BMR for the obese QUESTION?!

weird_me2

OP, have you tried logging in a normal few days' worth of pre-weight loss food? I'm guessing you'd be pretty shocked at just how many calories you were consuming. You may have been eating 3500 calories a day and gaining about a pound a week, or, you may have been eating even more than that. When you're making healthier choices, it's hard to imagine eating 3000 calories a day, but making not so healthy choices makes the calories add up much faster.


As for BMR calculator, I feel that they can be off, especially for those who are obese. Many people who are morbidly obese or more often have a higher than expected body fat %, which means they have less LBM than expected and a lower BMR than expected. If you suspect this may be the case for yourself, find a way to test your BF% and use the katch-mcardle formula. I think it's the most accurate for pretty much anyone because it's less of an estimate. The other BMR calculators basically assume that your BMI is equal to your BF%.

SoLongAndThanksForAllTheFish

In general the calculators are more off the higher up the weight scale you are. The reason is it is an estimate, and the more mass you have, the more significant any deviation off "average" can be ( 5% *100 is only 5lbs, but 5% *300 is 15lbs...). Now you HAVE to eat under the real total BMR plus exercise to lose. The key is to start with the MFP estimate, subtract the amount for your current weight loss goals and test it for YOU. Make sure to add exercise, eat back those calories you exercise, make sure your nutrition is good and you eat good whole foods and get enough of all nutrients and protein and find out how quickly you yourself are responding. If you are losing too slowly or too quickly, take a second look at your estimates: are you actually guessing at portion size? Are you losing too fast? Did you accurately record the intensity of your workout? Did you claim you are moderately active but sit most of the day? Did you have calories within range but eat processed or salt laden foods? etc, etc. After taking these considerations into account, adjust the calorie levels so you can achieve a reasonably paced weight loss.

Now its true the more obese you are, the more you can withstand bigger deficits for a short period of time. The danger comes if you are causing your body to lose muscle or if you dont have proper nutrition. So incorporating some weight lifting into your routine and eating back the calories is very important. 3-4k cal/day does seem like a lot, your calculator could be off, and if it feels like its making you eat more food it almost certainly is off. You dont however want to decrease too much too fast and throw your body into "starvation mode/shock".

I'll use myself for example, I am around 2100 calories a day BMR according to Myfitpal. The goal I have is approximately 1900 calories per day. I exercise/lift alot and I generally try to eat back my calories and see good losses. Sometimes I dont eat them all back, especially on heavy workout days when my calorie burn could more than double my food intake to remain on target and the results I notice are enlightening: its not the intense workout days that I see more weight drop the next day, its after a day or two of the more moderate days If I eat too little I can be weak for a weightlifting session and I also don't tend to lose weight, plus my muscle didnt get adequate stimulation for growth that day. Now yes the body takes time to respond, but its a generalization which illustrates light to moderate weight loss rate is better idea.

Also remember if you are doing it right, exercising to increase muscle and following your calories closely, eating them back (with good food etc), you may not see weight loss at first. That's normal, and if done correctly that's good: you are building muscle which will help accelerate you later. Again using myself as an example (not everyone is the same but the principal is correct) this is ALWAYS my pattern. I increase workout intensity/frequency initially, I see no loss, sometimes gains, then after about a week or two the weight starts pouring off.

Remember these are all generalizations and you should check and go over them with a doctor before starting for your own particular case before starting any program!

SmileyFaceGuy

Harris Benedict is based on height and weight, and assumes an average frame size/lean body mass. The extra calories burned by carrying more fat around, and keeping those cells alive, are what account for the difference, and the heavier you are, the higher your calories will be. Katch McArdle takes into account only lean body mass, and assumes an average amount of body fat, so won't account for the extra calories from carrying more fat than average.

Your lean body mass will reflect the amount of fat you carry around, so it does account for carrying around extra fat.