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Dropping below bmr

Z0dac
Z0dac Posts: 3 Member
edited December 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Right, say my bmr is 1700 cal and I eat 1800 cal then exercise knocks off 400 cal, that drops me way below bmr, could this be harmful long term?

Replies

  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1058378-oh-noes-i-am-eating-below-my-bmr

    HOwever if you are following MFP method you should be eating back some of those exercise calories...
  • terbusha
    terbusha Posts: 1,483 Member
    What I do and what I recommend to people is to eat at a calorie level that allows you to make good progress towards your goal. If you are trying to lose weight, eat so you drop 1-2 lbs/week. This assumes an average calorie burn from you getting in all of your workouts. This will be different for everyone, so you'll have to do some trial and error to figure it out. I'd start ~2200 cal/day. Hit this goal, along with your macros and getting in your workouts, for 2 weeks. If you lose 1-2 lbs/week, you're good to go. If you lose too much, increase your intake and repeat. If you don't lose enough, reduce your intake a bit and repeat. After a few cycles, you'll figure out what works for you in your situation.

    If you can eat more, and can make progress, then do it. It gives you more options down the road if you hit a sticking point. If you're already bottomed out on calories and get stuck, you really have nowhere else to cut from.
  • nordlead2005
    nordlead2005 Posts: 1,303 Member
    edited July 2016
    Possibly, but it has nothing to do with BMR. There is no harm in eating under BMR in and of itself. However, losing weight too fast (eating too far under TDEE for too long) can lead to various complications like muscle loss, hair loss, brittle nails, organ failure, and ultimately dying (haha, well, you don't have to be concerned about that last one).

    Keep weight loss under 1% of your bodyweight per week (on average) and you don't have much to worry about at all.
  • Seffell
    Seffell Posts: 2,246 Member
    There are a lot of disabled people around the world who can't move. They eat below BMR to lose weight. It is not harmful. What is harmful is making too big of a deficit. From what I've read around 25% of your TDEE is what your maximum deficit should be. But can't link sources.
  • Z0dac
    Z0dac Posts: 3 Member
    Cool, I've plateaued after losing about 5kg in about a year. I only want to lose about another 1 or maybe 2kg. I've increased exercise but kept to the same calories that were working but haven't lost anything in the last couple of weeks. If I cut more calories it will bring be way below bmr. Dunno what to do really
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