Is it bad to eat below your BMR?

underthecherrytree
underthecherrytree Posts: 532 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
My BMR is 1917 but I am eating 1800 calories, actually most days I am eating about 1300-1500 calories. Is it bad to eat under your BMR or will this help with weight loss?

Replies

  • underthecherrytree
    underthecherrytree Posts: 532 Member
    Anyone?
  • osualex
    osualex Posts: 409 Member
    I'm not an expert, but I think it depends on how much you have to lose. If you have a lot to lose, your BMR will be fairly high and it may be difficult to meet that. I've heard don't go any lower than under 30% of your BMR though. For what it's worth, my BMR is about 1500 and I eat between 1500-1700 every day.
  • cmccorma
    cmccorma Posts: 203 Member
    Search the topic "BMR" and you will find many, many posts about this.
  • ladyraven68
    ladyraven68 Posts: 2,003 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/512956-tdee-what-is-it-and-why-you-should-not-eat-below-your-bmr?
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,985 Member
    If you're not exercising, then no. If you are exercising and burning 500 calories per workout and have an active job, then yes.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • SSNok
    SSNok Posts: 12 Member
    GO NINERS!!!
  • rambrose77
    rambrose77 Posts: 3
    It isn't bad unless you do it all the time. Like exercise you have to keep the body guessing. Changing routines and challenging yourself to sometimes taking a day off. Same with diet. Having a restrictive diet below the BMR (especially by reducing carbs and more so sugar) is a good way to lose weight. But you cannot do that forever. Everyone's body reacts differently. If you can go 4-7 days without feeling drained, do so. If you can go 2 weeks before you start feeling like you cannot get through a typical exercise day, that's fine. When you need to, have a replenishment day. Still avoid too many sugars but get (an estimate) 0.5 times more carbs than the normal that you're used to. It all depends on what you're used too, and the more active you are, the more you need. How long since you determined a BMR? that changes over time. it reduces with weight loss but incereases with muscular gains. Vary your total calories by a couple hundered a couple days a week from the normal and also vary the sources. One day you might go over the fat count that MFP gives but under on the carbs. Another day go higher on the carbs but under on the fat. Keeps the body metabolism up.

Categories