BMR =/= Maintenance

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  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,031 Member
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    mynewfavoritepost.png
  • hedleyrocks247
    hedleyrocks247 Posts: 185 Member
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    Thank you, THANK you, THANK YOU!!!!!! Amazing post that needs to be seen by everyone :happy:
  • baisleac
    baisleac Posts: 2,019 Member
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    I am in a similar situation in which MFP is telling me to eat far below my BMR. My BMR is 1500 and MPF tells me to eat 1200 for 1 lb a week weight loss. Also, I am overweight but not morbidly obese. Please explain this to me!

    MFP will help you lose whatever you tell it you want to lose. If you tell it you want to lose 2 lbs a week, it will do its best to help you. If you tell it you want to lose 1/2 pound a week, it will do its best to help you. It uses a general baseline, not your specific healthy baseline.

    edit to add: If your BMR is 1500 and you have a sedentary lifestyle, your maintenance calories (TDEE) is 1800. A 1 pound per week loss would be 1300 not 1200. However, if you told MFP 1.5 or 2 pounds/week, it would only let you go down to 1200.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,031 Member
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    This healthy weight loss thing is up to us. That's why this site is for adults. All over the site is the info you need to make good decisions. At the signup, on the food diary, in the forums AT THE bottom of every page. You've heard the term "Garbage In, Garbage Out". If you input bad data, you will get bad results. A "dumb" program cannot make judgement calls on your BMR. It is up to you. That is the flaw of computers, and why they will never take over the world (sorry, Hal) -the program will let you go below your BMR, and that is not what you want to do. This can happen when you set too high a weight loss goal and/or too low an activity level.

    It takes a while for this to sink in. We'll keep reminding until it does.

  • SaraTonin
    SaraTonin Posts: 551 Member
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    This healthy weight loss thing is up to us. That's why this site is for adults. All over the site is the info you need to make good decisions. At the signup, on the food diary, in the forums AT THE bottom of every page. You've heard the term "Garbage In, Garbage Out". If you input bad data, you will get bad results. A "dumb" program cannot make judgement calls on your BMR. It is up to you. That is the flaw of computers, and why they will never take over the world (sorry, Hal) -the program will let you go below your BMR, and that is not what you want to do. This can happen when you set too high a weight loss goal and/or too low an activity level.

    It takes a while for this to sink in. We'll keep reminding until it does.

    ^ All too true! And, once again, a good reason to talk to your doctor. You'll notice on shows like Biggest Loser they're eating 1200 calories a day, and shedding off 15 pounds a week, but that's with a personal trainer and a nutritionist on your side, not to mention having a LOT to lose!!

    It's hard to see people come on here trying to lose 2 pounds a week when they only need to lose 10 pounds total. Slow and steady will make for a more sustainable weight loss goal.

    And a reminder: MFP usually estimates low because it assumes you are eating exercise calories.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,031 Member
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    :flowerforyou:
  • stalksthedawn
    stalksthedawn Posts: 32
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    This is exactly what I spent most of today trying to figure out. I read all the newbie links, then all the links in those links, then the links inside those and some more than once.

    My BMI is 36.8 (I have a lot to lose), I'm only 5"3 and I'm sedentary.

    I read in one of the links that if the BMI is higher than 33 I can set the calorie count to losing 2 lbs a week which puts me at 1200 calories. Even when I had it set to 1.5 pounds a week it set me to 1250.

    My BMR is 1598 but even with a 1.5 pound count, on days I don't exercise (shooting for 5 days right now, my calorie intake is "supposed" to be 1200 but, just to make sure I totally and fully understand this, I should ignore that number and use a minimum of 1598 because that's my BMR?

    Sorry that these questions are so, well, like the other questions I've read over today, I just want to do this weight loss in a safe, healthy way.
  • Ge0rgiana
    Ge0rgiana Posts: 1,649 Member
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    bmi-calculator.net says that my bmr is 1,439. Then it says to find the number of calories I should be eating, I should multiply that number by 1.375 because I do exercise about 3 days a week, about to up that to 5. That gives me over 1,900 cals a day. Subtract 500 and I'm at over 1,400 cals a day. MFP has me at 1,200 to lose less than a lb a week. It's, like. 0.9 I think.

    FML
  • stalksthedawn
    stalksthedawn Posts: 32
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    So, still figuring this out, would the best thing to do would be to go into the "custom" settings and set my net calories (before exercise) to 1598? Or leave it as is?
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,031 Member
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    Go with the site recommendations. (THIS site.)

    It won't let you go under 1200 if you are female.

    The more you weigh over your goal healthy weight, the larger of a deficit your body can tolerate.

    Those of you within 20-30 lbs of your goal cannot set your weight loss to "2 pounds a week". You just don't have enough padding to be able to tolerate a 500 calorie a day deficit.

    Don't over think this!! Input your numbers, be honest, use the tools here, and all will end well.
  • bslic
    bslic Posts: 245 Member
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    Thanks for this....this thread is a KEEPER!!!!
  • mistersmithsbox
    mistersmithsbox Posts: 65
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    I am currently 361# @ 6'2. My BMR is something stupid like 2571 while my exercise is basically nil, I work in food service 40hrs a week so that number is typically inflated WELL past the 3500-calories-in-a-lb mark. I want to lose 2# a week but the number MFP gives me typically puts me at a standstill weight-wise. (I'd LOVE to be able to stuff my face with 2500 cals!)

    For once, I'm utterly confused.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,031 Member
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    Bump


    Helpful Hints:

    If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal, and
    If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal.

    From the MFP BMR calculator page: "Our calculator uses the Mifflin-St. Jeor equations to estimate your BMR which is believed to be more accurate than the more commonly used Harris-Benedict equation."

    These are the Mifflin-St. Jeor equations (weight in kilograms, the height in centimeters, and the age in years):

    Male: BMR = 10×weight + 6.25×height - 5×age + 5
    Female: BMR = 10×weight + 6.25×height - 5×age - 161

    YOU are responsible for choosing an accurate activity rate. Don't try to speed up the process by choosing "Sedentary" just because it is an option.

    Almost no one is Sedentary. If you care for children at home, or go to school or have ANY type of job, you are not Sedentary. Choose accordingly.

    The reason this site, Myfitnesspal, uses the Mifflin-St. Jeor equations is because this site allows you more flexibility in your added exercise. In reality, some people will not get much if any real exercise, and MFPal gives you the option to add this in as needed.

    That is why the Mifflin-St. Joer equation is a better tool than the more commonly used Harris-Benedict equation.


    You should never go below 1200 calories a day without medical supervision no matter what number you come up with.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,031 Member
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    gaah. bump.
  • Ge0rgiana
    Ge0rgiana Posts: 1,649 Member
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    I sit on my *kitten* at a desk all day. I have no children. The most action I get is at the gym and grocery shopping on the weekends. That's pretty damn sedentary.

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