Bmr

tbow0023 wrote: »

Should I restrict my calories to around 500 to get results?

Absolutely not. You would also have to be pretty short and/or old to have a BMR that low. But anyway. BMR is Basal Metabolic Rate, which is what you'd burn in a coma. You pretty much never eat to this number and you NEVER eat below it. MFP uses NEAT, Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis which is how much you burn just going about your day. The site put you at 1200 most likely because the deficit you chose is too aggressive and by default the site doesn't go below 1200cal for women and 1500cal for men. Pick a more reasonable deficit to plug into MFP, and eat to the number it gives you.

ETA: MFP also expects you to eat your exercise calories back, and given that many estimations are over-inflated it's recommended to eat a portion back, like 50% or so.

tbow0023 wrote: »

My bmr is around 1000 and I am trying to loose weight but this site has me eating 1,200?

BMR = Basal Metabolic Rate = number of calories you'd burn in a coma, basically. That would be your 1000 number (estimated). It's the calories it takes to keep your blood pumping, and your lungs breathing, and your brain cogitating to run your body functions, and so forth.

NEAT = Non-exercise Activity Thermogenesis = your BMR plus the number of calories you burn just doing daily life stuff like job, home chores, non-exercise hobbies, etc. MFP calculates your NEAT, then substracts calories from it (based on the weight loss rate you request) to give you a calorie goal (that would be your 1200 number (estimated)).

EAT = Exercise Activity Thermogenesis = Calories you burn doing intentional exercise, a.k.a. "workouts". With MFP, you don't include this is your daily activity level setting, you estimate it separately, add it in your diary, and eat it back. (If you're worried that it's overestimated, you start by eating back part of it, to see what happens.)

TDEE = Total Daily Energy Expenditure = Calories you burn doing every single thing you do in a day. This is the number most non-MFP calorie "calculators" estimate, based on activity settings that include both NEAT and EAT.

So: Of course MFP has you eating more than your BMR. You're not in a coma, or you wouldn't be posting on the forums. Your daily life stuff burns calories. 1200 includes a calorie deficit. Since 1200 is the lowest MFP will go for a woman, you may not see the full weight loss rate you requested happen, in reality . . . because you may have requested an unhealthyfully rapid weight loss rate, if you have relatively little to lose.

Eat the 1200 for 4-6 weeks, and eat back at least part of your exercise calories. Look at your weight loss average over that time, and then adjust if necessary. Stay strong and healthy!

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TavistockToad wrote: »

tbow0023 wrote: »

Should I restrict my calories to around 500 to get results?

No

I don't why but your 'cut and dried' responses made me chuckle.