Eat your BMR?!

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sheils8
sheils8 Posts: 57
in Health and Weight Loss
I am wondering how many of you guys eat your BMR in attempting to lose weight? I have heard this before from Jillian Michaels, and it seems a few people are doing that and having success.....so I just wanted to take a poll and see if you are, and if not...how much higher or lower are you going?
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  • That_Girl
    That_Girl Posts: 1,324 Member
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    I am! Well, I am trying to. I am under by about 150 calories today--- and I've eaten a ton! So...maybe I underestimated somewhere and that makes up for it.
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
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    I eat far more than my BMR. According to most BMR calculators mine is around 1340. I eat between 2200-2500 calories a day. I upped my calories to this amount back in May, lost 5lbs and am now maintaining it. Decided I am officially in maintenance. Weight has been consistent eating this amount of calories - which is A LOT of food!
  • sheils8
    sheils8 Posts: 57
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    @ That_Girl - sorry, are you BMR calories your net calories, after workout?
  • tameko2
    tameko2 Posts: 31,634 Member
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    I eat far more than my BMR. According to most BMR calculators mine is around 1340. I eat between 2200-2500 calories a day. I upped my calories to this amount back in May, lost 5lbs and am now maintaining it. Decided I am officially in maintenance. Weight has been consistent eating this amount of calories - which is A LOT of food!

    what do you do that lets you eat so much? Do you work out like crazy?
  • TinaS88
    TinaS88 Posts: 817 Member
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    I think I eat less then mine.. my "estimate" was like 1400 something... I try to stick around 1200 and my goal for the day (with no exercise at all) is about 1310... but if I am under my limit and hungry I eat, if not.. I don't.
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
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    I eat far more than my BMR. According to most BMR calculators mine is around 1340. I eat between 2200-2500 calories a day. I upped my calories to this amount back in May, lost 5lbs and am now maintaining it. Decided I am officially in maintenance. Weight has been consistent eating this amount of calories - which is A LOT of food!

    what do you do that lets you eat so much? Do you work out like crazy?

    Honestly?

    I think it is because I work on my feet 4-5 days a week for 5-9 hours a day. I can't really tell you WHY. I just know that in the last 18 months I've learned that my body refuses to lose weight (and will actually gain weight) when I drop my calories any lower. It's a very odd thing.

    I workout 2-3 days a week for 60 mins.
  • sleepytexan
    sleepytexan Posts: 3,138 Member
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    Yes, you must eat your BMR as NET. Meaning eat back those exercise calories so that you can fuel your metabolism even more.

    IT'S TRUE IT'S TRUE IT'S TRUE.

    This does not mean eat 1800 calories of chocolate cake though, make good choices and have 250 in cake :wink:

    I am 133 lbs. with 19% body fat (maybe bit less). I eat about 1800-2000 cals. a day; shooting to net about 1310.

    Believe Jillian and the nutrition experts, exercise is a beautiful thing!

    Feel free to check my diary for ideas. I went to BUNKO tonight and went over just a smidge, but still expect my scale to be down tomorrow. The beauty of exercise is that YOU CAN eat more and YOU NEED to eat more and YOU WILL LOVE IT!!

    blessings.
  • That_Girl
    That_Girl Posts: 1,324 Member
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    @ That_Girl - sorry, are you BMR calories your net calories, after workout?

    Yes. :) I am trying to make it so I net at LEAST my BMR daily. This is new for me but seems to be working. I broke through my almost 3 month plateau today after eating like this for a week. :smile:
  • kleavitt1992
    kleavitt1992 Posts: 592 Member
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    so i should be eating more? mine is 1200 net but my bmr is like 1304 or something
  • sleepytexan
    sleepytexan Posts: 3,138 Member
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    I find it to be a super motivator to exercise. Generally I work out 6 days a week, but I tell ya I am bummed on my day off when I only get 1310 cals.

    I will typically shoot for that day as a "maintenance day" and eat an extra 500 anyway :tongue:
  • sheils8
    sheils8 Posts: 57
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    @ katiellen7 from what I have read.....and from all of these responses, YES you should be eating more. at the very least, your net calories should be the same as your BMR!
  • sleepytexan
    sleepytexan Posts: 3,138 Member
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    so i should be eating more? mine is 1200 net but my bmr is like 1304 or something

    They probably put you at 1200 because you said you wanted to lose 2 lb./week right?

    Reset for 1 lb./week and depending on the activity level you enter, you will be right around your BMR (how many calories you would burn if you lay in bed all day).

    You burn 500 just by getting up and living, so your maintenance is appx. BMR + 500. That's why they say "eat your BMR" to lose a pound a week. Add exercise and eat the exercise calories back (you still have that 500 deficit to lose the 1 lb/week) and now the exercise will spike your metabolism, burn fat, and build muscle!

    Once you start exercising, and fueling your body properly, you will have wonderful progress. If you don't eat enough calories, you can actually GAIN weight. YES GAIN. It's horrible don't do it.
  • sheils8
    sheils8 Posts: 57
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    You burn 500 just by getting up and living, so your maintenance is appx. BMR + 500. That's why they say "eat your BMR" to lose a pound a week. Add exercise and eat the exercise calories back (you still have that 500 deficit to lose the 1 lb/week) and now the exercise will spike your metabolism, burn fat, and build muscle!

    @sleepytexan - thanks for making it so clear. hard to ignore this!
  • sheils8
    sheils8 Posts: 57
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    oops! how do you delete a post?
  • xraychick77
    xraychick77 Posts: 1,775 Member
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    i dont eat my BMR when trying to lose...my BMR is 1800 cals. When i am losing I go down to 1300 cals and work out like a fiend..i dont eat back (unless i'm hungry).
  • sleepytexan
    sleepytexan Posts: 3,138 Member
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    i dont eat my BMR when trying to lose...my BMR is 1800 cals. When i am losing I go down to 1300 cals and work out like a fiend..i dont eat back (unless i'm hungry).

    This approach may work over a short period of time for some people, however, for long-term maintenance at staying fit and healthy, the average person will experience much more success by eating according to BMR.

    I don't know any athletes who skimp on calories . . . and I know a lot of athletes :)

    blessings.
  • Lyadeia
    Lyadeia Posts: 4,603 Member
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    It seems like a lot of people must have mistaken BMR for TDEE. You should always no matter what eat AT LEAST your BMR because that it simply what your body needs to function even if you don't move at all all day long. TDEE is BMR + daily activities (in a nutshell) which means it is taking into account what you need to survive as well as all the movement you do all day. TDEE is what you should eat when you are maintaining your weight. Eat less than TDEE to lose weight. But, never go below BMR or you could adversely affect your health.

    My BMR was calculated around 1300 calories. My TDEE is 2050 (approximately). To lose weight, I eat less than 2050, but never less than 1300. I typically eat around 1500 or so with a couple of days closer to 1800 (because I am calorie and carb cycling). This is actually a 500 calorie deficit on average per day, but 200 above my BMR.
  • cutmd
    cutmd Posts: 1,168 Member
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    I am trying to eat my BMR + exercise calories, which puts me around 1350 net. This is a change from my previous 1200. I still havent started losing, I will give it some time before deciding whether to go up or down (scared to go up!). I agree we should al be eating at least our BMR...
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
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    I am trying to eat my BMR + exercise calories, which puts me around 1350 net. This is a change from my previous 1200. I still havent started losing, I will give it some time before deciding whether to go up or down (scared to go up!). I agree we should al be eating at least our BMR...

    Don't be afraid to eat more. In my journey, I've raised my calories multiple times and I ALWAYS lose when I up them again. I recently went from 2000 to 2200-2500 and lost 5lbs!
  • Takiera
    Takiera Posts: 1
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    Hey everyone,

    I was reading this thread and wondering if I could get some advice from you lovely ladies. :)

    I recently lost about 50 lbs on a low-calorie, low-carb medical diet. About six months ago transitioned off of that diet with about 10 lbs still to lose, and since that time my weight has fluctuated up and down give or take 5 lbs, and otherwise has stayed pretty much the same. I really want to lose the last 8-12 lbs, but I'm having trouble figuring out how much I should be eating. My BMR is about 1400, and I burn about 400-600 calories from cardio and strength-training exercise about 3-4 day per week, on average. However, other than my workouts I am extremely sedentary, as I work in a job which requires sitting and commuting for the majority of my day.

    Currently I have been aiming to eat about 1400 calories per day, but haven't been increasing my allowance on workout days. The trouble is I find myself getting insanely hungry when I work out, and sometimes will end up eating way over my planned daily allowance - usually to about 1800 to 2200 calories, at least once or twice per week. When I keep my calories to 1400 consistently I slowly lose weight, but when I start eating 1800 to 2200 the loss stops immediately and I start to gain. I eat very healthy - high protein, no meat, no sugar, no wheat, and very little processed food. So am I eating too little? Too much? I can't seem to figure it out! Based on the ideas discussed in this thread, I am thinking that maybe I should try eating 1400 most days, but add 400-600 calories on my workout days. But is this okay when I'm not active at all outside of my workouts? And if I try it, how long should give myself on the new plan to assess it, before deciding that it is or isn't working? I'm afraid of increasing my calories too much and gaining weight! Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

    Thank you!
    Takiera

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