Here's why you're not losing weight! Follow this equation!

123578

Replies

  • SPNLuver83
    SPNLuver83 Posts: 2,050 Member
    This is interesting, however my bmr is 1384, now times lightly active = 1904.375. So If I want to lose 1lb a week, i should eat 1404 calories, or for 2lb a week, 904 calories. I currently eat 1,200 - 1,400 per day plus most of my exercise cals and have not lost any weight at all in over a month (aiming for 1/2 - 1lb per week). If i wanted to lose more, the 904 would be way below the minimum level most people say is ok which is 1,200, so how do i win?

    It also says that a goal of 2 lbs per week with ppl who don't have much to loose would too much of a deficit... maybe you are one of those who need to not focus on weight loss per the scale but rather replacing the fat with muscle?
  • aray1107
    aray1107 Posts: 75
    bump.
  • tinamina78
    tinamina78 Posts: 241 Member
    Does this mean that there is no way that I can lose 2 pounds each week? My calories to lose 1 pound a week is 1200ish, so I can't drop that down any lower in a safe way to drop 2 pounds a week...or can I?? HELP, ANYONE!! :)

    It's not impossible, but the point of eating above or at your BMR is to keep your body fueled properly and avoid slowing down your metabolism. You can starve yourself and if you stick with it, you will lose weight fast, I'm sure. But once you eat normally again, you will gain weight faster than you'd believe!! (take it from me. I did the starvation, lost 30 pounds, met a guy that made me happy, started eating normally and gained my 30 pounds back in 1/2 a year!).

    What Tigersword is saying so eloquently works for a sustainable, healthy weight loss and a future of healthy living. This is also a good website with a calculator that helps explain things.

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

    Best wishes!!
  • SPNLuver83
    SPNLuver83 Posts: 2,050 Member
    @ Tinamina78.. Thanks.. Sometimes I exercise sometimes I don't. I am a single mom of 3 teenagers and have 2 grandbabies so my evenings are taken. I do try and take the stroller and walk fo 30 mins but it doesn't happen often. I will really try to start getting closer to my cal. Thanks for the advice

    wtf? YOU are a mother of 3 teenagers and have grandbabies???????? You look SO YOUNG in your profile pic, I thought you were younger than me, and I'm 28. DAMN!
  • athensguy
    athensguy Posts: 550
    A lot of people seem to be posting that you should not eat below your BMR. They provide no real source for this information. I see no reason that your BMR even matters except as part of the equation for TDEE. A calorie burned for BMR is no different than a calorie burned for Exercise Associated Thermogenesis or the other components. TDEE=EAT+NEAT+BMR+EPOC+DIT
  • MoooveOverFluffy
    MoooveOverFluffy Posts: 398 Member
    OK MFP has me confused.... I got the part were you should not eat below your BMR.... mine calculated here and on fat2fit and averaged for the 3 different equations should be : 2454 cals per day.
    my TDEE factor is 1.2 as I am mostly sitting at a desk during the day so : 2944.8 I have/want to lose about 100 lbs so I figured 2lbs a week was a good rate to start.... hence 1000 cals deficit..... 1944.8 cal (close to MFP recommendation).... with eating back most calories from exercise. great, so far it has worked good for me... now my concern is at 1944 cla/day, I am about 500 cals under my BMR.... so should I be concern at the moment ? What do you guys think ?

    (for the record, I drink plenty of water, I am losing weight regularly, I stay within my dietary proportions except maybe for cholesterol and sodium wich is hard to control for me at the moment.... and I exercise every day with more or less intensity, usually low impact like walking etc...)


    The more you have to lose, the bigger deficit you can afford. 2 lbs. per week should be fine. If you say it's working, and you feel good, then keep up the good work!! For the folks with only a few lbs. to lose, it's not realistic for them to set their goal for a 2lb. loss per week........
  • rsmblue
    rsmblue Posts: 353 Member
    bump
  • lind3400
    lind3400 Posts: 557 Member
    BUMP
  • Babs0077
    Babs0077 Posts: 51 Member
    ♥bump
  • ToBeSmaller
    ToBeSmaller Posts: 46
    Anyone else BMR always calculate in the fricking 1,200 range? I am STARVING at that intake and would eat my own children if they sat next to me at night...which they won't because i'm so hungry that the aggravation just radiates off me...

    I work a desk job. Weigh 154. I put in a 1 lb a week loss and get 1,260. there is no way i could stick to that amount every day. WTH am i missing? (obviously self control - but why does everyone else's BMR always seem higher?!?)
  • tinamina78
    tinamina78 Posts: 241 Member
    A lot of people seem to be posting that you should not eat below your BMR. They provide no real source for this information. I see no reason that your BMR even matters except as part of the equation for TDEE. A calorie burned for BMR is no different than a calorie burned for Exercise Associated Thermogenesis or the other components. TDEE=EAT+NEAT+BMR+EPOC+DIT

    You know, honestly, I took the advice because of the definition of BMR:

    -What is Basal Metabolic Rate?
    Your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is your "base metabolism", or simply the energy or calories you burn while you're at rest. The energy you burn while at rest is sufficient only for the function of your vital organs. (Liver, kidneys, heart, lungs, muscles, nervous system etc.)
    found on: http://www.health-stories.org/calculate-basal-metabolic-rate.html

    To me, this means that my body's VITAL (not yelling, just emphasizing) functions need to be supported with this amount of calories, minimum. I read all the info on BMR from several websites and it just made sense to me that if that's what my body needs when it's at rest (and I mean the BMR that figures NO activity, I'm not talking TDEE), then I shouldn't eat less than that amount.

    I want my vital organs and bodily functions to have the fuel they need to function properly. That's my logic.
  • CherryOnionKiss
    CherryOnionKiss Posts: 376 Member
    so basically all you need to do is eat you exercise calories back and that's it?
  • MoooveOverFluffy
    MoooveOverFluffy Posts: 398 Member
    So, recap. Use the BMR calculator, and then figure out your TDEE from there. Pick a number between them, and NET it consistently. Lose weight. Enjoy life.
    [/quote]


    ^^^^THIS....PLEASE....AND THANK YOU.... !!!
  • taylorblues
    taylorblues Posts: 49 Member
    Bump.......looks very interesting!....will catch up later.
  • CherryOnionKiss
    CherryOnionKiss Posts: 376 Member
    According to MFP's Calculation I should eat 1380 cals per day to lose 1 pound a week. But with your calculation I should eat a little more

    BMR x 1.2 (sedentary) = TDEE
    1590.5 x 1.2 = 1908.6
    1908.6 - 500 = 1408.6

    There's a 100 calories gap between this calculation and MFP automatic calculation. Which one is right ?
  • kiwinik
    kiwinik Posts: 25 Member
    bump
  • TrishaGuy
    TrishaGuy Posts: 63
    bump
  • tinamina78
    tinamina78 Posts: 241 Member
    According to MFP's Calculation I should eat 1380 cals per day to lose 1 pound a week. But with your calculation I should eat a little more

    BMR x 1.2 (sedentary) = TDEE
    1590.5 x 1.2 = 1908.6
    1908.6 - 500 = 1408.6

    There's a 100 calories gap between this calculation and MFP automatic calculation. Which one is right ?

    There is no exact "right." I think with a difference that small, you could play around with it and see what works best for you. make sure you give it a good, consistent chance, though, before deciding it's not working... your body does need time to adjust and recover. Your daily caloric needs will change as you lose weight anyway. If you reach a plateau, you can "tweak" your goal and see if it helps. You're doing great, keep it up!
  • CherryOnionKiss
    CherryOnionKiss Posts: 376 Member
    According to MFP's Calculation I should eat 1380 cals per day to lose 1 pound a week. But with your calculation I should eat a little more

    BMR x 1.2 (sedentary) = TDEE
    1590.5 x 1.2 = 1908.6
    1908.6 - 500 = 1408.6

    There's a 100 calories gap between this calculation and MFP automatic calculation. Which one is right ?
    :smooched:
    So far i've lost around 4 pounds in a month so I'm guessing this is what it supposed to be like

    There is no exact "right." I think with a difference that small, you could play around with it and see what works best for you. make sure you give it a good, consistent chance, though, before deciding it's not working... your body does need time to adjust and recover. Your daily caloric needs will change as you lose weight anyway. If you reach a plateau, you can "tweak" your goal and see if it helps. You're doing great, keep it up!
    :smooched:
    So far i've lost around 4 pounds in a month so I'm guessing this is what it supposed to be like
  • tgmshierry
    tgmshierry Posts: 83 Member
    bump!!
  • shrinkinginQualicum
    shrinkinginQualicum Posts: 131 Member
    Basic rule with any good weight loss program is that if you plateau you're metabolism has slowed and you need to make it ramp back up. It can slow because you are eating too little, or exercising too much without eating the calories back. Either way, the thing to do is increase your intake back to your maintenance calories for a few days, then drop back down. This has your body relax because it sees it's getting enough nutrition, so your metabolism increases again. Then, keep eating back any exercise calories, to keep it up. You will plateau occasionally anyway, that's normal if you are eating ess than maintenance calories. Just keep the cycle going -- eat more for a few days, then go back to your weight loss intake.
    Exercise is also almost essential to keeping your metabolism high. But if you don't eat back your calories you will stop losing weight, because again, your body will worry it's not getting enough and slow down your metabolism.
    So EAT, EAT...it's okay.
  • saintsfanatik
    saintsfanatik Posts: 68 Member
    I'm confused actually. MFP says my calorie intake goal to go with my sedentary job is 1600. I thought it was already calculating what I should eat to lose weight. If I don't eat all those calories it says I'm not eating enough.

    Can someone clarify?

    You're correct. When you first entered your weight goals, remember it asked you how much weight you wanted to gain/lose (e.g., 1/2 pound a week, 1 pound a week, etc.)? That's the deduction it makes from your BMR. So, the calorie goal that MFP automagically calculates for you is what you need to consume IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE THAT GOAL. Exercise knocks off any calories consumed. You then have a choice to (a) "eat back" those calories (yay...more food--within reason!!), or (b) "bank" that as additional weight loss (again, within reason, or bank it for a day you may go over your allotted calories in a week).
  • tinamina78
    tinamina78 Posts: 241 Member
    I got some info from a previous poster and I wanted to share because I think it's helpful. It seems to me that there are MANY ways to do this weight loss / get healthy thing and that the majority of them are just fine. It all boils down to what works best for you; It's a personal preference. I think we should all try and be more tolerant of other people's ways of trying to get it done (I'm not condoning clearly unhealthy things, of course). Anyhoo... here's what they said. Take it how you will; it broadened my horizons a little and that makes me happy :happy:

    The quote is below, anything in [ ... ] is something I added for clarification. This is opinion from another poster, not my personal opinion, and I do not know where they got the info from.

    "[in my opinion] as long as you're maintaining a healthy deficit relative to your overall TDEE that BMR doesn't really matter.

    BMR, of course, is your basal metabolic rate.

    [Each one of these acronyms is a different way to create a calorie deficit:]

    EAT = Exercise Associated Thermogenesis (what you burn through exercise)
    NEAT=Non-Exercise Associated Thermogenesis (what you burn other than exercise through movement)
    DIT=Diet Induced Thermogenesis (also called Thermic Effect of Food, TEF)
    EPOC=Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption (20-30 calories at most)

    If you are sedentary, a safe deficit may take you below BMR because EAT and EPOC might be 0 and NEAT might be very small.

    If you do exercise a lot, then it's going to move your safe deficit level above your BMR. However, I don't see that the body differentiates between calories burned in each of those processes."
  • cressievargo
    cressievargo Posts: 392 Member
    Hmmmm it's still not happening for me. My sedentary BMR of 1766, less the 500 = 1266. My calorie intake is between 1200 & 1300 per day and my carb, protein and fat ratios fall roughly in line with the pie chart recommendations. I've been using the app for 4 weeks and not lost so much as an ounce.
    Obviously, I'm going wrong somewhere but don't know where/how?
    Any suggestions
    :grumble:

    You need to eat at least your BMR
  • cressievargo
    cressievargo Posts: 392 Member
    Hello all!

    I am fairly new to MFP (20 days in) but my daughter has been on for almost a year. We were talking about how we are losing inches but not pounds so my daughter started doing some research. She found quite a few posts on what to do but this following post makes it all so clear! Looking back at my diary, I was leaving 500-800 calories per day not eaten and I was not eating back the exercise calories either. On top of that, I was not at my correct caloric intake. No wonder I was not losing the weight! So, my fellow friends in need; I want to share this golden information with you! Feel free to add me as a friend as well!! Good luck my friends! I know you can do it...I believe in YOU!! :flowerforyou:

    POSTED BY TIGERSWORD:

    BMR is the amount of calories needed to survive in a coma. Maintenance calories are BMR x activity level. Based on the BMR you gave:

    Sedentary: BMR x 1.2 = 1766 calories

    Lightly Active: BMR x 1.375 = 2024 calories

    Moderately Active: BMR x 1.55 = 2282 calories

    Vigorously Active: BMR x 1.725 = 2539 calories

    Extremely Active: BMR x 1.9 = 2797 calories

    So, based on your daily activity level, which depends mostly on your job, you would be at any of those calorie levels. Take that number, subtract 500, and that's your calorie goal. If you burn extra calories by exercising, you add those to your goal.

    Example, sedentary = 1766 maintenance. To lose a pound a week, you eat 1266 a day. If you burn 200 calories exercising that day, you eat 1466, which maintains that 500 calorie deficit. 1766+200=1966 maintenance calorie needs for that day. 1966-500=1466. That's why you eat exercise calories back, because your maintenance need increases when you exercise, and you need to account for that to ensure proper nutrition.

    The easy part of all of this, is MFP automatically does this for you, as long as you set the goals accurately.
    Edited by tigersword on Thu 03/01/12 03:28 PM


    This is my equation: EXAMPLE: 1890x1.375=2598.75BMR-500=2098.75+276(burned calories) =2374.75

    I will need to eat 2374.75 calories to loose weight. Eat what you want, just eat healthy as well! :drinker:


    To change your BMR go to: settingsupdate file/fitness programchange to whichever BMR best suits your activity level.)

    This is not entirely accurate. You shouldn't eat below your BMR. You would burn your BMR if you were in a coma...so adding any activity is an automatic deficit from that...which is why as the activity level goes up so do the baseline calories.
  • kadins_momma07
    kadins_momma07 Posts: 328 Member
    Glad you said that...Same thing going on here. I'm a little confused too.
  • cressievargo
    cressievargo Posts: 392 Member
    A lot of people seem to be posting that you should not eat below your BMR. They provide no real source for this information. I see no reason that your BMR even matters except as part of the equation for TDEE. A calorie burned for BMR is no different than a calorie burned for Exercise Associated Thermogenesis or the other components. TDEE=EAT+NEAT+BMR+EPOC+DIT

    BMR are calories you would burn IN A COMA. So if you eat below your BMR you are not giving your body enough fuel for even the most basic functions.
  • kadins_momma07
    kadins_momma07 Posts: 328 Member
    Hi everyone....I haven't been through all of the 6 or so pages of replies to this post, but I've looked at about 2 pages and am still slightly confused! The calories that MFP says I have available, should I be eating all of that or what?

    My BMR is 1,613
    My TDEE is 2,782

    Soooo, how many calories should I be eating per day? I try to exercise at least 40 minutes most days of the week. My diary is public in case anyone wants to take a look. Any help/advice is welcomed!! :) Also, are people getting the 1.2 that they are multiplying their BMR?

    Thanks.
  • billcastro123
    billcastro123 Posts: 14 Member
    Bump! Bump! Bump! It works like a champ!
  • anitasongs
    anitasongs Posts: 129 Member
    How amazing is this ! I too am eating more calories than I have ever on a Diet and I am losing and feeling satisfied. Go figure.
    Eat more and exericise more and lose weight... So eating carrots which I love is not the only way.
    An Ahhaaaa moment. Wish I had learned this 30 years ago. I can do this this time.
    Eat to lose weight and not starve myself.
    23 lbs down and 200 to go :)

    Anita
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