For the 500,000 time EATING MORE WORKS

So I am a bit confused. I went to the http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/ calculator and entered in the info.

Age 28
Female
Your height (in inches): 66
Your CURRENT weight (in pounds): 335
Your GOAL weight (in pounds): 155
Your body fat percentage (if known): 51

This says my BMR (using the Katch-McArdle Forumla) is 1980.
I do not see where it says my TDEE? Is this somewhere on here also?
For a sedentary lifestyle it puts my calories at 1810.

1810 is lower than my BMR...so am I supposed to eat the BMR or the calories it estimates?

Currently I eat 1600 calories. I lose weight if I eat 1600 calories. If I eat 1800 calories I gain weight. So I am wary bumping it up to 2000. Every time I eat 1800 calories I end up gaining. Just trying to figure this out.

I am misreading what the TDEE is? Is a different calculator? Thanks!

The numbers given includes a deficit - your TDEE is 20% more = maintanance. If you eat over 2160 (1800 = 20%) you gain weight.

Remember, you need to give your body a couple of weeks to adjust. Some people see an immediate loss, and some gain for a week or two.

Ok...so if my TDEE is 2160 am I supposed to cut that number by 500 calories to lose 1 lb a week? Although that would also put me below the BMR. Or am I supposed to just eat between 1980 and 2160?

Sorry - did not spot your BMR. You should eat your BMR in this case. Periodically re-*kitten* and re-run your numbers. Your BMR should decrease as you lose weight.

One more question....If I just allow MFP to calculate my calories for a 2 lb a week loss, it puts me at 1830 calories a day. So should I manually change that goal up to 1980?

Ok 2 questions actually...along with the question ^^^^
Am I supposed to eat my exercise calories? Or can I just do the 1980 and not eat more on days i exercise?

If you use TDEE, there is no need to eat your exercise calories unless you do extreme amounts of exercise.

Thought I'd add my 2 cents, especially for breastfeeding moms: I'm a new mom - had my babe 12/14/11... I'm losing weight significantly faster than I thought by doing this very thing. I kinda stumbled upon it by not trying to lose weight too quickly because I didn't want my milk supply to dip, so for that I'm thankful. :-) Here's the numbers- for those of you breastfeeding or exercising, or both, you may want to read. I used www.fat2fit.com to calculate my figures. I also explain how I arrive at TDEE because I'm not sure if it's explained quite right in prior posts. If you want a MUCH simpler way of figuring these figures out, go to http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm - you should come up with roughly the same figures if you want to experiment.

Anyhoo - using www.fat2fit.com: My current Katch-McArdle BMR at 187lbs is 1450 calories. If my goal is to be 145 lbs, my TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure- TOTAL IT TAKES TO MAINTAIN MY CURRENT WEIGHT) is 1712 (BMR @ sedentary) ***plus*** 20% for a grand total of 2054- what this means is if I exceed this number, I will gain weight. **Based on a sedentary level of activity, 1712 is the number of calories that I will be able to eat to lose weight now and maintain my goal weight. in other words, if I start eating like the thinner me, I will eventually become that thinner person. As I get closer to my goal weight, my weight loss will start to slow down, but initially it is OK to eat a few hundred calories less than my 1712 per day to speed up my weight loss at this point. (typically 200-300 less *but I should not reduce enough to be at or below my BMR of 1450!!).... why don't I want to eat at or below my Katch-McArdle BMR? Because I don't want to be losing my lean muscle mass.... I want to burn fat, not muscle.

What's the importance of knowing your TDEE?? To know what you need to not exceed in order to not gain weight - Let's say you want to cheat a little one day, but still want to not "gain" really... staying at your current weight's maintenance level will allow you to do that, you just can't do it too many times. :-)

Now, from www.freedieting.com - again, set to little or no exercise to figure out the base figures it says:
Maintenance 2041 CALORIES/DAY
Fat Loss 1633 CALORIES/DAY
Extreme Fat Loss 1496 CALORIES/DAY

I would then add my breastfeeding (plus 500) and exercise (via MFP adding back) to these figures.

This is not too far from what was figured above- either way will get you in the ballpark you need to be in.

CONCLUSION: my goals, set up in MFP, should be about 1500-1700 NET calories per day before any exercise (plus 500 cals for breastfeeding (I add this -500 via the meal section under breastfeeding and it bumps my caloric goal up) for a grand total daily of 2000-2200/day *consumed* (but not to exceed 2554) - wow! Far different than the school of thought of 1200 cals/day! :-) This is pretty much what I've already been doing and it's working! See below for my results. :-) ***and I STILL need to eat my exercise calories back as well - ex: daily caloric intake of 2000-2200 now turns into 2200-2400 w/ a 2 mile walk burning 200 cals. It's working... nuff said. :-)

If you give this a month, and understand that you can initially gain 2-4 lbs at first, you'll be very pleased in the long run. Your body is re-setting itself, preparing for a different way of life in simple terms. My first month, I lost over 11 lbs, my second month I lost a little over 8 lbs. Am I happy I tried this?? You bet I am! Do I think this trend of loss will continue? Absolutely. No longer am I afraid to eat... no longer will I struggle! Finally!

For anyone patient enough to check my understanding..

I found that my BMR is 1450 and my TDEE is 1740. Based on reading, this is what I am assuming to be true- please tell me if I am wrong, I won't be offended! I should be NETTING between 1450 and 1740 per day. I read somewhere that I should try to NET around 200 over my BMR, so around 1650?

Currently MFP has me set to 1480, but I'll be honest, I am 90% of the time netting less than 1480 except on a once in awhile cheat day. Should I really be netting 1480 or more on a daily basis?

Thank you for checking my facts.. just being paranoid.. I am very appreciative for the support.

A LOT of people, including myself, are scared ****less of the thought of eating more but there are too many sucess stories out there claiming it works, so after a long struggle of my own, I have decided to give it a try, and if it works for me, I shall be shouting it from the rooftops!!!

Well done on your sucess!

Me too. Just raised mine to 1400 yesterday. Only thing is, after exercise, I still have over 900 calories left. I am really not hungry & the only thing I can think of eating is my daughter's chocolate bunny for Easter. She'll never even miss it. LOL

Ok 2 questions actually...along with the question ^^^^
Am I supposed to eat my exercise calories? Or can I just do the 1980 and not eat more on days i exercise?

Because you BMR is high, it does not allow for a standard 20% deficit. You can create a greater deficit by exercising, but unless you do some crazy cardio, you shoud not be eating them back.

bump.

thanks y'all!

I am breastfeeding too, but not a newborn. She's 9 months and eating other food. I do think that her nursing has helped me lose weight, but I haven't been taking this into consideration as calories burned though. Hmmm I guess I should be doing that, LOL

see this thread I started - I give more info on "older" babies as well:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/549124-eat-more-not-less-especially-for-new-moms-even-while-br

Hope this helps!

For those who are confused / mathematically challenged / having a hard time understanding, etc... If you want to make it really easy on yourself, you can use this site instead and it'll get you in the same ballpark:

http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

Maintenance = TDEE
Set your calorie goal in MFP to somewhere between the Fat Loss and Extreme Fat Loss number.

I found that the Extreme Fat Loss number was just slightly above my BMR, and the Fat Loss number matched up pretty much with what I should be eating not counting any activity (sedentary lifestyle) for base figures.

You'll need to re-do your numbers periodically as you lose weight because your TDEE will change as you become a lighter person.

What is TDEE?? please

Total Daily Energy Expenditure.

It's your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) 70% + daily activity including exercise 20% + thermogenesis (food processing)10% = TDEE

Eat a whole lot less, thermogenesis comes down, the BMR slows down if underfed, which causes the daily activity calories to be less than what they could be.

TDEE would be considered maintenance level. MFP calls maintenance level what does NOT include exercise, because they don't know about it until you log it.