1200 Calories, BMR, BMI, Weight loss

hedgertiger
hedgertiger Posts: 51 Member
edited September 23 in Health and Weight Loss
http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

I am a 36year old male who wants to lose a stone (I want to go from 175lbs to 160lbs losing 2lbs a week). Ive lost 2lb in the first week by eating 1200-1500 calories a day and exercising quite a lot (weight training and cardio) so I was on target.

i have now read that this calorie intake is far too low for a male

The BMR calculator above says I should be consuming 2700 calories (to maintain weight) - 15% (to lose weight) = 2295 cals a day

Im confused!!!

Replies

  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    If your maintenance is 2700 to lose 2 lbs/week your goal would be 1700 (1000/day deficit). I would just go by what MFP suggests as you would have entered your activity level and all the other info about your goals, but as a male you should not go below 1500 net calories (1500+exercise calories) Your body needs fuel.

    at 2295 you would lose about 0.9 lbs/week, which is you only have 15 lbs to go is probably better than 2 lbs per week. The closer you are to your goal the smaller the deficit you should have.

    From your home page click goals and on the right hand side you will see calories burned, from daily activity level. This is the starting point (maintenance) to lose weight eat under this, when setting your goal if you go to 2 lbs/week your daily goal will be 1000 cals below this number.
  • dutaut89
    dutaut89 Posts: 5
    2700 Seems like a lot... But if you lost 2lbs on target than stick with it for a while and see how you feel?
    If you do feel like you're under eating then up it a bit, just remember that all these BMI and BMR calculators are not targeted to the individual, everyone has different metabolism rates and different thresholds!
  • ultimategar
    ultimategar Posts: 96 Member
    To lose 2lbs a week you need a 3500 calorie deficit per week.
    BMR is not an exact science so you need to work out what suits you.
    I'm roughly your age and 220 lbs, I use a bmr of 2500, so yours should be lower unless you're pretty active in your job. (I've lost exactly 2lbs per week for the last 4 weeks).
  • tsaunders01
    tsaunders01 Posts: 6 Member
    Hi guys, I just read a study on loosing FAT... here it is:
    To loose 1lb per week we must burn 3500 calories more than we consume per week. That is approximately 500 calories we need to burn per day.
    Here is the good example: If you reduce your recommended calorie intake by 200 calories and actively workout burning a minimum of 300 calories you should see a 1 lb weight reduction weekly. Take this information and double it for 2lb weight loss per week.

    I hope this was helpful.

    Get Moving and Get Fit!!!!!!!! We can do it!
  • stormieweather
    stormieweather Posts: 2,549 Member
    To be honest, I doubt that a 2 pound a week loss is realistic for you, based on your current weight and goals. The closer you are to goal weight, the harder it is to lose and the slower it becomes (your body does not want to give up those fat stores). You are 175 pounds now, which isn't huge for a male, unless you are extremely short. Going to 160 is only a loss of 15 pounds and if you aren't extremely careful you could end up losing muscles instead of fat.

    I think you need to eat a lot more than 1500 calories (1200 minimum is for women, by the way) and be sure to couple that deficit with plenty of weight lifting (not cardio) to preserve muscle. Lifting weights will also help keep you aware of whether you are losing fat or muscle, if you cannot increase your lifts or you are losing ground, then it's not fat going bye bye.

    I am not a trainer or expert, so would suggest you PM Stroutman81 or Sheboss1673 - both of whom are excellent personal trainers and quite knowledgable on these matters.
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