confused with bmr and how im ment to lose weight!

morgan1987A
morgan1987A Posts: 3
edited October 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
the bmr calculator says my bmr is 1411 cal so do i need to eat this and burn extra to lose weight?? example eat 1411 calories aday exersise at gym per day and burn 500 cal = 3500 cal burned = 1 pound weight loss a week? or do i eat my brm of 1411 calories and add on 500 aday for my exersise??! im totally confused! please help!

oh and im 148 pounds and want to get to 126 im 23years old and im fairly active already thanks

Replies

  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,423 Member
    the bmr calculator says my bmr is 1411 cal so do i need to eat this and burn extra to lose weight?? example eat 1411 calories aday exersise at gym per day and burn 500 cal = 3500 cal burned = 1 pound weight loss a week? or do i eat my brm of 1411 calories and add on 500 aday for my exersise??! im totally confused! please help!

    oh and im 148 pounds and want to get to 126 im 23years old and im fairly active already thanks

    You're making it way too hard on yourself, let MFP do the maths for you!
    Make sure you have entered your age, gender, current weight and height into MFP and it will do the calculations for you.
    Bear in mind that if you don't have a lot of weight to lose you are probably better to chose 1 pound a week to lose, rather than 2. This will give you a more realistic calorie allowance per day.
    Once you have this number, you add in the calories burnt at the gym and eat all of these calories too.

    (People will argue that you don't have to eat these cals, but I suggest that you start out using MFP the way it is designed and see how it works for you. You can always change things up after a month or so if you need to).
  • rachel871
    rachel871 Posts: 113 Member
    MFP will set your calories to a minimum of 1200... So unfortunately this means that people who don't have a lot to lose, with a BMR of 1400, would only have a calorie deficit of 200kcals a day = 1400 a week = under 1/2lb estimated loss a week.

    As MFP takes the deficit from your BMR, you 'should' eat your exercise calories back. Some people do, some people don't.

    Try a couple of weeks of each maybe? Or try eating them back first, and if it doesn't work, eat half, or try eating none. Bear in mind that the exercise calculator on MFP usually overestimates burns too.

    So basically the short answer is if your BMR is 1400, you won't be able to lose weight at 2lb a week. Not healthily anyway!

    Hope this helps, and good luck! :)
  • morgan1987A
    morgan1987A Posts: 3
    but if my bmr is 1411 and im eating 1200 my body is not getting enough and its going to go into starvation mode correct?? so just correct me if im wrong as im so confused..

    eating 1411 is what i need to maintain my weight?? the fitness pal says on my phone if i eat 1200 i will lose 2lb a week... :S i really dont get this.

    i though you had to burn more calories than you eat to lose weight by doing it realistic like 400-500 burned aday for a 3500 a week total.
    so eating back what iv burned isnt going to work is it? il just stay th same.

    i only say this as i all ready do exersise and have been doing it since i was 16 (used to be very fit) but slacked off between 18-22 and i dont eat a lot now. if i dont count my calories i probably eat about 1600 maybe and go to gym 4 times a week for an hour.. so if you look at it this way my bmr is 1411 i eat an extra 200 as it is puts me at 1611 i burn 400. leaves me at 1211..and im not losing anything.
  • funkythreads2004
    funkythreads2004 Posts: 51 Member
    You are supposed to eat back what you burn with exercise, however, you dont have to eat it all if you dont want to or it seems to much. What you have to remember is, although you feel like your not achieving anything by eating back what you exercise, you will lose weight gradually as you are converting all your spare fat into muscle, therefore becoming more toned & losing inches. It does work. I dont have much to lose really myself, but have noticed a gradual 1/2 weight loss a week and reduced inches. I have even increased my calories to 1400 a day, and found i lost slightly more as 1200 was too low. If your exercising a lot, it wont seem like your losing weight but you will definitely look sleeker in the long run. Ive lost over a stone in 5 months gradually & easily. I still manage to eat lots and get plenty of treats, i just make sure my fat & carbs and proteins are all kept low. ;-)
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,423 Member
    MFP doesn't take a calorie deficit from your BMR, it takes it from your BMR multiplied by your activity level.
    Your BMR is the amount of calories your body needs to function if you don't get out of bed - just breathing, digestion, keeping your heart beating etc.
    This number is multiplied to account for your regular daily activity - walking around and the regular stuff you do at home or work.
    If you are sedentary you multiply by 1.2, lightly active by 1.375 etc.
    So this will give you a daily maintanance figure of 1700 or so.
    MFP will subtract a calrie deficit from this number. You have said you want to lose 2 pound a week, this means that you would need a weekly deficit of 7000 cals or a daily deficit of 1000.
    this would only give you a calorie allowance of 700 cals a day which is dangerously low, so MFP has defaulted to the recommended minimum of 1200 cals.
    This means you have a 500 cal deficit each day which should give you a 1 pound loss per week.
    If you exercise, you add these calories on which allows you to eat more (a healthy thing to do) while still maintaining the same calorie deficit.
    Bear in mind that all these numbers are just numbers and everybody will react differently.
  • morgan1987A
    morgan1987A Posts: 3
    ok so in a nutshell shall i look at it this way...never be to far in the minus figures on the fitness pal total...

    so i eat my 1200 cal aday. (already got a reduce of 200 cal as my bmr is 1400)
    workout 400 cal burned puts me at - 800
    eat back say 200 cal puts me at -600

    so total iv burned an extra 200 cal plus the 200 cals taken off my bmr = 400 cal burned aday correct??

    with a total of 2000 cal burned if i do this 5 times a week does this sound healthy?

    so really i could set my daily cal to 1400 1200 + the 200cal id eat bk from exersise yes?

    think im getting it now! :)
  • joejccva71
    joejccva71 Posts: 2,985 Member
    Dont always go by what MFP says. It drastically underestimates TDEE which is why alot of people plateau on this forum. Or their weight fluctuates back n forth. Because you dont have alot to lose I would take what the above poster advice is. Go for 1lb per week and make sure you hit your macros. Never eat below your BMR. You will plateau and come to a screeching halt in weight loss. Your BMR is how many calories you would burn if you were comatose...as all of your bodily functions slow down. Your RMR is what the above poster I think meant. Its your resting state.
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