How does MFP calculate your BMR

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aquamarinex
aquamarinex Posts: 42 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Ok at the risk of appearing stupid I know the site uses the stats we input to calculate your BMR. Is this over a twelve hour period or what please as I have had a fairly normal easy going day and in 2.5 hours have burned off 576 calories per my HRM. So MFP figure for BMR is less than 3 times that so in six hours I will have hit my BMR calorie intake. And six hours is hardly a day!

Replies

  • techyon
    techyon Posts: 1
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    I would to know as well if they are using Harris-Benedict formula or something like Katch-McArdle formula. I am new to the site, do we as users have an option to let mfp know which calculation we want to use for our BMR, or can we customize to reflect user needs?
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    MFP uses Mifflin-St Jeor.

    You can set custom goals manually if you don't want to use the numbers MFP provides.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    Ok at the risk of appearing stupid I know the site uses the stats we input to calculate your BMR. Is this over a twelve hour period or what please as I have had a fairly normal easy going day and in 2.5 hours have burned off 576 calories per my HRM. So MFP figure for BMR is less than 3 times that so in six hours I will have hit my BMR calorie intake. And six hours is hardly a day!

    A HRM is only accurate while you are doing steady state cardio exercises. You can't wear it just during your daily like and get accurate calorie counts. It will always give you grossly exaggerated numbers.

    Your BMR is based on a 24 hour period but those are the calories you would burn in a coma. Your TDEE is an estimation of how many calories you really burn during the day.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    Ok at the risk of appearing stupid I know the site uses the stats we input to calculate your BMR. Is this over a twelve hour period or what please as I have had a fairly normal easy going day and in 2.5 hours have burned off 576 calories per my HRM. So MFP figure for BMR is less than 3 times that so in six hours I will have hit my BMR calorie intake. And six hours is hardly a day!

    BMR means basal metabolic rate. This is the number of calories you need just for your organs to function if you were not moving at all during the day, the number of calories they would feed you in a coma to keep you alive.

    MFP then asks you what is your level of activity for normal daily activities (not including exercise). This number it calculates is not BMR, it is over and above BMR, for a 24 hour period. Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) is the energy expended for everything we do that is not sleeping, eating or sports-like exercise. MFP is a NEAT calculator, not a BMR calculator, though it starts with your BMR based on the Mifflin St Jeor formula.

    Then, you choose how many pounds per week you want to lose, and it subtracts a flat number of calories. 1000 cals for 2 pounds per week, 750 for 1.5 pounds per week, 500 for 1 pound a week, or 250 for half a pound per week.

    People shouldn't choose 2 pounds per week unless they have more than 75 pounds to lose. If you have less than 20 pounds to lose, you should choose half a pound per week. You can't take such a large deficit if you have less weight to lose.

    Then when you exercise, you need to eat more fuel for that because your calorie calculation did not include what you need for exercise.
  • shadus
    shadus Posts: 424 Member
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    1) HRM's are not accurate for calories burned "normally" throughout the day. They are (moderately) accurate for steady state cardio period.

    2) BMR is basal metabolic rate, this is how many calories you burn laying in a bed in a coma. You absolutely should be eating more calories than this number.

    3) As deksgrl said, MFP uses the mifflin-st jeor formula which is the following:
    (male) BMR = 10 * weight(kg) + 6.25 * height(cm) - 5 * age(years) + 5
    (female) BMR = 10 * weight(kg) + 6.25 * height(cm) - 5 * age(years) - 161

    4) Typically speaking you should set your profile up to use TDEE not BMR. For instance on a 5'9" male at 294lbs 5'9" tall 36 years old... my BMR vs TDEE is roughly:

    Basal Metabolic Rate: 2253.97 (male) 2092.97 (female)
    Sedentary Rate: 2704.76 (male) 2505.56 (female)
    Light Activity Rate: 3087.93 (male) 2860.51 (female)
    Moderate Activity Rate: 3493.65 (male) 3236.35 (female)
    Very Active Rate: 3876.82 (male) 3591.30 (female)
    Extremely Active Rate: 4282.54 (male) 3967.14 (female)

    I'm largely sedentary so with a weight loss goal of 2lbs / day my approximate number is 1704 calories a day. 500 calories a day is equal to a lb a week.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    Ok at the risk of appearing stupid I know the site uses the stats we input to calculate your BMR. Is this over a twelve hour period or what please as I have had a fairly normal easy going day and in 2.5 hours have burned off 576 calories per my HRM. So MFP figure for BMR is less than 3 times that so in six hours I will have hit my BMR calorie intake. And six hours is hardly a day!

    A HRM is only accurate while you are doing steady state cardio exercises. You can't wear it just during your daily like and get accurate calorie counts. It will always give you grossly exaggerated numbers.

    Your BMR is based on a 24 hour period but those are the calories you would burn in a coma. Your TDEE is an estimation of how many calories you really burn during the day.

    This!

    Your HRM is giving you an inflated burn. It doesn't work for figuring TDEE.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    Ok at the risk of appearing stupid I know the site uses the stats we input to calculate your BMR. Is this over a twelve hour period or what please as I have had a fairly normal easy going day and in 2.5 hours have burned off 576 calories per my HRM. So MFP figure for BMR is less than 3 times that so in six hours I will have hit my BMR calorie intake. And six hours is hardly a day!

    BMR means basal metabolic rate. This is the number of calories you need just for your organs to function if you were not moving at all during the day, the number of calories they would feed you in a coma to keep you alive.

    MFP then asks you what is your level of activity for normal daily activities (not including exercise). This number it calculates is not BMR, it is over and above BMR, for a 24 hour period. Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) is the energy expended for everything we do that is not sleeping, eating or sports-like exercise. MFP is a NEAT calculator, not a BMR calculator, though it starts with your BMR based on the Mifflin St Jeor formula.

    Then, you choose how many pounds per week you want to lose, and it subtracts a flat number of calories. 1000 cals for 2 pounds per week, 750 for 1.5 pounds per week, 500 for 1 pound a week, or 250 for half a pound per week.

    People shouldn't choose 2 pounds per week unless they have more than 75 pounds to lose. If you have less than 20 pounds to lose, you should choose half a pound per week. You can't take such a large deficit if you have less weight to lose.

    Then when you exercise, you need to eat more fuel for that because your calorie calculation did not include what you need for exercise.

    Wow! Good answer.
  • ChitownFoodie
    ChitownFoodie Posts: 1,562 Member
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    Ok at the risk of appearing stupid I know the site uses the stats we input to calculate your BMR. Is this over a twelve hour period or what please as I have had a fairly normal easy going day and in 2.5 hours have burned off 576 calories per my HRM. So MFP figure for BMR is less than 3 times that so in six hours I will have hit my BMR calorie intake. And six hours is hardly a day!

    BMR means basal metabolic rate. This is the number of calories you need just for your organs to function if you were not moving at all during the day, the number of calories they would feed you in a coma to keep you alive.

    MFP then asks you what is your level of activity for normal daily activities (not including exercise). This number it calculates is not BMR, it is over and above BMR, for a 24 hour period. Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) is the energy expended for everything we do that is not sleeping, eating or sports-like exercise. MFP is a NEAT calculator, not a BMR calculator, though it starts with your BMR based on the Mifflin St Jeor formula.

    Then, you choose how many pounds per week you want to lose, and it subtracts a flat number of calories. 1000 cals for 2 pounds per week, 750 for 1.5 pounds per week, 500 for 1 pound a week, or 250 for half a pound per week.

    People shouldn't choose 2 pounds per week unless they have more than 75 pounds to lose. If you have less than 20 pounds to lose, you should choose half a pound per week. You can't take such a large deficit if you have less weight to lose.

    Then when you exercise, you need to eat more fuel for that because your calorie calculation did not include what you need for exercise.


    ^^^THIS!!
  • Harmony2376
    Harmony2376 Posts: 27 Member
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    4) Typically speaking you should set your profile up to use TDEE not BMR. For instance on a 5'9" male at 294lbs 5'9" tall 36 years old... my BMR vs TDEE is roughly:

    Basal Metabolic Rate: 2253.97 (male) 2092.97 (female)
    Sedentary Rate: 2704.76 (male) 2505.56 (female)
    Light Activity Rate: 3087.93 (male) 2860.51 (female)
    Moderate Activity Rate: 3493.65 (male) 3236.35 (female)
    Very Active Rate: 3876.82 (male) 3591.30 (female)
    Extremely Active Rate: 4282.54 (male) 3967.14 (female)

    I'm largely sedentary so with a weight loss goal of 2lbs / day my approximate number is 1704 calories a day. 500 calories a day is equal to a lb a week.

    But at 1704, you are 549 under your BMR. I thought the golden rule was not to go below your BMR?
    Confused :huh:
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    Options

    4) Typically speaking you should set your profile up to use TDEE not BMR. For instance on a 5'9" male at 294lbs 5'9" tall 36 years old... my BMR vs TDEE is roughly:

    Basal Metabolic Rate: 2253.97 (male) 2092.97 (female)
    Sedentary Rate: 2704.76 (male) 2505.56 (female)
    Light Activity Rate: 3087.93 (male) 2860.51 (female)
    Moderate Activity Rate: 3493.65 (male) 3236.35 (female)
    Very Active Rate: 3876.82 (male) 3591.30 (female)
    Extremely Active Rate: 4282.54 (male) 3967.14 (female)

    I'm largely sedentary so with a weight loss goal of 2lbs / day my approximate number is 1704 calories a day. 500 calories a day is equal to a lb a week.

    But at 1704, you are 549 under your BMR. I thought the golden rule was not to go below your BMR?
    Confused :huh:

    A person who has more than 75 pounds to lose can safely choose 2 pounds per week. That is not the case for those with less weight to lose. A 5'9" male weighing 294 pounds, it is reasonable to assume he wants to lose 100 pounds (or more?) and so choosing 2 pounds per week is appropriate for him.

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