Eat my BMR or follow MFP calorie goal???

glitterfest85
glitterfest85 Posts: 9
in Health and Weight Loss
Hoping someone can clear this up for me.

I have read a LOT of posts that say you should at least eat your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) in order to lose weight in a healthy way. My BMR is 1773 but if I select lose 2lbs per week, MFP sets my calorie goal at 1200. Should I be ignoring that? I recently started exercising and have been burning 600 cals from exercise each day so I understand all about the net calories and that you have to eat back most of your exercise calories to keep the net in the good zone. I am just confused as to WHAT EXACTLY my calorie goal should be.

FOR EXAMPLE, take a day where I am my usual sedentary self and my calorie goal is 1200. All I would eat is 1200, but my BMR is 1773 so is that not a good idea? My TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is ~2100. So overall if I eat 1200 cals I am 900 cals under what I burned that day. If I ate my BMR I would only be 300ish cals below my TDEE so that would be a VERY slow weight loss.

I hope my questions make sense, I just need someone to say that one thing I am missing to make it all simple and clear!!! :)

Replies

  • LittleMissLisa
    LittleMissLisa Posts: 11
    I just posted a very similar question! I feel stupid for not understnading but I DONT UNDERSTAND!
  • glitterfest85
    glitterfest85 Posts: 9
    I just posted a very similar question! I feel stupid for not understnading but I DONT UNDERSTAND!

    I knoww! People seem to get a bit annoyed at these questions because they say it is overcomplicating things, but if you don't understand then you don't understand!! Hopefully someone can shed some light for us! :)
  • LittleMissLisa
    LittleMissLisa Posts: 11
    Im used to eating under 1,000 cals per day so 1200 seems like alot but I have stuck to it and I am not loosing. So then I read about starvation mode and think "well ive likely been in that for years, its no wonder Im not loosing". Basically I dont have a clue what 'eating healthy' looks like. Eating healthy to me used to mean eating once a day lol. SOO yeah its important for me to understand how many calories I should eat and if I am exercising too much.
  • olDave
    olDave Posts: 557 Member
    It's my understanding that the BMR is what a person needs to eat in order to MAINTAIN...not lose. My BMR is around 2300...I set my goal to one pound per week. MFP says I should eat around 1800/day to lose that one pound/week. So far they are right on....ten pounds in ten weeks.

    Good luck.:smile:
  • smn76237
    smn76237 Posts: 318 Member
    It's my understanding that the BMR is what a person needs to eat in order to MAINTAIN...not lose. My BMR is around 2300...I set my goal to one pound per week. MFP says I should eat around 1800/day to lose that one pound/week. So far they are right on....ten pounds in ten weeks.

    Good luck.:smile:

    That's incorrect. TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) is what you eat to maintain your weight. It takes into account everything you do in a day, including exercise.
    BMR=Basal metabolic rate, the amount of calories your organs need to function if you were in a coma.

    MFP is designed so that you EAT BACK exercise calories. Netting 1200 is MUCH different than eating 1200 calories gross when exercising. For example, if you ate back your 600 exercise calories, you'd be at 1800 total calories for the day, which is above your BMR (good!) and *probably* below your TDEE (which is how you lose weight). Most people run into problems with 1200 because they aren't eating back their exercise calories.

    I prefer to eat roughly the same number of calories each day for planning purposes, so I went to a website like this:
    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
    to figure out my numbers. Again, TDEE is the number you eat to maintain your weight. Eating 80% of your TDEE will lead to healthy, maintainable weight loss. With that website, you include your exercise time into your TDEE, so you do not eat back exercise calories.

    All these calculators are estimates and averages, so it might take some tweaking to find your right number.
    Good luck!
  • olDave
    olDave Posts: 557 Member
    It's my understanding that the BMR is what a person needs to eat in order to MAINTAIN...not lose. My BMR is around 2300...I set my goal to one pound per week. MFP says I should eat around 1800/day to lose that one pound/week. So far they are right on....ten pounds in ten weeks.

    Good luck.:smile:

    That's incorrect. TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) is what you eat to maintain your weight. It takes into account everything you do in a day, including exercise.
    BMR=Basal metabolic rate, the amount of calories your organs need to function if you were in a coma.

    MFP is designed so that you EAT BACK exercise calories. Netting 1200 is MUCH different than eating 1200 calories gross when exercising. For example, if you ate back your 600 exercise calories, you'd be at 1800 total calories for the day, which is above your BMR (good!) and below your TDEE (which is how you lose weight). Most people run into problems with 1200 because they aren't eating back their exercise calories.

    I prefer to eat roughly the same number of calories each day for planning purposes, so I went to a website like this:
    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
    to figure out my numbers. Again, TDEE is the number you eat to maintain your weight. Eating 80% of your TDEE will lead to healthy, maintainable weight loss. With that website, you include your exercise time into your TDEE, so you do not eat back exercise calories.

    All these calculators are estimates and averages, so it might take some tweaking to find your right number.
    Good luck!

    Oops....I got my BMR confused with my TDEE. Anyway...I'm sure you get the idea by now. :smile:
  • happydispatcher
    happydispatcher Posts: 56 Member
    I just used the website suggested and found that I AM indeed NOT eating enough, especially when I actually do all my workouts. Thanks for the website suggestion:bigsmile:

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