BMR vs TDEE vs MFP recommendation

ahmommy
ahmommy Posts: 316 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm sure this has been asked in the past but I couldn't find it. The BMR calculator on this site says my BMR is ~1450. A TDEE calculator on another site estimates my TDEE at 1755 for a sedentary life, although I'm somewhere between sedentary and light activity when I'm not exercising. MFP has me set at 1330 calories a day to lose 1lb per week. I try to eat my exercise calories back but don't always make it since I don't like to make myself eat if I don't feel hungry. The result is that a lot of days, I net less than my BMR and some days less than the 1330 MFP recommends, although I always make sure to net over 1200.

I'm confused by the relationship between these three numbers. Should I be concerned about not meeting my BMR even on days that I exercise? Should I focus on my TDEE and be comfortable that me deficit is a reasonable amount below that?

I'm doing the 30ds so I'm not burning large amounts of calories a day.

Replies

  • Tahlij
    Tahlij Posts: 31 Member
    I would say never net below your BMR - this is what your body needs just to function. You need to feed your body enough to lose weight.
  • gp79
    gp79 Posts: 1,799 Member
    All three of these numbers (assuming the same activity level) are estimations. RMR is your resting metabolic rate. You can search online for a fitness testing center to have this test done. It's conducted at rest, and measures your oxygen intake and carbon dioxide output. It provides you with the amount of calories your body burns at rest and estimates your TDEE (based off of your RMR) for different levels of activity. Depending on the equipment, it could also give you a grade (based off of statistics) on where your metabolism is in relation to others.

    BMR is hugely important when trying to lose weight. The more lean body mass you have the higher your BMR will be, because it requires calories (energy) for your muscles (lean body mass) to function.

    Your TDEE is the Total Daily Energy Expenditure. To determine your TDEE, you can use an online calculator for an estimate or try out a device like a bodybugg or bodymedia which will probably give you a more accurate estimation, at a cost.

    MFP's recommendation is nothing more than an estimation based off of your age, height, weight and sex.

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