Eating at BMR but not losing weight?

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samloveschris
samloveschris Posts: 16
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi everyone,

I have been logging with MFP for a few months now. Initially I had my calorie goal set at 2lbs a week with a 1200 calorie daily goal for the first 2 months but didn't see any weight loss.

About 6 week's ago, I chaneed the goal to lose 1.5lbs a week. MFP gave me a goal of 1340 calories.

I lost 8lbs in 5 weeks eating 1,300 calories but I also upped my water intake a lot so I suspect it was water weight.

Recently, I read about BMR and TDEE and my TDEE came out around 2460 calories to maintain weight and my BMR was around 1566 to lose weight.

I have tried eating around 1500 calories for the last 3 week's but haven't lost any weight.

I eat reasonably healthy. I eat porridge for breakfast and fruit, low fat yoghurts, no fast food or fizzy drinks, nothing fried everything grilled, no chocolate etc but still not seeing any difference in the last few weeks.

I go to the gym 5 Times a week doing cardio for example running, elliptical, exercise bike and do strength training 3 times a week but not lost any weight in the last 3 weeks. Plus the calories that I do eat I always net then at the end of the day.

Has anyone had success losing weight eating at their bmr? If I go 100/200 calories below bmr will that help to lose weight? I've tried 1200 net calories a day and 1500 net calories but neither worked.

I'm 5'1 and 168 (12 stone) and looking to get to 9 stone 7lbs. Any help would be much appreciated its getting me really down and fee like giving up.

And I've been going to the gym for 4 months and only lost 3 inches on my waist.

Thank you for reading. X x x
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Replies

  • aszwarc
    aszwarc Posts: 200 Member
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    BMR is what your body needs to function if you were in a coma. You need to take in more than that.

    If your TDEE is 2460, try 20% below that, which would put you around 1970.
  • samammay
    samammay Posts: 468
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    Also, do you measure everything you eat or are you just guessing/eyeballing? A food scale is essential, at least until you have some experience with portions. But yes, what aszwarc said... you need to eat more than your BMR. 1970 sounds about right.

    Also, if you are eating your TDEE, you shouldnt be eating your exercise calories back as those are included in the TDEE calculation.
  • danofthedead1979
    danofthedead1979 Posts: 362 Member
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    I eat about 200 cals under my bmr. Because I have an office job my activity level is set at sedentary. I log my exercise using a hrm for accuracy and eat back my exercise calories. I am and have been consistantly losing about 1lb a week.

    Approx bmr 1850
    Approx tdee 1950
    Daily calorie limit 1650
  • Yooperm35
    Yooperm35 Posts: 787 Member
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    Eat more! If you are working out 5xs a week, you should be eating up around 1900 calories

    I like this calculator. I am never hungry and still losing weight

    http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/

    ETA: from personal experience- eating at your BMR is a setup for failure. It will
    Work for a little while, but then you will stall and get frustrated and probably give up. EAT
  • samloveschris
    samloveschris Posts: 16
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    Hi

    Thank you for the replies.

    I will try eating more I'm struggling to eat enough as it is as worried about putting on weight.

    Also, I do weigh all my foods too and have a food scale, thanks for the suggestion.

    And I do eat my exercise calories back too. Thank you for the replies will give it a go :)
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    OP, healthy humans lose weight when they eat below their TDEE.

    If you are not losing at 1500, it's unlikely that you will begin losing by eating more. You might be able to increase your metabolism and eventually lose by eating more, but you should expect to gain some in the process.

    If you are really eating 1500 calories - and by that I mean you are honestly logging everything, the good, the bad and the ugly, and you are not losing, then you might have some type of metabolic or hormonal disorder that is affecting weight loss. Or 1500 is not below your TDEE.

    Online BMR and TDEE calculators can not tell you what your BMR or TDEE are. They only give you the population average. Again, without some disorder to change the rules, you would lose weight eating below TDEE.

    If you are sure you are being honest and accurate in your logging, then I would suggest seeing a doctor to check for things like insulin resistance, PCOS, thyroid problem, etc.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    Are you weighing/measuring food?

    Are you eating back exercise calories?

    If eating back exercise calories, how are you arriving at the amount that you burned?
  • TheRealJigsaw
    TheRealJigsaw Posts: 295 Member
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    Open your diary
  • ElliottTN
    ElliottTN Posts: 1,614 Member
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    OP, I'm not saying your lying but something in your equation is off. If you are eating at your true BMR then you would be losing. Period. Possibly you have health factors that make normal BMR calculations off. Maybe you are a secret eater and don't realize it. Maybe your cal burns recorded are way off and since you are eating them all back....something in your equation is wrong. I don't think eating more is going to get you where you want to go though.
  • samloveschris
    samloveschris Posts: 16
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    I have always been worried that I have something wrong with my hormones. I had a blood test last year and my hormones and thyroid were fine, will get checked again. I definatly eat at my bmr or 100 calories below some days.

    And I'm not a secret eater, I gave up all the bad stuff months ago.

    I was just looking for some advice to see if I was heading in the right direction. I have calculated my Bmr and it comes out around 1566 calories on average.

    Thank you doe the helpful replies I will make an appointment for another blood test.
  • samloveschris
    samloveschris Posts: 16
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    And I use a heart rate monitor to calculate calories burned and I'm not looking for advice on food just the bmr and tdee my food diary has been approved by a dietician. Thanks
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    And I use a heart rate monitor to calculate calories burned and I'm not looking for advice on food just the bmr and tdee my food diary has been approved by a dietician. Thanks

    Have you discussed your lack of weight loss with your dietician? What does s/he say?
  • samloveschris
    samloveschris Posts: 16
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    Will get another blood test as last one was around a year ago. The first 2 months or so using MFP I didn't really eat enough (under 1200) until I increased it to 1200 net calories. Was told that may not be enough so increased to 1500 and drank loads more water and in 5 weeks lost 8lbs but am thinking it's water weight.

    I got a meal plan from my dietician in September but not due to go back until end of November for an update on any weight lost so will ask then.
  • BobOki
    BobOki Posts: 245 Member
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    My two cents for what worked, FOR ME, when I hit my wall. Leangains.com. The 7-12 alone was enough, I did not even have to do the diet (see food to eat not lose weight diet) to blow through wall.
  • mathjulz
    mathjulz Posts: 5,514 Member
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    If you are using TDEE, you shouldn't be eating back your exercise calories. Even BMR plus exercise calories could be off. It would be best to calculate TDEE - 15% to 20% or TDEE - 500 to 750 calories, then eat that every day whether you exercise or not.

    It's also possible you are eating more than you think, especially if you don't carefully weigh everything. I'm not trying to say you're "cheating" … just that many people don't correctly estimate how much a serving is (really … what is 3 oz of meat? "A deck of cards" but that can even be hard to visualize for some people) and thus eat more than they think they are.
  • stumblinthrulife
    stumblinthrulife Posts: 2,558 Member
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    Either -

    You are eating more than you think you are
    or
    Your TDEE isn't as high as you think it is


    First thing you should do is make sure you are really eating what you think you are. Get scales if you don't already have them. Measure and log everything without exception. Only use measuring cups for liquids.

    If at that point you still aren't losing, then you have your TDEE set incorrectly. Examine your calorie burns, and the sources of them. Calculators for running calorie burn estimates are fairly reliable because incredible amounts of research that has gone into them. Elliptical burns, not so much. Swimming burns also are very personal, because few people swim consistently for the time they are in the pool (learned this one the hard way). Don't buy into the HRM myth - they aren't measuring calorie burns, and your heart rate isn't a good indicator of burn.

    Once you have that accurate, all that's left is your underlying activity level. Be honest with yourself about it. If you struggle to figure it out, buy a pedometer like a Fitbit, link your accounts and set your activity level to sedentry. Fitbit will adjust up as necessary.

    If you do all these things honestly and accurately, you will get back to losing weight.
  • ssaul989
    ssaul989 Posts: 1
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    Have you been measuring yourself? With as much exercise you are doing, you may be adding more muscle and thus your weight appears unchanged but you are still a healthier body. Take and track measurements of your waist, hips and neck. Track those for a couple of moths. Get off that scale. The whole thing is life style, do the right things, they will pay off.
  • samloveschris
    samloveschris Posts: 16
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    Thanks for the replies.

    I do have a food scale in my kitchen so I know I'm definitely not overeating and I'm not a secret eater. I gave u unhealthy foods ages ago and wouldn't secretly eat anyway because it means too much to me the reason why im trying to lose weight.

    Based on the Harris-Benedict formula, my bmr is on average 1574 and my TDEE is 2439.7. I've used a lot of different calculators and give or take a few pounds this seems to be the most accurate number.

    I go to the gym 5 days a week in the morning at 11am before work and burn between 300-400 calories so that is why I eat back the exercise calories otherwise at the end of the day I would be 300-400 calories under my goal.

    I've measured my waist recently and have only lost 3 inches from my waist and 3 inches from my arms although I do feel fitter and healthier.
  • stumblinthrulife
    stumblinthrulife Posts: 2,558 Member
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    Thanks for the replies.

    I do have a food scale in my kitchen so I know I'm definitely not overeating and I'm not a secret eater. I gave u unhealthy foods ages ago and wouldn't secretly eat anyway because it means too much to me the reason why im trying to lose weight.

    Based on the Harris-Benedict formula, my bmr is on average 1574 and my TDEE is 2439.7. I've used a lot of different calculators and give or take a few pounds this seems to be the most accurate number.

    I go to the gym 5 days a week in the morning at 11am before work and burn between 300-400 calories so that is why I eat back the exercise calories otherwise at the end of the day I would be 300-400 calories under my goal.

    I've measured my waist recently and have only lost 3 inches from my waist and 3 inches from my arms although I do feel fitter and healthier.

    You have to fall back on observed reality. You were losing weight at 1,300 net calories, and you aren't at 1,500 net calories. I presume that's around 1,700 to 1,800 gross consumption. That's a pretty reasonable gross intake for a lady of your stature, so I don't believe 'eat more' is the answer for one second. At 5'10 and 12.5 stone (180 pounds) I had a gross of 2,000 and net of 1,500 to lose weight.

    There really isn't anything you can manipulate that will be more effective than net calorie consumption.

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