Looking For Opinions On My Plan:

Someone told me to take your BMR and subtract 500 to get an idea of what you should be consuming but that would bring it below 1200. My suggestion is to intake 1200 and ALWAYS EAT your exercise calories!! That should help make sure your body is fueled and instead of eating 3 meals, break it up into several smaller meals. That will also keep your body fueled and keep from going into starvation mode. Hope this helps!

JiLL

^^^^^ This is actually completely incorrect. You should never be eating below your BMR because that is what you would burn if you are in a coma. You are not in a coma, therefore that is amount of calories your body needs in order to carry out simple executive function like digestion.

agreed. you want to eat 500 calories less than your maintenance to lose weight (500 is a pound a week), not your BMR.

I just plugged my information into about a billion BMR calculators and still got in the 1600s, so I feel comfortable with that assessment. I will give this routine a shot and keep you guys posted! (If you want to be posted)

So you are planning on sticking with your original plan of eating below your BMR?

joejccva71's advice = good
Eating below your BMR = bad

I dont think I was clear in my post.

I calculated around 1600 for your BMR as well. THAT part is correct. What I'm saying is that you can't just go by what your BMR is. BMR is just your Basal Metabolic Rate. It's what you burn if you were comatose basically. Once you have your BMR of 1600ish, THEN you multiply THAT number by your ACTIVITY FACTOR.

What is an Activity Factor?

Essentially, this is the COST OF LIVING. THIS IS BASED ON MORE THAN JUST YOUR TRAINING (include work/lifestyle, gym/ sport & a TEF of ~ 15% - ie: an average mixed diet). And unless you are an ATHLETE your job/ lifestyle is MORE important than the gym sessions you do! So to convert BMR a TOTAL requirement you multiply the result by:
1.2 = Sedentary (Little or no exercise and desk job)
1.3-1.4 = Lightly Active (Little daily activity & light exercise 1-3 days a week)
1.5-1.6 = Moderately Active (Moderately active daily life & Moderate exercise 3-5 days a week)
1.7-1.8 = Very Active (Physically demanding lifestyle & Hard exercise or sports 6-7 days a week)
1.9-2.0 = Extremely Active (Hard daily exercise or sports and physical job)

.However even this is just a guess. It's not 100% but it's pretty close.

So take your 1600 BMR and then multiple by lets say 1.3 (and this is if you do LIGHT exercise). That gives us 2080. I'm having you eat at 1700 calories a day which is a DEFICIT so you'll lose weight.

Hopefully this was more clear. Sorry if it was confusing earlier.

Let me know if you have any more questions.

The BMR calculator at Fat2fitradio provides the BMR calculation based on the two different formulas that have all been discussed here, and THEN provides a table that shows you based on your TDEE a calorie range that is a reasonable deficit for slow and steady weight loss (multiplying by 1.2 for sedentary and so on upwards with increased activity level). Their philosophy is to "live like the thinner person you want to become" and that's what the calories suggested reflect - they are the maintenance level for your goal weight, meaning the calories you will continue to eat for life when you meet your goal. Which also means YOU ARE NOT ON A DIET - hallelujah! If your goal weight's maintenance calories would have you eating below your BMR they encourage you to choose a more reasonable goal until your weight is closer to that goal.

I just wanted to clarify because the gentleman at Fat2Fitradio are knowledgable (and responsible) and their resources are extremely helpful. I'd hate to see their information discounted because only one part of the information was looked at.

Also, I've found this tool (http://www.health-calc.com/diet/energy-expenditure-advanced) helpful to learn what I'm actually burning all day. Eye opening.

I think you make a couple of great points!! And that calculator is very cool. I have heard "eat for the weight you want to be" more than a few times. Unfortunately, I tend to eat for the weight that I am.

I also think everyone overcomplicates the whole calorie issue. It is not an exact science and the amount of time people spend on this issue is mind boggling to me.

My understanding on the whole BMR thing is that at a minimum you do not want to eat below your BMR, which in my case, and the case of the OP is right around 1500-1600 cals. SO, if we are exercising and eating that # of calories, we have created the deficit that allows us to lose weight without getting bogged down in the minutiae. That is why I target a range of calories instead of worrying about my activity level day in and day out. And while this may not be true for everyone, in my case, if take my BMR, use the activity multiplier and subtract 500 calories for a # a week loss want to know what # I get? Take a guess? Pretty darn close to my BMR.

The “eat for the weight you want” method doesn’t always work. If all you want to be is lighter, then that may work fine, but for me it won’t work.

My goal is 190lbs and 15% body fat. Which puts my TDEE above 2700 which is above my current TDEE at 218lbs and 27% body fat. If I were to eat the maintenance cals for my goal weight and BF%, I would gain weight.

I agree that the tactic you take does depend on your overall goal. But a lot of people do start w/weight loss as their primary goal and then move onto other things. So within that context, it's still a good idea. I know I started just wanting to drop some pounds: I have kept off 50# for 3+ years now, but still want to lose more. Somehwere along the way I became a runner and a budding triathlete, so I have to balance everything out now.