Conflicting Information

So, I just wanted to ask a simple question..

I've seen info on the BMR and TDEE style of eating all over the forum, BUT, it seems people are saying different/conflicting things..
I've witnessed people saying eat slightly under your BMR, and then people who say eat 20% under your TDEE.

Which is it?

For those that say eat slightly under your BMR, I thought BMR was the lowest you should be eating.
Am I missing something? LoL.

Edited for typos.

BMR is your Basic Metabolic rate, meaning what your body uses to survive, as in if you are in bed all day not lifting a finger. Never eat under your BMR

Yes, this is what I understood. But then I see people all over the forum telling people to eat under their BMR and create a deficit. I didn't think that was right. But it's crazy how many people are saying this.

*shrugs* yes and some people say Bananas and mangos got them fat :flowerforyou:

*shrugs* yes and some people say Bananas and mangos got them fat :flowerforyou:

I swear it was the bananas!! The cake had NOTHING to do with it ok!

I struggle with this too. My BMR says 1601. MFP says 1200 per day. I know it should be more than 1200 and MFP uses that as a baseline for most people that sign up.

I worry that if I eat 1600 calories I won't lose! ARGH. I am losing slowly now. I lost more quickly in the beginning when I was doing weight watchers. In the past month I have quit ww and shifted to calorie counting and much more exercise.

Any thoughts?

That is helpful, I am also very confused with the 1200 base and then the increase as I work out since I want to loose and it seems like if I eat what I burned I won't. Thank you for explaining it that way.

Oh, and just a note about the 1200 cals thing, thats a hard limit set in most(MFP included) calculators because that is deemed the smallest amount of calories a person should take in during a day. You can most certainly go below that number, especially if you are overweight, but I would consult a physician or maybe even an endocrinologist about it. Technically, the only thing an overweight body needs to survive are daily water, and vitamins, :P

So, I just wanted to ask a simple question..

I've seen info on the BMR and TDEE style of eating all over the forum, BUT, it seems people are saying different/conflicting things..
I've witnessed people saying eat slightly under your BMR, and then people who say eat 20% under your TDEE.

Which is it?

For those that say eat slightly under your BMR, I thought BMR was the lowest you should be eating.
Am I missing something? LoL.

Edited for typos.

BMR is your Basic Metabolic rate, meaning what your body uses to survive, as in if you are in bed all day not lifting a finger. Never eat under your BMR

Yes, this is what I understood. But then I see people all over the forum telling people to eat under their BMR and create a deficit. I didn't think that was right. But it's crazy how many people are saying this.

I also see people on the forums saying to eat 400 calories a day, take a magic pill, do a cleanse, sprinkle fairy dust on your food and that unicorn poop doesn't have calories. Doesn't mean it is correct.

I struggle with this too. My BMR says 1601. MFP says 1200 per day. I know it should be more than 1200 and MFP uses that as a baseline for most people that sign up.

I worry that if I eat 1600 calories I won't lose! ARGH. I am losing slowly now. I lost more quickly in the beginning when I was doing weight watchers. In the past month I have quit ww and shifted to calorie counting and much more exercise.

Any thoughts?

How many pounds per week did you say you want to lose? This is going to override your BMR. This is how MFP works:

It figures out your estimated daily calorie needs NOT INCLUDING exercise. So, just what your body needs to function and do ordinary daily stuff, work, school, taking care of children, whatever you do normally. Then it takes a set amount off of that depending on how many pounds per week you say you want to lose. For 2 pounds a week, it deducts 1,000 calories. 1 pound a week is 500 calories. But it will not go below 1200 as a minimum. Choosing 2 pounds a week is not reasonable unless you have more than 75 pounds to lose. Then, remember, this number it gave you did not include exercise, so that is why it gives you more calories after you do exercise.

Here's an example. For round numbers, lets say a person has a calorie need of 2000 calories a day, not including exercise. They have 50 pounds they need to lose, so they choose "I want to lose 1 pound a week". This deducts 500 calories and gives them 1500 calories a day PLUS exercise calories.

1500 (amount of food)
-300 (calories burned in exercise)
+300 (more food to eat for energy)
=1500 Net calories (but you ate 1800 altogether, and still have a 500 calorie deficit from your 2000 to lose 1 pound a week).

Now if that person chose "I want to lose 2 pounds per week", it would set them at 1200, and that would be too much of a deficit for most people, unless it truly was appropriate and healthy for them to lose 2 pounds per week.

Okay, now same person, lets look at the TDEE -% method. Their calorie needs WITH exercise is 2300 calories. (this is known as TDEE - total daily energy expenditure).

2300 x 20% = 460. 2300 - 460 = 1840.

See how close the methods are when done correctly?