Im confused. TDEE & BMR - How many calories do I need?

envbj77
envbj77 Posts: 78 Member
in Introduce Yourself
For the past 7 weeks I've been consuming an average of 1200 calories per day, most days.

I've read about TDEE & BMR and calculated mine at 151.4 lbs and 5'3", with light exercise 1-3 days per week.

My TDEE is 1976 and my BMR is 1437. I know 3500 cal is 1 lb and minus that from my weekly TDEE leaves me with 1476 cal/day.

Can someone please explain to me in layman's terms if 1200 is enough daily or what should I be at? I want to lose an average of 1-2 lbs per week. I am working up to exercise every other day time/work permitting.

Thanks

Replies

  • tryclyn
    tryclyn Posts: 2,414 Member
    1976 * .8 = 1580

    Eat 1580 every day for a month and then adjust up or down accordingly.


    Better information
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/833500-what-do-i-do-common-sense-cliff-notes
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/10118-eat-train-progress
  • theoesque
    theoesque Posts: 36 Member
    Generally speaking, unless you're pretty small or super sedentary, 1200 isn't actually enough. You want to meet your BMR no matter what. Think about it - if your BMR is what your body burns by standing still, than by eating less, you are actually not giving your body enough to just function. if you meet your BMR, then every calorie you burn during the day by standing/walking/talking/exercising/ etc will be burning excess calories. Deciding how much to go over your BMR depends on how active you are. If you're planning on just sitting at home or work all day, eating 1450 should be fine for you. If you're going to have a serious gym session and burn 700 calories, you're going to want to up that. Some people eat back all their exercise calories, others eat just a portion. At the end of the day, those kinds of judgment calls depend on you and your body, because no one else can know how it feels or what it needs. If you eat back 300 of those exercise calories and still feel ravenous, have another piece of chicken or another shake or what-have-you. If you feel like you're fine, then don't push it by eating when you're not hungry. Did that help at all?
  • envbj77
    envbj77 Posts: 78 Member
    Thank you sooo much. That is exactly what I need to understand. I work from home and pretty much sit at my computer up to 12 hours a day. With that I don't get as much activity as I need. That's probably why I didn't lose any weight for 3 weeks straight. I'm going to try and stick with my BMR and see after a week or two how I'm progressing.

    Thanks again.
  • theoesque
    theoesque Posts: 36 Member
    Anytime! Yeah, when I first started last year I had no idea what I was doing and plateaued super quick, but when I bumped my calories above my BMR, I started losing again :)
  • TRMite
    TRMite Posts: 60 Member
    what does TDEE and BMR stand for?
  • BurtHuttz
    BurtHuttz Posts: 3,653 Member
    what does TDEE and BMR stand for?

    TDEE is your total daily energy expenditure (all the calories you burn high fiving awesome people, breakdancing in the street, plus your BMR).

    Basal (base) Metabolic Rate the energy your body uses processing toxins, circulating blood, respirating.

    This is [basically] why it's so important to eat your BMR. You want to make sure your body has at least fresh energy to keep optimal life-sustaining processes going.
  • sweetliz544
    sweetliz544 Posts: 3 Member
    Hi I just joined today, really don't know what to do. I am 5"7 180 pounds. How many calories should i take daily to lose weight? can anyone help?
  • BurtHuttz
    BurtHuttz Posts: 3,653 Member
    Hi I just joined today, really don't know what to do. I am 5"7 180 pounds. How many calories should i take daily to lose weight? can anyone help?
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    :-)
  • ilovechocolate2405
    ilovechocolate2405 Posts: 12
    God I'd love to know this too :(

    I'm 5'3 and 177 lbs. I'm eating 1200 (well trying to stick to it ). Am I eating too much/ little?
  • BurtHuttz
    BurtHuttz Posts: 3,653 Member
    God I'd love to know this too :(

    I'm 5'3 and 177 lbs. I'm eating 1200 (well trying to stick to it ). Am I eating too much/ little?

    You are eating way too little; a common pattern is that people say they are sedentary and want to lose a frillion pounds a week and so MFP says "here, eat 1200". Then, they starve themselves, feel very bad and sick, and then stop.

    Weight loss isn't supposed to be like that. It's about consistency and little bits.

    Your BMR is probably about 1600 calories. Don't eat less than that per here: http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/
    Your TDEE depends on the lifestyle you lead. Waitress or doctor up and walking around all day? Office worker? Chasing kids?
    Let's say you're lightly active which is probably true. Your TDEE is about 2200 per here: http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html

    So, eat .8 * 2200 each day, yielding, what is that, like 1800 calories? Stick to it, walk around the block every now and then, and track your weight and measurements (waist, wrists, neck, etc). Over time you'll see changes in both.

    It shouldn't hurt, or feel like starvation. You'll feel better each day as ounce by ounce you use up that unneeded fat.
  • Ravin714
    Ravin714 Posts: 38 Member
    ..
  • JulieKKhoury
    JulieKKhoury Posts: 3
    hello. I just started MFP and i'm really confused about the calories I need to consume to lose weight. Can somebody please help me with that? - I am 35 yrs old. 5.2" and I weigh 196 lbs. MFP put me at 1200, but I haven't been able to lose weight. Then I saw this thread and started to wonder if I need to go up with the calories. But I don't know how to calculate it. Thank you.
  • BurtHuttz
    BurtHuttz Posts: 3,653 Member
    Good morning!
    "I just started MFP and i'm really confused about the calories I need to consume to lose weight. Can somebody please help me with that? - I am 35 yrs old. 5.2" and I weigh 196 lbs. MFP put me at 1200, but I haven't been able to lose weight. Then I saw this thread and started to wonder if I need to go up with the calories. But I don't know how to calculate it. Thank you."

    Your BMR is roughly 1650 [1]. This is what your body needs to process toxins, circulate blood, digest food, breathe, etc. Please don't eat less than this. Your TDEE is based on how active you are, and I assumed that you are lightly active and found a TDEE of 2200 [2]. This is what you burn all day - it includes your BMR and also brushing your teeth, walking to the mailbox, etc.

    After having observed success and failure on this website for some time, I have seen that people eating TDEE minus 15 percent or so have good results. For you that would be 2200 * .85 = 1870 calories per day. Be ambitious if you want and go down to 1800 or 1750 even. But remember to eat no less than 1650 calories NET (meaning, if you exercise a whole bunch and burn an unexpected 500 calories, refuel your body / eat those back, but always leave enough for your metabolic processes.)

    Finally, miscellaneous advice: take your measurements, around your waist, arms, neck, thighs, etc. Sometimes your scale won't move for a few weeks or a month but you will still be losing inches/dress sizes. It can be easy to become discouraged when that happens, so you will be glad that you have something other than simple, dumb weight to gauge your progress.

    Similarly, take some candid "before" shots. You don't want to do it, you're embarrassed, but you need those. You will inevitably get frustrated one day, and being able to compare your "now" to your "then" will really motivate you. It is hard to view ourselves objectively but photos don't lie.

    Good luck.


    [1] http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/
    [2] http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html
  • millicentjefferies
    millicentjefferies Posts: 3
    Hello eveyone Ive been using MFP jst to keep track of my food intake....I lost 41pounds eating 1200 calories a day and moderate treadmill exercises 1-3x a week....im a little confused learning about my TDEE..I set 1200 calories for myself on MFP...Im 5'5,,,, 233pounds 41 years old my Bmr is 1723..my TDEE is 2442 and i would like to lose 2 pounds a week ..now what do I do with these numbers...I have 60 more pounds to go...help me please!!.
  • akvaldiv
    akvaldiv Posts: 3
    Does anybody has any input in this 5:2 diet?? Where you eat normally for 5 days and 2 days a week you only eat 500 calories (for a women) or 600 calories (for a men)... Is this a good aproach for loosing weight?

    I am trying here, and have been working for over 2 months and have only lost 2 lb....
    Any help really is appreciated..... Please :)

    I am 5'2" and weight 144 lb. I would like to go down to 125 lb... but scale does not seem to work with me...

    Please help!!
  • jlsteele01
    jlsteele01 Posts: 9 Member
    Just count your calories. Eat 1500 per day, exercise about 30 min per day. If you aren't going to exercise that day, then don't go over 1400. You will be sure to lose weight and won't have to worry with running to the app for new figures. :)

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