Bit confused

katewright699
katewright699 Posts: 28
in Food and Nutrition
Hi everyone,after a bit of basic advice please, I've used the scoobys calculator and it's my understanding that your bmr is the calories your body would need if you were in a coma etc etc... But underneath that the recommended daily calorie intake for losing weight is less than the bmr.im not sure if I'm being daft or just plain missing something but how can the recommended calories a day be less than what you need to survive ? The bmr number is 1572 and the recommended calories a day is 1512 and the mfp has put me at 1390 a day... Confused lol.. Any help would be great but the links ppl put up don't seen to want to work on my phone :(

Replies

  • PennyVonDread
    PennyVonDread Posts: 432 Member
    Not calories to just "survive," it's the calories needed to maintain your body in the state it is in now. The basic survival calorie line is lower, and not ideal, but that estimation sounds about normal for a sedentary lifestyle.
  • gotolam
    gotolam Posts: 262 Member
    Hi everyone,after a bit of basic advice please, I've used the scoobys calculator and it's my understanding that your bmr is the calories your body would need if you were in a coma etc etc... But underneath that the recommended daily calorie intake for losing weight is less than the bmr.im not sure if I'm being daft or just plain missing something but how can the recommended calories a day be less than what you need to survive ? The bmr number is 1572 and the recommended calories a day is 1512 and the mfp has put me at 1390 a day... Confused lol.. Any help would be great but the links ppl put up don't seen to want to work on my phone :(

    Nothing wrong with eating lower than BMR if you have weight to lose. Calories are burned from not just the food that you eat everyday, but from your fat stores as well. That's why your body produces them in the first place. Eating less than your BMR forces your body to turn to your fat stores for energy...E.G. weight loss.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    You're overthinking this. To lose 49 lbs., set your goal to 1 lb. per week. Learn to log everything you eat & drink accurately & honestly. Get a food scale, and weigh everything you eat—even packaged food.

    The Sexypants post should be required reading: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
  • Calliope610
    Calliope610 Posts: 3,783 Member
    Hi everyone,after a bit of basic advice please, I've used the scoobys calculator and it's my understanding that your bmr is the calories your body would need if you were in a coma etc etc... But underneath that the recommended daily calorie intake for losing weight is less than the bmr.im not sure if I'm being daft or just plain missing something but how can the recommended calories a day be less than what you need to survive ? The bmr number is 1572 and the recommended calories a day is 1512 and the mfp has put me at 1390 a day... Confused lol.. Any help would be great but the links ppl put up don't seen to want to work on my phone :(

    Depending on your weekly weight loss goal, your calorie deficit changes. The more ambitious your goal (i.e. 2lbs/wk), the greater the deficit and the fewer daily calories your are allotted. In some cases, that may be lower than your BMR. If you set your weight loss goal at 1 - 1.5lbs/wk, you will get more daily calories and have a (IMHO) greater chance of long term weight loss success.
  • katewright699
    katewright699 Posts: 28
    Ok thankyou for the advice :)
  • shadowsofyou
    shadowsofyou Posts: 12 Member
    Also MFP subtracts your calories burned. Some people recommend not eating back your exercise calories but if you eat 1600 calories and then burn 300 calories you've still reached your goal. But I agree MFP's goal is quite low. Someone suggested iifym.com which tends to calculate it higher then MFP. I actually raised my goal after looking into different calculators.

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