Help!!! I think I been doing this all wrong....=0(

estrada_mommy
estrada_mommy Posts: 6
edited September 26 in Food and Nutrition
Good morning all. :drinker:

I need help. Using this site I have lost almost 20 lbs. I'm a married SAHM of 4girls. Ages 10, 5, 3, and 2. I'm eating 1280 calories walking 2 miles and doing 30 Day Shred 5 days a week. I have seen a change as well as my husband. But I was told yesterday I been doing it wrong. That I need to eat over 2100 calories a day according to my BMR. I have never heard of a BMR till yesterday. My BMI is 31.71 as of right now I was just working toward getting my BMI to a healthy one. Can someone, anyone help me? What am I really supposed to be going by? I have always understood you should eat 2000 calories to maintain a healthy weight so why would I be eating over 2100 to lose? Im so confused... :huh:

Replies

  • dncn_chrsty
    dncn_chrsty Posts: 9
    If you are seeing reults and are not light headed after you excerise you are fine. Make sure you update your Fitness Pal info as you loose becasue that will adjust your calorie intake.
  • rmhand
    rmhand Posts: 1,067 Member
    did you calculate your BMR using MFP? I think it automatically does this when I calculates the calories you should eat when you put in your goals and activity level. I would try updating your stats.
  • jrueckert
    jrueckert Posts: 355 Member
    Your BMR is what MFP uses to calculate how many calories you should consume per day. Do what works for you, follow the site, and you'll be fine. Especially if you're seeing results!
  • meggonkgonk
    meggonkgonk Posts: 2,066 Member
    With your BMI that high, you can safely eat under your BMR without harming yourself.

    When you get in the 24-26 BMI range you can use your BMR to help you determine a safe "low" net number for your daily calorie goal.

    For now you should be OK with 1280+most of your exercise cals. I know they say 1200 is the cut off, but I would say try to keep your cal goal between 1250 and 1350, just to make sure you have some wiggle room.
  • amymeenieminymo
    amymeenieminymo Posts: 2,394 Member
    Good morning all. :drinker:

    I need help. Using this site I have lost almost 20 lbs. I'm a married SAHM of 4girls. Ages 10, 5, 3, and 2. I'm eating 1280 calories walking 2 miles and doing 30 Day Shred 5 days a week. I have seen a change as well as my husband. But I was told yesterday I been doing it wrong. That I need to eat over 2100 calories a day according to my BMR. I have never heard of a BMR till yesterday. My BMI is 31.71 as of right now I was just working toward getting my BMI to a healthy one. Can someone, anyone help me? What am I really supposed to be going by? I have always understood you should eat 2000 calories to maintain a healthy weight so why would I be eating over 2100 to lose? Im so confused... :huh:

    You should be eating whatever MFP tells you (in this case I'm assuming its the 1280) PLUS whatever you burn during exercise. I've never done 30 day shred, but I've heard it's tough so you must be burning a lot, so if that's the case eating 1280 net is NOT enough....You need to NET a MINIMUM of 1200 calories so that means eating that plus your exercise calories. Don't let what you have lost fool you, if you're not eating enough, the weightloss will eventually stall and you will plateu or even gain weight because your metabolism will begin shutting down.
  • meggonkgonk
    meggonkgonk Posts: 2,066 Member
    Your BMR is what MFP uses to calculate how many calories you should consume per day.

    This isn't actually true. BMR is how many calories per day you exert through basic functions like breathing and heart pumping. It is equivelent to how much you would burn sleeping or in a coma.

    For heavier people, supporting the extra weight burns extra calories so it is safe to eat below the BMR because there will still be enough calories left for your body to run itself and your body is more comfortable using fat stores to subsidize lack of calories.

    As you get lighter however, your body becomes more defensive of your fat stores, so you need to feed it at least enough for basic function so it will feel safe enough to use these stores for energy.
  • hpsnickers1
    hpsnickers1 Posts: 2,783 Member
    Good morning all. :drinker:

    I need help. Using this site I have lost almost 20 lbs. I'm a married SAHM of 4girls. Ages 10, 5, 3, and 2. I'm eating 1280 calories walking 2 miles and doing 30 Day Shred 5 days a week. I have seen a change as well as my husband. But I was told yesterday I been doing it wrong. That I need to eat over 2100 calories a day according to my BMR. I have never heard of a BMR till yesterday. My BMI is 31.71 as of right now I was just working toward getting my BMI to a healthy one. Can someone, anyone help me? What am I really supposed to be going by? I have always understood you should eat 2000 calories to maintain a healthy weight so why would I be eating over 2100 to lose? Im so confused... :huh:

    Your BMR is what you would burn just resting all day (this changes when you get up out of bed - no this isn't a sleeping or coma number - this number covers your organ and system functions). 2100 seems a bit high but I guess it could be right. I'm small/short so I don't know. Did you get this number under Tools here on MFP? And not everyone needs 2000 calories to maintain a healthy weight. I burn anywhere from 1600 to 2400 in a 24hr period depending on how busy I am and whether or not I lifted weights the day before. (I am 5'2" and 120-123lbs).

    When you set up MFP you punch in your height, weight, activity level, what your goal is and MFP gives you a number. This is your Maintenance Calories. MFP then deducts a number of calories based on what your weight loss goal is (250 for .5lb; 500 for 1lb; 750 for 1.5lb and 1000 for 2lb). Make sure you eat back what you burn to stay above the 1280 number MFP gave you. This is for your long term health.

    Please read Links in MFP you want to read again and again (in my signature). It's a bunch of links explaining lots of important things (you will be amazed and maybe slightly confused from all the info but it will click)

    Good Luck!!
  • jackal75
    jackal75 Posts: 95
    MFP works. Period. Keep your info updated, and MFP will not lead you astray.

    If you are trying to build muscle, your body needs more fuel for that. If you are trying to lose weight, then net calories are the key. Where your BMR factors in is you either eat less than your BMR to lose weight, or you eat higher than your BMR but work out harder to gain muscle. How far below your BMR you eat determines how quickly you will lose. This is why when you set your goals in MFP, it asks you what you weigh now, what you want to weigh, AND how fast do you want to lose it. The faster you want to lose, the more MFP lowers your calories. But beware, if you lose it too fast, it is harder to keep off. Unless your doctor has ordered you on a crash diet, be patient and lose it slowly. I have lost 75 lbs over the course of a year. While that sounds very impressive to most folks, do the math on what that averages out to per week.

    Simple math... 2 lbs per week over 52 weeks (1 year)... equals 104 lbs. Do you need to lose that much? Don't feel like you have to hurry.
  • kdiamond
    kdiamond Posts: 3,329 Member
    Nobody is exactly the same. You may need more or less depending on your body, your activity level, etc..

    Are you still losing? If you are and you're still happy keep everything the same. If you hit a plateau, you may need to up your calories.
  • estrada_mommy
    estrada_mommy Posts: 6
    Thank you EVERYONE!!! I did my BMR on here and it is 1652 with my BMI at 31.8. I was told on another site I need to eat at least what my BMR was...So I was lost. So very lost. Again thanks any more input is very welcome!!!
  • meggonkgonk
    meggonkgonk Posts: 2,066 Member
    Thank you EVERYONE!!! I did my BMR on here and it is 1652 with my BMI at 31.8. I was told on another site I need to eat at least what my BMR was...So I was lost. So very lost. Again thanks any more input is very welcome!!!

    You CAN eat to your BMR and still lose, so if you feel more comfortable, just remember the loss will be a bit slower.

    I have been at where you are now and typically had a NET of roughly 1300-1400 calories (so 1300+exercise) and lost pretty steadily.
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