We are pleased to announce that on March 4, 2025, an updated Rich Text Editor will be introduced in the MyFitnessPal Community. To learn more about the upcoming changes, please click here. We look forward to sharing this new feature with you!

Can I eat below my BMR if I have a ton to lose?

commanderthomas
commanderthomas Posts: 6 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
This may be a frequent area of discussion, but the threads I've seen have been by 5 foot tall girls who want to starve themselves below 1200 calories a day or something. I am a 6 foot 3 male who has a whole lot to lose and have set what I believe to be a modest 1 1/2 lb per week loss goal.

I just calculated my BMR and it says it's over 3,000... but MFP is telling me to eat closer to 2600. Which I do with relative ease. I don't feel like I'm depriving myself - I eat well enough... I'm just much more conscious of WHAT I eat. And I usually come in a little under what MFP recommends. Is there really a problem with this? Should I eat more even though I'm not hungry? Should I eat higher calories foods? That doesn't seem like the right answer... Is it??

Replies

  • aSunflower
    aSunflower Posts: 73 Member
    My quick answer is NO! It is virtually impossible to get all the nutrients you need, maintain a healthy digestive system and keep your metabolism up under 1200 calories.

    My long answer is go see your doctor. If you have a lot of weight to lose they will tell you how to do it safely.

    Good luck!
  • commanderthomas
    commanderthomas Posts: 6 Member
    My quick answer is NO! It is virtually impossible to get all the nutrients you need, maintain a healthy digestive system and keep your metabolism up under 1200 calories.

    My long answer is go see your doctor. If you have a lot of weight to lose they will tell you how to do it safely.

    Good luck!

    Well, you'll see in my post that I'm NOT eating under 1200 calories - I'm eating under 2600. No shortage of nutrients here.
  • jrusso28
    jrusso28 Posts: 249 Member
    I would think your ok going under by 200 calories.

    See how it goes for a few weeks and adjust as needed.
    Good luck
  • commanderthomas
    commanderthomas Posts: 6 Member
    It been a number of weeks and it seems to be going fine. But some threads on here seemed pretty alarmist about EVER going under your BMR. So I thought maybe there was an exception if one is big vs someone without much left to lose...
  • commanderthomas
    commanderthomas Posts: 6 Member
    bump
  • nz_deevaa
    nz_deevaa Posts: 12,209 Member
    If you have loads of energy and don't feel hungry all the time. Keep on keeping on.

    If you start feeling tired and feel like you are hungry all the time, up you calories.
  • downsizinghoss
    downsizinghoss Posts: 1,035 Member
    The more you have to lose and the higher your BMR the more flexibility you can have.

    For one thing, unless you have a %body fat test done, the numbers on here could be off. They are based just off of weight and a 300 lb. person who is all muscle vs. a 300 lb. person who is mostly fat will have very different BMRs.

    Secondly, if you eat below your true BMR you WILL lose weight, but it isn't necessarily the healthiest option as it will cause a loss of lean mass as well as fat mass.

    The closer you get to your goal weight, the more important it is.
    Like you, my BMR seems astronomically high. I am no where near my goal weight. To be honest I try to fluctuate my calories some every week and just keep exercising.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,108 Member
    BMR calculation is what you would burn sitting on the couch all day and doing nothing. If you wanted to lose 1lb a week, you could eat 500 calories less than your BMR and do it................................as long as you sat on the couch.
    But since most people have regular work activity (even though it's not high) then may also exercise, then eating under your BMR may result in lean muscle tissue loss at a higher percentage. While lower calories can help speed up losses faster, it's the type of tissue loss that may be an issue.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • elsinora
    elsinora Posts: 398 Member
    BMR calculation is what you would burn sitting on the couch all day and doing nothing. If you wanted to lose 1lb a week, you could eat 500 calories less than your BMR and do it................................as long as you sat on the couch.
    But since most people have regular work activity (even though it's not high) then may also exercise, then eating under your BMR may result in lean muscle tissue loss at a higher percentage. While lower calories can help speed up losses faster, it's the type of tissue loss that may be an issue.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    ^^ this!
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
    Ninerbuff and Downsizingnhos are both right on... When I started out I weighed 560 lbs. and was consuming well over 7000 calories a day of nothing but junk food... There wasn't any healthy food in my diet... From day 1 working with my Dietician she established a baseline off my BMR minus 1000 calorie deficit which would allow me to lose 2 lbs. a week... Even in the beginning it wasn't about how fast I got the weight off (even at a BMI of 74 and the shape I was in) it was how healthy of a pace I took it off for longer lasting results. Sure the first 4 weeks I was losing BIG... Heck the first 2 weeks I lost 20 lbs. but it was my body dumping water weight and adjusting to the huge decrease in caloric intake... Once my body realized it was getting the proper nutrition it settled in for the long haul and a maintained a 1-2 lb. weghtloss every week... Exercise is important and so is working in some strength training... Lifting weights will help maintain your muscle, you won't be gaining any but keeping what you have is important because the more muscle you have the more calories get burnt.... I always say this is a marathon not a sprint and going slow and steady will always win this particular race..... Good Luck to you.........
  • BrendaLee
    BrendaLee Posts: 4,463 Member
    My BMR is around 2000, and to lose 2lbs/wk, MFP has me eating around 1500 calories/day. As long as you're feeling good and aren't starving, I think you have some room to experiment and find what works for you.
  • nz_deevaa
    nz_deevaa Posts: 12,209 Member
    Ninerbuff and Downsizingnhos are both right on... When I started out I weighed 560 lbs. and was consuming well over 7000 calories a day of nothing but junk food... There wasn't any healthy food in my diet... From day 1 working with my Dietician she established a baseline off my BMR minus 1000 calorie deficit which would allow me to lose 2 lbs. a week... Even in the beginning it wasn't about how fast I got the weight off (even at a BMI of 74 and the shape I was in) it was how healthy of a pace I took it off for longer lasting results. Sure the first 4 weeks I was losing BIG... Heck the first 2 weeks I lost 20 lbs. but it was my body dumping water weight and adjusting to the huge decrease in caloric intake... Once my body realized it was getting the proper nutrition it settled in for the long haul and a maintained a 1-2 lb. weghtloss every week... Exercise is important and so is working in some strength training... Lifting weights will help maintain your muscle, you won't be gaining any but keeping what you have is important because the more muscle you have the more calories get burnt.... I always say this is a marathon not a sprint and going slow and steady will always win this particular race..... Good Luck to you.........

    300lbs down!? You are a super hero!
  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
    Ninerbuff and Downsizingnhos are both right on... When I started out I weighed 560 lbs. and was consuming well over 7000 calories a day of nothing but junk food... There wasn't any healthy food in my diet... From day 1 working with my Dietician she established a baseline off my BMR minus 1000 calorie deficit which would allow me to lose 2 lbs. a week... Even in the beginning it wasn't about how fast I got the weight off (even at a BMI of 74 and the shape I was in) it was how healthy of a pace I took it off for longer lasting results. Sure the first 4 weeks I was losing BIG... Heck the first 2 weeks I lost 20 lbs. but it was my body dumping water weight and adjusting to the huge decrease in caloric intake... Once my body realized it was getting the proper nutrition it settled in for the long haul and a maintained a 1-2 lb. weghtloss every week... Exercise is important and so is working in some strength training... Lifting weights will help maintain your muscle, you won't be gaining any but keeping what you have is important because the more muscle you have the more calories get burnt.... I always say this is a marathon not a sprint and going slow and steady will always win this particular race..... Good Luck to you.........

    ^ 300 down. That sir, is impressive work. Nicely done.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories