TDEE/BMR Question

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wisteriafleur
wisteriafleur Posts: 24 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am sure this has been asked a million times given that these things are pretty common but I can't seem to get a clear response from any of the topics posted.

Should I be following a BMR/TDEE calculator for weight loss given that I work out every day for 60-90 minutes each day.
I do not skip working out and I am only eating 1200 calories per day

I am 5 ft 7 in, 23 Years Old, 250 Lbs

I have looked at several sites for BMR

http://www.fat2fittools.com/tools/bmr/
> 3357 Calories (Very Active Activity Level [ 6-7 days a week of exercise ]

http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/#projectedweightloss
> BMR = 2318, TDEE = 4402, Daily Calories = 3521 (7-21 Hours/wk strenuous exercise/work)

My question is

Are these values pretty accurate?
What qualifies the activity level? I see Very Active and Strenuous and Hard Exercise on these sites and wonder what qualifier is used to label what I do every day. If we go by the amount of hours i work out each week on average then the number of hours per week is 10.5 at 1.5 hours a day (What I try to do every day) Even if I only work out 1 hour a day the sites still list me in these categories as http://www.fat2fittools.com/tools/bmr/ sets activity level by exercise per day per week and i work out every day
and http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/#projectedweightloss sets it by hours per week

I can see that their daily totals are pretty close to each other [The same values were used for both the only differences that concern me is the activity levels. Without knowing what is what I can't know how to proceed further] 1.5 hours a day is considered

Another confusing qualifier is that http://www.fat2fittools.com/tools/bmr/ labels very active as "Hard Exercise" and I get a good sweat but I would not consider my workout sessions as hard exercise. Are they generalizing hard exercise as exercise that exceeds a certain amount within a period of a day/week/month?

I really need answers to these questions because I have been trying to eat only 1200 calories a day which would be a huge deficit from what i should actually be consuming to support my BMR which could in fact be impeding my weight loss

If my BMR is 2316 or around then I should be consuming no less than this regardless.

Replies

  • ottermotorcycle
    ottermotorcycle Posts: 654 Member
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    Hi there! These topics are a little confusing so it's absolutely no worry that you had to post about it. That's what we're here for :)

    You seem to already know that eating 1200 calories a day is not healthy or sustainable - that is first and foremost. Clearing up your BMR will help you understand why.

    BMR is just the number of calories your body burns to maintain itself, without any movement. If you were in a coma, you would maintain your weight at your BMR. I'm not sure why the first site you used calculated your BMR using an activity level... once you include activity, you're calculating TDEE. Your BMR is 2318. You should not be eating below your BMR.

    You're young, so I would normally recommend inflating your exercise level a little anyway. The reason for this is that your metabolism is still at peak performance and you burn more than someone with your stats that is 10+ years older. If you're doing 60-90 minutes of exercise every day*, I would say you are Very Active. Though this is where the calculators vary, I would guess that 1.8 is a good multiplier for the amount of exercise you do.

    So 2318 * 1.8 = 4172.4 is approximately your TDEE. You can slice a flat amount off of this to lose weight if you want - about 1000 calories would be a rate of 2lb/week, giving you a goal of ~3200 calories a day. You can also do this by percentage. TDEE - 20% is a goal of 3338.

    As you lose weight, these numbers will go down. Your BMR will go down as there is less of you and, as a result, so is your TDEE. I would run your numbers every 10-20 pounds or if you find your weight loss stalling.

    * - I actually recommend that you take a rest day at least once a week. You should give yourself a day to skip working out and recover. You won't have to eat any less (though if you are less hungry, you can) but recovery is really important for fitness. That's where you get stronger and better.
  • wisteriafleur
    wisteriafleur Posts: 24 Member
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    thanks so much for responding however my next question is
    how on earth do i even eat that much?
    do i just count calories up to 3200? everything i eat is low calorie and low fat and everything so i guess just watch my sodium, calories up to 3200 while working out at least 6 days a week with 1 day of rest?

    this is very helpful i hope you dont mind if i add you to my friends for help later on.
  • serindipte
    serindipte Posts: 1,557 Member
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    thanks so much for responding however my next question is
    how on earth do i even eat that much?
    do i just count calories up to 3200? everything i eat is low calorie and low fat and everything so i guess just watch my sodium, calories up to 3200 while working out at least 6 days a week with 1 day of rest?

    this is very helpful i hope you dont mind if i add you to my friends for help later on.

    Stop eating everything low calorie and low fat.
  • Vigilance88
    Vigilance88 Posts: 95 Member
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    3200 cals of low fat/calorie food is A LOT of volume to take in.
    Why do you want to eat low cal foods?
    Add some nuts / peanutbutter and other dense calorie foods.
  • Hannah_Hopes
    Hannah_Hopes Posts: 273 Member
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    As others have said try cut out low fat/diet foods and increase calorie dense foods to reach your calorie goals :smile:
  • wisteriafleur
    wisteriafleur Posts: 24 Member
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    thanks so much everyone
    now i feel like i can actually eat closer to what i would normally
    perhaps with my activity my consumption per day wont feel much different from what i was used to
    i wont give up working towards losing weight thats for sure
  • meerkat70
    meerkat70 Posts: 4,616 Member
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    as someone with quite a lot to lose (from your ticker?), i would suggest a midway method. tdee minus 20 becomes a solid guide for successful loss when you are overweight. obese people can manage a sharper cut for a while. for me, 1200 is way too low but tdee-20 is too much. my magic intake number is somewhere between 1600 and 1800. you may need to work out yours. you will still lose well though with tdee-20. just a little slower.
  • geebusuk
    geebusuk Posts: 3,348 Member
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    If my BMR is 2316 or around then I should be consuming no less than this regardless.
    No reason for this - your body doesn't know or care that it burned a calorie from walking or from your heart pumping.

    The best way to work out your deficit, and your TDEE from that, I would say, is to average out your weight loss over time.
    I like the 'libra' app, but there's plenty of other ways.

    If you're losing 1lb a week, your deficit is around 500 calories a day, for instance and so if you look at the food you're eating and add 500 calories, that's around your TDEE.

    While the figures may not be accurate, they are MORE useful, as they directl relate to your current situation - for instance, your calories eaten might be underestimated by 50%, but you'll still get a good idea in relation to how it's working if you keep on undestimating calories.

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