BMR numbers

seantheking87
seantheking87 Posts: 52 Member
edited November 23 in Fitness and Exercise
Been losing steadily for the past 6 months, i've always just tracked calories in and out and compared them to my maintenance number (about 2700) and aimed for 500-750 deficit per day.

Just done a BMR thing though to find my new maintenance number and got a little confused. Basically, my BMR says about 2200 and when modified it climbs to just over 3000 (moderate activity).

My question is this; as this 3000 number includes my exercise (the 3-5 sessions per week which led to the 1.4 modifier) does this mean I should no longer include my exercises in my calorie tracking? For example, if i eat 2200 then burn 400 calories on a walk, would I save my calories for that day as 1800 or 2200?

I suppose in the long run it doesnt matter too much...i think I may just aim to eat around 2000 per day and stop recording the actual numbers from exercise, just take note of the fact that the exercise happened.

Replies

  • HardcoreP0rk
    HardcoreP0rk Posts: 936 Member
    Hmm... how much do you weigh now? How much are you trying to lose? And how quickly?
  • seantheking87
    seantheking87 Posts: 52 Member
    im 239, down from 267. Not sure how low I want to get. I'll aim for 210 and just see how I look from there. I'm 6'3 and have decent strength, so literaly no idea what my ideal weigh should be. 1-1.5 lbs a week has worked so far, so im happy to stick to that.

    It was just the numbers that were confusing me, as the 3000 was only reached by factoring in actiity level (including exercise) so surely I should no longer be subtracting my exercise calories from my daily total as my total is inflated to account for that exercise.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    BMR has nothing to do with activity. BMR is simply based on your stats...your BMR is just the calories you burn merely existing. MFP uses your NEAT (Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis) in determining calorie goals...these targets do NOT include exercise which is why you log that activity separately and eat those calories back...that's how you account for that activity.

    in the case you are illustrating, your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is 3,000 calories (which is about what mine is)...yes...this number includes an estimate of your exercise so you wouldn't need to track burns for the purpose of eating back calories as with the MFP method.

    If you're TDEE (including exercise) is 3,000 calories and you eat 2,500 calories, you will lose about 1 Lb per week...you don't log the exercise and eat back calories...that would be double dipping.

    You just have to look at the method being used...the difference between MFP and the TDEE method is simply where you account for exercise in the equation.

    MFP equation: BMR + NEAT = Calorie Target + Exercise = Total Calorie Target

    TDEE equation: BMR + NEAT + Exercise = Total Calorie Target
  • HardcoreP0rk
    HardcoreP0rk Posts: 936 Member
    ^^^ this. If you want to determine a new maintenance number and still use MFP to track calories and exercise, just reset your goals in MFP. That will recalculate everything for you, and give you a new maintenance number, without all this confusing stuff about BMR, TDEE, and NEAT.
  • seantheking87
    seantheking87 Posts: 52 Member
    Thanks, that answered the question. Yeah, ive not been tracking with MFP for a while, i think i'll go with TDEE and see how I get on for a while. If nothing else, it'll cut out the hassle of figuring out my calories burned through exercise.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    seantheking87 wrote: »
    Thanks, that answered the question. Yeah, ive not been tracking with MFP for a while, i think i'll go with TDEE and see how I get on for a while. If nothing else, it'll cut out the hassle of figuring out my calories burned through exercise.

    if you're relatively consistent in your exercise...i.e. exercise regularly, I think TDEE is the way to go. A lot of people get hung up on, "well, I do this one day and that the next" but it really doesn't matter so much as long as you are exercising consistently and your activity level matches that. You're obviously going to have days where you are in a bigger deficit, smaller deficit, no deficit, etc...but it all should come out in the wash at the end of the week.

    I think the MFP method is good for people who are just getting into exercise and/or are less consistent with getting regular exercise in...I think mentally it can be beneficial for someone starting out as well to see how much of a difference regular exercise can make in regards to how much they can actually eat...most people seem to be pretty shocked when they see their sedentary calorie targets. I know for me it was great motivation to get up and move.
  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,979 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    seantheking87 wrote: »
    Thanks, that answered the question. Yeah, ive not been tracking with MFP for a while, i think i'll go with TDEE and see how I get on for a while. If nothing else, it'll cut out the hassle of figuring out my calories burned through exercise.

    if you're relatively consistent in your exercise...i.e. exercise regularly, I think TDEE is the way to go. A lot of people get hung up on, "well, I do this one day and that the next" but it really doesn't matter so much as long as you are exercising consistently and your activity level matches that. You're obviously going to have days where you are in a bigger deficit, smaller deficit, no deficit, etc...but it all should come out in the wash at the end of the week.

    I think the MFP method is good for people who are just getting into exercise and/or are less consistent with getting regular exercise in...I think mentally it can be beneficial for someone starting out as well to see how much of a difference regular exercise can make in regards to how much they can actually eat...most people seem to be pretty shocked when they see their sedentary calorie targets. I know for me it was great motivation to get up and move.

    Absolutely... +1
This discussion has been closed.

Categories