how is it possible to burn more calories then you eat?..

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TheGreat0ne
TheGreat0ne Posts: 11
in Fitness and Exercise
especially on a 1500 calories diet.. how is it possible to burn more then you eat if they say more then a hour or 2 of cardio isnt good an thats not even 800 calories within a hour.. will my bmr play a role into my calories that i eat per day like for example my bmr is 2400 will i lose 900 calories off of me if i eat 1500 a day?

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  • ltgarrow
    ltgarrow Posts: 342 Member
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    I found that if you really want to get off to a good start, read the forums and blogs for a few days before setting a goal. Use that time to track what you do normally and see where you fall on the scale (pun intended). A lot of information can be gained from people who have done the work and lost a decent amount of wieght. And unless there is a serious problem to begin with, your BMR should not be 2400 calories.
  • Bettyeditor
    Bettyeditor Posts: 327 Member
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    especially on a 1500 calories diet.. how is it possible to burn more then you eat if they say more then a hour or 2 of cardio isnt good an thats not even 800 calories within a hour.. will my bmr play a role into my calories that i eat per day like for example my bmr is 2400 will i lose 900 calories off of me if i eat 1500 a day?

    How is it possible to NOT burn more than you eat on a 1500 calorie diet? That is so few calories. I wouldn't even need to get out of bed to burn more than that (my BMR is 1701).

    I guess I don't understand the question.
  • muffinette14
    muffinette14 Posts: 2 Member
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    If I understand the question correctly: you're going to burn a lot of calories just by being alive. Your heart and lungs and brain need a certain amount of calories per day just to keep functioning. Plus you burn some calories just by walking around and talking. Even if you sit on the couch all day long, you're still burning calories by holding your head up and keeping it aimed towards the tv.

    So: let's say that you burn 1,400 calories, just by existing. You need to eat at least that much, see? So then you do a little exercise to burn off the extra 100 calories that you ate (on the 1,500 calorie plan you mentioned) and there you go.
  • Technoboggan
    Technoboggan Posts: 6
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    You may not be taking into consideration that your body burns a base amount of calories just to keep yourself alive and move your body throughout your day. That base amount (called a Basal Metabolic Rate, or BMR) varies from person to person, depending on activity levels, weight (how much your system is hauling around), environmental conditions, etc, but there is a calculator for it here: http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/
    Mine, as a 5 foot 7 woman, weighing 195, and 45 years old, is around 1620 calories. And that doesn't count any real "activities", so your cardio/housework/walking/exercise is on top of that.
    So, if I ate 1500 calories a day, and did my 30 minutes on the elliptical (burning around 400 calories) combined with my BMR of 1600, I would be at a 500 calorie deficit per day.
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
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    if they say more then a hour or 2 of cardio isnt good
    Well going on that theory most cyclists should stop riding bikes now.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    I think you are confusing BMR with TDEE.

    BMR is your basal metabolic rate - it is the number of calories your body needs just to survive everyday if you did nothing at all (like in a coma nothing).
    On top of that, we use energy all day every day, sitting, brushing our teeth, walking to the car, and in our jobs - which can vary. Then there is exercise. Factoring in all those gives you your TDEE - Total Daily Energy Expenditure. If you ate this number you would neither gain or lose weight. So if your TDEE is 2400 calories and you eat 2400 calories, your body had burned off all those calories anyway.
    TDEE is where you create your deficit from, you want to eat less than it to lose weight. If you aim for 1 lb a week, you subtract 500 calories, so you would eat 1900 calories but your body needs 2400, it takes that from your fat stores.

    Keep in mind that MFP does not calculate TDEE. MFP factors BMR and daily activity without factoring exercise. It then creates a deficit from that number. When you exercise, you are supposed to log that and eat those extra calories to maintain the deficit MFP has set for you.
    I have found both ways, if done correctly, end up in the same spot.

    Cardio isn't "bad" persay but excessive cardio simply to lose weight is not the most effective way. Not to mention excessive cardio paired with a very low calorie intake can cause problems as well.

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