BMR and TDEE numbers really close

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Hello there,

I just had a look into the way you are calculating and I'm not sure about it.

The way I have read and done myself to great success (it's also the way most weight loss guru's and doctors seem to endorse) is as follows:

BMR x 1.2 (this is for a sedentary lifestyle. I'll explain why in a second)

So for me my BMR is 1560.75. ( I use this calc: http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/)

1560.75 x 1.2 = 1872.9

Then to lose 1lb a week you take away 500 calories a day. So my net calories each day should be 1372.9

I choose this as my custom goal and then put all my exercise into my MFP diary and eat back the calories so that my deficit is not too low. I try to do ALOT of exercise as I need to eat more than that many calories just for my sanity (I like my food!) so I might consume 2000kcal of food but my net is still 1300kcal because I did 500kcal of exercise. I feel like it kinda works in two ways then because if you do more exercise and build more muscle your BMR is obviously raised higher and you burn even more calories and that's certainly my aim! I don't put a higher activity level in because I think that can give too many calories. Easier to assume you are going to sit on your bum and them log every walk, swim, jog, whatever you do so you only eat back what you burn in reality.

Another way you can do if you find the low calories too difficult (which is completely fair enough in my opinion) is to take 15-20% away from your BMR X 1.2 (I think is what you say you are doing)

So for me that would be:

20%:

1872.90-374.58 = 1498 Calorie goal each day

15%:

1872.90-290.94 = 1592 Calorie goal each day

I'd set them as my custom goal and then again eat back the calories I logged from exercise.

I hope that this is helpful. It's hard to know exactly unless you don't mind sharing your numbers with us?

Sorry if I am stating stuff you already know

Sarah x

I just re-calculated my TDEE since I lost about 10 lbs since the last time I checked it. I came up with 2198 TDEE and 1832 as BMR. If I do TDEE -20% it is 1758 which is lower that BMR. The numbers were like that last time as well. I've heard you should eat less than BMR so I was trying to eat above BMR but less than TDEE and I have been loosing, slowly. I can still eat between the numbers but it doesn't seem like a big gap. Even if I eat right at BMR that is only about a 300 cal. difference or 2100 cals a week. This will slow my weight loss down even more. Any suggestions? I originally tried MFP's goal of 1310 but it was hard to stick with and I was hungry and irritable. Not to mention the weight loss was really really slow.

My numbers are close together also. Taking 20% off of TDEE puts me below BMR so I set my calorie goal at 50 calories above my BMR. I've been losing an average of 2 lbs per week. My starting weight was 230 and I am 5'1"

There are! I would honestly say though that this way has never failed for me. As long as I'm honest about what I am eating and doing and stick within these numbers I always lose.

I have the same situation if I work out my sedentary TDEE. Without the exercise, BMR is more than 80% of TDEE, so obviously a 20% cut takes you below it. I'm sure it must be common.

I've read extremely different things on here about eating below your BMR, ranging from it being very dangerous, to it being OK especially if you're obese. Read up about it and see what you think.

The obvious answer is that you may not be completely sedentary (you said "little" exercise, not none, so you may be underestimating if you're calculating a "sedentary" TDEE) and that adding some exercise would be beneficial anyway, if that's something you can do at the moment. It doesn't even have to be enough to take you up to the next category of TDEE, but enough to allow you a bigger deficit if you still want to eat above your BMR.

However, a 300 calorie deficit is not to be sneezed at. I'm eating at around a 300 calorie deficit myself, and obviously I lose weight slowly, but I still lose it! I don't think there's anything wrong with just doing what you're doing and continuing to lose slowly. If it's easier to stick to that than the MFP goal, then changes are that you will be able to sustain it longer. Just adjust the calories on the way down (that's the bad part!).

Hello there,

I just had a look into the way you are calculating and I'm not sure about it.

The way I have read and done myself to great success (it's also the way most weight loss guru's and doctors seem to endorse) is as follows:

BMR x 1.2 (this is for a sedentary lifestyle. I'll explain why in a second)

So for me my BMR is 1560.75. ( I use this calc: http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/)

1560.75 x 1.2 = 1872.9

Then to lose 1lb a week you take away 500 calories a day. So my net calories each day should be 1372.9

I choose this as my custom goal and then put all my exercise into my MFP diary and eat back the calories so that my deficit is not too low. I try to do ALOT of exercise as I need to eat more than that many calories just for my sanity (I like my food!) so I might consume 2000kcal of food but my net is still 1300kcal because I did 500kcal of exercise. I feel like it kinda works in two ways then because if you do more exercise and build more muscle your BMR is obviously raised higher and you burn even more calories and that's certainly my aim! I don't put a higher activity level in because I think that can give too many calories. Easier to assume you are going to sit on your bum and them log every walk, swim, jog, whatever you do so you only eat back what you burn in reality.

Another way you can do if you find the low calories too difficult (which is completely fair enough in my opinion) is to take 15-20% away from your BMR X 1.2 (I think is what you say you are doing)

So for me that would be:

20%:

1872.90-374.58 = 1498 Calorie goal each day

15%:

1872.90-290.94 = 1592 Calorie goal each day

I'd set them as my custom goal and then again eat back the calories I logged from exercise.

I hope that this is helpful. It's hard to know exactly unless you don't mind sharing your numbers with us?

Sorry if I am stating stuff you already know

Sarah x

If you are 236lb then according to http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/ your sedentry TDEE is 2676