What should you do if your Calories fall below the Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)

wei11061317
wei11061317 Posts: 15 Member
in Getting Started
Hi All,

Help needed.

What should you do when in order to lose weight your calories fall below the Basal Metabolic Rate, calories needed to maintain the body?

My BMR is 1672 approximately, but after X 1.2 for sedentary activity and then - 500 calories (1 LB a week) it falls to approx 1506....Calories approximately.

Thanks

Replies

  • michelleepotter
    michelleepotter Posts: 800 Member
    Try losing half a pound a week.
  • seska422
    seska422 Posts: 3,217 Member
    edited July 2016
    It doesn't matter if your calorie intake falls under your BMR as long as you have enough excess fat for your body to use that for energy and you are eating enough calories to meet your nutritional needs.

    BMR isn't a number you need to worry about when you choose a calorie goal.
  • wei11061317
    wei11061317 Posts: 15 Member
    Thanks for the replies.

    I was starting to obsess about it all.

    Well I have plenty of excess fat. So carry on with 1200, which incidently finding difficult to eat, as have become a vegetarian.

    What does "...enough calories to meet your nutritional needs" mean? how does one determine nutritional needs? I don't want to put the body into starvation mode.

    Thanks
  • seska422
    seska422 Posts: 3,217 Member
    wei11061317 wrote: »
    Thanks for the replies.

    I was starting to obsess about it all.

    Well I have plenty of excess fat. So carry on with 1200, which incidently finding difficult to eat, as have become a vegetarian.

    What does "...enough calories to meet your nutritional needs" mean? how does one determine nutritional needs? I don't want to put the body into starvation mode.

    Thanks
    Starvation mode isn't really a thing.

    "...enough calories to meet your nutritional needs" means at least 1200 for women and 1500 for men. Personally, I'm a much happier camper at about 1350 rather than 1200.
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,619 Member
    And make your 1200 calories count, get in your vitamins and mineral and enough protein.
  • wei11061317
    wei11061317 Posts: 15 Member
    I'm avoiding gluten, rice, potatoes and sugar. Mainly sticking to dairy, (eggs, cheese and yoghurt) an assortment of vegetables and lentils. Can you suggest anything else please?
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    edited July 2016
    wei11061317 wrote: »
    Thanks for the replies.

    I was starting to obsess about it all.

    Well I have plenty of excess fat. So carry on with 1200, which incidently finding difficult to eat, as have become a vegetarian.

    What does "...enough calories to meet your nutritional needs" mean? how does one determine nutritional needs? I don't want to put the body into starvation mode.

    Thanks

    Make sure your meeting the minimums for fat and protein as well as getting 100% (or around there) of the vitamins and minerals your body needs. It is extremely hard to meet your nutritional needs when eating under 1200 calories and depending on how far under can be next to impossible.

    Here's a tool that will give you recommendations based on your stats (it's from the USDA):
    http://fnic.nal.usda.gov/fnic/interactiveDRI/
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    edited July 2016
    wei11061317 wrote: »
    I'm avoiding gluten, rice, potatoes and sugar. Mainly sticking to dairy, (eggs, cheese and yoghurt) an assortment of vegetables and lentils. Can you suggest anything else please?
    Why are you avoiding those types of foods?

    Maybe add a plant based protein shake to your day (Vega is a good brand). Nuts are a good source of fat.

  • wei11061317
    wei11061317 Posts: 15 Member
    Gosh,

    That link is v comprehensive.

    My amy1 gene means that I will put on weight if I attempt to consume starch such as potatoes.

    Gluten, I find difficult to digest and gives me a headache when it builds up.

    And rice, because it is not a food that was traditionally native to my ancestors and I have been led to believe it takes approximately 500 years of consuming a particular food, before the genes are able to utilise it and adapt amply. But also again another food that reacts with amy1.

    Thanks for the link.

    Ps. Is Vega available in UK?
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    wei11061317 wrote: »
    Gosh,

    That link is v comprehensive.

    My amy1 gene means that I will put on weight if I attempt to consume starch such as potatoes.

    Gluten, I find difficult to digest and gives me a headache when it builds up.

    And rice, because it is not a food that was traditionally native to my ancestors and I have been led to believe it takes approximately 500 years of consuming a particular food, before the genes are able to utilise it and adapt amply. But also again another food that reacts with amy1.

    Thanks for the link.

    Ps. Is Vega available in UK?

    I don't know. It's on amazon.co.uk. Here's the company website and it has a locator to find stores that carry their products
    https://myvega.com/store-locator/
  • wei11061317
    wei11061317 Posts: 15 Member
    Thanks.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    http://fnic.nal.usda.gov/fnic/interactiveDRI/dri_results.php is government data which has the wrong information about saturated fats and cholesterol. The numbers on calories are good, though, so it's not completely useless.
  • wei11061317
    wei11061317 Posts: 15 Member
    That's a v surprising calculator it was almost spot on with the BMR calculations. After taking away 500 cals a day, in order to account for a 1Lb loss a week.

    Thanks.
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
    wei11061317 wrote: »
    Thanks for the replies.

    I was starting to obsess about it all.

    Well I have plenty of excess fat. So carry on with 1200, which incidently finding difficult to eat, as have become a vegetarian.

    What does "...enough calories to meet your nutritional needs" mean? how does one determine nutritional needs? I don't want to put the body into starvation mode.

    Thanks

    Starvation mode is not a thing -- you can forget about that.
    Nutritional needs -- get enough protein, fats, carbs, and whatever else is part of your plan.
    Good fats include the fats in soy beans and tofu, avocados, nuts, regular dairy (not low fat), flax seeds, chia seeds.
  • wei11061317
    wei11061317 Posts: 15 Member
    I think I was a little concerned because I may have read a blog post on mfp, where weight plateau was discussed and something regarding starvation mode came up.

    But I feel fine on 800-1200 calories a day. I am 16 stone 4 LBs (228-229 lbs) and only 5 ft 3, so have an immense amount of fat to lose. I don't deliberately stop eating at 800, often I try and get the calories up by consuming cheese or nuts. And v rarely feel hunger, unless I have overridden the mechanism through years of abuse.

    My diet is vegetarian based with no processed foods whatsoever, with limited oils and butter where possible. I try and stick to low calorie foods and eat lots of them to fill up. So haven't done avocados....in a while. But I do find the nutritional tracker on mfp, reveals I'm always over my threshold for fat consumption on both saturated and non.

  • Kdp2015
    Kdp2015 Posts: 519 Member
    wei11061317 wrote: »
    My amy1 gene means that I will put on weight if I attempt to consume starch such as potatoes.
    Your what???
  • wei11061317
    wei11061317 Posts: 15 Member
    The amy1 genes, metabolise starch in the body.

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