Eat your BMR?!

I eat far more than my BMR. According to most BMR calculators mine is around 1340. I eat between 2200-2500 calories a day. I upped my calories to this amount back in May, lost 5lbs and am now maintaining it. Decided I am officially in maintenance. Weight has been consistent eating this amount of calories - which is A LOT of food!

I eat far more than my BMR. According to most BMR calculators mine is around 1340. I eat between 2200-2500 calories a day. I upped my calories to this amount back in May, lost 5lbs and am now maintaining it. Decided I am officially in maintenance. Weight has been consistent eating this amount of calories - which is A LOT of food!

what do you do that lets you eat so much? Do you work out like crazy?

I eat far more than my BMR. According to most BMR calculators mine is around 1340. I eat between 2200-2500 calories a day. I upped my calories to this amount back in May, lost 5lbs and am now maintaining it. Decided I am officially in maintenance. Weight has been consistent eating this amount of calories - which is A LOT of food!

what do you do that lets you eat so much? Do you work out like crazy?

Honestly?

I think it is because I work on my feet 4-5 days a week for 5-9 hours a day. I can't really tell you WHY. I just know that in the last 18 months I've learned that my body refuses to lose weight (and will actually gain weight) when I drop my calories any lower. It's a very odd thing.

I workout 2-3 days a week for 60 mins.

@ That_Girl - sorry, are you BMR calories your net calories, after workout?

Yes. I am trying to make it so I net at LEAST my BMR daily. This is new for me but seems to be working. I broke through my almost 3 month plateau today after eating like this for a week.

I find it to be a super motivator to exercise. Generally I work out 6 days a week, but I tell ya I am bummed on my day off when I only get 1310 cals.

I will typically shoot for that day as a "maintenance day" and eat an extra 500 anyway

so i should be eating more? mine is 1200 net but my bmr is like 1304 or something

They probably put you at 1200 because you said you wanted to lose 2 lb./week right?

Reset for 1 lb./week and depending on the activity level you enter, you will be right around your BMR (how many calories you would burn if you lay in bed all day).

You burn 500 just by getting up and living, so your maintenance is appx. BMR + 500. That's why they say "eat your BMR" to lose a pound a week. Add exercise and eat the exercise calories back (you still have that 500 deficit to lose the 1 lb/week) and now the exercise will spike your metabolism, burn fat, and build muscle!

Once you start exercising, and fueling your body properly, you will have wonderful progress. If you don't eat enough calories, you can actually GAIN weight. YES GAIN. It's horrible don't do it.

i dont eat my BMR when trying to lose...my BMR is 1800 cals. When i am losing I go down to 1300 cals and work out like a fiend..i dont eat back (unless i'm hungry).

This approach may work over a short period of time for some people, however, for long-term maintenance at staying fit and healthy, the average person will experience much more success by eating according to BMR.

I don't know any athletes who skimp on calories . . . and I know a lot of athletes

blessings.

I am trying to eat my BMR + exercise calories, which puts me around 1350 net. This is a change from my previous 1200. I still havent started losing, I will give it some time before deciding whether to go up or down (scared to go up!). I agree we should al be eating at least our BMR...

Hey everyone,

I was reading this thread and wondering if I could get some advice from you lovely ladies.

I recently lost about 50 lbs on a low-calorie, low-carb medical diet. About six months ago transitioned off of that diet with about 10 lbs still to lose, and since that time my weight has fluctuated up and down give or take 5 lbs, and otherwise has stayed pretty much the same. I really want to lose the last 8-12 lbs, but I'm having trouble figuring out how much I should be eating. My BMR is about 1400, and I burn about 400-600 calories from cardio and strength-training exercise about 3-4 day per week, on average. However, other than my workouts I am extremely sedentary, as I work in a job which requires sitting and commuting for the majority of my day.

Currently I have been aiming to eat about 1400 calories per day, but haven't been increasing my allowance on workout days. The trouble is I find myself getting insanely hungry when I work out, and sometimes will end up eating way over my planned daily allowance - usually to about 1800 to 2200 calories, at least once or twice per week. When I keep my calories to 1400 consistently I slowly lose weight, but when I start eating 1800 to 2200 the loss stops immediately and I start to gain. I eat very healthy - high protein, no meat, no sugar, no wheat, and very little processed food. So am I eating too little? Too much? I can't seem to figure it out! Based on the ideas discussed in this thread, I am thinking that maybe I should try eating 1400 most days, but add 400-600 calories on my workout days. But is this okay when I'm not active at all outside of my workouts? And if I try it, how long should give myself on the new plan to assess it, before deciding that it is or isn't working? I'm afraid of increasing my calories too much and gaining weight! Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

Thank you!
Takiera

i only ate my bmr because it was what i needed to eat to lose a lb a week. it just so happened to be my bmr. my t.e.e. was 1800, and my bmr is 1300..so minus 500..

I'm a little confused about this!! I had my activity level set to lightly active for the summer because I lifeguard and spend a lot of time in the water/on my feet. MFP recommended my calories to be 1370 (which is my BMR) to lose 1 lb a week. Just today, I switched to sedentary, as I am going back to school and will spend my days sitting. Now MFP recommends I eat 1230 cals/day (still for a loss of 1 lb/wk). That is less than my BMR! Should I change it to lose less per week, or go back to lightly active, or leave it as is?

By the way, I'm 5'4" and 138 lbs (started at 158). My goal is to be about 123 lbs, and I have a medium, maybe slightly larger, build. BUT I still do have quite a bit of visible fat around my middle to lose.

Wow, you look great. Your food diary was very helpful...encourages me to make sure I am eating my goal for the day. = )

I am interested in this topic. I just found out my RMR or BMR (same thing) is 1436 calories a day. So, does that mean that I should net 1436 calories or that I should eat more and burn enough to meet 1436?

I really want to lose 17 more pounds!!!! I would love to do by August but I don't want to put pressure on myself to lose that in that amount of time if it isn't feasible.

I'm excited to become part of this discussion!!