BMR? TDEE? I'm confused.

KLK1986
KLK1986 Posts: 89 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Ok, so my BMR is 1420, while my TDEE is 1770. MFP is suggesting that I eat 1270 to lose 1lb/week.

However.......I've heard some people say never to eat below your BMR. So what should I be eating? 1270 + exercise calories.........or 1420 + exercise calories?

Replies

  • Fit_Canuck
    Fit_Canuck Posts: 788 Member
    I sense your going to get page after page of differing opinions on this one. The only advice I will give you is to look up a nutritionist ( sport nutritionist as they a heavier focused on workout based nutrition ) and determine with them what works for you based on your body fat / muscle body composition. This site basically guesses as to what you need, it doesn't take your muscle mass into account which can drastically change your caloric needs.

    Personally I went to a Kinesiologist and Sports Nutritionist to build a good eating plan to achieve my goals. People will certainly argue but in my experience every professional has advised me to never go under BMR if at all possible. You won't instantly die if you do but you will slow your metabolism over time and sabotage your efforts.
  • LaurenAOK
    LaurenAOK Posts: 2,475 Member
    This is a good question and everyone will answer it differently. Some people say you should never eat below your BMR because in the long run it will slow down your metabolism. Others eat below their BMR consistantly and claim to have great results.

    Personally, I eat above what MFP told me but still a bit below my BMR - a happy medium. MFP recommended 1200, but my BMR is a little under 1400. So I set my goal to 1300 a day. I'm satisfied with the results so far. I feel that I can eat plenty without going over my goal, and I'm still seeing weight loss.

    Good luck to you!
  • gp79
    gp79 Posts: 1,799 Member
    Those numbers are estimates. I would set your deficit off of your TDEE, not your BMR. Your BMR is what you'd expect to burn if you did nothing but lay in bed / lounge around your house all day doing absolutely nothing. Your TDEE accounts for what you do during the day with your job, showering, walking to your car etc.

    What I'd recommend is following MFP for 2 weeks at 1270 and see what your weight does. If it drops too fast, over 2lbs for instance, you might consider increasing your calories a bit.

    Also, if you are exercising throughout the week, your average TDEE across a weeks time is going to be higher than 1770. It's all an estimation to get you close.
  • Fit_Canuck
    Fit_Canuck Posts: 788 Member
    This is the analogy I've always kept in mind

    " Your body is a machine. Think of a car that runs on 4 cylinders normally, you can run on 2 or 3 if you want to but it's going to be a rough ride and shorten the life of your engine. Food is fuel and you need to make sure your body runs at peak performance "
  • hayleyannegoddard
    hayleyannegoddard Posts: 2 Member
    I have learned that zig zagging your calories can be good. You are not always going to meet your caloric intake. but try to stay in range! I know it is hard. I have allot of dropping sugars and find it hard to keep in the range
  • reddi2roll
    reddi2roll Posts: 356 Member
    At the risk of sounding really stupid I admit some confusion here. A previous poster used the following formula to calculate BMR: The equation:
    BMR = 370 + (21.6 x LBM(kg)) (Lean Body Mass is calculated by taking your TOTAL WEIGHT x Body Fat %).

    On MFP under tools it appears they use Ht: Wt: Age: and Gender to calculate BMR? Using the MFP tool you would have to constantly recalculate based on your weight?

    Not clear what TDEE stands for. I will try to Google it.
  • reddi2roll
    reddi2roll Posts: 356 Member
    OK. For those like me who don't know TDEE=Total Daily Energy Expenditure. There has to be someone else who didn't know!
  • Fit_Canuck
    Fit_Canuck Posts: 788 Member
    At the risk of sounding really stupid I admit some confusion here. A previous poster used the following formula to calculate BMR: The equation:
    BMR = 370 + (21.6 x LBM(kg)) (Lean Body Mass is calculated by taking your TOTAL WEIGHT x Body Fat %).

    On MFP under tools it appears they use Ht: Wt: Age: and Gender to calculate BMR? Using the MFP tool you would have to constantly recalculate based on your weight?

    Not clear what TDEE stands for. I will try to Google it.

    Keep in mind that MFP has no idea what your % of body fat so it's running on assumptions not hard data. So the BMR calculated by MFP may be significantly off depending on your body structure.
  • reddi2roll
    reddi2roll Posts: 356 Member
    Thanks NBEric.
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