloric deficit is somewhere between your BMR and TDEE, this represents safe and healthy weight loss. When your caloric deficit is below your BMR...particularly if it is substantially below your BMR you are, in fact, starving yourself. This obviously represents dangerous and unhealthy weight loss. Generally speaking, your TDEE less 20% is considered safe, healthy weight loss. Most calculators and health care professionals advise that anything more aggressive than that be done under close supervision of a doctor.

avasano

First off, why does your employer weigh you and base that on promotions and retention? What do you do for a living that your weight has an impact on keeping your job or moving up? I don't imagine that is legal.

Medical and fitness Standards for jobs are legal.
Organizations whose members are expected to engage in physical activity as an essential aspect of affiliation – the various branches of the military, law enforcement agencies, Firemen, Police, Government Agents, necessarily impose standardized fitness benchmarks, minimum requirements which every prospective member must satisfy. When a significant portion of your professional identity is predicated upon your ability to catch (or kill) bad guys (bad guys, mind you, whose primary objective is to avoid capture), you’ve got to be able to run, jump, support your own body weight, and adequately perform all the other physical activities that might come up in a day’s work. The various fitness standards are an attempt to ensure candidates are up to par in their respective areas, legally.

avasano

First off, a lot of the comments that "you aren't eating enough" stem from the fact that many people do not thoroughly research how this tool works. MFP gives them a goal based on their inputs and they think that it is a goal to shoot under...they have a 1,200 calorie goal and then they do a 500 calorie workout burn and net 700 calories. That is called STARVING yourself and is unhealthy and unsustainable and will ultimately lead to a number of issues, including organ damage, metabolic stall, malnutrition (all kinds of implications), etc. MFP gives you a goal...it's a goal...something to be achieved, not to be undershot. MFP means for you to eat back exercise calories as there is already a substantial caloric deficit built into the caloric goal it gives you.

Secondly, there's this thing called BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate)...sometimes also referred to as RMR (Resting Metabolic Rate). This is the rate at which your body burns calories while in a coma just to maintain proper organ function. Eating below your BMR for a significant amount of time will result in all of the things I've already mentioned. 1,200 calories per day is the absolute bare minimum of calories to NET to...even then, it is often somewhat below BMR for many, if not most women and virtually every man on the planet. Obese and morbidly obese individuals can sustain a caloric intake below their BMR for much longer than someone who only need to lose 1-50 Lbs because they have massive fat stores to provide the energy to offset such a large caloric deficit.

Thirdly, there is a number called TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure)...this is the number of calories your body needs to perform daily activities beyond BMR to maintain a certain weight...not lose, not gain. This number can be somewhat tricky as it involves a lot of estimation of your daily activity.

If you have a calorie goal that is below your TDEE, you have a caloric deficit. If your caloric deficit is somewhere between your BMR and TDEE, this represents safe and healthy weight loss. When your caloric deficit is below your BMR...particularly if it is substantially below your BMR you are, in fact, starving yourself. This obviously represents dangerous and unhealthy weight loss. Generally speaking, your TDEE less 20% is considered safe, healthy weight loss. Most calculators and health care professionals advise that anything more aggressive than that be done under close supervision of a doctor.

Thank you! Awesome answer, I appreciate you taking your time to answer me. =D

Rissyroo513

The way I always look at it is kind of like filling up your gas tank on your car. You need enough fuel to make it run and get you where you're going, but you don't want to overfill the tank because that just makes a mess.

rjmudlax13

First off, a lot of the comments that "you aren't eating enough" stem from the fact that many people do not thoroughly research how this tool works. MFP gives them a goal based on their inputs and they think that it is a goal to shoot under...they have a 1,200 calorie goal and then they do a 500 calorie workout burn and net 700 calories. That is called STARVING yourself and is unhealthy and unsustainable and will ultimately lead to a number of issues, including organ damage, metabolic stall, malnutrition (all kinds of implications), etc. MFP gives you a goal...it's a goal...something to be achieved, not to be undershot. MFP means for you to eat back exercise calories as there is already a substantial caloric deficit built into the caloric goal it gives you.

Secondly, there's this thing called BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate)...sometimes also referred to as RMR (Resting Metabolic Rate). This is the rate at which your body burns calories while in a coma just to maintain proper organ function. Eating below your BMR for a significant amount of time will result in all of the things I've already mentioned. 1,200 calories per day is the absolute bare minimum of calories to NET to...even then, it is often somewhat below BMR for many, if not most women and virtually every man on the planet. Obese and morbidly obese individuals can sustain a caloric intake below their BMR for much longer than someone who only need to lose 1-50 Lbs because they have massive fat stores to provide the energy to offset such a large caloric deficit.

Thirdly, there is a number called TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure)...this is the number of calories your body needs to perform daily activities beyond BMR to maintain a certain weight...not lose, not gain. This number can be somewhat tricky as it involves a lot of estimation of your daily activity.

If you have a calorie goal that is below your TDEE, you have a caloric deficit. If your caloric deficit is somewhere between your BMR and TDEE, this represents safe and healthy weight loss. When your caloric deficit is below your BMR...particularly if it is substantially below your BMR you are, in fact, starving yourself. This obviously represents dangerous and unhealthy weight loss. Generally speaking, your TDEE less 20% is considered safe, healthy weight loss. Most calculators and health care professionals advise that anything more aggressive than that be done under close supervision of a doctor.

Bump this and make it required reading for everyone who joins! Like actually required. As in they are not allowed to use the website without reading it.

sarildia

When the body is fed too few calories, it goes into starvation mode in which the metabolism is lowered to allow the few calories eaten to be used to help the body to function. This lowered metabolism causes fatigue and sluggishness both of which can add to weight gain instead of weight loss. This can also lead to binge eating where the body is so starved that you will eat everything in sight just to stem the starvation. Again this sets you up for weight gain. It is always best to feed the body what it needs to work properly but not enough to gain weight. Since we all eat things that are not healthy for us, the cut should be in these items which will cut the un-needed calories aiding in weight loss.

Verity1111

If you under-eat, your body can release ketones to make up for it. This happens when you don't get enough protein, dietary fat, etc. Your system may save the physical (not the same as dietary) fat you have because it feels you aren't eating enough and burn off the ketones instead. This causes you to gain weight and inches. Despite what some people believe, you don't have to starve for a long time for this to start. I can whip out my nutrition book and quote it for them if I must, but different people enter this state and different rates. If you are eating less, exercising and gaining weight, but firming, this means you are gaining MUSCLE and losing fat. Muscle weighs more than fat in the sense that if you take 10lbs of fat and 10lbs of muscle, the muscle would be a lot smaller/more compact. You can lose inches & gain pounds this way. I hope that makes sense. Oh & BMR can be estimated online, but there is no real way to tell your basil metabolic rate (calories burned while you just sit/lay still and breathe) unless you have it tested. It could vary a lot.

erickirb

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.

What every mfp says under the above condition plus most of what you burn from exercise.