A little confused

lecomet
lecomet Posts: 5
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi there,

I am sorry if this post seems stupid but I have been reading about 'why am I not losing weight' and seeing all the replies saying about calorie deficit. Can someone please let me know that if my BMR is 1815 then should I have a net calorie of 1815 or just intake 1815? Sorry if I seem a bit simple but I am new to this and struggling to lose weight. I joined so hopefully I could find the help I need as 2 months on just a personal trainer and I am not losing lbs - I have gained despite my shape changing and having a very high BMI (35). Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Replies

  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
    My suggestion would be to not worry about BMR atm....just enter you information into MFP...set a reasonable weekly weight loss goal

    If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal
    If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal
    If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal
    If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal
    If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal

    set your true activity level and MFP will tell you how many calories you need to eat before exercise to lose the weight you want...

    And if you choose to do exercise...log it and eat back at least 50-75% of those calories to fuel your next workout...
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    I am sorry if this post seems stupid but I have been reading about 'why am I not losing weight' and seeing all the replies saying about calorie deficit. Can someone please let me know that if my BMR is 1815 then should I have a net calorie of 1815 or just intake 1815?

    Neither, necessarily. With a BMI of 35 you can afford a high deficit and eating 1500 should be fine.

    The "deficit" is from what you "burn" which is in turn at least 120% of your BMR. So if you took 500 off 1.2 * 1815 you would have 1680 calories and a 500 cal deficit. BMR numbers are only estimates, if you are gaining weight you need to eat less and I would specifically say eat/drink less carbohydrates.
  • bravid98
    bravid98 Posts: 80 Member
    Since you've got a lot to loose you can stand to loose more per week than is "recommended", at least at first. You'll find that your weekly weight drop slows down, but the percentage drop stays around the same.

    I think this is a pretty good website to supplement MFPs numbers: http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

    If I make some guesstimates on your height, weight, and exercise level, 1815 seems fine. If you're actually gaining weight, then it's one of two things:

    1) You're not logging accurately and are eating more than 1815 per day.
    2) You are on medication or have a medical issue that is impacting your weight loss.

    If you wouldn't mind opening up your food diary we could take a look at that and make suggestions.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
    Since you've got a lot to loose you can stand to loose more per week than is "recommended", at least at first. You'll find that your weekly weight drop slows down, but the percentage drop stays around the same.

    I think this is a pretty good website to supplement MFPs numbers: http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

    If I make some guesstimates on your height, weight, and exercise level, 1815 seems fine. If you're actually gaining weight, then it's one of two things:

    1) You're not logging accurately and are eating more than 1815 per day.
    2) You are on medication or have a medical issue that is impacting your weight loss.

    If you wouldn't mind opening up your food diary we could take a look at that and make suggestions.

    NOt to be picky but I think you are mistaking BMR with TDEE...BMR is what is needed when totally sedentary to maintain weight...as in just not moving but alive.

    The OP can eat more than 1815 and lose weight if they are "living life" ie working, walking, sitting etc.
  • bravid98
    bravid98 Posts: 80 Member
    Since you've got a lot to loose you can stand to loose more per week than is "recommended", at least at first. You'll find that your weekly weight drop slows down, but the percentage drop stays around the same.

    I think this is a pretty good website to supplement MFPs numbers: http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

    If I make some guesstimates on your height, weight, and exercise level, 1815 seems fine. If you're actually gaining weight, then it's one of two things:

    1) You're not logging accurately and are eating more than 1815 per day.
    2) You are on medication or have a medical issue that is impacting your weight loss.

    If you wouldn't mind opening up your food diary we could take a look at that and make suggestions.

    NOt to be picky but I think you are mistaking BMR with TDEE...BMR is what is needed when totally sedentary to maintain weight...as in just not moving but alive.

    The OP can eat more than 1815 and lose weight if they are "living life" ie working, walking, sitting etc.

    I think OP is confused on the BMR. Assuming she's 5'4" and 205 lbs, that's a BMI of 35. Her BMR would be around 1642, not 1815. I think she might have calculated TDEE and thought it was BMR.
  • lecomet
    lecomet Posts: 5
    I have been keeping an extremely honest diary of food and on certain days I even struggle to reach 1300 calories - I do not eat processed foods and weigh out my portions. I work out 3/4 times a week doing interval training with my PT. I am not currently on medication or have any illnesses that I am aware of. This is why I am confused. I started working out just over 2 months ago and I have lost a total of 2lbs. I assumed with my obesity and strict diet that I would have it coming of a lot faster but I seem to have an issue. I am sorry but this is getting to me mentally now.
  • lecomet
    lecomet Posts: 5
    I have only just started using my food diary on here as I was given the details this week on how to use it. I kept a manual diary before this as I was not aware of this help that was available. If you want I will try and back date it from my manual diary if it will help?
  • bravid98
    bravid98 Posts: 80 Member
    I have only just started using my food diary on here as I was given the details this week on how to use it. I kept a manual diary before this as I was not aware of this help that was available. If you want I will try and back date it from my manual diary if it will help?

    No need to go back and load stuff in. You can make your diary public by adjusting the setting here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings

    If you haven't talked to your doctor about losing weight, it may be helpful to have the conversation with them. Have you ever had your thyroid checked? Usually thyroid problems run in families so the chances are slim you have an issue, but it's usually one of the first things they check if you've been trying for awhile to lose weight and aren't seeing anything.
  • lecomet
    lecomet Posts: 5
    I have nothing in my diary yet as I only started electronic today though which is why I said I would need to add info in for you to see. There is no history in my family of thyroid problems so I think I will need to go see the doctor but thanks for trying to help anyway.
  • bravid98
    bravid98 Posts: 80 Member
    If you feel like loading a week's worth to food in that would be helpful to look at, otherwise we can check once you've got a few days into MFP to see where things are at.
  • Lizzy622
    Lizzy622 Posts: 3,705 Member
    Have you been balancing your proteins/fats/ carbohydrates? I find that if I am getting too much in one area and not enough in another than it slows my weight loss. If you are constantly changing exercise routines it may also be some water weight to aid muscle repair. Since you are reshaping something is working so keep at it.

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