Should I use my BMR as a base for calories needed?

pacoramirez5 · February 2018

I have been trying to get a better idea of how many calories I need to burn/consume. I know that figuring out your TDEE and creating a deficit from that number is one way to do it, I have been doing just that for a month and it has been giving me results.

I'm sure this has been discussed here somewhere, if so, I would appreciate anyone pointing me in the right direction.

However I was wondering if I could use my BMR as my base amount of calories to consume. From this number I can add calories burned by daily activities (walking, weight training, running, etc.) using a tracker such as Fitbit and adjust my caloric intake accordingly. I understand that this BMR number is assuming I just lay in bed all day, which is why I would rely on the tracker's continuous heart rate monitoring to give me a number for burned calories throughout the day.

Or would it be more accurate to use the "Sedentary" activity level option to calculate my TDEE and add calories to that depending on what exercise activities I do that particular day.

Here are my numbers:
Current Weight: 188 lbs Height: 5'9" Age: 34

If my BMR is 1886 and I burn 800 calories throughout the day, according to my tracker, then I would have to consume another 800 additional calories to maintain my weight, right?

If my TDEE (Sedentary option) is 2140, and I burned about 500 calories from walking throughout the day and another 700 running on the treadmill, then I would need to add 1200 calories to my TDEE to maintain my weight.

Obviously, I would have to create a caloric deficit from these numbers to lose weight. I was simply wondering which approach would be more accurate. I just don't trust the numbers I get for TDEE with "moderately active (3 to 5 days of exercise)" options for some reason.

What do you guys use? Sorry for the long post. And if I didn't make any sense at all, I apologize, lol.

tl;dr: Should I use my BMR and an activity tracker to calculate my caloric needs? TDEE on "sedentary" and add calories burned? Or simply trust the TDEE with the appropriate activity level? Newbie, sorry.

anubis609 · February 2018

If you selected the option to maintain weight, the deficit would have to be created manually. If you selected a weight loss goal per week, then MFP created the deficit for you already assuming you exercised already, so any exercise calorie burn is technically figured in.

RMR/BMR is roughly your current bodyweight x 10, which was shown as 1886. To maintain your weight, you would multiply by 14-15, so to maintain 188lb you would be consuming ~ 2632-2820.

If you want to manually create your own deficit based on your activity factor, then multiply body weight by 11-13 which would be anywhere between 2068-2444, again, this is already assuming exercise calories are figured in.

Estimated calories burned from strength training are never going to be actual calories burned since the point of strength training is to get stronger/maintain lean mass, not for creating a deficit.

Estimated calories burned from direct cardio are probably better to use for calculating deficits, but still, it's an estimate.

In the end, it's up to you how you want to do it. Just be consistent. Personally, I just worry about how many calories I eat. I don't care about the number of calories my Apple Watch thinks I burned. If I'm losing too much weight throughout the week, I'll eat a bit more. If I don't lose any or if I gain, then I eat a bit less.

Long term fat loss is going to be more accurate as an average since daily fluctuations happen for whatever reason. So the longer the data trend, the more you can see the progress. A weekly average deficit is much better than looking at the day to day deficits.

Tacklewasher · February 2018

TDEE is (generally) used when someone has a consistent routine and can reasonably estimate what they will do in a week. I'm guessing, but it sounds like that doesn't describe you. TDEE would include all exercise so you wouldn't be adding to it.

MFP is designed to make an estimate from your BMR and normal (non-exercise) activities and then you add in your exercise (and eat those calories). This is (more or less) what I do. Set up MFP for sedentary, set my weight loss goal and trust my tracker to pick up the difference between my actual activity level and sedentary (make sure negative adjustments is turned on). If you have a tracker, this works pretty well.

But just a comment on your quest for an "accurate" approach. All of this mess is based off estimate and your results will vary. So, regardless of what approach you take, you will need to make adjustments based on what your actual, 6-8 week weight loss rate is. Losing faster than expected, then add calories. Slower, then reduce calories. None of the models are accurate for an individual, but they are reasonable and are a good starting point regardless of approach.

So if what you have been doing is giving you the weight loss you're looking for, then that is the best answer yo can get.

JeromeBarry1 · February 2018

I do not use TDEE for the simple reason that I don't do the exact same physical activity each day. I rely upon myfitnesspal's NEAT calculator and have my activity level set to "Sedentary". When I exercise deliberately, I log some exercise. The important thing about cardio exercise is the MET value of it, and the online compendium of exercise has a lot of definitions of MET values for many different exercises.

This has served me well to help me lose most of the weight I want to lose, and it still does.

Weightlifting is non-aerobic and will burn few calories, so don't anticipate being able to have a muffin as a reward for a bench press session.

No, don't use your BMR. You're not comatose. You're alive, you're active. Use NEAT because it's easy.

pacoramirez5 · February 2018

Thanks guys for your responses. I realized as I was typing all info that I kind of answered my own question, lol. But I always welcome other points of view and suggestions. I appreciate it.

carolyn000000 · March 2018

I use BMR and add half of the average of my active calories over the previous month or o to my daily BMR. If I am hungry, I eat. If I have an extra hard work out and my active calories are way above normal, I eat a little more. Works like a charm. I am trying really hard not to lose too fast because I have worked really hard to gain muscle and don't want to lose that instead of fat. I am working on lowering my body fat at this point, trying to go from 29% to 24% which is about 13 pounds of fat. I love data and it has really helped me, but it doesn't work for everyone.

Should I use my BMR as a base for calories needed?

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