Question about BMR and calorie deficit.

rjingalls · February 2012

So I've been a little bit worried about this lately. So according to the calculator on this site my BMR is 2,585 calories/day. I want to lose 2 lbs/week and I say I am lightly active so the site says I should take in 2,490 calories a day. This is where my question comes in. First off I'm not quite sure if i would consider myself lightly active or more than that. i lift weights for about an hour and some change at least 5 days a week, more according to how bored i get on the weekends, and I walk my dog twice a day about 2 to 3 miles each walk. But other than that i would say I'm fairly sedentary, that is I go to class and sit around for large portions of the day.So what would you consider my activity level? Second, If i do decide to stay with the caloric deficit I am at now doesn't it seem strange that I am going under my BMR? I'm just trying to get a good idea if I'm doing things right here. Thanks for any responses in advance!

3dogsrunning · February 2012

MFP doesnt' account for exercise. When you select lightly active, that is just day to day activity, not exercise. That is why when you log exercise, it suggests you eat those calories back.

issyfit · February 2012

You could put yourself down as sedentary and then count the dog walking and weight lifting as "exercise."

rjingalls · February 2012

Thanks for the responses!
But, when I log any strength training it doesn't count as any calories burned. So shouldn't I count that as part of the activity level?
Also I'm a fairly large person, 6'7" and I have a good amount of muscle, so it seems like 2500 calories is low for me.

kiwinik · February 2012

HI there.... I strength train 3 x week and couldn't work out why MFP doesn't allocate calories burned for it.

I just learnt this little lesson today too so can share what I know! ...When you lift weights, log it under cardio exercises as it does account for calories there for some weird reason??? Just type weight lifting into search under cardio exercise and enter minutes spent. It calculates the cals burned.

Good luck!

rjingalls · February 2012

Thanks kiwinik! Works perfectly!

cjpg · February 2012

I can share some of the knowledge I've gained since I started taking this seriously.

"So what would you consider my activity level?"
Your activity level is sedentary. When it asks about your activity level, its asking what type of lifestyle do you lead. For example, being a professional mountain-climber, a mailman or a barista would differ your daily calorie needs depending on your activity level.

Second, If i do decide to stay with the caloric deficit I am at now doesn't it seem strange that I am going under my BMR?
Your BMR is your Base Metabolic Rate, and is calculated by how much you weigh, your age and your height. These indicate an amount of calories per day that bodies with these measurements typically needs to maintain their weight.
By eating less than your BMR, you are giving your body less calories that your body needs to maintain its weight per day, which is your caloric deficit.
Every kg of fat in your body amounts to 3850 calories. By giving your body a calorie deficit of 500 a day allows you to lose 3500 calories (by not eating them) which is nearly 1kg per week, which is the recommended amount of healthy weight loss that allows your body to get what it needs to function.
So it's not strange to eat under your BMR, it's perfectly normal.

cjpg · February 2012

HI there.... I strength train 3 x week and couldn't work out why MFP doesn't allocate calories burned for it.

I just learnt this little lesson today too so can share what I know! ...When you lift weights, log it under cardio exercises as it does account for calories there for some weird reason??? Just type weight lifting into search under cardio exercise and enter minutes spent. It calculates the cals burned.

Good luck!

You should only log Strength training as Cardio Training if you are getting a cardio response from your workout. There's a reason MFP doesn't calculate strength training as cardiovascular training. Definitions below:

- Cardiovascular workouts raise your heart rate but, more importantly, KEEP your heart rate up for a long duration of time. This heightened heart rate makes your body have a cardiovascular response (relying on more oxygen to pump more blood), which is excellent for losing weight.
- Strength Training workouts (like weights) typically raise your heart rate for small intervals, relying heavily on cooldown periods. You cannot strength train properly without recovery periods, hence you cannot KEEP your heart rate up for a long duration of time. You CAN get a cardio response depending on how you use them, but no where near as much as you would by running or even walking.

Hope this helps.

rjingalls · February 2012

thanks for the response! very informative.

clmerrif · February 2012

[Your BMR] indicate an amount of calories per day that bodies with these measurements typically needs to maintain their weight.

This is absolutely NOT ture! I have a bachelor's degree in biomedical sciences and have taken university level classes in human nutrition. Yes, your BMR is your basal metabolic rate and yes, it is calculated using your height and weight, but it is NOT how many calories you need to maintain your weight. Your BMR is how much energy your body expends at rest. That is, just by lying in bed breathing with your heart beating you will burn the amout of your BMR. Any activity you do will burn calories on top of your BMR.

I have not figured out how MFP accounts for BMR in the daily calories. I'm wondering if I should add in an extra 1500 calories of "exercise" to my diary to account for my BMR in addition to the actual exercise I do.

Question about BMR and calorie deficit.

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