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Burning more calories than I consume?

kkrenee15
kkrenee15 Posts: 2
edited February 8 in Health and Weight Loss
Hey all,
I am new to this and am kind of confused. My bmr is 1368. That along with my activity level (exercising 3 times a week) gives me 1881 calories. I keep hearing that I need a deficit of 500. So does that mean I eat a minimum of 1381 calories to lose weight?

Replies

  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1122891-9-reasons-fat-loss-is-always-slower-than-you-d-like

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1105036-article-on-flexible-dieting-by-armi-legge?page=1#posts-17068746
  • GingerLolita
    GingerLolita Posts: 738 Member
    1368-1381 should be ideal. You'll generally have more energy if you keep your intake above your bmr, and 500 calories is a sustainable, healthy deficit.
  • SwitzEngine
    SwitzEngine Posts: 3,418 Member
    bmr of (7*1368) + (3*600) = 11376 calories a week - 3500 calories (1 pound of fat) = 7876 / 7 = 1125 calories a day. You need to burn more calories a week or loose less. 1200 calories intake a day should be minimum

    (7*1200) + 3500 = 11900 - (7*1368) = 2324 calories which need to be burn every week for a healthy loss of 1 Pound a week
  • kkrenee15
    kkrenee15 Posts: 2
    Thanks everyone! Really helped a lot
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    So does that mean I eat a minimum of 1381 calories to lose weight?
    It means you need to eat a maximum of 1381 on average to lose around a pound a week. In theory. It's all just estimates. You can eat more if you move more or lose faster if you move more, or eat less. Don't eat too much less, nutrition matters.
  • LAWoman72
    LAWoman72 Posts: 2,846 Member
    I have to disagree with one statement above saying to eat below the BMR (1200). You should NEVER eat below your BMR. That's what your body uses just to keep you alive - to keep your heart beating, to keep your hair growing, to keep you ovulating if you're a woman, to perform the basics of sustaining life.

    I would eat at around 1400-1450, personally. If that means your weight loss is slower, then that means it's slower, but it shouldn't be appreciably slower (there's a lot more that goes into this than calories in/calories out; that's the basic mechanism, but your body itself will need more or fewer calories on a given day due to its own whims and processes, IME).

    Starting out at such a low BMR, I'm assuming you're close to goal? Weight loss is always slower closer to goal and this is why. But forcing your body into using up the stores it needs just to keep you alive could backfire (and generally does). Slow but steady, it's a marathon, not a sprint. :)

    Good luck!
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    Your BMR estimate has nothing to do with today's intake. Taking in less than you burn, on average, means using your stored calories in the form of body fat to 'fund' your deficit. You have no way of knowing (and you shouldn't care) which bodily activity gets fueled from today's intake and which from stored calories. It ALL gets fueled, which is how the system is designed to work. In times of famine, we run on intake + body fat. If you had no stored calories (body fat), then eating below your BMR would be a problem. Actually then eating below your total energy expenditure would be a problem.

    If you're losing more than a pound a week over a longish period, maybe consider a smaller deficit. Otherwise, it's all good.
  • kyleekay10
    kyleekay10 Posts: 1,812 Member
    So does that mean I eat a minimum of 1381 calories to lose weight?
    It means you need to eat a maximum of 1381 on average to lose around a pound a week. In theory. It's all just estimates. You can eat more if you move more or lose faster if you move more, or eat less. Don't eat too much less, nutrition matters.

    No. That is not correct. BMR should be the bare minimum that she eats.

    OP needs to calculate her TDEE (the number of calories to eat if you wish to maintain) and then cut 5-20% from that number. Some good links were posted above.
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    Why does MFP use 1200 as a minimum then? Show me one credible source that says one should not eat below their BMR and I'll eat my words. BMR, not 'VLCD'. No one has ever been able to. It's a forum myth.
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