BMR Tool & Goal Setting

Still a little confused.



Using the Fat2FitRadio BMR calculator above.

Male
25 years old
72 inches tall
216 lbs
17% Body fat


My BMR = 2127


To NOT lose any weight (so to stay at 216 lbs) it tells me that I need to consume 2587 cals/day and due to the fact that I work a desk job (sedentary) and not yet factoring in my workouts:

2587 cals/day
=
18109 cals/week
- 5250 cals/week (to lose 1.5 lbs per week)
=
12859 cals/week
=
1837 cals/day




So to lose 1.5 lbs per week I would need to consume 1837 cals/day which is 290 cals less than my BMR (simply doing the math). Does this imply that I should not even be trying to lose 1.5 lbs per week? Even to lose 1 lb/week I would still be 40 cals under my BMR. So should I not even try to lose 1 lb/week? Should I be calculating based off my exercise level (which is usually 3-5 days a week of an hour+ of basketball each day). Even if I do that doesn't that simply add on the extra calories I would need on average each day above my deficit for the exercise?

Someone correct me if I am wrong but...


Your BMR is your body's total energy expenditure in a day for just simple vital functions i.e. if you live a completely sedentary lifestyle IN ORDER TO STAY THE SAME WEIGHT you would need to eat your BMR in calories (if I am 6'0, 25 years old, male, and weigh 216 lb then I will need to eat 2,003 calories a day to STAY at 216 lbs).


This is where the deficit comes in. Most people here "are not interested in staying at their same weight" so if they eat LESS than their BMR calories then they will be putting fewer calories in than what is required to STAY THE SAME WEIGHT and their weight will go down.


I don't believe the BMR is how many calories your body needs to survive, I am pretty sure it is how much energy your body uses in a completely sedentary state to run all of your vital functions to stay your same weight.

Well since you asked... I must correct you because you are wrong.
Your BMR is the number of calories your body needs to carry out basic functions, brain function, digestion, heart beats etc.
You are not in a coma... even the most sedentary person moves their arms and legs a little bit and thus increases what they will need to maintain their current weight.
The average sedentary person needs to multiply their BMR x 1.2 to get what they would need to maintain ... but we are not sedentary so this likely does not apply to us.

I was training for a half marathon at 249 pounds. I was exercising like crazy and not losing a thing. It wasnt until I increased my calories to well over my BMR that I started losing. You have to fuel the machine if you want it to perform.
In the last 2 months I have consistently lost 1pounds or so a week ... without crazily modifying my diet and eating about 2400 calories or so...

Since we are correcting... Sh0ck did not mention comas. Balseac stated that. Sh0ck said what you quoted above...

Soo.....my BMR is around 1570 calories a day, and MFP has me eating around 1400 plus exercise calories. Is this too little? Should I be eating 1500 to break roughly even with my BMR?
This information about BMR and adequately fuelling is fascinating, but i still don't understand what to do with the info.
Further notes-slow runner clocking 25ks a week, daily dog walker, chained to desk for ten hours five days a week, definitely not in a coma.

Remember, food is fuel. In fact I just increased my calories to 3000 a day because I am still hungry at 2800. If you listen to the Katch McArdle formula, like th elink I provide, you do not have to log your exercise calories. In fact, it is calculate into your Total Daily Energy Expenditure number. Do a custom setup and set it at 1700 and just enjoy having to log less. This is the method I have been using for 6 months with success. If you get to a point where you aren't losing weight, UP the number by 200 calories as you might be off on your calculations.

It's the opposite of what you are used to hearing. Now, I would suggest increasing your protein intake and decreasing carbs for a little. say 40/40/20 (carbs/protein/fat). And then after 30 days, increase your carbs by 5% and repeat every 30 days until you get to 60/20/20. It's very similar to calorie zig zagging.

F2F said that BMR is 1572, and 1760 cals per day based on having a desk job. But....it just seems like a LOT of calories. If I ate 1700 or so, would I not count exercise calories?
I run 3-4 days per week for at least 40 minutes, and walk other days, but always base my intake on desk job/sedentary because I do have to sit all day at work.


Hmm, the Cordianet link (based on moderate exercise, 3-5 times a week) suggested 1625 calories for weight loss.

It all just seems too good to be true, though! I have always been restricted to anywhere from 1200-1400 calories when trying to lose weight, and been hungry almost to the point of being weak! Although now that I think about it.....I never really lost much weight eating that little, and would always snap and eat chocolate or some other such crap.

I actually would put your in the lightly active category according to F2F because you do get exercise... I eat some where bewteen my level and one level below my level

(for example I should be in marathoner ... because of the amount that I work out ) but thats just waaay too many ... so I stick to about 2200-2400 which allows for consistant weight loss.

Ots not too good to be true... it is what it is ... if you wanna hear it explained out loud ... check out fat2fitradio.com and click on the audio clip

Case in point ... when I was training for my first half I was stuck at 249 and then I actually gained up to 255. I was eating about 2100 calories .... (MFP had me eating 1600 Plus exercise calories) ....

I went to Disneyworld for a few days ... ate horribly bad... and came home to find out I had lost 1 pound. WHAT! How the heck is that possible...

After that I stuck to 2400 and the weight just slowly melted off. I dont do anything drastic ... I do exercise alot... but on long run days I do generally eat back some more calories to try and balance it out (but thats because on long run days I burn like 2500 calories) ...

Anyways... I currently weigh 237.2 ... so does it work ... YEP!

A lot of info here. Confusing in part simply because it goes against all I have ever been told before. But it does explain a lot as well. Still on the fence but I will consider this info. seriously.

It's still a scary concept to me, but I've decided to give it a go-I live to experiment! I was thinking that I'd start off at 1600 cals per day, but not eat exercise cals (unless it's a long run day, same problem as you, Emmaleigh, i chew through the fuel then) and put more focus on protein.
It's kind of a half measure...f2f says i could go as high as 2100 or so, but that just seems a little scary to begin with, and at 1600 I'm possibly still getting a useful deficit for a slow loss. I'm around 175 at present, shooting for 150, so I'm hoping that's ballparkish.
F2F looks awesome, I'm going to download a few episodes as soon as i get home to the wifi!

I understand it's a scary concept, but it works. I have been working with a girl for 2 or 3 months on cleaning up her diet and getting her to get past the same hurdles as you. She was doing ok too. After 30 days, she had lost several inches, however, she didnt lose weight. I found out she was only eating those calories on days she worked out. When she didn't, she was under-eating which is bad. So she has agreed over the next 30 days to stay at 1500 calories, so hopefully it will take the weight off as well as the inches and change body fat into muscle.

If the model tells you to eat 1800 calories to lose weight, you truely do need to aim for 1800. The model is setup to have a deficit built into it so if you eat under your goal, then you defeat the purpose of the tool. Also with these tools, you have to make sure you set your lifestyle right. if you workout 3 days a week, you can not set a sedentary lifestyle because you will throw off the TDEE mutliplier. I would really recommend make sure you have it set right, and go with whatever it says.


Seriously what is the worst that can happen? You lose weight faster? Maybe you gain a lb or two. But guess what, do this for a month, and if it isn't working, then we can adjust. I know we all strive for consistant lose, but it isn't realistic, especially the lower you go. Heck, I gained 5 lbs within the last few weeks so what did I do? I increased my calories again (for the third time). After that, I immediately lost .5 lbs. You just have to understand, over the time you spend doing this, a lb here or there isn't going to make a difference. At some point in our workout and lifestyle, we eventually have to stop worrying about weight and worry about changing body composition.

Also, if you use this approach of BMR and TDEE, you do NOT have to eat your exercise calories. It is already built into the equation.


Just some thoughts.

I just ran my stats on http://www.cordianet.com/calculator.htm, and it recommended the following.
Is this suggesting what my weight should be?

I'm not sure I can go with this, as itis based on BMI recommended weight for height - which we all know is slightly flawed.
Plus, I personally do no want to go lower than 160... probably, not even that low....


********************
Calculations based on Height and Age:
Female
Select your height: 5 feet 7 inches
Input your age: 41
How Active are You? moderate exercise 3-5 days/wk

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Individual Weights:

Hamwi Based Calculations: 121 pounds for a small frame, 135 pounds for a medium frame, and 148 pounds for a large frame.
Robinson Based Calculation: 134 pounds.
Miller Based Calculation: 138 pounds.
BMI Based Calculation: 146 pounds.

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Average Weights:

AVERAGE OF ALL CALCULATIONS ABOVE: 137 POUNDS.
NORMAL RANGE BASED ON THE AVERAGE: 123 - 151 POUNDS.
RANGE BASED STRICTLY ON BMI: 118 - 158 POUNDS.

---

Caloric Need:

Estimated Base BMR: 1367 Calories.
Estimated TDEE: 2119 Calories.
Estimated Daily Caloric Need For Weight Loss: 1619 Calories.

Also, if you use this approach of BMR and TDEE, you do NOT have to eat your exercise calories. It is already built into the equation.

Just some thoughts.

Emma, I know I've asked you this question before.... but I can't remember what you told me.... do I need to eat my exercise calories back?

I know based on my numbers below and that I usually work 3 or 4 times a week, I should eat between Lightly active & active.... so

Activity Level Daily Calories
Sedentary (little or no exercise, desk job) 1763
Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk) 2020
Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk) 2277
Very Active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk) 2534
Extremely Active (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.) 2791

I would eat 2000 calories per day (some slightly lower days and some slightly higher days) ... do not eat your exercise calories back!