BMR

N1ckL12
N1ckL12 Posts: 14 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi guys

I have been reading about weight loss as I still don't seem to be losing weight which has only been 2 weeks but its frustrating to see that nothing seems to be improving.

I have heard several opinions on weight loss of late and still none the wise, east more, eat less, eat eggs, don't eat eggs etc etc.

I understand the principle of BMR however some people say you shouldn't go below this level, I have calculated mine to be circa 1900, as I sit at a desk in work my life is sedentary so times my a factor of 1.2 to determine by body requirements.

Where I get lost is this.

There is no doubt I carry excess weight. If I eat less that the BMR my body needs to find the energy from somewhere so surely it eats the fats first? If I eat above my BMR how do I lose weight?

It seems the daily usage of calories goes up when your lifestyle is factored in whether that be sedentary or on the move everyday (obviously) but if I want to lose weight I exercise and eat healthy I don't see the point in eating in excess of the BMR, I want to lose weight. The insanity nutrition guide indicates how this is calculated, as the programme involves exercising 6 days of 7 the higher lifestyle usage factor needs to apply which takes my calorie requirements up over 3600!!!! take the 500 calories off per day to lose weight I am supposed to eat 3100 calories per day.

in essence if you want to exercise you have to fuel your body, I always believed that the fuel is there in the body in the form of excess fat!!!

my friend in a Diabetes Dietetic Assistant for the NHS - she sets her patients with goals to lose weight, but doesn't tell them to eat back exercise calories.

Furthermore if MFP works out I need to eat 1500 calories to lose weight, why hasn't that taken into account my BMR - it has all of my details which isn't difficult to work out.

I'm so frustrated and confused. I would like to shift 10kg yet my weight has plateaued (although this morning when I got up was 300g heavier than yesterday!!!

Any advice?

Thanks

Replies

  • SnuggleSmacks
    SnuggleSmacks Posts: 3,731 Member
    BMR is the calories your body burns just to stay alive. It is fuel for the most basic of your organ functions, and nothing else. It is the amount you would burn if you were in a coma.

    Everything you do during the day burns calories over and above your BMR. The amount you burn through your BMR plus your daily activity is called your TDEE. You should try calculating that (there's tons of online calculators which will give you an estimate). It will be a bit higher than your BMR.

    So...for example, my BMR is only around 1300, but my TDEE is more like 1900. So, to lose weight, I should eat less than 1900, but never less than 1300. Does that make sense?

    MyFitnessPal is set up to do all of this for you, so if you just plug your info in, it will set an appropriate goal for you to lose weight. Just keep in mind that your calorie goal isn't just an upper limit...it's an actual goal that you should try to reach, either daily or weekly, in order to make sure you're losing weight safely.
  • N1ckL12
    N1ckL12 Posts: 14 Member
    Snuggle

    Thanks for the response, what you say makes sense, however the calculations suggest I have a BMR of 1900 which to me is high. whilst I'm overweight I struggle to eat more than 2000 calories per day so to have a base of 1900 works against me somewhat.

    If I had a BMR like you I would be happy.

    The concept of eating 2000 calories per day to lose weight is wrong in my eyes.

    I told MFP I wanted 1500 calories per day and that's what I have been aiming for. the last two weeks I have been within 200 calories over the weekly goal.

    EDIT. I have just checked with another online calculator and get 1783 calories BMR. times by my normal daily life of 1.2 I get 2139.6 calories (how im fat I don't know!!!)

    I have just input into MFP weight loss goal and at what rate and it specifies a calorie intake of only 1430 per day - how can this take into account my BMR?
  • terbusha
    terbusha Posts: 1,483 Member
    I have a very practical approach to setting calorie goals. What I do and what I recommend to people is to eat at a calorie level that allows you to drop 1-2 lbs/week. This assumes an average calorie burn from you getting in all of your workouts. This will be different for everyone, so you'll have to do some trial and error to figure it out. I'd start ~2200 cal/day. Hit this goal, along with your macros and getting in your workouts, for a week. If you lose 1-2 lbs, you're good to go. If you lose too much, increase your intake and repeat. If you don't lose enough, reduce your intake a bit and repeat. After a few weeks, you'll figure out what works for you in your situation.

    Allan
  • acorsaut89
    acorsaut89 Posts: 1,147 Member
    EDIT. I have just checked with another online calculator and get 1783 calories BMR. times by my normal daily life of 1.2 I get 2139.6 calories (how im fat I don't know!!!)

    My BMR is around 2,200 calories/day and the reason you're thinking you're "fat" is because you may have been putting the wrong kinds of calories into your body. I can eat way more "quality" calories than I used to before and the quantity of food I consume has gone way, way up. Choosing the right foods is way more important than the quantity of foods.

    I am not close to my goal at all but my body composition has changed HUGE and I have learned to re-train my mind to think of changing body comp and losing inches rather than what the scale says. If you can get to this mindset, you'll be golden!

    Also, I find counting every single calorie drives me absolutely insane so I use this as more of a guideline than an absolute rule and I am still seeing progress.
  • ravenmiss
    ravenmiss Posts: 384 Member
    I have to eat less than my BMR, if I didn't, I wouldn't lose weight.

    Read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1058378-oh-noes-i-am-eating-below-my-bmr
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    OMG this thread is already getting derpy.

    Your BMR is an estimate of calories your body needs for basic functions if you were to do nothing besides sleep all day...theoretically, you would burn your BMR calories in a coma. Don't get too hung up here...it's an estimate...there are a few different calculators for determining this estimate as well....one that take into account only your LBM is going to be more accurate, but still an estimate.

    There really is no reason to eat below your BMR and I have a feeling there are more than a few people on this thread that are confusing their TDEE with BMR....there is no way you don't lose weight eating between your BMR and TDEE....if that is the case then those numbers aren't really your BMR or TDEE or there is just a **** ton of human error going on (which is often the case...people are for **** when it comes to accurately estimating their intake).

    I'm a pushing 40 5'10" male with an estimated BMR right around 1780 or so....my TDEE is around 2800 calories or so with all of my activity...I lost weight very easily and steadily eating 2300 calories per day to lose 1 Lb per week. Eating consistently below your BMR is simply going to cause you to burn more LBM than anything...your body will burn fat first, but you can only oxidize so much fat for energy over a 24 hour period.

    BMR + NEAT + EAT = Total Daily Energy Expenditure

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