TDEE and BMR and all that jazz

rdchick
rdchick Posts: 49 Member
edited December 17 in Health and Weight Loss
Hello

I am sure this has been asked like a million times and I apologise!

I have been snooping around these boards and keep seeing TDEE etc so wanted to find out mine.

I am 5'7'', 188lbs and have a lovely 36.9% fat - blugh!!

Apparently my TDEE is 2302
RMR 1658
BMR 1674
MFP 1200 (as standard!)

So my good friends.... what on earth do I need to do with that now?!

I want to lose 2lb a week roughly so what's a good basis of calories to aim for?! I know everyone is different but if there's anything anyone can offer that would be lovely!


ohh I work a desk job, but exercise at least 3 times a week (plus working a cleaning job in the evenings for 3 days a week and currently on 30DS!)
Thanks a million!

Replies

  • childofbodom123
    childofbodom123 Posts: 175 Member
    Hi there.

    Since you have all your stats all you need to know is calories.

    1 pound = 3,500 calories, so 2 pounds = 7,000.

    This means your daily calorie goal should be 1,000 calories under your "maintain weight" So that would be 1,302 calories per day to lose 2 pounds per week.

    What is your weight loss goal? If it is under 50 pounds I would recommend losing 1 pound per week as this will be a gradual weight loss and keeping the weight off will be much easier.

    Hope this helps :smile:
  • wwww1199
    wwww1199 Posts: 228 Member
    Where do you go to figure all those #'s?
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    Here is a guide for setting weekly weight loss goals:

    If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal, and
    If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal.

    This would show that you goal should be to lose around 1.5lbs/week for a few more pounds then change to 1.0lbs/week. At 1 lb/week your goal will be pretty close to your BMR (which is a safe number to lose eat and lose weight slowly).
  • Colbyandsage
    Colbyandsage Posts: 751 Member
    I agree that 2 lbs may be too much to expect in a week. I have noticed that my MFP friends that don't eat enough get frustrated then they quit MFP all together. :(

    If you do stick to the 1,302, remember that is net. So if u don't have a HRM, eat some if not half of your exercise calories. It really took me a good 3 to 4 wks to figure out what worked for me. Remember we are all human and our bodies are all different.
  • rdchick
    rdchick Posts: 49 Member
    Hi

    Thanks guys! It is incredibly confusing as like you say everyone is different! I want to lose 43lbs to get down to 145lbs. So maybe I should aim for 1.5lbs instead of 2lbs?

    I got the numbers from http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/

    So a good 1300 would be better than 1200 yah?

    Argh! I wish you could just press a button on your body to tell you how many calories you should aim for! lol! Thanks again guysxxx
  • canroadrunner
    canroadrunner Posts: 203 Member
    If your BMR is 1600, eating 1300 is eating less than you need to actually run your body if you didn't get out of bed in the morning.

    At least net your BMR to avoid problems down the road.
  • childofbodom123
    childofbodom123 Posts: 175 Member
    Hi

    Thanks guys! It is incredibly confusing as like you say everyone is different! I want to lose 43lbs to get down to 145lbs. So maybe I should aim for 1.5lbs instead of 2lbs?

    I got the numbers from http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/

    So a good 1300 would be better than 1200 yah?

    Argh! I wish you could just press a button on your body to tell you how many calories you should aim for! lol! Thanks again guysxxx

    1,200 is below your requirement. BMR is what you need to eat each day if you just lay in bed. TDEE is your daily activity on top of your BMR, you are quite active. So to maintain your weight at your current stats you should eat 2,302 and any extra from exercise.

    However you want to lose 2 pounds, so you need to eat 1,000 calories less than that, 1,302 but also any extra from exercise! 1,200 is too few and you are too active to eat 1,200. I would really recommend losing 1 or 1.5 pounds per week, but if you comfortable losing 2 then that is all that matters! But try and stick to 1,302 calories and always eat your extra from exercise!
  • rdchick
    rdchick Posts: 49 Member
    Ok so 1302 is my new daily amount to lose 2lb a week, sound about right? but I can go up to 1800 to lose 1lb a week?

    thanks guys! xxx
  • ladyraven68
    ladyraven68 Posts: 2,003 Member
    Ok so 1302 is my new daily amount to lose 2lb a week, sound about right? but I can go up to 1800 to lose 1lb a week?

    thanks guys! xxx

    What did fat2fit tell you were the calories for the 145lb person you want to become?

    Bear in mind they include exercise, so there may not be much difference to eating their numbers everyday and not eating back exercise cals, and eating the 1300 plus exercise cals.
  • rdchick
    rdchick Posts: 49 Member
    The bit where it says if you eat like the person you want to be?! Says I should eat 2639!!
  • canroadrunner
    canroadrunner Posts: 203 Member
    You should not eat below your BMR. You will lose lean muscle instead of fat. If you eat between your TDEE and your BMR you will lose weight. It may be slower than you like but you will be healthy.
  • rdchick
    rdchick Posts: 49 Member
    Ok so aim to be above 1600 eeep! struggling to fill the 1440 MFP gave me when I changed my activity level!
  • bridgie101
    bridgie101 Posts: 817 Member
    Ok so aim to be above 1600 eeep! struggling to fill the 1440 MFP gave me when I changed my activity level!

    You'll go mad with all the conflicting advice.

    The argument is that if you go below your base metabolic rate you will lose fat/muscle in a ratio of 1:1 - which is an old fashioned idea predating the existence of protein bars and gyms. They argue if you stay above it you lose fat/muscle in a ratio of 3:1

    Just do what you like. If you want to try 1400 cals do that. It won't kill you. I've got a daily rate of about 1500 which I like - I can go below it when i like, I can go above it without feeling bad, but it's not too much of a struggle to achieve.

    I was on 1200 a while and ended up unable to continue. I was too hungry or something.
  • mousepaws22
    mousepaws22 Posts: 380 Member
    You should not eat below your BMR. You will lose lean muscle instead of fat. If you eat between your TDEE and your BMR you will lose weight. It may be slower than you like but you will be healthy.

    I've seen this a couple of times but according to MFP by BMR is 1,468 ( I can't find on here what they have worked out my TDEE to be) and I said I wanted to lose 1 pound a week so it's set me to 1330 calories a day. Why does MFP set your calories lower than your BMR if you shouldn't eat less than that? I have my lifestyle set at sedentary and I eat my exercise calories back (although I don't do much exercise). I have 50 pounds to lose.
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