Understanding the process - BMI/BMR etc

I am a 5'4" female with a TDEE of 1550, so I am very jealous of your 2500!

I am definitely not an expert but I have done some reading and figured out what works for me. I think how aggressive you are with your defecit depends partly on how much you are trying to lose -- I am not trying to lose too much so am pretty conservative with my numbers (ie 10% under TDEE and netting approximately my BMR) but I am still losing steadily. If you have a lot to lose, your deficit can be higher.

I think netting under BMR is OK in the short term if you have a lot to lose, but you don't want to do it consistently/long term because it will slow your metabolism down. So for you to net around 1200 in the short term (assuming you are trying to lose as quickly as possible) might make sense, and seems to work out similarly to eating at 20% below TDEE, so that sounds like a good start. If you try it and for some reason aren't losing (although you should be losing if you are eating 500 calories less than your TDEE, unless your metabolism is already slower than average) you can decrease it in small increments.

In general, if you are eating 2000 calories/day, burning an average of 800/day and so only netting 1200/day, this seems to be the minimum of what you would want to eat to mimimize muscle catabolism and keep your metabolism humming. Just my thoughts, as I said, I am coming at this with a very different set of numbers.

I am a 5'4" female with a TDEE of 1550, so I am very jealous of your 2500!

Good luck.

I am definitely not an expert but I have done some reading and figured out what works for me. I think how aggressive you are with your defecit depends partly on how much you are trying to lose -- I am not trying to lose too much so am pretty conservative with my numbers (ie 10% under TDEE and netting approximately my BMR) but I am still losing steadily. If you have a lot to lose, your deficit can be higher.

I think netting under BMR is OK in the short term if you have a lot to lose, but you don't want to do it consistently/long term because it will slow your metabolism down. So for you to net around 1200 in the short term (assuming you are trying to lose as quickly as possible) might make sense, and seems to work out similarly to eating at 20% below TDEE, so that sounds like a good start. If you try it and for some reason aren't losing (although you should be losing if you are eating 500 calories less than your TDEE, unless your metabolism is already slower than average) you can decrease it in small increments.

In general, if you are eating 2000 calories/day, burning an average of 800/day and so only netting 1200/day, this seems to be the minimum of what you would want to eat to mimimize muscle catabolism and keep your metabolism humming. Just my thoughts, as I said, I am coming at this with a very different set of numbers.

I am a 5'4" female with a TDEE of 1550, so I am very jealous of your 2500!

Good luck.

Are you sure your TDEE is 1550? or is that you BMR? As to have a TDEE of 1550 your BMR would have to be 1291 which at your height is quite low unless you are 100-105lbs.

I am a 5'4" female with a TDEE of 1550, so I am very jealous of your 2500!

Are you sure your TDEE is 1550? or is that you BMR? As to have a TDEE of 1550 your BMR would have to be 1291 which at your height is quite low unless you are 100-105lbs.

^This. If your TDEE is 1550 you shouldn't be losing weight because you're either very thin or a child.

@cgwatson-That article was amazing. Thanks.

I am a 5'4" female with a TDEE of 1550, so I am very jealous of your 2500!

Are you sure your TDEE is 1550? or is that you BMR? As to have a TDEE of 1550 your BMR would have to be 1291 which at your height is quite low unless you are 100-105lbs.

^This. If your TDEE is 1550 you shouldn't be losing weight because you're either very thin or a child.

1550 is really not an unreasonable TDEE for a woman 5'4" still looking to lose weight. I'm 5'4", currently 125, BMR 1275, set to sedentary activity level, MFP calculates my calories for losing 1/2 lb per week at 1340, making my TDEE 1590 based on the sedentary setting. At 125 I'm also right in the middle of the healthy BMI range for being 5'4" which I would not classify as 'very thin'. Healthy weight, yes, but not 'very thin' (that makes me think 'underweight'). Having a TDEE that's lower than some other people doesn't necessarily mean someone 'shouldn't be losing weight', that's like saying if you have a high TDEE you 'shouldn't be gaining weight' - but many people do b/c they are building muscle.

*all that is not including exercise, I add that in later since that's the way MFP is set up.

OP I do agree w/ pp's that say make sure you're eating enough.

Thanks, my stats are pretty similar to yours. I think it gave me a BMR of 1360 and TDEE of 1550 with the sedentary setting. Also, I don't know how much age is a factor, I am 38 which doesn't seem that old to me but may decrease it a bit. I also eat exercise calories so usually end up eating around 1600/day which is giving a very gradual (maybe 0.25-0.3 lbs/wk) weight loss which I am happy with.