Doctor says eating below BMR is fine

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I know this is rather a sensitive subject on here from reading quite a few threads basically discussing this very matter and reading the comments i convinced myself i absolutely had to eat at my bmr minimum or i was going to get very ill etc which is what most people on this forum strongly say whenever BMR is mentioned, never eat below bmr is often trotted out on here so i went for a professional opinion.

Im 6 feet 4 inches tall, i weigh around 215 pounds and im a 25 year old male looking to get my body fat % down to around 10%, i went to the doc today and basically went through what i was eating which was somewhere between 1600-2000 cals per day, now my bmr which i calculated using various online calculators is around 2200, considering my lifestyle is VERY sedentary ie i dont have a job and im at home watching tv etc everyday as im a registered carer i roughly estimated that my daily burn was around 2500, fair enough? i do 30 mins cardio on a exercise bike 6 nights a week with a bit of strength training and warm up just before depending on the day, if i estimate i burn 200 cals during this workout period im roughly guessing my body burns around 2700 calories a day? seems about right? ok as i said earlier ive been eating between 1600-2000 a day giving me roughly a 1000 deficit which = 2lb a week weight loss which every trainer ive spoken to says is perfectly acceptable, ive been doing this for just over 3 weeks happily and seeing the scale drop, but then i panic, i read forums like this one where nearly everyone to a man/woman is protesting never to eat below your bmr its dangerous youll go into starvation mode etc etc, so as i said i went to the doctor and basically told her everything ive written above, what i do what ive been eating etc, her first words were "bmr obsession is a load of rubbish, ive known tons of people have perfectly healthy weight loss eating well below bmr" her words not mine, she said im eating fine between 1600-2000 even though my bmr is 2200 which according to a lot on here is NOT fine, i told her id been panicked by people saying you shouldnt eat below bmr which is what ive been doing for a few weeks now daily, she said to ignore it, a better way to look at is is whats your goal weight and whats the bmr for that weight, my goal weight is 180lbs with low body fat, the average bmr for 180lbs for someone my age gender and height is around 1800 calories, roughly what im eating now, plus she also said your bmr naturally comes down when you lose weight, meaning its hardly some life threatening occurrence when in a few weeks your bmr could easily be the number of calories your eating now anyway!

So then i threw in the old coma comments, ya know the one that goes "bmr is what the hospital would feed you in a coma, why would you want to eat less" her response? well when your in a coma the nurses are hardly sitting around working out how best for you to lose body fat" to which i laughed as its a rather good point.

My point is im not trying to cause a fit of rage on here im simply wondering where people get this never eat below bmr is dangerous stuff from? ive read hundreds of diet studies hundreds of nutritionist stuff etc and never once seen anything about this, its only on these forums where i see this trotted out, hence to be safe i booked a doc appointment and had it confirmed, im sure if i was to simply come on here and say my bmr is 2200 and im eating around 1700 is that ok id get scaremongering telling me how im undereating and going into starvation mode, when put simply it really isnt true.
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Replies

  • ElizabethKalmbach
    ElizabethKalmbach Posts: 1,416 Member
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    One size doesn't fit all here. You won't die eating below BMR, but you might not be getting as many essential nutrients as you should, which is a problem for some people. For people trying to lose the last 5 pounds, that kind of eating will cause them to hold onto those 5 lbs like a miser. For people who want to go back to eating "maintenance calories" without having to ease back up to a normal metabolic rate/process, this will not work.

    I wouldn't say it's DANGEROUS necessarily, but it might be for some. It will certainly be counterproductive for many. You have to do your own research and figure out what is best for your situation.
  • emtbabe543
    emtbabe543 Posts: 162
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    I know this is rather a sensitive subject on here from reading quite a few threads basically discussing this very matter and reading the comments i convinced myself i absolutely had to eat at my bmr minimum or i was going to get very ill etc which is what most people on this forum strongly say whenever BMR is mentioned, never eat below bmr is often trotted out on here so i went for a professional opinion.

    Im 6 feet 4 inches tall, i weigh around 215 pounds and im a 25 year old male looking to get my body fat % down to around 10%, i went to the doc today and basically went through what i was eating which was somewhere between 1600-2000 cals per day, now my bmr which i calculated using various online calculators is around 2200, considering my lifestyle is VERY sedentary ie i dont have a job and im at home watching tv etc everyday as im a registered carer i roughly estimated that my daily burn was around 2500, fair enough? i do 30 mins cardio on a exercise bike 6 nights a week with a bit of strength training and warm up just before depending on the day, if i estimate i burn 200 cals during this workout period im roughly guessing my body burns around 2700 calories a day? seems about right? ok as i said earlier ive been eating between 1600-2000 a day giving me roughly a 1000 deficit which = 2lb a week weight loss which every trainer ive spoken to says is perfectly acceptable, ive been doing this for just over 3 weeks happily and seeing the scale drop, but then i panic, i read forums like this one where nearly everyone to a man/woman is protesting never to eat below your bmr its dangerous youll go into starvation mode etc etc, so as i said i went to the doctor and basically told her everything ive written above, what i do what ive been eating etc, her first words were "bmr obsession is a load of rubbish, ive known tons of people have perfectly healthy weight loss eating well below bmr" her words not mine, she said im eating fine between 1600-2000 even though my bmr is 2200 which according to a lot on here is NOT fine, i told her id been panicked by people saying you shouldnt eat below bmr which is what ive been doing for a few weeks now daily, she said to ignore it, a better way to look at is is whats your goal weight and whats the bmr for that weight, my goal weight is 180lbs with low body fat, the average bmr for 180lbs for someone my age gender and height is around 1800 calories, roughly what im eating now, plus she also said your bmr naturally comes down when you lose weight, meaning its hardly some life threatening occurrence when in a few weeks your bmr could easily be the number of calories your eating now anyway!

    So then i threw in the old coma comments, ya know the one that goes "bmr is what the hospital would feed you in a coma, why would you want to eat less" her response? well when your in a coma the nurses are hardly sitting around working out how best for you to lose body fat" to which i laughed as its a rather good point.

    My point is im not trying to cause a fit of rage on here im simply wondering where people get this never eat below bmr is dangerous stuff from? ive read hundreds of diet studies hundreds of nutritionist stuff etc and never once seen anything about this, its only on these forums where i see this trotted out, hence to be safe i booked a doc appointment and had it confirmed, im sure if i was to simply come on here and say my bmr is 2200 and im eating around 1700 is that ok id get scaremongering telling me how im undereating and going into starvation mode, when put simply it really isnt true.

    I agree with you. I don't really eat what it says I should-not because I'm starving myself (and if you look at my food journal I have three meals and snacks, I refuse to overeat and be stuffed just to make some people happy)-just because I am not sure how accurate the cal/exercise calculator is. I try to stay around 1200 cals (I'm 5'4 and weigh 115lbs) well because that's what Jillian Michaels told me to do-in her book lol. She doesn't minus her caloric intake from her workouts-if you were bodybuilding then yes, but I'm HIT training and I am anything but underweight. Use your judgment and don't let people get to you. The only person who knows what they need is YOU! Period. :wink:
  • chels0722
    chels0722 Posts: 465 Member
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    Doctors and pcp's, in most cases, know the bare minimum, if anything at all, about nutrition and a body's nutritional needs.

    You need to see a dietitian or nutritionist to get proffesionally recommended help catered to your body.

    I will not give you my personal opinion on what you should or shouldn't be eating, because I am neither.
  • ItsCasey
    ItsCasey Posts: 4,022 Member
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    Dude. I am 16 inches shorter than you are, nearly 100 lbs lighter, 5 years older, and I'm a chick. And I eat as much as you do. And I'm losing weight. Eat more.

    P.S. Some doctors are idiots.
  • Pearsquared
    Pearsquared Posts: 1,656 Member
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    His logic is interesting, but doesn't really work out. Sure, they aren't really focused on you losing weight when you're in a coma, but just sitting up in the morning already puts you way ahead of coma guy in terms of calories burned. Perhaps if you wanted to lose weight whilst in a coma...the easiest way to lose weight ever?

    Anyway, that whole eating below your bmr thing is only for people whose weight has become such a problem that they barely stand, let alone exercise. For the rest of us, we have lives to live and jobs to work, and those need an appropriate amount of calories.
  • javajunco
    javajunco Posts: 81
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    Thanks for posting this! I think I'm doing fine, and then sometimes I read the forums here and it gets my head spinning with anxieties, which is no good for me at all. Your post is very reassuring.
  • DitchTheMcFlurry
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    I know this is rather a sensitive subject on here from reading quite a few threads basically discussing this very matter and reading the comments i convinced myself i absolutely had to eat at my bmr minimum or i was going to get very ill etc which is what most people on this forum strongly say whenever BMR is mentioned, never eat below bmr is often trotted out on here so i went for a professional opinion.

    Im 6 feet 4 inches tall, i weigh around 215 pounds and im a 25 year old male looking to get my body fat % down to around 10%, i went to the doc today and basically went through what i was eating which was somewhere between 1600-2000 cals per day, now my bmr which i calculated using various online calculators is around 2200, considering my lifestyle is VERY sedentary ie i dont have a job and im at home watching tv etc everyday as im a registered carer i roughly estimated that my daily burn was around 2500, fair enough? i do 30 mins cardio on a exercise bike 6 nights a week with a bit of strength training and warm up just before depending on the day, if i estimate i burn 200 cals during this workout period im roughly guessing my body burns around 2700 calories a day? seems about right? ok as i said earlier ive been eating between 1600-2000 a day giving me roughly a 1000 deficit which = 2lb a week weight loss which every trainer ive spoken to says is perfectly acceptable, ive been doing this for just over 3 weeks happily and seeing the scale drop, but then i panic, i read forums like this one where nearly everyone to a man/woman is protesting never to eat below your bmr its dangerous youll go into starvation mode etc etc, so as i said i went to the doctor and basically told her everything ive written above, what i do what ive been eating etc, her first words were "bmr obsession is a load of rubbish, ive known tons of people have perfectly healthy weight loss eating well below bmr" her words not mine, she said im eating fine between 1600-2000 even though my bmr is 2200 which according to a lot on here is NOT fine, i told her id been panicked by people saying you shouldnt eat below bmr which is what ive been doing for a few weeks now daily, she said to ignore it, a better way to look at is is whats your goal weight and whats the bmr for that weight, my goal weight is 180lbs with low body fat, the average bmr for 180lbs for someone my age gender and height is around 1800 calories, roughly what im eating now, plus she also said your bmr naturally comes down when you lose weight, meaning its hardly some life threatening occurrence when in a few weeks your bmr could easily be the number of calories your eating now anyway!

    So then i threw in the old coma comments, ya know the one that goes "bmr is what the hospital would feed you in a coma, why would you want to eat less" her response? well when your in a coma the nurses are hardly sitting around working out how best for you to lose body fat" to which i laughed as its a rather good point.

    My point is im not trying to cause a fit of rage on here im simply wondering where people get this never eat below bmr is dangerous stuff from? ive read hundreds of diet studies hundreds of nutritionist stuff etc and never once seen anything about this, its only on these forums where i see this trotted out, hence to be safe i booked a doc appointment and had it confirmed, im sure if i was to simply come on here and say my bmr is 2200 and im eating around 1700 is that ok id get scaremongering telling me how im undereating and going into starvation mode, when put simply it really isnt true.

    I agree with you. I don't really eat what it says I should-not because I'm starving myself (and if you look at my food journal I have three meals and snacks, I refuse to overeat and be stuffed just to make some people happy)-just because I am not sure how accurate the cal/exercise calculator is. I try to stay around 1200 cals (I'm 5'4 and weigh 115lbs) well because that's what Jillian Michaels told me to do-in her book lol. She doesn't minus her caloric intake from her workouts-if you were bodybuilding then yes, but I'm HIT training and I am anything but underweight. Use your judgment and don't let people get to you. The only person who knows what they need is YOU! Period. :wink:

    Thanks for the reply, thats another point i meant to highlight, id understand if at the end of every day my stomach was grumbling and i was literally craving food but refusing to eat, id accept that was an obvious tell tail sign im undereating and need food, but on what im eating im perfectly comfortable, im never at any stage throughout the day 'starving' if i feel hungry ill have a fruit snack or a small yoghut and then im fine, its not like im really struggling to eat 1700 cals a day, im eating enough to me that feels comfortably, im not going to raid the fridge in the middle of the night because what ive eaten throughout the day hasnt hit some bmr number a calculator has estimated for me, that makes no sense.

    Ive been talking to my mum and other family members about this and they laugh when i bring out all these numbers, my mums been dieting for 50 odd years long before internet and all these calculaters were around, how did she manage on at times next to nothing a day and lose weight without issue?

    I do get thats is a decent number to work out if your planning on weight loss as it gives you a rough idea of how to work out a caloric defecit, but i dont think it should be used as some sort of godly figure that your putting your life in danger if you dont meet, if that were true how come christian bale went on a 4 month crash diet eating only an aplle and can of tuna a day with a cup of coffe for a movie role? now unless that can of tuna was rather large or his bmr was very low i doubt that diet met his bmr or anything close, yet he wasnt dead after 4 months of doing it and hed lost about 60lbs..
  • jwdieter
    jwdieter Posts: 2,582 Member
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    Surviving while slowing down metabolism and eating up muscle mass is one option.
  • DitchTheMcFlurry
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    Dude. I am 16 inches shorter than you are, nearly 100 lbs lighter, 5 years older, and I'm a chick. And I eat as much as you do. And I'm losing weight. Eat more.

    P.S. Some doctors are idiots.

    But whats your daily life like? i doubt your as sedentary as i am right now correct? my TDEE is roughly only 500 cals above my BMR, if i had a job and was walking around and active all day id probably need to eat more, but seeing as walking up and down the stairs is as active as i get (before exercise) im burning very little above 'BMR' level anyway.

    What about people who cant exercise? say i puled a hamstring or something and couldn't run for weeks, given my sedentary lifestyle (which would be even more sedentary with a busted leg) if i ate at my bmr i wouldnt lose weight at all, or at best something like a pound every 3 months! i dont want to be collecting my free bus pass at 60 odd and still trying to shift the pounds!

    Guess its just what works for you, my goal is to get around 10% body fat and strong, first ive got to cut to get rid of all the excess body fat on me, im at around 18% id guesstimate, im simply not going to lose that fat by eating my bmr with my current lifestyle, at best it would probably take about 10 years at eating my bmr rate.
  • DitchTheMcFlurry
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    Thanks for posting this! I think I'm doing fine, and then sometimes I read the forums here and it gets my head spinning with anxieties, which is no good for me at all. Your post is very reassuring.

    No probs at all i was exactly the same, i became a nervous wreck reading some of these forums about bmr levels etc, hence why i went to see a doctor in the first place.

    My advice would be eat what feels comfortable to you, if your hungry eat (healthy food of course) dont starve yourself at any time, but also dont raid the fridges for an extra few hundred calories to match some online calculater guestamating your bmr, whats the point? your own body will tell you if you need food.
  • DitchTheMcFlurry
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    Surviving while slowing down metabolism and eating up muscle mass is one option.

    Any concrete data that proves ive slown down my metabolism?? im losing around 2lbs per week which fits my deficit, im visibly losing fat around my stomach, my abs are already far more visible than 3 weeks ago, ive been told this by numerous people already, as for muscle, you dont lose muscle if you eat a good portion of protein and perform weight resistance training (any fitness instructor will tell you this), which im doing, i whilst granted i havnt run a tape measure across my bicep recently id say visually they're certainly not smaller than they were when i started, my fat loss is though.

    I just dont get this idea of pigging out on food to match some online guesstamation number if your not hungry? surely your own body knows better than an internet calculator?
  • purple4sure05
    purple4sure05 Posts: 287 Member
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    Thanks for posting this! I think I'm doing fine, and then sometimes I read the forums here and it gets my head spinning with anxieties, which is no good for me at all. Your post is very reassuring.

    No probs at all i was exactly the same, i became a nervous wreck reading some of these forums about bmr levels etc, hence why i went to see a doctor in the first place.

    My advice would be eat what feels comfortable to you, if your hungry eat (healthy food of course) dont starve yourself at any time, but also dont raid the fridges for an extra few hundred calories to match some online calculater guestamating your bmr, whats the point? your own body will tell you if you need food.

    I keep trying to make this point too, but I get attacked every single time. I completely agree. I feel as though there are a lot of factors that go into how many calories your body requires to function. If you're tracking your nutrients, taking any vitamins or supplements you need, etc., I just don't see how eating around your BMR could be dramatically unhealthy. For a while I was (wrongfully) eating 800 calories or less a day and although I admit that I was wrong in doing so and will never do it again, I felt fine and was taking a vitamin and eating a balanced diet. I felt fine and I lost about 2 pounds per week. This is MUCH lower than my BMR, so further down the line it may have caused problems, but I guess the point I'm trying to make is that nothing dramatic happened in those 5 months whatsoever.

    Everyone's body is different.
  • jwdieter
    jwdieter Posts: 2,582 Member
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    Guess its just what works for you, my goal is to get around 10% body fat and strong, first ive got to cut to get rid of all the excess body fat on me, im at around 18% id guesstimate, im simply not going to lose that fat by eating my bmr with my current lifestyle, at best it would probably take about 10 years at eating my bmr rate.

    If you don't exercise, you won't be strong. Your plan will eat away your muscles while slowing your metabolism. You'll still have body fat too, because your body will need that more than your muscles. You'll weigh less and appear thin, but you won't look good with your shirt off.

    10% BF and muscles comes with work, not just starving yourself.

    What you're doing is not a good choice to achieve your objectives. Not sure what sort of physiological process you're envisioning here.

    Edit: I see you're actually exercising. Seems like a fine plan to get trim, as long as you're feeling comfortable. Just keep listening to your body.
  • bearkisses
    bearkisses Posts: 1,252 Member
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    i love how everyone is slandering doctors as if they are dumb as bricks. while they may not be as schooled in nutrition as a dietitian...they went to med school, and none of you did! (and that assumption IS correct, cause you wouldn't be dissing them if you was one of them, right?)

    p.s. dietitians are what you want. nutritionists aren't standardized. enough said :P
  • prattiger65
    prattiger65 Posts: 1,657 Member
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    I love these types of threads. You absolutely know that his is going to stir things up......that's why you posted it. You are going to do what you want to do anyway, you are just looking for people to be co-dependent with you. Good luck with your weight loss. I would like, if it were me, for my doctor to use science to explain this to me, rather than use terms like "rubbish" and anecdotal evidence like " I have known plenty of people" But that's just me.
  • meeper123
    meeper123 Posts: 3,347 Member
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    I find it really hard to eat below my bmr
  • csheltra26
    csheltra26 Posts: 272 Member
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    Surviving while slowing down metabolism and eating up muscle mass is one option.

    This.
    I did this - gained it all back. I think that is why a lot of people do gain back what they lose. Oh and it KILLED my metabolism. People on there have done the same as I did - that's why they are suggesting against it.

    BTW, if your mom has been dieting for 50 years - has she not reached her goal weight yet? Or are you talking about yo-yo where she loses and gains? That's not the goal, at least for me.
  • DitchTheMcFlurry
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    Guess its just what works for you, my goal is to get around 10% body fat and strong, first ive got to cut to get rid of all the excess body fat on me, im at around 18% id guesstimate, im simply not going to lose that fat by eating my bmr with my current lifestyle, at best it would probably take about 10 years at eating my bmr rate.

    If you don't exercise, you won't be strong. Your plan will eat away your muscles while slowing your metabolism. You'll still have body fat too, because your body will need that more than your muscles. You'll weigh less and appear thin, but you won't look good with your shirt off.

    10% BF and muscles comes with work, not just starving yourself.

    What you're doing is not a good choice to achieve your objectives. Not sure what sort of physiological process you're envisioning here.

    Edit: I see you're actually exercising. Seems like a fine plan to get trim, as long as you're feeling comfortable. Just keep listening to your body.

    Im not starving myself though, this is the point im trying to make, for me, eating between 1600-2000 cals a day feels perfectly normal, i dont at any stage feel 'starved', im never laying in bed at night craving a bic mac and fries etc, i eat what feels comfortable for me, nothing more nothing less, surely if i was starving myself my body would tell me im starving myself by grumbling constantly and making me feel like crap, it dosnt and i dont, i started off really puffing at the end of my first 30 minute cardio session about 3 weeks ago, today i can do 30 minutes easy, which to me proves im getting stronger not weaker, if i had no energy to do it then id worry i wasnt eating enough.

    Ill give you an example of my daily food intake:

    Today:

    Breakfast - bowl of porridge with full fat milk (mum needs the full fat so i have it)

    Snack food - anything from a banana,apple,peach,grapes etc,

    Lunch - 2 pieces of cooked salmon fillets with scrambled egg

    Desert - 2 small activia yoghurt's

    The ill do my workout about an hour or so later

    Dinner - Turkey/chicken or tuna filled sandwich with tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber etc in normal bread with butter

    Now thats just an example but id hardly say if i ate like that everyday my bodys going to go into starvation mode and im going to burn a ton of muscle and not lose fat, im not going to sit around counting every single calorie in a diet like that as it would drive me nuts and would take over a persons life, but basic principle tells me thats not a bad meal day, plenty of protein (salmon/tuna/turkey etc) plenty of carbs (fruit/youghut) and some fat which we all need thrown in.

    Whether that specific daily meal gets me up to my 'bmr' number is irrelevant to me, if feels comfortable, im at no stage starving and im losing weight every week.
  • Akimajuktuq
    Akimajuktuq Posts: 3,037 Member
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    i love how everyone is slandering doctors as if they are dumb as bricks. while they may not be as schooled in nutrition as a dietitian...they went to med school, and none of you did! (and that assumption IS correct, cause you wouldn't be dissing them if you was one of them, right?)

    p.s. dietitians are what you want. nutritionists aren't standardized. enough said :P

    I think it's very important to understand that doctors know little about nutrition and health. Yet, most of them give advice and medications every day to do with both of those things. Many harm people with their bad advice and treatments.

    Doctors learn about disease and treatment of symptoms. Their education is very influenced by the pharmaceutical industry. Doctors have their uses, but to go in and accept everything they say and do without question is just plain foolish. Trust them blindly just because they are highly educated on a narrow scope of subjects? Well, you can choose to do that if you like.

    Dieticians and nutritionists aren't a whole lot better imo. They are still the product of what they learned in school. The nutritionist in my community pushes a completely unhealthy, culturally inappropriate grain/sugar based diet. But on Friday she was buying hotdogs, Velveeta, and bread for her own supper. But if people eat some natural animal fat from wild animals, as they have for thousands of years, god forbid!

    There is nothing wrong with using our own brains to determine if what an "expert" tells us actually makes sense. I know that common sense and critical thinking is getting pretty rare these days.... :sad:
  • ItsCasey
    ItsCasey Posts: 4,022 Member
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    i love how everyone is slandering doctors as if they are dumb as bricks. while they may not be as schooled in nutrition as a dietitian...they went to med school, and none of you did! (and that assumption IS correct, cause you wouldn't be dissing them if you was one of them, right?)

    p.s. dietitians are what you want. nutritionists aren't standardized. enough said :P

    I didn't say doctors are dumb as bricks. I said SOME doctors are idiots. I work for a medical malpractice insurance company. I know.