Any sensible suggestions only please

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  • SammieGetsFit
    SammieGetsFit Posts: 432 Member
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    Yeah i did think that, was i wrong. Here is my thinking of it- if my bmr is 1400 and i eat 1400 my weight would stay the same, if i eat more than 1400 i gain, if i eat less i lose, bearing in mind that its recommended not to go below 1200 cals/day. This is all without doing any exercise extra. Am i completely wrong?

    If your BMR is 1400, then 1400 cals is how much your body burns when you're at complete rest (e.g. in a coma) -- the basic amount of calories needed to sustain your body on a daily basis. You should be eating at least this much every day.
    Basal metabolic rate (BMR), and the closely related resting metabolic rate (RMR), is the amount of energy expended daily by humans and other animals at rest. Rest is defined as existing in a neutrally temperate environment while in the post-absorptive state. In plants, different considerations apply. The release, and using, of energy in this state is sufficient only for the functioning of the vital organs, the heart, lungs, nervous system, kidneys, liver, intestine, sex organs, muscles, and skin. - Wikipedia

    With as much as you work out, I'd definitely go for eating more, but make sure it's high-quality foods, not just junk to make up the calories. :) I also agree with others that strength training is the way to go for losing inches and toning up -- even if you just start with doing planks, push-ups, and squats (all free, no gym or equipment required).

    Good luck! :flowerforyou:
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
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    Yeah i did think that, was i wrong. Here is my thinking of it- if my bmr is 1400 and i eat 1400 my weight would stay the same, if i eat more than 1400 i gain, if i eat less i lose, bearing in mind that its recommended not to go below 1200 cals/day. This is all without doing any exercise extra. Am i completely wrong?

    Also, my BMR is 1400 as well (well, 1390 but who is counting) and I lose weight at a reasonable rate if I eat around 1450. My TDEE is 1700-1800, so that's how much I can eat to not lose anything. I think you've got your terms confused.
  • Mischievous_Rascal
    Mischievous_Rascal Posts: 1,791 Member
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    My thoughts:

    1. Eat more to support that level of activity
    2. Take rest days each week - preferably 2
    3. Sub weight training for 2 or three of your cardio workout routines

    This, weights three/week and make what cardio you do HIIT.
  • xampx
    xampx Posts: 323 Member
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    You seem to be mixing up your BMR and your TDEE. Your BMR is what your body needs to function. Unless you are massively overweight, you should avoid eating under this.

    I currently eat AT my BMR plus ALL exercise calories (I check them with a heart rate monitor - MFP's estimates are way off) and I am consistantly losing.
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
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    Maybe the word wrong was not the correct word, we are constantly told if you want to lose weight you need to eat less and exercise more.

    There's a happy medium for fat loss. Undereating and overexercising is very bad for the body, just as being sedentary and overeating is. What tends to happen is that people go from overeating and being sedentary, to undereating and overexercising, i.e. the pendulum swings too far in the other direction. that's when you will hear people saying "you need to eat more and exercise less", because they're trying to advise you to get to the happy medium, rather than going from one extreme to the other.

    Find that happy medium, and fat loss will be a lot easier than most people think, because you'll be enjoying all the foods you love, just maybe not in such big portions as someone who overeats but not depriving yourself either, and you'll be doing exercise you enjoy and not killing yourself day in day out with excessive exercise.
    Also i am now unsure about calories i need to burn and eat to lose weight. My BMR is only 1400, so i have to exercise to be able to lose weight. I allow 1000 a day plus some or calories burnt during exercise. But if i never exercised, with my BMR rate it would take weeks to lose even one pound.
    I am limited to use of gym equipment, we are only allowed to use a piece for 30 mins. I cant go out running, so very limited.

    Try to add weights or other strength training to your exercise plan, you can achieve a lot more changes in your body in much less time than doing endless cardio. I currently lift weights for about 45 minutes three times a week and that's it, I'm seeing improvements in strength, fitness and also the shape of my body's improving. I also did weight lifting the whole time I was losing fat (I'm currently at my goal weight and maintaining it while doing weight lifting for strength and health). I've never done much cardio at all. You actually don't need to. I take the stairs to my apartment instead of the lift, and I run up and down the stairs, that's about all the cardio I'm doing presently, I'm not even walking that much because where I live in Bahrain, this time of year it's way too hot and humid (although I'm planning to hike around the malls here, which are huge, including walking or running up and down all the stairs, which would be quite a distance, mostly because I like walking and miss it a lot).

    the fact is in order to lose weight, you don't need to do as much exercise as you'd think, and you don't need to eat as little as you'd think.

    Also, if your BMR is 1400, your weight will not stay the same from eating 1400 cals, BMR is how many calories you need to keep all the cells in your body alive and your organs working, i.e. what you'd need to be fed if you were in a coma. Every time you move, even if you just walk across your living room or get something out of a kitchen cupboard or something, you are burning calories over and above your BMR. So if your BMR is 1400 and you eat 1400 cals, you will lose weight, even if you're just milling around your house and doing no "formal" activity. You need to multiply your BMR by an activity factor to find out how many calories you burn in an average day. For a sedentary person, if their BMR is 1400, the activity factor is 1.2, which gives 1400 x 1.2 = 1680 cals/day.... if you're exercising your activity factor is going to be higher. 2+ hrs cardio a day would probably push you into the moderately active category, which would be an activity factor of around 1.55, which means you'd be burning around 2170 cals/day

    so you see, you're actually burning a lot more calories than you think you are. Hence the need to eat more or exercise less. I'd go with whatever's more sustainable in the long term, so if you really enjoy doing 2+ hours of cardio a day, then carry on with the exercise and eat enough to sustain that level of exercise.... if you'd prefer to exercise less, e.g. just 30 mins 3-5 days a week (cardio or strength training), then do that and eat the right amount of calories for it.

    There's a thread called "in place of a road map" that explains all this much more clearly, and includes step by step instructions for how to calculate how much you need to eat for sustainable fat loss while still feeding your body enough, i.e. how to find the happy medium number of calories for the level of activity you know you'll be able to stick to long term.
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
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    Maybe the word wrong was not the correct word, we are constantly told if you want to lose weight you need to eat less and exercise more.

    There's a happy medium for fat loss. Undereating and overexercising is very bad for the body, just as being sedentary and overeating is. What tends to happen is that people go from overeating and being sedentary, to undereating and overexercising, i.e. the pendulum swings too far in the other direction. that's when you will hear people saying "you need to eat more and exercise less", because they're trying to advise you to get to the happy medium, rather than going from one extreme to the other.

    Find that happy medium, and fat loss will be a lot easier than most people think, because you'll be enjoying all the foods you love, just maybe not in such big portions as someone who overeats but not depriving yourself either, and you'll be doing exercise you enjoy and not killing yourself day in day out with excessive exercise.
    Also i am now unsure about calories i need to burn and eat to lose weight. My BMR is only 1400, so i have to exercise to be able to lose weight. I allow 1000 a day plus some or calories burnt during exercise. But if i never exercised, with my BMR rate it would take weeks to lose even one pound.
    I am limited to use of gym equipment, we are only allowed to use a piece for 30 mins. I cant go out running, so very limited.

    Try to add weights or other strength training to your exercise plan, you can achieve a lot more changes in your body in much less time than doing endless cardio. I currently lift weights for about 45 minutes three times a week and that's it, I'm seeing improvements in strength, fitness and also the shape of my body's improving. I also did weight lifting the whole time I was losing fat (I'm currently at my goal weight and maintaining it while doing weight lifting for strength and health). I've never done much cardio at all. You actually don't need to. I take the stairs to my apartment instead of the lift, and I run up and down the stairs, that's about all the cardio I'm doing presently, I'm not even walking that much because where I live in Bahrain, this time of year it's way too hot and humid (although I'm planning to hike around the malls here, which are huge, including walking or running up and down all the stairs, which would be quite a distance, mostly because I like walking and miss it a lot).

    the fact is in order to lose weight, you don't need to do as much exercise as you'd think, and you don't need to eat as little as you'd think.

    Also, if your BMR is 1400, your weight will not stay the same from eating 1400 cals, BMR is how many calories you need to keep all the cells in your body alive and your organs working, i.e. what you'd need to be fed if you were in a coma. Every time you move, even if you just walk across your living room or get something out of a kitchen cupboard or something, you are burning calories over and above your BMR. So if your BMR is 1400 and you eat 1400 cals, you will lose weight, even if you're just milling around your house and doing no "formal" activity. You need to multiply your BMR by an activity factor to find out how many calories you burn in an average day. For a sedentary person, if their BMR is 1400, the activity factor is 1.2, which gives 1400 x 1.2 = 1680 cals/day.... if you're exercising your activity factor is going to be higher. 2+ hrs cardio a day would probably push you into the moderately active category, which would be an activity factor of around 1.55, which means you'd be burning around 2170 cals/day

    so you see, you're actually burning a lot more calories than you think you are. Hence the need to eat more or exercise less. I'd go with whatever's more sustainable in the long term, so if you really enjoy doing 2+ hours of cardio a day, then carry on with the exercise and eat enough to sustain that level of exercise.... if you'd prefer to exercise less, e.g. just 30 mins 3-5 days a week (cardio or strength training), then do that and eat the right amount of calories for it.

    There's a thread called "in place of a road map" that explains all this much more clearly, and includes step by step instructions for how to calculate how much you need to eat for sustainable fat loss while still feeding your body enough, i.e. how to find the happy medium number of calories for the level of activity you know you'll be able to stick to long term.

    Listen to all of this OP, and I'm adding this article for you to read as well.

    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/why-big-caloric-deficits-and-lots-of-activity-can-hurt-fat-loss.html

    Here's In Place of a Roadmap, although this is an outdated version I think (it's the one saved in my bookmarks)

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
  • louise5027
    louise5027 Posts: 9 Member
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    Thank you for your advice, it makes sense now, will definitely use it,and will look at the sites you recommended. I have the same problem with the weather here, I am in Saudi Arabia for ten weeks.but restricted as not allowed to leave compound without my husband and have to wear the Abaya. I can go cycling in national parks apparently but still have to wear the abaya, so giving that a miss.Thanks again
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
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    Thank you for your advice, it makes sense now, will definitely use it,and will look at the sites you recommended. I have the same problem with the weather here, I am in Saudi Arabia for ten weeks.but restricted as not allowed to leave compound without my husband and have to wear the Abaya. I can go cycling in national parks apparently but still have to wear the abaya, so giving that a miss.Thanks again

    I lived in Saudi for 5 years, there's a group on here for Gulf MFPers, you can join and get some tips. You can leave the compound without your husband (you must still wear the abaya) - i didn't live on a compound and went out and about without my husband, e.g. walking home from work when the weather wasn't too hot (was too hot to walk to work, i.e. midday sun! got driven by company driver) and going to local shops etc. Also there are taxi companies that will drive women around, however there's not vetting/regulation so only use ones that are known to be trustworthy by people who already use them. Also, where you live affects how easy it is to get around, if you're in Riyadh there are some women's gyms there... there wasn't where I used to live, which is how I started working out with weights at home. I still work out at home here, because my husband took a pay cut so we could move to Bahrain (he got a better job with better conditions/benefits and a better employer but earning less money than the Saudi job) and it's cheaper to carry on working out at home than join a gym, and many of the gyms here don't have free weights - but here it's much easier to get out and about and do stuff here, plus there's a lot more to do, i.e. women's gyms and most gyms here are mixed gender anyway.

    Gulf MFPers group: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/12094-arabian-gulf-mfp-ers
  • louise5027
    louise5027 Posts: 9 Member
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    I am only here for another four weeks,we are in middle of nowhere so no point in going out, there is a mall a few miles away but its not very good x i have a really good quality cross trainer at home and weights do will be ok then x there is an ok gym here hut i am the only female here with 120 males so its not always easy to use gym x
  • mongolianfireoil
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    lot of replies already so I'm probably restatiting something others have noted.

    you are most like gaining muscle while losing fat so one pound a week loss is really pretty good. one pound of muscle is roughly 1/4th the size of fat so your gains are really much better than what you are seeing from just the scale.
  • mongolianfireoil
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    lot of replies already so I'm probably restatiting something others have noted.

    you are most likely gaining muscle while losing fat so one pound a week loss is really pretty good. one pound of muscle is roughly 1/4th the size of fat so your gains are really much better than what you are seeing from just the scale.
  • mongolianfireoil
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    lot of replies already so I'm probably restatiting something others have noted.

    you are most likely gaining muscle while losing fat so one pound a week loss is really pretty good. one pound of muscle is roughly 1/4th the size of fat so your gains are really much better than what you are seeing from just the scale.

    :smile: