Help! First day and already confused.

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aaaaaamyyyyyyy
aaaaaamyyyyyyy Posts: 69
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi,

This is my first day of weight loss, and I'm already stuck.

According to the information on this site:
- My BMR is 1,302
- I'm not allowed to eat less than 1200 calories a day
- I have to eat my exercise calories
- It takes a 3,500cal deficit to lose a pound.

So basically, I'm only allowed to lose less than one pound per month? That can't be right! But I can't see where I've gone wrong..

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Amy.

Replies

  • eeeekie
    eeeekie Posts: 1,011 Member
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    I'm sure someone more knowledgeable will give you advice...I just felt like commenting. The exercise calorie consumption is debatable. There will be people on here who say they eat all of them, half of them or none of them. I dabble into them every now and again. You should consume no LESS than 1200 calories a day.

    Did you put your settings at 1lb a month?
  • jlp100
    jlp100 Posts: 117 Member
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    in your settings you can alter the amount of calories. I think as a precedent it is started at 1200 calories. A female on average should have 2000 calories.

    If you want to alter the calories if you go into your profile under preferences you can set the amount of calories you aim to consume and your weight loss goal.

    Not sure about the specific calculations but you can get there.

    Feel free to add me if you want some support :) Good luck
  • vickychristie
    vickychristie Posts: 32 Member
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    hi Amy think that wrong your bmi cant be that! I would start again from scratch, the 1200 calorie thing sound about right though and I think that wud be saying you wud lost a pound a week! try entering the weight and height stuff again cos the bmi way out.

    Vicky
  • stella77
    stella77 Posts: 282
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    I agree, I think you BMR is wrong.
  • jlp100
    jlp100 Posts: 117 Member
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    sorry the settings I gave you were from the iphone app or if you wish to change on your computer there is a 'Goals' tab where you can change these settings.

    I like my food but I have noticed the weight change when I've kept to the calories (well try to everyone has a bad day now and then). If you exercise it just helps bump up your calorie amount so you can have that treat if you wish.

    I would check all your settings in case something has been typo'd or overlooked. G'luck again :drinker:
  • Purple_Orchid_87
    Purple_Orchid_87 Posts: 517 Member
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    BMR changes dramatically based on height and weight, i am 6ft 1 and mine is 2103 at the monent - i am 267lbs
    if someone was say 4ft 10 tall and weighed 6st, they're BMR would be a lot less

    1200 is the minimum you are meant to eat yes, but one day at 1100 wont kill you

    and my GP, dietician and nutritionalist ahve all said is 2500kcals to lose 1 lb so your 3500 MAY be overestimating there hun

    you will find lots of conflicting advice, but my advice would be to use trial and error and see what works for you - as what works for me may not work for you :o)

    good luck - add me as a friend if you would like to :o)

    Sarah
  • crystalinda
    crystalinda Posts: 151 Member
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    yeah, the calculated BMI has to be wrong, I think it has to be a 2 digit #. Also, the 1200 calories is the goal, notice that if you add an excercise it will increase your limit by however many calories you burned during your workout so you get extra credit calories for those additional calories burned.
  • lailenm
    lailenm Posts: 203 Member
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    hi Amy think that wrong your bmi cant be that! I would start again from scratch, the 1200 calorie thing sound about right though and I think that wud be saying you wud lost a pound a week! try entering the weight and height stuff again cos the bmi way out.

    Vicky

    Vicky, BMR and BMI aren't the same thing. BMR is Basic Metabolic Rate, and it should be that high.


    Amy,

    Your BMR is a number that tells you how many calories you'd burn if you slept all day - so if you slept all day, you'd burn 1302 calories. This number helps you to figure out how much exercise you need to do as well as how many calories you should be eating.

    The calorie goal that MFP puts you at is the number of calories you should consume to STAY at your current weight. Eating under that amount of calories creates a deficit, which leads to losing weight.

    I generally try to stick between 1,200-1,500 calories a day, with a day where I go over 1,500 to keep my body guessing. You need to eat at least 1,200 calories a day - if you don't, you'll go into starvation mode and you'll store fat rather than burn it. As far as eating back exercise calories, I don't do it, just because I don't want to, and that method suits me just fine because I keep losing.

    The 3,500 calorie deficit to lose a pound is right though - 1 pound of fat is equal to 3,500 calories, so to lose a pound/week you have to have a deficit of 3,500 calories/week.

    Healthy weight loss is considered to be 0.5-2.0 lbs/week - anything more than that is risky. If you lose it too quick, you have the highest chances of putting it back on/lowest chances of keeping it off afterward.

    I hope that helps answer some of your questions. If you have any more, feel free to send me a message or add me as a friend. =D

    Nika.
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
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    I'm 5'4" and I weigh 146-147lbs. My BMR is 1343 (I just checked it today..LOL). I am currently eating 2200 calories a day and lost 4lbs in a week by upp'ing my calories.

    As for the advice you get here. Read it and then take what you can use. It is trial and error to figure out what YOUR body wants.
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    Don't get stressed about it, there is so much information out there and a lot of it is conflicting!

    As long as you have accurately entered your height, weight, age and activity level then I suggest get started by eating what MFP recommends for you, plus eat some/most of the calories you burn by exercising. Try this for a few weeks and if it isn't working for you then you can start tweaking things later.

    Also note that if you don't have very much weight to lose, then it is much harder to lose 2lb a week, it might be more realistic to lose 1/2 - 1 pound a month. I know we all want the weight to drop quicker than that, but you don't want to be fighting your body to make it happen.
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
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    Should help to read these threads that discuss how MFP gets the numbers it gives you and how to determine a healthy, realistic cal goal.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/186814-some-mfp-basics

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits
  • aaaaaamyyyyyyy
    aaaaaamyyyyyyy Posts: 69
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    Thank you all so much for your help!

    I triple-checked and everything was entered correctly, so I'll start off with the recommended levels and see if a 100-cal per day deficit has the effects I'm after - I may just have to learn to be patient.
  • elliecolorado
    elliecolorado Posts: 1,040
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    Just wondering, how tall are you. Most of the tools aren't accurate if you are under 5 ft. My mom's BMR is lower than that (but with activity level it is about 1400), she is only 4ft 10in and her dietician told her that since she is definitely shorter than average, she should be eating closer to 1000 calories a day to lose weight. 1200 calories a day is recommended to get adequate nutrition, but in some cases like people who are smaller than average then their body doesn't NEED 1200 calories a day.
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
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    Thank you all so much for your help!

    I triple-checked and everything was entered correctly, so I'll start off with the recommended levels and see if a 100-cal per day deficit has the effects I'm after - I may just have to learn to be patient.

    Nonono.

    Your deficit isn't 100 cals per day.

    Your deficit comes from maintenance calories, which is your BMR + activity level. BMR is what you burn just to stay alive, as if in a coma. Activity level typically adds at least a few hundred to BMR. So you probably have a deficit for about 1 lb loss per week (1 lb = 500 cal deficit per day = 3500 per week).

    ETA: You can see your maintenance calories by going to Goals, up at the top right.
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
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    Your deficit comes from maintenance calories, which is your BMR + activity level. BMR is what you burn just to stay alive, as if in a coma. Activity level typically adds at least a few hundred to BMR. So you probably have a deficit for about 1 lb loss per week (1 lb = 500 cal deficit per day = 3500 per week).

    Just to confirm "Activity Level" is the amount of calories you burn while exercising?

    Currently my BMR is 1,853 calories/day and am on a 1400 calorie diet ...400 cal deficit, is that healthy? I find it odd that BMR is based on weight as well.

    Nope. Activity level is not intended to include any purposeful exercise. It should include what you do for work, and your regular day at home, ie watching tv, cooking dinner, brushing your teeth, etc.

    BMR is basal metabolic rate (what you would burn lying in bed all day - what it takes just to make you breathe and circulate blood, etc). You can see your BMR by going to Tools and using the calculator there.

    Maintenance calories, what you would eat to maintain your current weight, is BMR + activity level. You can see your maintenance level by going to Goals and looking where it says Calories Burned from Normal Daily Activity.

    Now, if your BMR is 1853, your deficit would not be 400. It would be more like 800+, depending on your activity level. But I would say that IF your BMR is 1853, then 1400 is likely far too little. Health experts recommend 1200 as the minimum for women, but the minimum for men is 1500 to receive adequate nutrition. Might read the threads I linked to, to make sure your loss per week goal isn't too high.
  • Driagnor
    Driagnor Posts: 323 Member
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    Ok, so BMR is calculated from your age, height and weight. This is your Basal Metabolic Rate which is what you would burn off if you lie in bed all day. This is your body using up calories to do things like breathing, thinking, regulating body temperature etc.

    Now on top of this, you have your activity level, which is the activity that you do regularly / every day - this then gives you a multiplier to get your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE). For sedentary it's 1.2, lightly active 1.375, moderately active 1.55 etc.

    In order to have a 1lb loss per week, you'd need to eat 3500 calories less than your TDEE for the week, i.e. 500 calories per day.

    So if you have a BMR of 1300 calories per day, and you're sedentary (desk job), you would have a TDEE of 1560 calories per day. Therefore with your 1200 calories per day (which is the minimum that MFP will recommend, based on findings of the ACSM), you'll have a 360 calorie per day deficit which would mean you'd lose a lb every 9.7 days or so.
  • girlinahat
    girlinahat Posts: 2,956 Member
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    Ok, so BMR is calculated from your age, height and weight. This is your Basal Metabolic Rate which is what you would burn off if you lie in bed all day. This is your body using up calories to do things like breathing, thinking, regulating body temperature etc.

    Now on top of this, you have your activity level, which is the activity that you do regularly / every day - this then gives you a multiplier to get your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE). For sedentary it's 1.2, lightly active 1.375, moderately active 1.55 etc.

    In order to have a 1lb loss per week, you'd need to eat 3500 calories less than your TDEE for the week, i.e. 500 calories per day.

    So if you have a BMR of 1300 calories per day, and you're sedentary (desk job), you would have a TDEE of 1560 calories per day. Therefore with your 1200 calories per day (which is the minimum that MFP will recommend, based on findings of the ACSM), you'll have a 360 calorie per day deficit which would mean you'd lose a lb every 9.7 days or so.

    this is exactly where I am - my BMR (depending on the site used) on here is 1252, my TDEE is 1560 and I have set my calories at 1300 giving me a deficit of 260 a day.

    To the OP - your BMR is probably right, but you must factor in your activity level to work out your deficit. If you like me are fairly sedentary, then multiply your BMR by 1.2 This will give you your maintenance calories (TDEE) and your target calories will be that minus whatever deficit is reasonable.

    No one has asked yet, and it doesn't show on your profile, how much you have to lose. If you don't have a lot to lose then you shouldn't be aiming to lose much on a weekly basis - I have 20 lbs to lose (which I am failing miserably to lose) and aiming for even 1lb a week loss would be too much for my body to deal with (plus I'd be STARVING!!!).

    Slow is best.

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