BMR BMI????????? HELP PLEASE

lisacsmith16
lisacsmith16 Posts: 64 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
ok I need help... am I under eating????? I am eating 1200 cals per day

my bmr is 1572.2
I am walking the tread mill 4 to 5 times per week and burning 127 calls per day.
I am 44 and weight 186 pounds Female..... I want to lose 30 pounds.... but afraid I am doing something wrong. I have been counting and using MFP for a week now. lost 2.8 pounds so far (28 to go) But everyone is tell me 1200 is to low to eat... HELP!!!!!!!!!

Replies

  • seena511
    seena511 Posts: 685 Member
    yes you are eating too little. you will probably lose weight for a few weeks and then stall and have to eat at maintenance again for a few weeks before starting to lose any more weight. i would bump it up to at least 1500 in order to avoid a plateau
  • lisacsmith16
    lisacsmith16 Posts: 64 Member
    Why then in MY FITNESS telling me 1200 cals????? I want to lose lose lose..... How do I change the 1200 to 1500
  • holothuroidea
    holothuroidea Posts: 772 Member
    I really can't see eating below BMR if you only need to loose 30lbs.

    I pluged your numbers in and for lightly active your TDEE is about 2150, so according to the fine people at IPOARM (link below) you should be eating about 1720 calories.

    You will loose weight with 1200 calories and it works for a lot of people, but you risk loosing more lean body mass (especially muscle) and wrecking your metabolism by eating below your BMR.

    Here's the link to IPOARM
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/937712-in-place-of-a-road-map-ver-3-0
  • whitecapwendy
    whitecapwendy Posts: 287 Member
    you probably put yourself down as sedentary and said you wanted to lose more than two pounds a week. I would put you down as active and 1 pound a week. You can also choose to do change things manually. keep in mind that you probably would burn 1500-1800 calories if you were in a coma and not moving at all.
  • Railr0aderTony
    Railr0aderTony Posts: 6,803 Member
    Read this, it will explain it all, Great info .
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/943139-weight-loss-cheat-sheet-ipoarm
  • holothuroidea
    holothuroidea Posts: 772 Member
    Why then in MY FITNESS telling me 1200 cals????? I want to lose lose lose..... How do I change the 1200 to 1500

    MFP assumes faster weight loss (you can't set it below 1lb/week), it underestimates TDEE and it expects you to eat your exercise calories back. What MFP does is it gives you a bare minimum of calories to eat for safe weight loss.

    It will work for a while but it will wreck your metabolism eventually. You don't have that much to loose, so I'd suggest staying above your BMR, loosing weight slower to hold on to your LBM (doing resistance training will really help this, too).

    To change your calorie goal go to My Home > Goals > Change Goals > Custom.
  • splengie
    splengie Posts: 3
    1200/day is fine. Add on extra for your workouts.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,454 Member
    This site is a dumb tool. If you ask it to to something ridiculous, like lose 2 pounds a week when you only have 30 pounds to lose, and if you tell it you are Sedentary because that's a choice, but you're really moderately active, then you've tried to cheat the system.

    Here - these will help:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/186814-some-mfp-basics


    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits
  • jestersand
    jestersand Posts: 61 Member
    2.8loss per week is about right. if you were to loose 5 lbs each week then you would be under-eating and sending your body on a quick plateau, but it doesn't seem the case, especially with the amount of exercise. Try it for two more weeks and if you start losing more than 3 lbs in a row, then do increase your cals. If you stay where you are at, then keep it that way.

    By the end of the month, though, you will have to increase your intensity on your workout to burn a little more than 127cals per session.
  • charliemarie923
    charliemarie923 Posts: 275 Member
    1200/day is fine. Add on extra for your workouts.


    Dont let certain people see you say that..it will cause uproar LOL there was a whole thread on the whole 1200 cal is not safe ...
  • splengie
    splengie Posts: 3
    1200/day is fine. Add on extra for your workouts.


    Dont let certain people see you say that..it will cause uproar LOL there was a whole thread on the whole 1200 cal is not safe ...
    As you can see from my post count I really don't frequent the message board much. What are they going to do? stop me from using their app? Im a 31 year old male with BMR ~1700 and I only eat that much on my cheat days. I've lost 41 lbs in 6 months and I feel great. People like to regurgitate **** that they google without doing real research.
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22990030
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9226488
    edit: I also work with nutritionists who say that 1200 is a safe minimum.
  • charliemarie923
    charliemarie923 Posts: 275 Member
    1200/day is fine. Add on extra for your workouts.


    Dont let certain people see you say that..it will cause uproar LOL there was a whole thread on the whole 1200 cal is not safe ...
    As you can see from my post count I really don't frequent the message board much. What are they going to do? stop me from using their app? Im a 31 year old male with BMR ~1700 and I only eat that much on my cheat days. I've lost 41 lbs in 6 months and I feel great. People like to regurgitate **** that they google without doing real research.
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22990030

    I also work with nutritionists who say that 1200 is a safe minimum.

    Hey i totally agree with you! Everyone shouted at me when i said it was ok...its nice to know im not completely deluded lol
  • holothuroidea
    holothuroidea Posts: 772 Member
    I don't think it's a matter of safety, but of sustainability and effectiveness (specifically for reducing BF%).

    Also, 1200 cals is only a safe minimum (for women, the minimum for men is 1800) if you eat strictly and consume adequate protein, fat and micro-nutrients. 1200 calories worth of mashed potatoes or bananas or cookies every day is not safe.
  • lisacsmith16
    lisacsmith16 Posts: 64 Member
    Well I would like someone that has lost weight STEADY to go and look at what I am eating.... Too many number 1200, 1500, BMI BMR cals......grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
  • holothuroidea
    holothuroidea Posts: 772 Member
    Well I would like someone that has lost weight STEADY to go and look at what I am eating.... Too many number 1200, 1500, BMI BMR cals......grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

    Your diary is not open.
  • lisacsmith16
    lisacsmith16 Posts: 64 Member
    I will open it right now! Thanks!!!!!!!
  • alsoagood1
    alsoagood1 Posts: 79 Member
    I was eating the recommended 1200 a week and after a few weeks stopped losing or only lost .4 a week......I talked to a few people who had been doing this longer than me and they recommended I up my calories per day. I'm not eating 1480 a day and have started loosing again!!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Why then in MY FITNESS telling me 1200 cals????? I want to lose lose lose..... How do I change the 1200 to 1500

    MFP is only giving you a calorie goal based on what your stated weight loss goal...probably 2 Lbs per week right? You will note that actually, 1 Lb is the recommended.

    Also, using the MFP method, those are net calories...that means you're supposed to eat back exercise calories, so really, you should be grossing well above 1,200 calories when it's all said and done. Generally speaking, your body doesn't react all that positively towards such a huge calorie restriction (about 800-1,000 calories per day below maintenance). Obese individuals can sustain these kind of deficits for much longer as they have a lot of fat stores. Someone with less than 75Lbs or so to lose has to go much slower as their metabolisms stall out with such low calorie intake. With a mere 30 Lbs to lose, you'll most likely plateau in your weight loss fairly quickly...you just don't have the fat stores to maintain at that level.

    Really, you should at minimum net to your BMR. Eating well below your BMR for a substantial amount of time can result in all kinds of issues. You will note that if you aren't eating your exercise calories on the 1,200 calorie goal that you would be netting way, way, way below your BMR...for example...you burn of 300 calories lets say...you don't eat them back...you're netting 1,200 - 300 = 900 calories. You are a good 600+ calories below the level of calories necessary to provide for basic organ function.

    If you do the 1,200 calorie thing, make sure you are eating back your exercise calories and get a lot of nutrient dense foods in there. I'd personally recommend trimming your goal back to 1 Lb per week though.
  • CLFrancois
    CLFrancois Posts: 472 Member
    1200 calories worth of mashed potatoes or bananas or cookies every day is not safe.

    tumblr_mg66s9uMHj1rmiy8no1_500.gif
    My life= over.
  • holothuroidea
    holothuroidea Posts: 772 Member
    1200 calories worth of mashed potatoes or bananas or cookies every day is not safe.

    tumblr_mg66s9uMHj1rmiy8no1_500.gif
    My life= over.

    AWWW!!! lol :D

    I'm sure you'd be fine if you only ate like that for one day every once in a while!!

    I meant as a lifestyle habit. :)
  • selina884
    selina884 Posts: 826 Member
    I don't think it's a matter of safety, but of sustainability and effectiveness (specifically for reducing BF%).

    Also, 1200 cals is only a safe minimum (for women, the minimum for men is 1800) if you eat strictly and consume adequate protein, fat and micro-nutrients. 1200 calories worth of mashed potatoes or bananas or cookies every day is not safe.

    Preach
  • holothuroidea
    holothuroidea Posts: 772 Member
    OK! The two most important numbers you need to know are:

    -BMR: This is your basic metabolic rate, the calories you burn by just existing. If you were in a coma in the hospital, your doctors would feed you this to keep you alive. Your NET calories (that is your total calories minus exercise calories) should stay above this number.

    -TDEE: This is your BMR + the calories you need to sustain your daily activities like walking, eating, cooking, brushing your teeth, what have you. If you want to loose weight, you need to eat below this number so you burn more calories than you take in.

    So, based on the numbers you gave in your first post you should be eating between 1572 and 2150 calories a day to loose weight. (I calculated your TDEE based on the BMR you gave and your activity description (light activity).)

    According to your diary, you've been consistently eating under your BMR. Based on IPOARM recommendations, you should change your goal to TDEE-20% (1720 calories).

    If you're hungry enough to eat all those calories, you should! If not, try to work in more calorie dense foods and slowly increase your calories based on your hunger. You might notice an initial gain, this is normal. Your body has been in starvation mode for a while and will react to increased calories by hoarding them, but once your metabolism catches up to your new caloric intake you will start loosing consistently.

    When you increase your calories, try not to fill up on more processed food. Your sodium levels are already very high. Try to include more fruits (the original 100 calorie snack), nuts, and cooked veggies.

    With this method you will loose weight more slowly. The benefit to this is that you will preserve more muscle mass and see a bigger reduction in body fat percentage, you will be more likely to avoid long plateaus, and you will be creating more sustainable habits to keep the weight off when you reach your goal.
  • rduhlir
    rduhlir Posts: 3,550 Member
    Okay...

    1. Calm down. You said you have been doing this about a week and have lost 2.8 pounds and aren't satisfied. That to me sounds like you need to sit down and have a long talk with yourself. 2.8 pounds is a great loss in such a short period of time. If you are expecting to start this and lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks because you have seen on TV that people have done it, then you need to look at the reality of it. How much over weight were those people compared to you? Where they trying to lose 30 pounds like you are? Or are they looking at 100 or 200lbs to lose? If it is the latter, then losing 10 pounds in a week is easy for them. Not for you. The less you have to lose the slower it comes off...you just have to deal with that.

    2. While for SOME it is easier to eat at 1200 and lose weight...you have to decide whether that way is for you. If you are miserable eating so little (like I was, sorry I like food and if I can eat and lose weight then why starve myself) then go with the road map and get the cheat sheet on it. It will totally make everything easy for you.
  • lisacsmith16
    lisacsmith16 Posts: 64 Member
    I never said I was not satisfied with the 2.8 loss... I LOVE THAT in fact... however people are telling me I am not eating enough.. I want to keep losing and not have it stop after a week or so.... I dont want to plat............I want to lose this HEALTHY! I dont want to starve my body. was confused about how many cals I needed to eat to lose it the RIGHT WAY. dont expect it to drop 10lbs in a week.. (that would be nice) but not the healthy way to do it..... I understand it took time to gain it... it will take time to lose it
  • AJL437
    AJL437 Posts: 71 Member
    OK! The two most important numbers you need to know are:

    -BMR: This is your basic metabolic rate, the calories you burn by just existing. If you were in a coma in the hospital, your doctors would feed you this to keep you alive. Your NET calories (that is your total calories minus exercise calories) should stay above this number.

    -TDEE: This is your BMR + the calories you need to sustain your daily activities like walking, eating, cooking, brushing your teeth, what have you. If you want to loose weight, you need to eat below this number so you burn more calories than you take in.

    So, based on the numbers you gave in your first post you should be eating between 1572 and 2150 calories a day to loose weight. (I calculated your TDEE based on the BMR you gave and your activity description (light activity).)

    According to your diary, you've been consistently eating under your BMR. Based on IPOARM recommendations, you should change your goal to TDEE-20% (1720 calories).

    If you're hungry enough to eat all those calories, you should! If not, try to work in more calorie dense foods and slowly increase your calories based on your hunger. You might notice an initial gain, this is normal. Your body has been in starvation mode for a while and will react to increased calories by hoarding them, but once your metabolism catches up to your new caloric intake you will start loosing consistently.

    When you increase your calories, try not to fill up on more processed food. Your sodium levels are already very high. Try to include more fruits (the original 100 calorie snack), nuts, and cooked veggies.

    With this method you will loose weight more slowly. The benefit to this is that you will preserve more muscle mass and see a bigger reduction in body fat percentage, you will be more likely to avoid long plateaus, and you will be creating more sustainable habits to keep the weight off when you reach your goal.

    The question I have is how does this relate to eating back your work out calories? Do I just eat TDEE - 20% every day no matter what? Or do I still need to eat back calories lost by working out to get to a net TDEE - 20%? Thanks!
  • holothuroidea
    holothuroidea Posts: 772 Member
    The question I have is how does this relate to eating back your work out calories? Do I just eat TDEE - 20% every day no matter what? Or do I still need to eat back calories lost by working out to get to a net TDEE - 20%? Thanks!

    It depends on how you figure out your TDEE. For the OP, I included her exercise as part of her activity level because it's consistent and light. So with what I calculated for her, she would NOT eat back her exercise calories.

    I do it differently for myself. I don't include my exercise as part of my TDEE, so I eat back my exercise calories. I do this because I'm always hungrier on work out days, so I want to eat more calories on those days.

    So you can do it one of two ways:

    A) Include your exercise as part of your activity level when you calculate your TDEE. So if you work out 5 days a week, you'd choose the Moderately Active TDEE. Then, do NOT eat back your exercise calories, because they are already factored into your calorie goal.

    B) Set your activity level based on what your days are like without exercise when you calculate your TDEE. Then you DO track your exercise calories and eat them back.

    It all depends on what works best for you and your own individual schedule.
  • AJL437
    AJL437 Posts: 71 Member
    Awesome! Thanks!

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