TDEE/BMR.. My head is swimming

Ok- So I've been trying to loose some weight for the last year to no avail. I feel like I've tried everything under the sun and nothing has worked. I even trained for a half marathon and while running 4-8 miles 5 days a week,, lost 4 lbs in 6 months. I need to loose about 50 so it's not like I only have a few to loose.

However... after discovering this TDEE/BMR thing- I'm realizing that perhaps I haven't been eating enough calories. I don't think I've gone over 1200/day in over a year with the exception of a nice meal out somewhere here and there. However.. this TERRIFIES me. It says I should be eating about 1800 calories per day... 180 grams of protein and 112 carbs. I have absolutely no idea how to even get that much protein ever single day. For example.. yesterday my numbers were:protein 81, fat 9, sugar 33, carbs 64,..

Honestly, I don't even know if I could eat 1800 cals/day (well I could down a bag of Doritos happily! LOL) in a healthy way.

Any tips for a newbie at this type of eating?

If you open your diary, people could have a better understanding what you are eating and then offer suggestions, otherwise it is just a guessing game and to me a waste of time.

You trained for a 1/2 marathon on 1200 calories per day? Did you not realize that MfP gives you a deficit from maintenance that is NET of exercise...meaning that 1200 calories is for someone completely sedentary...if you exercise you were supposed to be eating more.

Your BMR calories are those calories that your body "burns" just being alive...pumping your heart and making your lungs work, etc. You'd burn these calories sleeping all day. You should find a calculator that uses the Katch-Mccardle formula for determining your BMR...this utilizes only your LBM in the formula rather than your total weight. Those other formulas aren't going to work for you because 1) you have a higher level of BF% that doesn't need to be fed as part of your BMR and 2) it is likely you've burned off some LBM eating so few calories for over a year and training for 1/2 marathons and the like in the process. Burning off LBM with further decrease your BMR and thus your total calorie requirements and thus your cut wouldn't be as high as someone of similar stats who had a greater LBM:BF ratio. You need to get your BF measured to use the Katch-Mccardle formula.

You'll also want to increase calories slowly...you don't want to go from 1200 and netting god knows how low to grossing 1800 calories overnight. It is likely that your body has made significant adjustments to the lower calorie intake...again, this is going to flaw any TDEE calculator out there as you most likely do not fall into the statistical averages used by these calculators. This may very well be a scenario where you really don't lose much for awhile and you just need to focus on getting your metabolism back up and kicking again. In that RE I'd also recommend getting on with some resistance training.

Where are you getting the 180 grams of protein number? You should aim for around 1 gram per Lb of LBM...I'm a 183 Lb mail and with LBM of around 145 Lbs so I try to get around 140 - 150 or so grams of protein per day...I supplement with whey powder.

Also, 9 grams of fat is not in any way shape or form healthy...you need way more dietary fat which is probably a huge reason why you're not losing...your hormones are all jacked from not having an adequate fat intake...you need dietary fat to lose BF.

I thought the same thing but upping your protein adds alot of calories to your total daily intake. I can never reach my fats but I try! Yes, eat more, you'll a little weight at first but you'll feel better and you'll love all the food!

It's realy not that hard to eat 2000 calories a day. I find it hard to stay under. Look at my diary lol.

It is best to eat slight above your BMR for 1.5lbs loss per week. If you'r BMR is 1800 than eat at 1900 per day to lose weight. 1200kcals is just groslly unnatural and unhealthy by any standars. A person in a coma requires more energy than that

Another thing is with the protein calculator sounds like you might be going by would be 1 gram per pound of weight and what is more accurate and a litte more attainable is one gram per pound of lean body mass basically your body weight minus your body fat so if you are 180 lbs and 20% body fat then really you only have 144 lbs of lean body mass and your protein goal should be somewhere around 144 lbs as a minimum... You can always go over

Consider also this site to find your #'s.

http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/#results