BMR of 1,957?!

Bethanyannmariah
Bethanyannmariah Posts: 24
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm a 5 ft 6 female who weighs 259lbs and I'm 21. Is this really telling me that in order to
Lose weight I must eat at least this? Really? I just can't believe it. I thought women on diets are
Meant to eat 1200ish? Is it because I'm so big? Surely that shouldn't mean I should eat more, just because I'm fat? I'm fat because I ate more in the first place!
Any suggestions on what calories I really should be consuming to lose 1-2 lbs a week?
Can't believe a diet could be nearly 2000 cals.

Replies

  • Bethanyannmariah
    Bethanyannmariah Posts: 24
    So confused. This (1,957) is the calculations from the mfp website. If I use the mfp app and put in that I want to lose 2lb a week it tells me to eat 1,750 cals a day. If I then change that to losing 0.5 lbs a week it tells me to consume 2500! Which is more than the bmr the mfp website calculator gave me, how can I lose weight eating above my bmr ?!
  • LeonCX
    LeonCX Posts: 862 Member
    something is wrong with your setup, because your profile says you have 105 pounds to lose.
  • williams969
    williams969 Posts: 2,528 Member
    Are you sure you have entered your beginning weight correctly? You say you are 159lbs, but your weight loss ticker says you want to lose 105 lbs! Something's off in your data entry, check that first.
  • Annie_01
    Annie_01 Posts: 3,096 Member
    I am 62 with a BMR of 1330. I lose weight eating 1600 - 1800 calories. Anywhere from 1/2 to 1lb a week.

    At your age if you are active...you would need more.

    Your BMR is just the number that your body uses just to function.
  • invisibubble
    invisibubble Posts: 662 Member
    I think you mean TDEE.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    Eating above your BMR is fine, and expected when you have less to lose. It's your TDEE that you need to stay under to lose weight.
  • invisibubble
    invisibubble Posts: 662 Member
    FYI, I'm 5"5.5 and 134lbs, and I eat 2000-2200 a day. I was losing weight at 160lbs eating around 1900 a day.
  • Kate7294
    Kate7294 Posts: 783 Member
    I'm 5'7" and have been losing on 1640 calories. I started around 1690 then eventually MFP dropped me to 1420. I noticed a decrease in my energy so I adjusted my settings. Now I'm back to 1640. My BMR ( what you need to live in a coma ) is 1548-1576. You may have your BMR confused with you TDEE.
  • maidentl
    maidentl Posts: 3,203 Member
    So confused. This (1,957) is the calculations from the mfp website. If I use the mfp app and put in that I want to lose 2lb a week it tells me to eat 1,750 cals a day. If I then change that to losing 0.5 lbs a week it tells me to consume 2500! Which is more than the bmr the mfp website calculator gave me, how can I lose weight eating above my bmr ?!

    You've entered something wrong somewhere. Go back and check all of your numbers.
  • Bethanyannmariah
    Bethanyannmariah Posts: 24
    Are you sure you have entered your beginning weight correctly? You say you are 159lbs, but your weight loss ticker says you want to lose 105 lbs! Something's off in your data entry, check that first.


    259 lbs! I wish I was 159 lbs :( but my weight is unfortunately correct on my settings!
  • Bethanyannmariah
    Bethanyannmariah Posts: 24
    Sorry to totally confuse everyone.
    I'm 259lbs!!
    And no, honestly, put everything in properly other than my post on here ! :embarassed:
  • maidentl
    maidentl Posts: 3,203 Member
    Are you sure you have entered your beginning weight correctly? You say you are 159lbs, but your weight loss ticker says you want to lose 105 lbs! Something's off in your data entry, check that first.


    259 lbs! I wish I was 159 lbs :( but my weight is unfortunately correct on my settings!

    Oh, well 259 is a different story. :laugh: Yes, you can eat quite a bit and lose! I'd start with what they tell you and then adjust accordingly. With that much to lose, you can choose the two pounds per week setting.
  • Sie_Con
    Sie_Con Posts: 101 Member
    Yes if you're 5' 6" and 259 then it sounds fine that you can lose 1-2 pounds weekly at 1900 calories. If you say you want to lose 105 lbs then your calorie allotment will shrink as you do, you should re-calculate it every 10 pounds or so.

    1200 calories is just not enough for the majority of people, unless you're an extremely petite woman who doesn't exercise much.
    You'd be surprised how quickly the calories add up and 1900 won't be hard to deal with. Take it as a positive!

    Log absolutely everything you eat and stay under between about 1750-1957, then see how you're doing in a week (You'll most likely have lost!)

    To compare, I'm 5 11" and 263 and losing at 1600 calories, and I'm sure I could be eating more.
  • sympha01
    sympha01 Posts: 942 Member
    I'm 198 lbs and I eat 1900 calories a day, losing more than a pound a week still.

    Those 1200 a day calorie diets are really even only marginally appropriate for rather small women, and generally very small inactive women at that. Or, they can be okay for a larger person for a very /LIMITED/ period of time to lose say, 20 lbs quickly before surgery.

    At over 250 lbs (I started at >335) you're way better off with a more sustainable diet you can live with for a long period of time. Even at 1500 calories a day it would take you a seriously long amount of time to reach a healthy weight; and it'll make you sad to eat that little for a long time. So if it's going to take a long time ANYWAY, make it something you can live happily with indefinitely. At your current size, as long as you include some activity (walking is fine and great), eating around 1900 calories a day you will lose plenty fast enough to stay motivated. Plus your diet will be so much more enjoyable, varied, and you can enjoy moderate portions of "treats" for mental health.
  • caracrawford1
    caracrawford1 Posts: 657 Member
    I'm a 5 ft 6 female who weighs 259lbs and I'm 21. Is this really telling me that in order to
    Lose weight I must eat at least this? Really? I just can't believe it. I thought women on diets are
    Meant to eat 1200ish? Is it because I'm so big? Surely that shouldn't mean I should eat more, just because I'm fat? I'm fat because I ate more in the first place!
    Any suggestions on what calories I really should be consuming to lose 1-2 lbs a week?
    Can't believe a diet could be nearly 2000 cals.
    Because you are heavier, you can lose more weight at a higher calorie level. As you become lighter, you will need fewer calories to lose weight. Certainly you were eating much more than 2000 to get to the size you are currently. Take it one day at a time.
  • flatlndr
    flatlndr Posts: 713 Member
    I entered your stats here: http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/
    For the calculation, I said you had a desk job with little exercise.
    It came back with a BMR of 1959, and a TDEE of 2350.
    So yes, it appears you could eat 2000 cals a days and lose weight.
    As someone else noted, you'll need to reevaluate your intake as you lose, every 5-10 lbs.
    Good luck!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Keep in mind that most calculators, including MFP use your total body weight in determining your BMR...calculators that use your lean mass (you have to have a good estimate of BF%) are more accurate and your actual BMR is less than 1959 calories. Your lean mass needs fueled, your fat doesn't.

    That said, as others have stated...being large means that you can in fact eat more and still lose. The best thing you can do is just get started...these calculators are just estimates and a good starting point...you should make adjustments as per real world results...I.e. if you're wanting to lose about 1 Lb per week but you're only losing 1/2 Lb per week as a general trend (not linear) then mathematically you know you need to cut out another 250 calories or so....you don't need a calculator to tell you that, just math.
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,724 Member
    Okay. I've attempted to replicate your settings. To lose 2 lbs a week at 1750 cals, you must have told MFP that you were "lightly active". Please note that MFP's activity level does not refer to intentional exercise, but rather how your entire day goes before exercise. Meaning do you sit on a desk all day (sedentary), stand on your feet most of the day (teacher - lightly active), etc etc. Then when you exercise, you log the activity and gain some calories that you can use to create a bigger deficit, or "eat back" to maintain the deficit that MFP planned all along.

    I exercise a ton but ride a desk all day so my activity level is sedentary. Are you lightly active?

    All that said everybody else is right. If you change the setting to "maintain my current weight" MFP will give you 2750 calories. That's the average net caloric intake that's needed to maintain your current weight. If you eat less than this amount, you will lose weight. How much less is determined by what you can sustain over the long haul. 1200 calories is the minimum mfp will give you, but if you can eat more than that, it'll help you be more likely to do this for as long as it will take to reach your goal weight, because you'll be able to fit in more things you like in your calorie target without going bat **** crazy. True story
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    So confused. This (1,957) is the calculations from the mfp website. If I use the mfp app and put in that I want to lose 2lb a week it tells me to eat 1,750 cals a day. If I then change that to losing 0.5 lbs a week it tells me to consume 2500! Which is more than the bmr the mfp website calculator gave me, how can I lose weight eating above my bmr ?!

    Your BMR doesn't really matter here. It's how much you burn without movement, so it's used to estimate either TDEE (how much you burn with daily activity plus exercise) or NEAT (what MFP uses, how much you burn with daily activity but not including exercise).

    I'm using the TDEE method and lose on 1600, and I'm quite a bit older than you and 140s currently, so my burn rate should be lower. (TDEE includes my exercise, though.) Thus, I think 1750 for 2 lbs/week seems quite possible. Try it and see.

    It's your TDEE that you can't lose going above. My BMR is quite a bit lower than the 1600 I lose on. On the other hand, when I started this I was eating 1200 + exercise calories (my BMR was higher than 1200), and I lost on that too.

    I'd just go with what MFP says and compare your results after a few weeks with it's predictions. Then adjust if you need to (MFP was always pretty accurate at estimating for me, so I never really had to).
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    Yep, sounds good to start. Remember to periodically adult your goals.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    I lose on 2k a day...only about 1/4lb a week but I still lose so yah your numbers for weight loss look reasonable considering your starting weight.

    Just remember to log accuartly by using a food scale...and don't worry about low fat this and diet that...eat the foods you love and enjoy...
  • Rebeccas_Life
    Rebeccas_Life Posts: 58 Member
    I'm 5'6 & my weight is 263 lbs. ... MFP has me at 1,870 Cals/Day to lose 1 lb per week. If your numbers are correct, then you should see results :smile:
  • mynewbeginning31
    mynewbeginning31 Posts: 1
    no no your body stores food more the less you eat because of insulin, Your body thinks its going to starve so it stores it for the winter so to speak and if you have an active lifestyle you burn the calories. Im 32 had to learn that the hard way like eating those snack packs that I love the 100 calorie ones have so much junk in em, your body cant use it. Didn't realize how muich crap I was eating til I went to mexico, I ate like crazy it was free and delicious but all cooked fresh never thought that made a difference, I was eating all those healthy snacks back home,, my point I went to the bathroom number twice all week, when at home I was going once or twice a day!! Oh yeah and lost ten pounds that week, of course I gained it back again eating garbage, its a horrible habit to break for me but if you eat six small meals/snacks a day of real food not additive garbage watch the weight go bye bye
  • arac62
    arac62 Posts: 65 Member
    Hi! I had almost the same stats and age as you when I started and I was a little shocked as well. My BMR right now is around 1700. I also burn about 600 cals every day.

    Honestly, I usually don't even eat my BMR and I rarely eat back my exercise calories. I know that I could eat more and still see results, but I really cant afford to eat that much and feel fine eating about 1500 a day.

    I would say the most important thing is to listen to your body. If you're feeling tired or starving all the time or aren't seeing the results you want, then eat more.

    Also I'm sending you a friend request :)
  • jnv7594
    jnv7594 Posts: 983 Member
    I'm a 5 ft 6 female who weighs 259lbs and I'm 21. Is this really telling me that in order to
    Lose weight I must eat at least this? Really? I just can't believe it. I thought women on diets are
    Meant to eat 1200ish? Is it because I'm so big? Surely that shouldn't mean I should eat more, just because I'm fat? I'm fat because I ate more in the first place!
    Any suggestions on what calories I really should be consuming to lose 1-2 lbs a week?
    Can't believe a diet could be nearly 2000 cals.

    Yes, that's about right. I weight about 5 more pounds than you and am a couple inches taller and my calories per day are set to 1970 before exercise. When I exercise they go over 2000. I don't typically eat that much. I'm pretty comfortable at about 1700 calories or so, but it's nice to have a little wiggle room on days I am more hungry. Don't let the number scare you. You will still lose weight at that amount of calories per day.

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