BMR + MFP calorie difference??

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Katiestrophe
Katiestrophe Posts: 4
in Health and Weight Loss
I've spent so long looking through various forum posts, and browsing the web and have basically now utterly confused myself haha. So if anyone could clear it up for me, that would be AMAZING.

To lose 2lbs a week MFP is telling me to eat 1200 cal.
My BMR is apparently 1597 cal.

Which one should I aim to eat??

Do I eat for my BMR? Or what MFP tells me to?

And when I exercise, say I burn 300 cal for example, am I then supposed to eat those 300 burnt cals back?
Or is that only if I go by MFP cal count?

I'M SO CONFUSED.

Thanks for any responses :)

Replies

  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
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    You will get a whole host of answers here as everyone uses MFP differently.

    However, the way it is intended is that you eat a MINIMUM of 1200 cals and then eat back your exercise calories on top of that so in your example you would be eating 1500 cals total that day.

    However, for many people this is not enough food and they are much happier aiming to NET their BMR, i.e. in your example eat 1597 + exercise cals so your total intake would be 1897. This is likely to be a much more sustainable figure in the long term.

    It also depends on how much weight you have to lose and as a general guide:

    <10 lbs to lose aim for no more than 0.5lb per week loss
    10-20 lbs to lose aim for no more than 1 lb per week loss
    >20 lbs to lose aim for no more than 2 lb per week loss
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    Unless you have over 100 lbs to lose you shouldn't be choosing the 2 lb/week option and MFP only goes as low as 1200 calories. You need to be eating at least your BMR, preferably more. Reset your weight loss goal until it's up where it needs to be.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    <10 lbs to lose aim for no more than 0.5lb per week loss
    10-20 lbs to lose aim for no more than 1 lb per week loss
    >20 lbs to lose aim for no more than 2 lb per week loss

    Not even close to right.
  • ladynocturne
    ladynocturne Posts: 865 Member
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    It's considered safer to eat at your BMR because that is how many calories your organs need to run if you were in a coma.

    You can eat at 1200 (this is the lowest MFP can go due to health reason) but you will be taking the chance of losing more lean muscle mass than if you stuck with your BMR.

    You want to make sure you NET your goal calories.
    1200-300(exercise) = 900 NET calories for your entire body to run, this just isn't enough.
    1597-300(exercise) = 1297 NET, better, but still not your BMR.

    It's up to you, but you will be less likely to plateau and will lose less lean muscle mass over all if you stick to eating NET at your BMR.

    1897-300(exercise) = 1597 NET

    It's probably not safe for you to lose 2lbs a week, you'd have to be significantly overweight or very tall. If you figure out your maintenance calories by setting MFP to lose 0 lbs a week, you can see how many calories you can eat everyday to stay the same weight. Once you see that, if you subtract 1000 calories a day to lose 2lbs a week, you'll see that you'd have to be significantly under feeding yourself to achieve that and it just isn't plausible to do it safely.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    Unless you have over 100 lbs to lose you shouldn't be choosing the 2 lb/week option and MFP only goes as low as 1200 calories. You need to be eating at least your BMR, preferably more. Reset your weight loss goal until it's up where it needs to be.

    Agreed.

    MFP gave you 1200 because something is off, most likely your weight loss goal is too fast/aggressive.
  • Sylwill
    Sylwill Posts: 14 Member
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    I'll show you how I calculate mine and that's pretty much what MFP tells me too.

    BMR - resting rate: 1569
    Calorie intake needed for no activity = BMR * 1.2 = 1883
    To lose a lb per week, I have to create a 3500 calorie deficit or 500 per day = 1883 - 500 = 1383

    I aim around 12-1300 and I don't eat back my exercise calories.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    I'll show you how I calculate mine and that's pretty much what MFP tells me too.

    BMR - resting rate: 1569
    Calorie intake needed for no activity = BMR * 1.2 = 1883
    To lose a lb per week, I have to create a 3500 calorie deficit or 500 per day = 1883 - 500 = 1383

    I aim around 12-1300 and I don't eat back my exercise calories.

    Taken at face value, I don't recommend this.
  • Katiestrophe
    Katiestrophe Posts: 4
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    Thanks everyone!

    Has cleared up a lot of confusion for me. I did think 1200 cal did seem pretty low, which is why I spent so long trying to research it anyway. But as jacksonpt said I am probably being a bit too aggressive with my weight loss approach at the moment.

    So i'll eat for roughly my BMR on rest days, and even more on my active days.

    SOOO much clearer now. :)
  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
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    <10 lbs to lose aim for no more than 0.5lb per week loss
    10-20 lbs to lose aim for no more than 1 lb per week loss
    >20 lbs to lose aim for no more than 2 lb per week loss

    Not even close to right.

    There is no "right" as there is no exact number that a person should or should not lose. But note I stated it was a guide and "no more than", i.e. less than that.

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