It's not rocket science. Actually, it is harder than that!

Pingedsole

Hi all,

This question will more than likely go over old ground. Let's face it, 90% of people on this site seem to be wanting to lose weight so I don't think we can avoid going over old ground so here goes.

I started on MFP about 3 weeks ago and although I do feel better, mentally and physically, the belly fat, round face and general yuck when I look in the mirror is still there.

I am M/42/5ft8/90kg

My understanding is this:

1. Work out your BMR - online calculators put it somewhere between 1800 and 2000
2. Work out TDEE - I have a sedentary job but go to the gym every other day and burn 600 calories cardio only
3. Aim to eat enough calories to be somewhere in the middle

OK, makes sense but my questions are:
1. If you do not eat enough calories to hit your BMR, do you risk entering starvation mode?
2. Is it a sliding scale working back from TDEE i.e. the further you move back from TDEE to BMR, means the more you lose?
3. MFP says to lose 2lb per week I need to eat only 1200 calories per day. I do eat back excercise calories though.
4. Will eating back exercise calories every other day produce a yo yo effect i.e. 1200 one day and 1800 the next and in turn just confuse my body. I thought ideally you want to eat the same calories every day and at the same time?
5. Finally, is 1200 too low because it is way under my BMR and would explain why I have lost no weight during the 3 weeks even though I go to the gym every other day without fail.

I have read that if you want to lose weight then aim for 500 calories per 1lb so it would make sense that MFP says around 1200 to lose 2lb per week.

Therefore, it may just be possible that I am setting to hard a goal for myself by aiming for 2lb per week and should maybe aim for 1lb.

The starvation mode issue is a buggy for me. Do you really run a high risk of not losing any weight at all if you eat too few calories to hit your BMR?

Thanks for reading and apologies if I waffled.

JesterMFP

The risk isn't so much "not losing any weight at all" if you eat too low. Most people would continue lose weight on very low calorie diets, albeit possibly at a gradually slower rate as their metabolic rate adjusts downwards. The problem with having too big a cut in calories is that you risk losing too much lean mass, which includes muscle. Everyone loses lean mass as they lose weight (and everyone gains lean mass as they gain weight - that's why body builders do builk & cut cycles). Ideally though, you (I'm assuming) want to maintain as much muscle mass as you can, while losing mostly fat. If you lose too much muscle, you will be weaker, you will look flabbier, and you will have to lose more "weight" to get to your ideal size. You will also be burning fewer calories throughout the day. Losing muscle will do nothing for your belly/face fat problem.

Additionally, if your calorie deficit is too large, you may risk problems with your hormones, which may have a knock-on effect on your metabolism.

Plus, you may fell too hungry to sustain such low calories; you may find that your hunger disappears, but may feel tired and weak.

All these things become more of an issue the closer you are to a healthy weight. If you are very obese and have large fat stores, you will be able to sustain a greater cut in calories than someone who is leaner. Given that you have about 10 kg to lose, somewhere between 0.5-1 lb a week would be a more realistic and healthy rate of loss for you.

By the way, if you are following MFP's recommendations (and haven't customised your calorie goal based on a cut from your TDEE) and you don't eat back your exercise calories - you are actually going against MFP's recommendations. MFP gives you a calorie goal without factoring in any planned exercise, on the assumption that you log exercise and eat those calories back. Otherwise, it would have given you a higher goal.

It doesn't matter if you eat the exact number of calories every day, or what time of day you eat them. What is more important is getting enough calorie (and not too many) so that you have a moderate calorie deficit.

If I were you I would either:
1. set MFP to lose 0.5 (or possibly 1) lb a week, and eat back all exercise calories or
2. set your own goal to somewhere around 2000 calories a day (or even slightly more), and not eat back extra exercise calories.

FredDoyle

My starting stats were almost identical to yours 6 months ago except I probably did about 400 kcals worth of cardio according to my heart rate monitor.
1. I doubt your BMR is 1800-2000. That sounds too high to me. My guess is your TDEE is 2200-2400 w/o extra exercise.
2. I ate 1400 for about 2 months at the start and lost over 2lbs/week for those months.
3. Something sounds wrong if MFP set your cals at 1200...

You can probably easily lose eating 1600-1800 kcals AND eating your exercise cals back.
I recommend using a chest strap type HRM if you are going to eat back all your exercise cals and be accurate.

Good luck.
BTW, I've lost 38 lbs. since Aug. 2012.