Eating all of your calories/BMR

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  • MontanaGirl
    MontanaGirl Posts: 1,251 Member
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    My BMR, according to this site, is 1708 but has gone down from 1790 since I starting on here. My maintainance is around 2150. The bigger you are, the higher the BMR.

    Yep - got that part down!! I guess I'm still surprised that my daily intake total is actually less than my BMR. Seems thats been pointed out before, but I thought that was just for everyone else, apparently :laugh:
  • mstoni04
    mstoni04 Posts: 35
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    I certainly eat all of my calories as suggested by MFP. However, I checked my BMR, and it listed it as about 1500. MFP suggests that I eat 1380 cals/day to lose 1 pound a week. (This is before excercise, which I do 3 times a week. I eat those calories when I have them.) Should I be worried that I'm eating less than my BMR? I do feel ok (plenty of energy, no headaches, not getting sick, etc), and I'm losing actually about 1.5-2 pounds a week. Does this mean I have even more of a deficit than I think I have (the 500/day calculated by MFP?) I have, in total, about 70 pounds to lose to be at the high end of "normal" weight for my height.


    How many times has this been posted about? Sorry if this is a repeat, but I started to get a little worried...I want to lose the weight only once!
    :smile: Sounds good to me. If your losing weight (and that is a very healthy rate). Just listen to your body.
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  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,121 Member
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    I certainly eat all of my calories as suggested by MFP. However, I checked my BMR, and it listed it as about 1500. MFP suggests that I eat 1380 cals/day to lose 1 pound a week. (This is before excercise, which I do 3 times a week. I eat those calories when I have them.) Should I be worried that I'm eating less than my BMR? I do feel ok (plenty of energy, no headaches, not getting sick, etc), and I'm losing actually about 1.5-2 pounds a week. Does this mean I have even more of a deficit than I think I have (the 500/day calculated by MFP?) I have, in total, about 70 pounds to lose to be at the high end of "normal" weight for my height.


    How many times has this been posted about? Sorry if this is a repeat, but I started to get a little worried...I want to lose the weight only once!
    :smile: Sounds good to me. If your losing weight (and that is a very healthy rate). Just listen to your body.
    101604.png
    Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Easy Calorie Counting

    The original post you quoted was in February of '08, several months ago. Please read the entire thread with all the resulting replies from some very smart people. "Listening to your body" is not a good rule of thumb for safe weight loss. Your body will stop being hungry after several hours of food denial past when you normally should have eaten. But this was a very old post, so I'm sure she has figured it out by now! :wink:
  • Dragonfly11
    Dragonfly11 Posts: 672 Member
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    I am really confused now. MFP gave a daily food goal of 1200 (without exercise) and today it is 1697 cals (with exercise). I have been on this site for close to 2 wks now and I love it. It is helping me keep accountable with my food and exercise. Getting a little discouraged looking at the scale everyday it goes up and down like a yo yo. I am staying within my goal and have been averaging no more than 1500 cals/day ( I also exercise daily). I feel better and my body is getting tighter, or so it feels. Why am I not seeming to lose any weight? It's really bugging me.
    For example last sat I weighed in at 180.0 (au naturale), last night I weighed 184.8 (ok .w/ clothes on). This morning 183.4 (dressed) MFP gave BMR as 1457. ]
    Is this normal ? What gives or am I just being obsessive?

    Apologies if you all have addressed this ~ I am just confused and hoping you all will help.
    I don't want to quit now.
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
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    Just a little BUMP in the seat to start your monday.
  • LosingIt4good
    LosingIt4good Posts: 1,214 Member
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    BUMP
  • angelwings2000
    angelwings2000 Posts: 357 Member
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    Dragonfly, it makes a big difference what time of day you weigh yourself. I always like weighing the first thing in the morning (usually a smaller number than later in the day for me) :laugh: Your numbers will be more consistent that way.
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
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    what the?

    talking about bringing a post back from the dead. This one was from 2008
  • kimbishopp
    kimbishopp Posts: 10
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    I'm glad its been bumped! I've read the newbies threads and the various posts about not to eat below your BMR but I seem to be in the same position as a lot of people: My BMR is ABOVE what MFP says to eat:

    My BMR is 1500ish and MFP advises 1200 a day. I've only been on 1200 a day for about 5 days now but I've felt faint, nauseous and headachey - so I'm going to up my intake to 1500+excercise calories and lose weight slowly but healthily.

    I think the best advice has to be to listen to your body - if I wasn't feeling so unwell I'd carry on with the 1200 mark for the faster (but not OTT) weight loss. Hope this isn't too contentious!
  • heathersmilez
    heathersmilez Posts: 2,579 Member
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    I am really confused now. MFP gave a daily food goal of 1200 (without exercise) and today it is 1697 cals (with exercise). I have been on this site for close to 2 wks now and I love it. It is helping me keep accountable with my food and exercise. Getting a little discouraged looking at the scale everyday it goes up and down like a yo yo. I am staying within my goal and have been averaging no more than 1500 cals/day ( I also exercise daily). I feel better and my body is getting tighter, or so it feels. Why am I not seeming to lose any weight? It's really bugging me.
    For example last sat I weighed in at 180.0 (au naturale), last night I weighed 184.8 (ok .w/ clothes on). This morning 183.4 (dressed) MFP gave BMR as 1457. ]
    Is this normal ? What gives or am I just being obsessive?

    Apologies if you all have addressed this ~ I am just confused and hoping you all will help.
    I don't want to quit now.

    It’s your clothes!! You were naked the first weight in and then wearing clothes both times after! Trust me on that one. I'm running a Biggest Loser Challenge at work and its my scale so I weigh in at home in the morning before showering and breakfast and the 2 bottles of water I have near breakfast, after the washroom, and naked and I am 3.5 lbs heavier when I weigh in again at 9:00 am at work. Don't fret! You are on the right track eating 1500 cals with working out that should keep your body away from starvation mode.

    Edit: plus you may gain a lb or so eventually (but now its your clothes I swear!) if you are weight-training but don't let that deter you, you feel yourself getting tighter, you will loose inches and the more muscle you have the more fat you burn so keep it up!
  • janet67
    janet67 Posts: 38
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    Dragonfly,
    I have the same "problem" with my weight going up and down about 2-3 pounds. My doctor told me to weigh at the same time each day (upon arising and after "peeing..) She also said the body can fluctuate as much as 4-5 pounds due to water retention and monthly cycle.
    I have started keeping track of sodium because I have high blood pressure. I checked back and, sure enough, the days I was up were usually caused by eating something low calorie, but high in salt like saurkraut the day before.
  • bellinachuchina
    bellinachuchina Posts: 498 Member
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    This site has straight forward calculators!

    http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators.html

    If you eat below your BMR (mine is 1400), you'll lose weight....I ate 1200 cal for about a year and reached my goal, and have been at, & now, below my goal for about 3 months. Of course it's easier to eat above or right at your BMR, but if you want to lose SERIOUS weight you create a dramatic deficit.
  • leanmass24
    leanmass24 Posts: 304 Member
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    Accoring to to BMR calculator mine is 2600, MFP says I am supposed to eat around 1800 with the exercise it goes up to 2600. I am having trouble taking in the 1800 sometimes.... I am not used to eating this much food. I am wondering how I have not lost weight before when I didn't even eat close to that many calories most days. Has anyone else had this problem? According to that figure it would put me into starvation mode. I cut out sodas all together about 6 months ago... So I wasn't getting the calories there. I was only eating 2 big meals a day but most of the time there is no way they would equal 2600 calories. I was eating fast food about twice a week then also but even with that I don't see how I wouldn't lose weight.... I am sooo confused right now. I am changing all of my bad habits now, I haven't eaten out in a cuple weeks and have been cooking. I am just wondering if it is really ok for me to eat all this food. I guess time will tell. I have only been on here for a few days. Any clarification would be appreciated.
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
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    you'd be shocked how much two big meals can be. Trust me on this one. Especially if they were relatively high in fat. Fat is far more calorie dense than the other nutrients, and thus, smaller amounts of fat can produce larger amounts of calories.

    BMR shouldn't really enter the equation guys. BMR is NOT your TDEE and it's NOT what you should be basing your deficit off.
  • flattsfan22
    flattsfan22 Posts: 86 Member
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    I just found this thread and had to ask...because I'm even more confused after reading this....should I just follow the suggestions MFP are giving me? My BMR is also higher (1572) than what MFP tells me to consume. WHen I workout I am eating back some but not all of my calories. I too have not lost anything since starting 2 weeks ago.
  • astridfeline
    astridfeline Posts: 1,200 Member
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    I just found this thread and had to ask...because I'm even more confused after reading this....should I just follow the suggestions MFP are giving me? My BMR is also higher (1572) than what MFP tells me to consume. WHen I workout I am eating back some but not all of my calories. I too have not lost anything since starting 2 weeks ago.

    Yes, eat at least your BMR; MFP will let you go below that level but it's best not to. It's a life-style change, not a crash diet, so your calorie allowance should be something you can stick with in the long run.
  • starrs_s
    starrs_s Posts: 5 Member
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    This makes perfect sense to me, thanks I was asking for this clarity on a different thread, I followed your calcs and the MFP recommended amount per day is my (BMR+Exercise levels)- 1000 = 2lb loss a week! woop!

    I can sleep at night knowing my organs are not wasting away! lol!
  • starrs_s
    starrs_s Posts: 5 Member
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    Gosh - that BMR seems kind of high! 1600 or more?? Sounds more like maintenance calories to me :laugh: (although for me right now, that is my LOSING weight calories :laugh: ) Don't know what to tell you at this point! You seem to be doing o.k. where your at and losing weight consistantly. If you stall out for a longer period of time - 2-3 weeks - maybe you should re-evaluate what your doing, but I guess for now if it ain't broke, don't fix it!! Unless something is off in how you are putting in your information, that is the only other thing I can think of!

    Hallusmc - you need to be above your BMR calories to keep your body functioning. You want to be less than the calories you need to maintain your current weight to lose weight.

    Took the words right out of my mouth :smile:

    My BMR is 1670 which is the amount of calories I eat every day no matter how much or how little I exercise. I do this for two reason

    1. I totally agree you should not eat below your BMR, your body needs to keep functioning
    2. I calulated my TDEE, TDEE is the total number of calories that your body expends in 24 hours, including all activities. TDEE is also known as your "maintenance level". I based this on my current weight. Here is a rough way to calculate your TDEE. Take your BMR and multiply it according to your activity level

    Activity Multiplier
    Sedentary = BMR X 1.2 (little or no exercise, desk job)
    Lightly active = BMR X 1.375 (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk)
    Mod. active = BMR X 1.55 (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk)
    Very active = BMR X 1.725 (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk)
    Extr. active = BMR X 1.9 (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.)

    With my numbers I consider myself between Mod and very active so I multiply my BMR by 1.6, this gives me a TDEE of 2672. So if I wanted to maitain my current weight of 211(which I don't) at my current activity level I would eat 2,672 calories a day. But I want to lose weight. So I am reducing my caloric intake for a 2lb a week weight loss, which is 1,000 calories a day. So, to lose 2lbs a week I eat 1,672 calories a day and wouldn't you know it, that's right where my BMR is! When I actually did all these calculations I was very happy to see the numbers were supported both ways. This is also why I don't adjust my food intake for exercise, I've already worked my activity level into my calculations on my TDEE, now if I really do an extra long workout that's more than my average I'll certainly add some more calories in.

    So, that's just my two cents. :smile:

    This makes perfect sense to me, thanks I was asking for this clarity on a different thread, I followed your calcs and the MFP recommended amount per day is my (BMR+Exercise levels)- 1000 = 2lb loss a week! woop!

    I can sleep at night knowing my organs are not wasting away! lol!
  • Yocum1219
    Yocum1219 Posts: 400 Member
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    Accoring to to BMR calculator mine is 2600, MFP says I am supposed to eat around 1800 with the exercise it goes up to 2600. I am having trouble taking in the 1800 sometimes.... I am not used to eating this much food. I am wondering how I have not lost weight before when I didn't even eat close to that many calories most days. Has anyone else had this problem? According to that figure it would put me into starvation mode. I cut out sodas all together about 6 months ago... So I wasn't getting the calories there. I was only eating 2 big meals a day but most of the time there is no way they would equal 2600 calories. I was eating fast food about twice a week then also but even with that I don't see how I wouldn't lose weight.... I am sooo confused right now. I am changing all of my bad habits now, I haven't eaten out in a cuple weeks and have been cooking. I am just wondering if it is really ok for me to eat all this food. I guess time will tell. I have only been on here for a few days. Any clarification would be appreciated.

    This article explains that. It has a lot to do with your metabolism & what you eat.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing

    My BMR is 1775 & my MFP calories are 1740. I've got it set to 1lb a week, I'm losing 2-3 most weeks, but none other weeks. I recalculate my BMR & calorie intake every 2-3 weeks, as my weight changes, so do those amounts. I eat SO much less food than I used to, but I'm not nearly as hungry as I used to be (opposite issue in a way).

    It's all about healthy choices. A McD's cheeseburger is 300 calories. So is a spinach salad with almonds/feta cheese/celery/carrots/sunflower seeds/raspberry vinaigrette dressing that fits in a bowl the size of my 2yr old's head! It's more work, and it's a challenge to get around baseball/soccer/church with 3 kids & still stay under & there are drive-thru days that just can't be helped, but all in all, it's a change of life, not a diet, so what's the rush if you get there eventually?
  • shelly384
    shelly384 Posts: 6 Member
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    Okay, so I have a question..... I am allowed 1200 cal a day and I wear a pedometer everyday. So do I eat all of the calories that my pedometer says I burned from just walking around my house doing daily activities or do I only record calories from my exercise? On an average day I burn 250 calories just doing my daily activities and another 260 on my evening 1 hour walk, at 3.5 mph with 3 lb weights. How many of these daily calories am I supposed to be eating?

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