BMR, help please :/

princessd84

Okay, so I've just read IPOARM and I decided to go and work out my BMR. Mine has come out as 1714 cals.

I have been having 1400 cals per day, as this is what MFP allocates me if I choose to lose 1.5lb per week. However, I'm keen to do this healthily and now I'm paranoid that my muscles are going to start eating themselves and my body will go into meltdown if I don't eat at least 1700 cals per day. I have visions of organ failure from not eating enough over a sustained period of time! (okay, I'm a bit of a hypochondriac!)

Should I be upping my calories to 1700 for more effective weight loss and a healthier body? Or am I okay to stay at 1400? I'm 5ft 6.5 and 203lb.

Thanks

pichiPurinsesu

i'm kinda in the same boat as you.
MFP has allocated me 1500 to be loosing around a 1lb a week and this is what i have been doing (but seem to have got into a rut and not shifted anything in the past week or so!) working out my BMR and TDEE it works out at around 1700 i should be consuming?! another thing that confuses me is the whole 'eating back calories' some people say do it, some people say don't >.<

i'm also 203lb but only 5ft 3

forgot to add i'm also doing the 30 day shred and aiming for around a burn of 500 cal a day

princessd84

Ahhh, I'm glad it's not just me who is perplexed by the whole issue! I'm really keen to get this right, I don't mind if it takes a bit longer for me to lose the weight as I deliberately lost my first 36lb over the course of 8 months so that I could make it a healthy lifestyle change rather than a "diet". Since joining MFP and having 1400 cals, I've lost 13lb very quickly but don't want to damage my body in the process!

Hopefully somebody will come along and help us soon Good luck with your weight loss journey by the way

pichiPurinsesu

thank you i lost the 7lb in 3 weeks but it seems to have just grinded to a halt! like you i want to do it properly and not be over or under-consuming. even got myself a HRM so i can loosely track how many calories i'm burning during workouts!

well done you loosing 49lb!

Jimtech87

I asked the same question in another thread. It is very confusing. I joined this site and want to trust the info and suggestions, but then you read the posts that are must read for newbie and they get into the BMR and TDEE and you have no idea what to believe.

bcattoes

Okay, so I've just read IPOARM and I decided to go and work out my BMR. Mine has come out as 1714 cals.

I have been having 1400 cals per day, as this is what MFP allocates me if I choose to lose 1.5lb per week. However, I'm keen to do this healthily and now I'm paranoid that my muscles are going to start eating themselves and my body will go into meltdown if I don't eat at least 1700 cals per day. I have visions of organ failure from not eating enough over a sustained period of time! (okay, I'm a bit of a hypochondriac!)

Should I be upping my calories to 1700 for more effective weight loss and a healthier body? Or am I okay to stay at 1400? I'm 5ft 6.5 and 203lb.

Thanks

Yes, it would probably be wise to up your calories. 1. You'll likely lose less muscle as you lose fat this way. 2. You will likely also have less loose skin when you are done than if you lose too quickly. 3. You'll likely find it more satisfying and sustainable

But unless you are burning a huge amount of calories every day, if you stick with 1400 it's unlikely that you'll eat away your organs. It's not as if all your body's fuel must come from food. You have fat stores for that and your body will not start eating your organs when there is plenty of fat to use.

bcattoes

I asked the same question in another thread. It is very confusing. I joined this site and want to trust the info and suggestions, but then you read the posts that are must read for newbie and they get into the BMR and TDEE and you have no idea what to believe.

Just remember that this site expects you to eat back calories burned during exercise. The calories it gives you at the beginning of the day is not meant to be all the calories you eat for the day unless you are sedentary all day or put set your activity level to include exercise. MFP is a great tool if used correctly.

princessd84

Thank you Well done on losing 7lb, that's a great start! I get the impression that some people base their calorie intake on science, while others have a "trial and error" approach. I'm hoping for a balance of the two. I'm thinking I might up my calories to 1500 next week and see how I get on for a couple of weeks. Unless I stop losing (in which case I'll go back to 1400), I'll try it at 1600. I guess it's good to test things gradually and see how they go

princessd84

Yes, it would probably be wise to up your calories. 1. You'll likely lose less muscle as you lose fat this way. 2. You will likely also have less loose skin when you are done than if you lose too quickly. 3. You'll likely find it more satisfying and sustainable

But unless you are burning a huge amount of calories every day, if you stick with 1400 it's unlikely that you'll eat away your organs. It's not as if all your body's fuel must come from food. You have fat stores for that and your body will not start eating your organs when there is plenty of fat to use.

Thank you, this helps a lot Hahaha, glad I'm not going to kill my organs off... I was kinda half joking... but I am trying to get as healthy as I possibly can this year

Jimtech87

I asked the same question in another thread. It is very confusing. I joined this site and want to trust the info and suggestions, but then you read the posts that are must read for newbie and they get into the BMR and TDEE and you have no idea what to believe.

Just remember that this site expects you to eat back calories burned during exercise. The calories it gives you at the beginning of the day is not meant to be all the calories you eat for the day unless you are sedentary all day or put set your activity level to include exercise. MFP is a great tool if used correctly.

That is the best explanation I have gotten so far. If I understnad correctly, I need to eat the calories it gives me plus what I expect to burn in excersice? That makes sense.

pichiPurinsesu

Okay, so I've just read IPOARM and I decided to go and work out my BMR. Mine has come out as 1714 cals.

I have been having 1400 cals per day, as this is what MFP allocates me if I choose to lose 1.5lb per week. However, I'm keen to do this healthily and now I'm paranoid that my muscles are going to start eating themselves and my body will go into meltdown if I don't eat at least 1700 cals per day. I have visions of organ failure from not eating enough over a sustained period of time! (okay, I'm a bit of a hypochondriac!)

Should I be upping my calories to 1700 for more effective weight loss and a healthier body? Or am I okay to stay at 1400? I'm 5ft 6.5 and 203lb.

Thanks

Your muscles won't eat themselves like that.

Go up to goals where it says "calories burned through daily activity multiply that number by .80. Eat that many calories a day.

Ignore BMR.

going by that then, i take my calories burned through daily activity x .80 gives me 1768cal... you would then eat your exercise back on this, or not? sorry if this seems a ridiculous question... still trying to get my head around it all!

pichiPurinsesu

thank you i was eating around 1700 before dropping and i've stopped loosing weight - maybe the little increase in cal is what i need

pichiPurinsesu

I seem to have stalled at 1500/1600 cal where as when i was eating 1700 i lost 7lb in 3 weeks (and that was without exercise) now i am doing exercise i should in fact increase back to 1700 as lower cal intake weirdly wasn't doing anything

Chrissy180

Getting out the popcorn..kicking up my feet for the show