BMR/Harris Benedict Equation vs. MFP

stephaniecrg
stephaniecrg Posts: 13 Member
in Food and Nutrition
According to the Harris Benedict Equation, my BMR is 1700 calories and my daily calorie needs are 2040 (I multiplied by 1.2 even though I workout a couple of times a week, since I'm mainly sedentary and my workouts are never hardcore). I know I'm supposed to subtract about 500 calories from my daily calorie needs to determine what I need to eat in order to lose weight, so I should be eating about 1540 calories a day.

According to MFP, I should be eating exactly 1200 cals/day in order to lose weight.

My question is, which is more effective? I've been going by MFP's rule of 1200 calories for the past few weeks (eating back my exercise calories, of course) and haven't seen much results (actually, I weigh exactly what I did before I started...). Can you guys give me any advice? I've done MFP before and lost a lot, but got off track. I'm trying to do that again and I've been really focused on losing weight and eating healthier foods, but it's been really discouraging to hit a plateau right from the get go.

Thanks, guys!

Replies

  • brdnw
    brdnw Posts: 565 Member
    I operate at about 1200 calories a day (I don't eat to make up any calories i burn from excercise either, that seems wasteful to me).

    I think calories are the most important facet in losing weight.. I'm down about 30lbs in 3 months (250 to 220) i also lift alot and have a big frame, so my goal weight is 195 (that would put me at about 7% body fat).

    I eat as healthy as possible and make sure i don't exceed 1200 calories, which has been pretty hard to eat >1200 to be honest.
  • stephaniecrg
    stephaniecrg Posts: 13 Member
    Interesting! Thanks for the input. I've always heard/read/been told to eat back the calories I burned in exercise. Hm...

    Anyway, I'm totally comfortable eating 1200 cals a day, I just wondered if it was too low and my body was holding onto the weight and if I should up my caloric intake to counteract that.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    Assuming both are below your actual TDEE, they'll both work. Eating 1200 *should* give faster results, but 1500 *should* be healthier and more sustainable long term (don't overlook the importance of this).

    On a side note, 1200 cals doesn't include exercise, right? If you eat back exercise cals, where does that put you? 1500ish? So they are both basically the same, no?
  • stephaniecrg
    stephaniecrg Posts: 13 Member
    Hmm, I suppose you're right in that regard! The way I understood it, it was 1200 or 1500 before workout calories, leaving me at 1500 or 1700 post workout, respectively. I guess it comes down to if you want exercise cals to count or not. Thanks!
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    If you're at 1200, you should almost certainly be eating back those cals.

    As for 1500... did you factor in exercise when you chose your activity setting? If so, then they are already accounted for and you don't need to eat them back. If not, then you should.
  • TimeForMe99
    TimeForMe99 Posts: 309
    How many pounds did you enter as "wanting to lose"? MFP gives 1200 as the absolute floor so if your daily calorie needs are 2,040 and you entered a loss of 2 pounds per week MFP reduces that amount by 1,000 calories per day up to the limit of 1,200.

    Reducing calories by 500 per day is a 1 pound per week loss, which is sustainable and better for you than trying to lose faster. If you only need to lose a little then you would want to go even slower.

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