Question about BMR and calorie allowance
mystgrl1604
Posts: 117 Member
Hi everyone! Im sure this question has been asked before, but I can't seem to find the relevant thread so I'm gonna ask again:
How much calories should I really be eating?
MFP calculated my BMR as 1790cal/daily.
I've always regarded myself as lightly active. I hit 10-20k steps 3-5days/week, at least 5-10k the rest of the week, I go to the gym 3-4days/week, my job requires me to be on my feet almost 12.5hrs 3-4days/week, and I take public transport for a 2.5hr return journey to and from work.
However, for MFP, I set myself as sedentary which gave me 1237cal/day. I track my steps and add that to my calories, and I log exercise when I do it so I can eat more on that day as well. At the moment, Im logging between 1500-2500cal/day. Granted, I've only been logging for the past week.
But how many calories should I really be eating? Is 1500 to low? Is 2500 to much? How much trust can I put into MFP estimates of calories burned with exercise?
Current stats: 243.5lbs, 5'2" (157cm), female, 27y/o
How much calories should I really be eating?
MFP calculated my BMR as 1790cal/daily.
I've always regarded myself as lightly active. I hit 10-20k steps 3-5days/week, at least 5-10k the rest of the week, I go to the gym 3-4days/week, my job requires me to be on my feet almost 12.5hrs 3-4days/week, and I take public transport for a 2.5hr return journey to and from work.
However, for MFP, I set myself as sedentary which gave me 1237cal/day. I track my steps and add that to my calories, and I log exercise when I do it so I can eat more on that day as well. At the moment, Im logging between 1500-2500cal/day. Granted, I've only been logging for the past week.
But how many calories should I really be eating? Is 1500 to low? Is 2500 to much? How much trust can I put into MFP estimates of calories burned with exercise?
Current stats: 243.5lbs, 5'2" (157cm), female, 27y/o
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Replies
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You have plenty to lose so aim low in general. 1500 should be fine if you're ok with it. If you don't lose weight try 1300 etc, if you struggle at work eat a bit more etc.0
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That would leave me too hungry and i'll end up binge eating.0
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At first I was concerned that you set yourself to sedentary, but then I saw that you track your steps and log exercise calories. As long as you're eating those back, you should be doing just fine.
The only way to know how many calories you should really be eating is trial and error. Keep doing what you're doing for another week, then assess - after two weeks of this, what results have you seen? If you've lost more weight than planned, you may want to increase cals a bit. If you didn't lose what you planned, you may wish to decrease.
If you're finding yourself hungry you can always reduce your weight loss goal. For example, if you told MFP you want to lose 2 lbs a week, you could decrease to 1 lb a week. You will lose slower, but you will be more satisfied with your nutrition which makes it easier to stick to in the long run. And sticking to the plan is the key to success!0 -
Oh, and also, as far as how much you can trust MFP estimates... that honestly differs from everyone. Many people on here will tell you that MFP overestimates your calorie burn. I've actually found the opposite - once I got a heart rate monitored I found that I was actually burning slightly more in my workouts than MFP guessed. For other people, MFP's estimate might be just right. Circumstances are different for everyone, which is why it's a trial and error thing in the end.0
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im losing weight slowly, which I suppose is a good thing although I wish it was faster. Lol. But if it means going hungry, I'd rather go slow instead. I get hunger headaches as it is, plus I get hangry. Hhahaha. Hearing that MFP is more or less on track with the calories (give or take a few, i suppose) does reassure me a bit. I do push myself as hard as I can in my cardio classes and go heavy on the weights to gain muscle (more cals burned yay!).
Thanks for your reply @LaurenAOK!0 -
You need to eat higher volume foods then.mystgrl1604 wrote: »That would leave me too hungry and i'll end up binge eating.
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mystgrl1604 wrote: »...At the moment, Im logging between 1500-2500cal/day. Granted, I've only been logging for the past week...
You might want to narrow that range somewhat to get a more accurate picture of what's working or not. I plugged your numbers into the Scooby calculator, chose lightly active, and it said around 2500 is what you'd eat to maintain your current weight. So I'd aim to eat between BMR and TDEE - Maybe start at 2000, which would put you at 1 pound per week loss. That's slow, but once you know how your body reacts to 2000 you can adjust either direction. As someone else said, try a number for at least two weeks before deciding whether it's right for you.
For me, MFP over-estimates calorie burns. So I only enter half. If I do a 30-minute walk then I enter 15 mins. I don't enter regular daily activities as exercise. This works for me. Don't be afraid to play around every few weeks until you find what works for you.
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mystgrl1604 wrote: »Hi everyone! Im sure this question has been asked before, but I can't seem to find the relevant thread so I'm gonna ask again:
How much calories should I really be eating?
MFP calculated my BMR as 1790cal/daily.
It's a fair bit lower than that. The MFP calculator significantly over-estimates BMR for high body fat percentages.
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mystgrl1604 wrote: »That would leave me too hungry and i'll end up binge eating.
So you need either counselling or different foods.0 -
mystgrl1604 wrote: »im losing weight slowly,
If you are losing weight and you are eating an amount that satisfies you then why not stick with what you're doing?
It may take longer, but this is also more likely to lead to long lasting changes and success.0 -
mystgrl1604 wrote: »That would leave me too hungry and i'll end up binge eating.
So you need either counselling or different foods.
I don't think it's helpful to suggest that someone needs counselling because they'd get too hungry eating only 1500 cals. Many people (myself included) would find this amount of food too restrictive.0 -
It was the binge thing really. But if obese and can't contemplate 1500 calories it isn't likely to end well. Eat different foods is the other option.0
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kimmiebrito wrote: »You need to eat higher volume foods then.
Higher volume food leave me full for a short while only
hungry again a couple hrs later, and dont really have time for munchies at work.sugaraddict4321 wrote: »You might want to narrow that range somewhat to get a more accurate picture of what's working or not. I plugged your numbers into the Scooby calculator, chose lightly active, and it said around 2500 is what you'd eat to maintain your current weight. So I'd aim to eat between BMR and TDEE - Maybe start at 2000, which would put you at 1 pound per week loss. That's slow, but once you know how your body reacts to 2000 you can adjust either direction. As someone else said, try a number for at least two weeks before deciding whether it's right for you.
For me, MFP over-estimates calorie burns. So I only enter half. If I do a 30-minute walk then I enter 15 mins. I don't enter regular daily activities as exercise. This works for me. Don't be afraid to play around every few weeks until you find what works for you.
I usually log between 1500-2000 most days, with a day of 2500 and another of 2200 within the past week, which was due to bad food choices. I might try logging half workouts then, cant lose with logging less exercise calories. If im underestimating, just means i have less to eat anyway. Haha!"Mr_Knight wrote: »It's a fair bit lower than that. The MFP calculator significantly over-estimates BMR for high body fat percentages.
What d'you reckon it is?So you need either counselling or different foods.
Erm, excuse me? I need counselling? Because im saying 1300 is too restrictive? When i said binge coz im too hungry i meant munching on stuff continuously and end up exceeding my calorie allowance anyway. Which wouldnt be helpful at all. I'd rather set a number that I know I can stick to rather than set a number too low and continually let myself down. Just because im obese doesnt mean i have to take the joy and fun out of life by restricting myself too much. It would just lead to me giving up instead of sticking with it. I want this to be a lifestyle, not a temporary change. So thanks, but no thanks.0 -
One approach would be to figure out what you should need to eat to maintain your target weight. Use this number as initial calorie allowance, and reevaluate after a few weeks if you are losing too slow or too fast.0
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OP's BMR is about 1400 at a guess. BMI 44. As Mr Knight pointed out the BMR estimators are deceived by heavy people outside the range they were based on.
Katch McArdle with 50% BF is likely to be somewhere near.0 -
I get hangry too haha. On the hunger problem: what works for me is fewer carbs (between 50 & 100), more protein (aim for 90) and healthy fats. Water & green tea help. I've also given up sugar and all grains. Add me as a friend if you want to see my diary.0
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OP's BMR is about 1400 at a guess. BMI 44. As Mr Knight pointed out the BMR estimators are deceived by heavy people outside the range they were based on.
Katch McArdle with 50% BF is likely to be somewhere near.
SO I should aim for 1400 calorie intake or less? That makes me really sad Does that mean if I eat more than this, I'll gain weight? But I've been eating what I was eating and losing, albeit slowly. Im confused.I get hangry too haha. On the hunger problem: what works for me is fewer carbs (between 50 & 100), more protein (aim for 90) and healthy fats. Water & green tea help. I've also given up sugar and all grains. Add me as a friend if you want to see my diary.
Yeah I get less hungry with more protein, but I find it really hard to get a lot of protein in without breaking either the bank, my calorie allowance, or both. I've given up sugar, though I'm still taking grains. I've upped my water intake to 4litres though I dislike green tea so havent really been on to that.0 -
mystgrl1604 wrote: »OP's BMR is about 1400 at a guess. BMI 44. As Mr Knight pointed out the BMR estimators are deceived by heavy people outside the range they were based on.
Katch McArdle with 50% BF is likely to be somewhere near.
SO I should aim for 1400 calorie intake or less? That makes me really sad Does that mean if I eat more than this, I'll gain weight? But I've been eating what I was eating and losing, albeit slowly. Im confused.I get hangry too haha. On the hunger problem: what works for me is fewer carbs (between 50 & 100), more protein (aim for 90) and healthy fats. Water & green tea help. I've also given up sugar and all grains. Add me as a friend if you want to see my diary.
Yeah I get less hungry with more protein, but I find it really hard to get a lot of protein in without breaking either the bank, my calorie allowance, or both. I've given up sugar, though I'm still taking grains. I've upped my water intake to 4litres though I dislike green tea so havent really been on to that.
1) Set MFP to lose .5 lb per week. Aim for the recommended amount of calories for a couple of weeks. Are you losing too little or not at all? Then reevaluate and lower your goals. Are you losing too fast and starving? Then increase calories.
2) Or if you want to to this manually, use a TDEE calculator, like this one: http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/
Calculate your TDEE, take 15% off and eat there. Again correct after a few weeks.
3) Or, if you want to keep the long term goal in mind, use the above mentioned calculator with the weight you would like to have instead of your actual weight. Use the resulting TDEE as your target.0 -
mystgrl1604 wrote: »OP's BMR is about 1400 at a guess. BMI 44. As Mr Knight pointed out the BMR estimators are deceived by heavy people outside the range they were based on.
Katch McArdle with 50% BF is likely to be somewhere near.
SO I should aim for 1400 calorie intake or less? That makes me really sad Does that mean if I eat more than this, I'll gain weight? But I've been eating what I was eating and losing, albeit slowly. Im confused.I get hangry too haha. On the hunger problem: what works for me is fewer carbs (between 50 & 100), more protein (aim for 90) and healthy fats. Water & green tea help. I've also given up sugar and all grains. Add me as a friend if you want to see my diary.
Yeah I get less hungry with more protein, but I find it really hard to get a lot of protein in without breaking either the bank, my calorie allowance, or both. I've given up sugar, though I'm still taking grains. I've upped my water intake to 4litres though I dislike green tea so havent really been on to that.
1) Set MFP to lose .5 lb per week. Aim for the recommended amount of calories for a couple of weeks. Are you losing too little or not at all? Then reevaluate and lower your goals. Are you losing too fast and starving? Then increase calories.
2) Or if you want to to this manually, use a TDEE calculator, like this one: http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/
Calculate your TDEE, take 15% off and eat there. Again correct after a few weeks.
3) Or, if you want to keep the long term goal in mind, use the above mentioned calculator with the weight you would like to have instead of your actual weight. Use the resulting TDEE as your target.
Oh wow thanks. This would really be helpful!
With my current weight (244lbs)
BMR=1881
No exercise=2257 (minus 15%=1918)
Exercise 3x/week=2586 (minus 15%=2198)
Exercise 4x/week=2668 (minus 15%=2267)
With my goal weight (130lbs)
BMR=1279
No exercise=1535
Exercise 3x/week=1759
Exercise 4x/week=1815
So technically, with my current weight, I could safely stay within 1900-2200cals/day and still lose weight. At the moment, I've been maintaining between 1500-1900cals/day with one episode of 2200. I should be losing more than I'm actually losing! 0 -
mystgrl1604 wrote: »mystgrl1604 wrote: »OP's BMR is about 1400 at a guess. BMI 44. As Mr Knight pointed out the BMR estimators are deceived by heavy people outside the range they were based on.
Katch McArdle with 50% BF is likely to be somewhere near.
SO I should aim for 1400 calorie intake or less? That makes me really sad Does that mean if I eat more than this, I'll gain weight? But I've been eating what I was eating and losing, albeit slowly. Im confused.I get hangry too haha. On the hunger problem: what works for me is fewer carbs (between 50 & 100), more protein (aim for 90) and healthy fats. Water & green tea help. I've also given up sugar and all grains. Add me as a friend if you want to see my diary.
Yeah I get less hungry with more protein, but I find it really hard to get a lot of protein in without breaking either the bank, my calorie allowance, or both. I've given up sugar, though I'm still taking grains. I've upped my water intake to 4litres though I dislike green tea so havent really been on to that.
1) Set MFP to lose .5 lb per week. Aim for the recommended amount of calories for a couple of weeks. Are you losing too little or not at all? Then reevaluate and lower your goals. Are you losing too fast and starving? Then increase calories.
2) Or if you want to to this manually, use a TDEE calculator, like this one: http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/
Calculate your TDEE, take 15% off and eat there. Again correct after a few weeks.
3) Or, if you want to keep the long term goal in mind, use the above mentioned calculator with the weight you would like to have instead of your actual weight. Use the resulting TDEE as your target.
Oh wow thanks. This would really be helpful!
With my current weight (244lbs)
BMR=1881
No exercise=2257 (minus 15%=1918)
Exercise 3x/week=2586 (minus 15%=2198)
Exercise 4x/week=2668 (minus 15%=2267)
With my goal weight (130lbs)
BMR=1279
No exercise=1535
Exercise 3x/week=1759
Exercise 4x/week=1815
So technically, with my current weight, I could safely stay within 1900-2200cals/day and still lose weight. At the moment, I've been maintaining between 1500-1900cals/day with one episode of 2200. I should be losing more than I'm actually losing!
This is the most accurate way to evaluate how close to your goal you are eating. Calorie burns are hard to be terribly accurate. One simple reason is that what one considers e.g. a fast walk or a moderate effort work out etc can easily be what someone else sees as a relaxed warm up. So, set a goal for a couple of weeks. Let's say this goal is 1900 calories. Make sure your average goal is this on a weekly basis. If you are going by TDEE, remember, no logging and counting exercise calories, TDEE is the gross calories not net. Check where you are after 2 weeks. No weight loss? Readjust to e.g. 1700 for the next couple of weeks and see where this gets you. If still you are not losing, something is wrong with your logging.
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mystgrl1604 wrote: »
With my current weight (244lbs)
BMR=1881
You BMR is very likely 400 less than that, we've pointed out how the estimators are less accurate at heavier weight.
Do what aggelikik suggested and you'll find out for yourself - the only accurate way.
You say that "I could safely stay within 1900-2200cals/day and still lose weight" but I doubt this is the case, unless you want to lose weight at a glacial rate.
It looks to me like you have issues moderating your intake and are getting lost in numbers trying to justify the eating rate you are OK with. This is probably a futile exercise so I'm out after this.
Just to be clear -
I estimate your BMR is about 1400, TDEE about 1600 - 1800 in sedentary occupation. You are unlikely to lose weight reliably eating 1900-2200, and quite possibly you won't lose weight at all.
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mystgrl1604 wrote: »mystgrl1604 wrote: »OP's BMR is about 1400 at a guess. BMI 44. As Mr Knight pointed out the BMR estimators are deceived by heavy people outside the range they were based on.
Katch McArdle with 50% BF is likely to be somewhere near.
SO I should aim for 1400 calorie intake or less? That makes me really sad Does that mean if I eat more than this, I'll gain weight? But I've been eating what I was eating and losing, albeit slowly. Im confused.I get hangry too haha. On the hunger problem: what works for me is fewer carbs (between 50 & 100), more protein (aim for 90) and healthy fats. Water & green tea help. I've also given up sugar and all grains. Add me as a friend if you want to see my diary.
Yeah I get less hungry with more protein, but I find it really hard to get a lot of protein in without breaking either the bank, my calorie allowance, or both. I've given up sugar, though I'm still taking grains. I've upped my water intake to 4litres though I dislike green tea so havent really been on to that.
1) Set MFP to lose .5 lb per week. Aim for the recommended amount of calories for a couple of weeks. Are you losing too little or not at all? Then reevaluate and lower your goals. Are you losing too fast and starving? Then increase calories.
2) Or if you want to to this manually, use a TDEE calculator, like this one: http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/
Calculate your TDEE, take 15% off and eat there. Again correct after a few weeks.
3) Or, if you want to keep the long term goal in mind, use the above mentioned calculator with the weight you would like to have instead of your actual weight. Use the resulting TDEE as your target.
Oh wow thanks. This would really be helpful!
With my current weight (244lbs)
BMR=1881
No exercise=2257 (minus 15%=1918)
Exercise 3x/week=2586 (minus 15%=2198)
Exercise 4x/week=2668 (minus 15%=2267)
With my goal weight (130lbs)
BMR=1279
No exercise=1535
Exercise 3x/week=1759
Exercise 4x/week=1815
So technically, with my current weight, I could safely stay within 1900-2200cals/day and still lose weight. At the moment, I've been maintaining between 1500-1900cals/day with one episode of 2200. I should be losing more than I'm actually losing!
This is the most accurate way to evaluate how close to your goal you are eating. Calorie burns are hard to be terribly accurate. One simple reason is that what one considers e.g. a fast walk or a moderate effort work out etc can easily be what someone else sees as a relaxed warm up. So, set a goal for a couple of weeks. Let's say this goal is 1900 calories. Make sure your average goal is this on a weekly basis. If you are going by TDEE, remember, no logging and counting exercise calories, TDEE is the gross calories not net. Check where you are after 2 weeks. No weight loss? Readjust to e.g. 1700 for the next couple of weeks and see where this gets you. If still you are not losing, something is wrong with your logging.
I'll try this, thanks! Thing is, my daily quote is 1235cals/day, that's why I eat back my step calories and exercise calories. With the extra calories, I usually hover around 1700-1900cals/day. I'll try to be more specific and I'll see what happens! Thanks!mystgrl1604 wrote: »I estimate your BMR is about 1400, TDEE about 1600 - 1800 in sedentary occupation. You are unlikely to lose weight reliably eating 1900-2200, and quite possibly you won't lose weight at all.
Do you mind telling me where you're getting these numbers? Coz to be honest, 1400 as a BMR for an obese person is ridiculous. The bigger you are, the more calories are needed for your body to function. That's logic. FYI, I have been losing weight, but inches more than weight, and I'm just trying to figure out what the best balance of calories and exercise is.0
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