Another post really confused

haylee1113
haylee1113 Posts: 5 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Okay I am going to lay everything out because I am so confused by all the different numbers being thrown around.

My stats:
23 years
208 lbs
5 ft 6 in

my BMR is 1754
my TDEE is 2466
MFP tells me to eat 1480 a day
I go to the gym 6 days a week and burn around 600 per session

Now I will use today as an example: I ate my 1400 cals but I burned a bunch at the gym (about 800 today since i did higher intensity) since MFP reccommends under my BMR do I have to eat back my burned calories or is it fine to just stick with the 1400 I ate today? I want to lose 2 lbs a week until June (I am in a wedding) then I will change my goals to 1lb of loss a week.

All these numbers just confuse me and every post says something different about eating burned cals back or eat or not eat under BMR.

Thanks for any help.

Replies

  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    You are meant to eat them back. MFP already figures your deficit without exercise, so if you do exercise, especially a lot, you need to fuel your workout. That said, I've heard others say the calories burned estimate is really high for them, so many people eat back half.
  • haylee1113
    haylee1113 Posts: 5 Member
    I dont use MFP to gauge calories burned I use the gym counters.
  • victoriannsays
    victoriannsays Posts: 568 Member
    I don't recommend eating under your BMR.
    TDEE-20%(should be around 1973 daily). If you figure your activity level into your TDEE number then you don't have to eat back your exercise calories.

    Also, 2 lbs a week might be a little excessive. That may be why MFP has your daily calories so low. Switch it to .5-1lb a week and see what happens.
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
    Doesn't matter whose calorie burn you use, it's calories burned either way, and that fuel needs to be replaced.

    You're eating below your BMR, and then burning more through exercise without refueling - your net must be scary low. Eat too low for too long and you're giving your body a reason to store fat rather than burn it. You may lose some at first, especially since you're over 200, but eventually you're likely to stall out on weight loss, energy, and you'll tweak your metabsolism.

    The BMR is coma calories - your body needs that much to merely exist - don't you think it deserves more if you're active, living life, going to work, and exercising on top of that?

    Eat between your BMR and your TDEE - make sure you at least net your BMR. Stay under TDEE and you should lose weight.
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    my TDEE is 2466
    MFP tells me to eat 1480 a day

    If you've gone so far as to work out your TDEE, then eat a flat TDEE-minus-deficit (20% or 500 calories are the usual rules of thumb), and don't worry about MFP's calorie target.

    After a few weeks (let's say 6 or 8), make a minor adjustment up or down if required.

    This will give you, in my opinion, more reliable and predictable results.
  • mogz36
    mogz36 Posts: 38 Member
    Like other are saying, never eat below your BMR. Think of it like this. If you always eat below your BMR, you WILL eventually starve to death. Now, your body doesn't have a mind of it's own. It doesn't know that you're on a diet and that the calorie restriction is temporary. So, the longer you eat below your BMR, the more convinced your body is that you're starving to death. It will then try to save itself by lowering it's own BMR by burning muscle.

    Figure out your BMR and TDEE and always eat somewhere in between. I recommend getting a fitbit for a more accurate calculation of your TDEE.

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