Simpleton question | BMR + Calories in/out

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1LoveChips
1LoveChips Posts: 260 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hello,

Just checking I got this right; is BMR the number of calories I expend doing nothing... say 2000...

If my calorie intake is 1800 per day... I should expect to lose weight without any gym/exercise etc?!

Equally if I take in 2500 calories daily, but run off 1000, should I still expect a negative balance next time I get on the scales?

Finally I'm told that muscle weighs more than fat, but is that really likely to be noticeable in a real life situation. I mean building muscle that quick that you won't notice the fat drop off on your next weigh in?

Thanks you,
Cip

Replies

  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    No, you need to NET your BMR. BMR is the calories you would burn in a coma and the amount needed to maintain organ function. You shouldn't eat under BMR unless you are morbidly obese in which case a BMR calculator will probably give you an inflated number because your body fat percentage will be so high.

    If your BMR is 2000 you need to have netted 2,000 at the end of the day. So if you did 500 calories of exercise you would eat 2500.
  • 1LoveChips
    1LoveChips Posts: 260 Member
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    Think I'm more confused now... probably because I'm not quite sure what BMR really is. I'll rephrase my question:

    MFP says that I should have 1710 calories a day to achieve my weight loss goal of 1lb/week.

    If my calorie intake is 2000 calories, but have 290 worth of exercise, would I still achieve my goal?


    Not really sure how I got talking about BMR :indifferent:
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    Short answer: yes
  • pteryndactyl
    pteryndactyl Posts: 303 Member
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    Also, there's no guarantee you'd see a loss on the scales each week regardless of how "perfectly" you ate. It just doesn't work like that.
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
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    BMR = the calories your body burns keeping your cells alive and your organs functioning. i.e. how many calories you'd burn if you were in a coma, i.e. no movement at all, just staying alive.

    You also burn calories moving around. Any kind of moving, from exercise to just sitting up. Your muscles are working keeping you sitting up. Obviously the more you move, the more calories you burn. But any movement will burn some calories.

    So basically, the total number of calories you burn in a day, can be summed up like this:

    BMR calories + moving around calories = total calories burned in a day. or, total daily energy expenditure (TDEE)

    To lose weight, eat more than your BMR but less than your TDEE.
  • 1LoveChips
    1LoveChips Posts: 260 Member
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    Thanks guys, much clearer now.
  • harminzer
    harminzer Posts: 10
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    I agree with both of you. This really is NOT exact science in that body fat plays a huge role in weight loss. Example is me. I am 63 years old. I am retired from work. I have some mild health problems that are now under control. Thank you doctors! Now my point.
    At 6 foot 2 inches and 271 pounds with a waist nearing 45 inches I had to take action. I started walking, having a long stride I manage a sustained walk of at least 2 hours at 2.5 MPH. Now, I queried my BMR which was 2700. MFP indicated that in order to meet my goals of 2 pounds a week I would have to cut 1000 calories a day. That means I can eat 1700 calories per day. I have been steadily losing both pounds and inches but I hit two different "staging points" the first was 251 pounds where I stayed for about 5 weeks. All I did notice was less fat in the roll. Next was 240 where I am right now and have been since October 1st. BUT I have lost enough in inches. In my waist 5 notches on my belt significant loss in my butt cheeks and belly fat. So if you read all of this know that it is not magic, real logical science but a process that each of us must undergo to lose the weight in pounds and inches that we want to. Now that I recalculated my BMR with new data, MFP has reduced my intake per day to between 1500-1600 with out changing my goals. Good luck to you and great patience too.

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