Eating at BMR

How many eat at or below their BMR, and how long have you been doing it? I see some on here say not to do this.

Replies

  • ladyraven68
    ladyraven68 Posts: 2,003 Member
    The main reson not to, is that you will create too large a defict, which can be counter-productive.

    A sedentary person has a TDEE of BMR x 1.2 ish. So deducting a sensible 20% gets you close to BMR.

    As you exercise and your TDEE increases, your TDEE - 20% is still higher than BMR.

    Most people eating below their BMR are eating at an aggressive defict, which can cause a higher portion of lean mass to be lost.
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
    The main reson not to, is that you will create too large a defict, which can be counter-productive.

    A sedentary person has a TDEE of BMR x 1.2 ish. So deducting a sensible 20% gets you close to BMR.

    As you exercise and your TDEE increases, your TDEE - 20% is still higher than BMR.

    Most people eating below their BMR are eating at an aggressive defict, which can cause a higher portion of lean mass to be lost.

    This.

    There's no way I could eat at my BMR (1338) when my TDEE (2449) is so much higher. It would create too large of a deficit and weight loss would slow or stall.

    Eating at your BMR seems to have become a new trend lately. I don't understand why people wouldn't want to eat more and still lose weight? Most people can simply subtract 20% from their TDEE and still lose weight consistently.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    How many eat at or below their BMR, and how long have you been doing it? I see some on here say not to do this.

    Just over 2 years. I have a sedentary lifestyle, so my TDEE is 20% over my BMR and just under 2000. I want a deficit of at least 500, and preferably 750 cals per day and both of these put me under my BMR.

    Most sedentary people wanting a 500 cal deficit will be below BMR without adding exercise, and smaller / lighter people may also bump into MFP's 1200 floor on calories.
  • Roadkill1959
    Roadkill1959 Posts: 7 Member
    You have eaten below your BMR for 2 years and have a 16 lb weight loss?
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    You have eaten below your BMR for 2 years and have a 16 lb weight loss?

    no, I only signed up here a couple of months back (maybe 3). Feb 23rd I was 16 pounds more than now and that was at least 8 pounds down on New Year when I started my recent regime.