I defy anyone to show me....

Bartman67
Bartman67 Posts: 13
edited December 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
where exactly on this site, OTHER THAN in a forum post that says you need to net your BMR. Let me explain....

According to the BMR calculator under tools (which I assume is the same formula they use to set up your profile). My BMR IS 2165. I am a Male, 45 years old, 5 ft. 10 in and 280.8 lbs. For my profile, I entered Sedentary (desk job), so the activity multiplier for TDEE is 1.25 (i am actually not positive which multiplier they use, but this comes the closest to make my point, i have seen anywhere from 1.2 to 1.3 for sedentary so this is the median) which puts my TDEE at 2706. I want to lose 2 pounds per week. To do that you need to have a 1000 calorie deficit per day. That would mean that my calorie goal daily would be 1706. MFP has me at 1730, so close enough for me. Now, tell me, how the hell am I supposed to NET my BMR and still have a 1000 calorie deficit in a day. I need to NET 1730, not my BMR.

If I eat 1730 and exercise for 400 calories, I can eat 2130. I am not going to eat another 500 calories to net my BMR, that is sabotaging myself by half.

By the way, doing it my way has me losing 2 lbs. per week. Imagine that...

Replies

  • dinosnopro
    dinosnopro Posts: 2,177 Member
    When you launch your web site and mobile app, be sure to come back and let us all know.:drinker:
  • Trail_Addict
    Trail_Addict Posts: 1,340 Member
    So you're saying that the formula is failing thousands of other people on here who are successfully losing weight? I'm confused now. :ohwell:
  • Jacwhite22
    Jacwhite22 Posts: 7,010 Member
    You aren't. You're supposed to adjust the rate you want to lose.....Why is 2lb / week so critical?
    where exactly on this site, OTHER THAN in a forum post that says you need to net your BMR. Let me explain....

    According to the BMR calculator under tools (which I assume is the same formula they use to set up your profile). My BMR IS 2165. I am a Male, 45 years old, 5 ft. 10 in and 280.8 lbs. For my profile, I entered Sedentary (desk job), so the activity multiplier for TDEE is 1.25 (i am actually not positive which multiplier they use, but this comes the closest to make my point, i have seen anywhere from 1.2 to 1.3 for sedentary so this is the median) which puts my TDEE at 2706. I want to lose 2 pounds per week. To do that you need to have a 1000 calorie deficit per day. That would mean that my calorie goal daily would be 1706. MFP has me at 1730, so close enough for me. Now, tell me, how the hell am I supposed to NET my BMR and still have a 1000 calorie deficit in a day. I need to NET 1730, not my BMR.



    If I eat 1730 and exercise for 400 calories, I can eat 2130. I am not going to eat another 500 calories to net my BMR, that is sabotaging myself by half.

    By the way, doing it my way has me losing 2 lbs. per week. Imagine that...
  • LUCYRENEE
    LUCYRENEE Posts: 23 Member
    what are you so angry about?? need more calories??
  • Jorra
    Jorra Posts: 3,338 Member
    As someone who has a lot of weight to lose (no offense) you can afford a bigger deficit than most. If I had a 1000 calorie deficit, I would be doing some serious damage. If you want to keep doing what you're doing, fine. Do it until it stops working and then try something else. That's how this works.
  • theartichoke
    theartichoke Posts: 816 Member
    You should do what works best for you. Please keep in mind that if you ever hit a plateau, the answer is more calories, not less.
  • jsapninz
    jsapninz Posts: 909 Member
    EXACTLY.

    It's a mathematical impossiblity to lose a significant amount of weight per week when you are in/near the healthy range and not go below your BMR for the very reason you described. People will tell you "oh you should only have a 10-15% cut from your TDEE"....but for some of us this would lead to you losing like 1 lb every four weeks, which is pointless.

    You may not be in the healthy range but the same principal applies. You also have more wiggle room because your BMR is inflated due to your wieght.

    All the fear mongering that surrounds eating below your BMR is a crock of SH as far as I am concerned.

    Eat what MFP tells you to, and make sure you are including accurate cal burns from exercise (with a Heart Rate Monitor) and eating them back. You will do great!
  • LeanerBeef
    LeanerBeef Posts: 1,432 Member
    If only the MFP know-it-alls would have consulted you first......:drinker:
  • jenj1313
    jenj1313 Posts: 898 Member
    When you launch your web site and mobile app, be sure to come back and let us all know.:drinker:

    I don't think he's talking about the info that the website provides... he's talking about all the forums that say to eat your BMR in calories to lose weight.

    I'm with the original poster... if you're gonna do that, you've gotta exercise but NOT eat back the calories to create a deficit.

    HOWEVER... there is a diet plan out there called "Fat to Fit" that seems to go by this philosophy. The basic (and I'll stress basic because I have not researched it very deeply at all) premise is that if you eat the calories needed to maintain your BMR + activity level based on your GOAL weight, then you'll reach your goal weight eventually. Your exercise calories are already calculated in, so you don't eat them back as far as I can tell. This is what they calculated for me (5'6", 154 currently, goal weight of 132 lbs):

    BMR = 1461 calories

    Activity Level // Daily Calories
    Sedentary (little or no exercise, desk job) // 1639
    Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk) // 1878
    Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk) // 2117
    Very Active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk) // 2356
    Extremely Active (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.) // 2595

    So... I NOT saying I support this or even know anything about it... just that this may be one source that provides the information you're asking about. Website is fat2fitradio.com.

    I'm sure it's legit because they have podcasts and a book and everything (sarcasm).

    Jen
  • atjays
    atjays Posts: 797 Member
    I've never seen anyone on the forums tell someone to net their BMR to lose weight . Your BMR is simply what you'd burn calorie wise (rough estimate) if you did absolutely nothing all day. From that you subtract a number calories to hit the lb/week goal you want (within reason) . You're allowed to add calories to be eaten from exercise, which is also a rough estimate.

    The only reason you would eat your BMR calories is to use that as a base and then use working out to create your calorie deficit for the day. There are pros/cons to any strategy, just have to know what you're doing;
  • _Bob_
    _Bob_ Posts: 1,487 Member
    every body type loses in different ways, what has worked for you will probably work for many others but not everyone. I think the one they use here is for the average Joe. it took me a while to work out what was best for me, and I still use this tool to help.

    2 lbs a week is awesome. nice work
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    I really do not have to 'imagine that'.....your have a deficit that = 2lb, and at first you should lose 2lb on average. Anyone with a significant amount of weight to lose can actually net below their BMR for a few months and not have too big a negative impact, however, as you progress and have less weight to lose, this does become a problem.

    Also, most people do not say you will not lose weight with a significant deficit. The issue is whether it is healthy or sustainable in the long term.
  • frugalmomsrock
    frugalmomsrock Posts: 1,123
    EXACTLY.

    It's a mathematical impossiblity to lose a significant amount of weight per week when you are in/near the healthy range and not go below your BMR for the very reason you described. People will tell you "oh you should only have a 10-15% cut from your TDEE"....but for some of us this would lead to you losing like 1 lb every four weeks, which is pointless.

    You may not be in the healthy range but the same principal applies. You also have more wiggle room because your BMR is inflated due to your wieght.

    All the fear mongering that surrounds eating below your BMR is a crock of SH as far as I am concerned.

    Eat what MFP tells you to, and make sure you are including accurate cal burns from exercise (with a Heart Rate Monitor) and eating them back. You will do great!

    1 pound every four weeks is pointless and insignificant? That's 13 pounds a year. I suppose it would be just as pointless and insignificant if you were to say... put ON 1/4 pound a week for the entire year?

    That was just silly. Sorry. Couldn't help commenting on that.

    To the OP: the bigger you are, the better your body can stand a bigger deficit for a while. I ate at or near a net of 0 calories all the time when I started. It got to a point where that was not working. What worked? Eating more...
  • Captain_Tightpants
    Captain_Tightpants Posts: 2,215 Member
    TDEE - 20%.
    Eat back exercise cals.
    Readjust every 10% of bodyweight lost.
    Doesn't need to be any more complicated than that.
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
    I dont think anyone says you cant loose weight going below BRM. But what kind of weight are you loosing? Is it just fat or is it muscle and organ tissue?

    Your body NEEDS a certain amount of calories a day to function and also to do any activities you decide to do. Activities that range from getting out of bed to running a marathon. Your body will get these calories whether you eat them or not. The question then becomes where is it getting them if you are not eating them? Answer: your body.

    If your deficit is low enough the majority of these calorie deficits will come from stored fat. If it is higher it will also come from muscle and organ tissue. If it is really high your body might just take it all from muscle and organs causing serious long term harm. Can we all agree that is a bad thing? Even if it looks great on a scale?
  • IronmanPanda
    IronmanPanda Posts: 2,083 Member
    Man! Where were you like a year ago when I needed to lose 60 lbs!? I don't know how I got along without your insight!
  • woou
    woou Posts: 668 Member
    dunno, do what works for you. when people ask for advice, others will try to help out. bmr is just an average, isn't it? it's possible for some people to fall below or above it.

    let your results -- weight, health, body fat, strength, etc... tell the tale.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    Wait... Are we talking just weight loss? Or fat loss while maintaining as much muscle mass as possible?
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
    I dont think anyone says you cant loose weight going below BRM. But what kind of weight are you loosing? Is it just fat or is it muscle and organ tissue?

    Your body NEEDS a certain amount of calories a day to function and also to do any activities you decide to do. Activities that range from getting out of bed to running a marathon. Your body will get these calories whether you eat them or not. The question then becomes where is it getting them if you are not eating them? Answer: your body.

    If your deficit is low enough the majority of these calorie deficits will come from stored fat. If it is higher it will also come from muscle and organ tissue. If it is really high your body might just take it all from muscle and organs causing serious long term harm. Can we all agree that is a bad thing? Even if it looks great on a scale?

    Yup.
  • Vi0l33t
    Vi0l33t Posts: 117 Member
    I'm sorry dude, but you lost me with all that math.
  • pg1girl
    pg1girl Posts: 268 Member
    I dont think anyone says you cant loose weight going below BRM. But what kind of weight are you loosing? Is it just fat or is it muscle and organ tissue?

    Your body NEEDS a certain amount of calories a day to function and also to do any activities you decide to do. Activities that range from getting out of bed to running a marathon. Your body will get these calories whether you eat them or not. The question then becomes where is it getting them if you are not eating them? Answer: your body.

    If your deficit is low enough the majority of these calorie deficits will come from stored fat. If it is higher it will also come from muscle and organ tissue. If it is really high your body might just take it all from muscle and organs causing serious long term harm. Can we all agree that is a bad thing? Even if it looks great on a scale?

    Exactly!
  • mrsdizzyd84
    mrsdizzyd84 Posts: 422 Member
    MFP doesn't say that, and many believe that is the problem.

    MFP is a calorie tracking tool, it is not the end all and be all of weight loss and fitness. In a way, MFP sets folks up for a plateau. Now, don't get me wrong, this isn't true for every situation. MFP is actually quite capable of helping people reach their fitness goals IF THEY USE THE TOOL CORRECTLY. The thing is, you have to equip yourself with the proper knowledge to make an informed decision about what your calorie goals should be. You shouldn't just arbitrarily set your deficit at 2 pounds a week just because MFP will let you.

    If a 2 pound deficit means you have to eat well below your BMR, you shouldn't be doing it, IMHO.

    Anyway, you still have a deficit if you make sure to net your BMR. You might lose 1 pound a week instead of 2, but you'll be much happier doing it. I look at my weight loss as a marathon not a sprint. Sites like Fat 2 Fit Radio offer "dieters"* much more realistic goals and provide lots of additional information.

    * hate that word, but I can't think of a better one.
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
    So do this!

    Take TDEE and subtract 20% from it and call it a day.
    You wont have to eat back any cals.
    Just make sure you pick things up and put them down for 20 mins 3 times a week and walk every once in a while.
  • JonathonMars
    JonathonMars Posts: 358 Member
    I honestly don't care what other people decide to do. If you are cool, do you.
  • theoriginaljayne
    theoriginaljayne Posts: 559 Member
    Of course you'll lose weight by eating below your BMR. You'll probably lose quite a bit of weight, actually. But keep it up over an extended period of time, and your health will go right along with it.
  • asia_hanebach
    asia_hanebach Posts: 275 Member
    BMR assumes that you're at rest. So it's what your body would burn just functioning if you laid in bed all day. If your net calories end up at your BMR your giving your body just enough calories to function (which is why some people suggest that you don't let your net calories fall below your BMR), but you still have the calorie deficit from your regular daily activities.
  • megsmom2
    megsmom2 Posts: 2,362 Member
    Oh for heaven's sake...eat a cookie.
  • iKristine
    iKristine Posts: 288 Member
    I'm really confused on what exactly your question is.

    BMR is an abstract of what's estimated to be your metabolic rate. It's not static. Meaning that it can change given different variables. One of which variables is your bodies desire for homeostasis, inputs and expenditures another. Example: Jane has a BMR estimated to be roughly 1750. If she eats at or above 1750 (again, estimates) she will continue a PREDICTABLE metabolic rate. She can increase this through exercise if her diet supports that, she can decrease this by extended calorie restriction.

    If Jane calorie restricts to 1000. She will lose weight at first. Then, in time her body will adapt by lowering her metabolic rate. I invite you to research diet induced thermogenesis, if you need some clarification on the physiology of this process.

    The 1000 deficit is really a threshold. Depending on your body this might be higher. But what's consistent is the window narrows the closer to your ideal you get.
This discussion has been closed.