Ok I have a question

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  • sandylh76
    sandylh76 Posts: 7
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    Ok, for me it said to eat also 1200 to loose 2 lbs a week, but I knew that was too low for me and my lifestyle, so I did the loose 1 lb a week and gave me 1450 a day, now if I exercise, the app automatically substracts those calories from your daily allowance and tell you how many more do you have left to eat your goal, so just eat them, you need them to recover and go into starvation mode, that's why I like this program, because that's an extra motivator for me to exercise more, I'll eat a little more, feel good and still loose! It's the perfect combo! And the healthiest way to do it, so you are in the right place, eat your exercise calories and don't over do either one (exercise and low calories). Good Luck !
  • Mindful_Trent
    Mindful_Trent Posts: 3,954 Member
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    Firstly, I dont take offense because its not my theory, its science. Calories in vs Calories out. No offense taken :)

    Secondly, I would like you to please site a reputable source claiming that 1200 is "right" for all women and 1500 is the magic number for all men. I am asking because I have honestly never seen a registered dietician or doctor make the blanket statement that all women are good on 1200 and all men are good on 1500. That's just not individualized enough for me to believe. (LEt alone the fact that I WRECKED my metabolism eating 1200 calories a day. I am just now learning to do this the right way, as a lifetsyle, not a diet. and I was actually yelled at by my primary care doc AND my dietician when they found out I was trying to stick to 1200 a day and half my exercise calories. Personal experience speaks much louder than generalizations.)

    I agree 1200 and 1500 are generalizations and not right for everyone, but BMR is NOT a magic number either. All BMR is is the calories your body burns just by being alive. Some people who are very sedentary (such as people like myself with a desk job) don't burn a ton over their BMR. If they are significantly overweight, they are going to have to dip into their bmr to lose weight at more than a snail's pace. I'm not advocating extreme weight loss, but 2 lbs/week is not unreasonable, and for many people, losing at 2 lbs per week (or even 1.5!) required dipping into the BMR.

    Example - when I started MPF (with 100 or so pounds to lose) my BMR was around 1734. I burned an average of around 2200-2300 cal/day before exercise. If I want to lose 2 lbs/week, that's a 1000 calorie deficit, so 1200-1300 calories before exercise calories. That put me well below my BMR. On days I exercised and ate those exercise calories, I sometimes ended up above my BMR, but not always. I've been eating this way for quite some time - a base goal of 1200-1300 plus most of my exercise calories, and I'm perfectly fine. I'm not screwing up my metabolism, I have plenty of energy and I feel healthy. I'm continuing to lose weight. If I initially ate my BMR plus exercise calories, I would've only been able to lose maybe a pound a week at the most - for someone with 100 pounds to lose, wanting a higher loss is not unreasonable.

    I agree with you that it's about calories in vs calories out - but I don't know how that translates into BMR being some magical minimum number that we have to eat. I would be interested in seeing a credible study that says it's unhealthy for an obese person to eat below his/her BMR.

    I suggenst you read these links - They're very well-written and explains that people with more to lose are okay on a higher deficit (aka - eating below BMR):
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/153704-myth-or-fact-simple-math-3500-calories-one-pound-eat
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/69708-calorie-deficit-for-dummies-a-little-long

    Just to clarify - there's a big difference between someone with 10 lbs to lose and someone with 100 to lose. I agree that someone with 10 lbs to lose (or a similar small amount) should be eating his/her BMR - their body can't support a higher calorie deficit. But someone with 100 lbs to lose is another matter. Their bodies CAN handle a higher calorie deficit.
  • sandylh76
    sandylh76 Posts: 7
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    Sorry I meant "to recover and NOT go into starvation mode"
  • Dtho5159
    Dtho5159 Posts: 1,054 Member
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    Ok, for me it said to eat also 1200 to loose 2 lbs a week, but I knew that was too low for me and my lifestyle, so I did the loose 1 lb a week and gave me 1450 a day, now if I exercise, the app automatically substracts those calories from your daily allowance and tell you how many more do you have left to eat your goal, so just eat them, you need them to recover and go into starvation mode, that's why I like this program, because that's an extra motivator for me to exercise more, I'll eat a little more, feel good and still loose! It's the perfect combo! And the healthiest way to do it, so you are in the right place, eat your exercise calories and don't over do either one (exercise and low calories). Good Luck !

    See thats where I get confused?! On here, my exercise calories ADD onto what I have left, not subtracts
  • Mindful_Trent
    Mindful_Trent Posts: 3,954 Member
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    Ok, for me it said to eat also 1200 to loose 2 lbs a week, but I knew that was too low for me and my lifestyle, so I did the loose 1 lb a week and gave me 1450 a day, now if I exercise, the app automatically substracts those calories from your daily allowance and tell you how many more do you have left to eat your goal, so just eat them, you need them to recover and go into starvation mode, that's why I like this program, because that's an extra motivator for me to exercise more, I'll eat a little more, feel good and still loose! It's the perfect combo! And the healthiest way to do it, so you are in the right place, eat your exercise calories and don't over do either one (exercise and low calories). Good Luck !

    See thats where I get confused?! On here, my exercise calories ADD onto what I have left, not subtracts

    I think Sandy mistyped - MFP definitely ADDS the exercise calories to your goal (because you're supposed to eat most of them!)
  • Dtho5159
    Dtho5159 Posts: 1,054 Member
    Options
    Ok, for me it said to eat also 1200 to loose 2 lbs a week, but I knew that was too low for me and my lifestyle, so I did the loose 1 lb a week and gave me 1450 a day, now if I exercise, the app automatically substracts those calories from your daily allowance and tell you how many more do you have left to eat your goal, so just eat them, you need them to recover and go into starvation mode, that's why I like this program, because that's an extra motivator for me to exercise more, I'll eat a little more, feel good and still loose! It's the perfect combo! And the healthiest way to do it, so you are in the right place, eat your exercise calories and don't over do either one (exercise and low calories). Good Luck !

    See thats where I get confused?! On here, my exercise calories ADD onto what I have left, not subtracts

    I think Sandy mistyped - MFP definitely ADDS the exercise calories to your goal (because you're supposed to eat most of them!)

    lol ok thank you!!
  • katbass
    katbass Posts: 351 Member
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    I suppose I have a hard time agreeing since a person's BMR is the number of calories their body needs to SURVIVE. So how can it be good long-term advice to tell someone to deprive their body and give it LESS than what it needs just to function? It reminds me of the countless people on MFP right now who truly believe that 1200 calories is what they shoud eat to lose weight. I cringe every time someone says "Hey!! *I'm* supposed to eat 1200 a day, TOO!!" like its some coincidence that MFP set their goals the same...despite their 6" height and 50 lb weight difference. 1200 (or 1500) isnt a magical answer to weight loss. It is simply given to people who dont have a lot to lose, (not 100 lbs) but set their goal at 2 lbs per week because faster is better.

    In the end, you and I are essentially saying the same thing. Everybody is different and every body requires different minimums to get by/lose weight/stay healthy.
  • RosieGB33nz
    RosieGB33nz Posts: 142
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    Wait wait, i think im doing this wrong! If you do exercise, you eat the calroies you have earned? Im on a 12,00 per day and i am doing that and not being hungry so do i stick to that or is it not healthy for me?? Please help

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