BMR????? Obviously I don't understand. Help.

Go to my home> goals > change goals to change it.

This content has been removed.

it is definitely confusing. My suggestion is to eat the 1200 calories recommended by MFP, because if you work out you'll earn "extra" calories. Do this for awhile and if there gets to a point where your weight loss slows down, increase them to your BMR calories.

EDITED: Forgot to say: never eat less than 1200 net calories per day!

Here's the thing with the 1200.... A lot of people have no idea about that table that cmriverside posted. Most folks, when they set up their diet profile, select 2 pounds per week because that's the highest you can go and everyone wants to lose as much as they can as fast as they can whether or not it's actually possible or healthy. However, since MFP will not allow you to have less than 1200 calories per day (because you'd be malnourished), most people are set at 1200 per day.

Please look at cmriverside's post again and reset your weight loss goal accordingly.

And yes, eat back at least half of your exercise calories and never NET below 1200.

I have been told eat up to your BMR but below your TDEE.

The BMR/TDEE calculators are based on ideal scenarios and may not reflect a person's true BMR/TDEE.

The truth is, if you are grossly overweight, e.g. you need to lose more than 50lbs/23kg, then you may find that your BMR is actually greater than the calculator advises.

According to MFP when I started I was 113.8kg so my BMR was 1973. The reality was actually a more scary 2606 which is why I could consume 3000 Calories a day no probs.

Now 7 months down the line, MFP thinks I should have a BMR of 1733, but my metabolism is still running fast and I actually sit around the 2030 mark. Of course I've actually also gone from totally sedentary to moderately active, so that no doubt helps.

The reason I'm saying this is not to discredit MFP's numbers... hell I couldn't have achieved what I've achieved without this site... but to show why it's important not to starve yourself. 1200 is a base guideline for young women and small-framed men, but most of us could still eat 1500-1800 Calories a day and still lose weight.

Finding a healthy balance that suits you and leaves you satisfied is, I believe, the best way to lose weight, get fit and sustain a weightloss and maintenance program that you can live with long-term.

Good luck to one and all! :happy:

*bump*

http://www.cordianet.com/calculator.htm

How do we figure out BMR?

If you look under tools, there is a calculator there. Or you can google BMR calculator. There are more accurate ways to figure it out if you have the right type of clinics around.

BMR is your basal metabolic rate. It is the amount of calories your body burns just to survive. Think of it as the number you would burn if you spent all day in bed. On top of that, you also burn calories through everyday activity, your job, moving around your house, etc. This combined with your BMR is your TDEE - total daily energy expenditure. At this number you will neither gain or lose weight. this is the number you create a deficit from.

It is suggested that you don't eat less than you BMR.

Thank you for this explanation. So, we eat at least our BMR on non-excercise days and we have the choice to eat above the BMR if we do excersise, right?

I would (and have, although I am not at this current moment), simply follow MFP while choosing the ideal goal from the chart above. Depending on how much one has to lose, and how active someone is, eating just the BMR may be too few calories. Remember, BMR does not account for daily activity. If you are in a job that requires you to move alot, you could end up with a very large deficit. Think of it as a do not go below number, but not an "I should eat this amount" number.
If you are following MFP's numbers, I would also suggest following MFP's suggestion to eat back exercise calories. Although I do strongly encourage people to be as accurate as possible when logging and to be careful not to overestimate calories burned through exercise. MFP can run a little high, so perhaps eat a portion back but eat some.

If I didn't do that, I would figure out my BMR, then figure out my TDEE including my exercise and choose the appropriate deficit for a weight loss goal then eat that every day.

You will likely find that they both end up being pretty close.

Does that make sense?
Keep it simple. MFP does all the work for you, you just have to choose the right goal (2lbs a week for some is too high).

You can email me too if you wanted.

bump

Thanks for the helpful information. But something I've heard two answers on... Okay to eat below your BMR, or no?

edit: saw an answer. I recently upped to my bmr and am just waiting to see the results.

NO..ideally you'd eat X amount below your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) with X depending on how much you need to lose.

I eat up to my BMR but I don't NET my BMR. Should I be?

If you NET your BMR then sometimes you eat over it (when you exercise)...which is great BUT if you set your net goal at your BMR and log EVERYTHING you'd be getting your deficit entirely through the little things you don't log (walking to/from the kitchen, cooking, washing dishes) which could be rather small.

How many calories do you burn from exercise daily?

My calorie intake a day is 1260 but my bmr (which I new nothing about untill reading this post) is 1677...can anyone please explain to me what I should be doing? And when I excercise what happens with those calories that I've burnt? I hope someone can please help me as I'm a little lost. It's the start of my 7th week tomorrow and I've lost 9.3kgs and I'm not sure if that's enough or should've I lost more? Thanks guys :-)

My calorie intake a day is 1260 but my bmr (which I new nothing about untill reading this post) is 1677...can anyone please explain to me what I should be doing? And when I excercise what happens with those calories that I've burnt? I hope someone can please help me as I'm a little lost. It's the start of my 7th week tomorrow and I've lost 9.3kgs and I'm not sure if that's enough or should've I lost more? Thanks guys :-)

That's extremely fast. I'd up your calories to 1675 and get a deficit from your activity.