CONFUSED!!! BMR and TDEE

tclark2951
tclark2951 Posts: 9 Member
edited November 2023 in Getting Started
I did MFP everyday for a year and logged all my calories. I lost 30 lbs and now I am at a stand still. I have 5 more lbs to lose and can't seem to get it off. I had been using a couple of websites to figure my BMR and I got a lot of close numbers but not the same. I just got an average and used in in MFP. I used a heart rate monitor at the gym and would add those calories I burned to my calorie total for the day. I know a lot of people talk about BMR and TDEE but I am not too proud to say that I don't understand ANY of it! I don't know if I should change up something or not. I would like to find someone on here that would give me the amount of calories I should be consuming and if I should be adding my calories I burn at the gym to my calorie intake.

PLEASE HELP!!!!

Here is my info:

38
Female
5'5"
Current Weight - 141
Goal Weight - 135

I work out (just cardio) about 4 days a week for at least 30 minutes and usually burn at least 250 calories.

My main goal is weight loss and keep it at that number.

ANY HELP WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Replies

  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
    How long have you been stuck and do you own and use a digital food scale?
  • MrsMX
    MrsMX Posts: 98
    I found this to be a great read in understanding the BMR .. TDEE



    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/931670-bmr-and-tdee-explained-for-those-needing-a-guide
  • Cindyinpg
    Cindyinpg Posts: 3,902 Member
    A great place to start on here is to read through all of this:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/833026-important-posts-to-read
    Start with the one titled The basics don't complicate it and then work your way through the rest. It is an amazing and enlightening read that should answer all of your questions.
  • Lauracharder
    Lauracharder Posts: 141 Member
    you only do cardio? change it up! add in yoga, pilates, strength training. keep your body guessing!
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    This content has been removed.
  • husseycd
    husseycd Posts: 814 Member
    BMR is the calories you would need to sustain your weight (and organs and basic life functions) if you were in a coma. TDEE is the total number of calories you burn in a day. This includes the BMR, of course, but also includes all other activity.

    We have similar stats. I'm 37, 130lbs (was 138lb), and just a little over 5'5". With my weight and body fat (20%), my BMR is about 1390. I had my RMR (resting metabolic rate-what you burn sitting still, which will be higher than BMR) tested recently and it came out to 1580.

    I wear a bodymedia fit armband, and based on it I burn an average of a little over 2200 calories a day. Some days (like yesterday when I biked over lunch and then worked on building my deck in the evening) I burn over 2500 calories. The day I was sick and very sedentary I burned about 1800 calories.

    You can estimate your TDEE using an online calculator. I think for moderately active I get an anticipated TDEE of about 2160, so close to what my body media tells me.

    I usually eat at a small cut--around 1800-2000 calories per day. I know that I will probably go over on weekends or eat at TDEE that day. While I wouldn't mind being comfortably in the upper 120s, I'm okay where I am.

    Since you only want to lose a small amount of weight, you generally want to take a small cut from TDEE (say 10%). Personally, even if maintaining, I would hesitate to eat exactly at TDEE because of inherent descrepencies in calculating calories.
  • tclark2951
    tclark2951 Posts: 9 Member
    I have been stuck for about 2 months. I do have a digital food scale that I use to weigh my food.
  • tclark2951
    tclark2951 Posts: 9 Member
    How long have you been stuck and do you own and use a digital food scale?


    I have been stuck for about 2 months. I do have a digital food scale that I use to weigh my food.
  • tclark2951
    tclark2951 Posts: 9 Member
    you only do cardio? change it up! add in yoga, pilates, strength training. keep your body guessing!

    I do cardio because of foot surgery issues and back issues. I just need to win the lottery and hire a personal trainer!
  • AccioHotBod
    AccioHotBod Posts: 44 Member
    you only do cardio? change it up! add in yoga, pilates, strength training. keep your body guessing!

    I might be wrong, but I don't think "changing it up" is associated with weight loss.
  • fleetzz
    fleetzz Posts: 962 Member
    You sound like where I am. I have 13 lbs to go and have been stuck for 2 months as well. Would love to see what works for you, will let you know if anything works for me.
    I have been stuck for about 2 months. I do have a digital food scale that I use to weigh my food.
  • phyllisgehrke
    phyllisgehrke Posts: 238 Member
    Go to Fitness Frog.

    They have some awesome calculators.
    That is where I went to figure my Bmr and TDEE.
    Also My RMR/

    I am at maintenance and needed also some direction.
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,619 Member
    you only do cardio? change it up! add in yoga, pilates, strength training. keep your body guessing!

    I might be wrong, but I don't think "changing it up" is associated with weight loss.
    The reason for "changing it up" is because your body gets used to doing the same exercise over and over and becomes very efficient at doing so. Changing it up challenges your body in a new way. I would also recommend strength training to preserve or gain lbm, which will help you burn more calories.
  • AccioHotBod
    AccioHotBod Posts: 44 Member
    you only do cardio? change it up! add in yoga, pilates, strength training. keep your body guessing!

    I might be wrong, but I don't think "changing it up" is associated with weight loss.
    The reason for "changing it up" is because your body gets used to doing the same exercise over and over and becomes very efficient at doing so. Changing it up challenges your body in a new way. I would also recommend strength training to preserve or gain lbm, which will help you burn more calories.

    You can do the same exercise and keep challenging yourself. For example, when you're squatting you continue to increase weights as you get stronger. If you're running, you add miles. As long as your workout is challenging, you don't really need to change what you are doing.
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