Tell me if I am wrong...please!

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jmosborn32
jmosborn32 Posts: 18
in Health and Weight Loss
I am new to MFP and have taken the advice to figure out my BMR and TDEE in order to safely lose weight. One problem, all my calculations have me needing to eat below my BMR in order to lose weight. I don't understand what I am doing wrong. My BMR is 1708. My TDEE is 2050 (just starting MFP and will be getting an exercise program together) and if I cut my TDEE by 20% (1 pound a week), I end up with 1640 recommended caloric intake. By the way, I am pretty fat...5'1 and 212 pounds (gah! I hate putting that out there!) Is this safe even though I am eating below my BMR? Several posts have said not to eat below your BMR. I really want to do this the right way...the safe way.

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  • brizforthewin
    brizforthewin Posts: 23
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    the only way to loose weight is to burn more calories than you consume ... from what i am learning your body needs a healthy amount of calories to stay okay a day ... if you happen to burn more than the with normal daily activities thats fine ! theres no other way that you will loose weight than burning more calories than you consume
  • therealmax
    therealmax Posts: 33 Member
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    68 cals under your BMR is not a huge deal, so I wouldn't worry about it. If you want to eat at BMR, your weight loss would be only slightly slower than eating at 20% less than TDEE. Just remember to adjust your TDEE when you start your active life to make sure you're fuelling your body :)
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    When you are very overweight the calculators get a bit skewed. They're operating on the idea that you have a proportional amount of lean body mass in comparison to your weight. The fact that you have a large proportion of fat throws the numbers off because you don't need to feed that fat they way you would if you had more lean muscle. I wouldn't worry about eating a bit under the BMR that you're getting.

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