Question about BMR/TDEE/Eat more, weigh less

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  • DarcieC2389
    DarcieC2389 Posts: 146
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    MFP currently has my calories set at 1200 and I am currently in month 2 of Insanity. I've lost about 11 pounds but I feel like the last couple of weeks I am just gaining and loosing the same 1-2lbs a week. I haven't gotten a HRM yet so I just guess how many calories I burn (around 200-250) per workout. I usually eat most if not all of my exercise calories back to net 1200. I just recently calculated my BMR and TDEE and they are:

    BMR: 1507 using the Harris-Benedict formula
    TDEE: 2326

    According to fat2fitradio.com I need to eat 2184cal a day for moderate exercise 3-5 day/week and 2431 for very active/hard exercise 6-7 days/week. I would consider Insanity between one of the two. I guess its just scaring me a little bit to increase my calories by almost 1000 a day as this was around how much I was eating before my weight loss journey! Does anyone have any advice or has anyone upped their calories by this much and seen success? Also, will I start to gain some before I start to loose? I only have about 20-25 lbs to my goal

    Your insanity burn is too low for such intense exercise. I have an HRM and burn about 450 for 40-45 minutes of Zumba and about 500 per hour of walking. Your insanity has to be in the range of 500 or up.
  • juicemoogan
    juicemoogan Posts: 999 Member
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    Anyone who is thinking of "eating more"
    1) Please join the group and read all the thumbtacked threads. All your questions will be answered.. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/3817-eat-more-to-weigh-less

    2) you figured out your BMR and TDEE.. now don't just pick a random "higher than before number" to eat at... Eat at your TDEE -15% and stick it out for at least a month to see how it works for you.
  • Pammi6
    Pammi6 Posts: 2
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    I'm sorry to say I have no idea what Insanity is. But as a general rule I'd say that you're not going to lose much weight if you eat the calories that you earn from exercise.
    The benefits of this MFP, for me anyway, are that I definitely moderate what I eat when I have to record everything that I put in my mouth and also that if I stick to my recommended calories and exercise 3 times a week I lose weight!
    I NEVER eat the calories I earn from exercise - it defeats the purpose of doing the exercise in the first place! The way I see it, if you eat the calories earned from exercise you've only bothered to do exercise so you can eat more which means that you are not really as focussed on weight loss as you should be.

    I'm in favour of "eat less, move more" if we all did that, these sites wouldn't be so necessary! :)
  • em9371
    em9371 Posts: 1,047 Member
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    MFP currently has my calories set at 1200 and I am currently in month 2 of Insanity. I've lost about 11 pounds but I feel like the last couple of weeks I am just gaining and loosing the same 1-2lbs a week. I haven't gotten a HRM yet so I just guess how many calories I burn (around 200-250) per workout. I usually eat most if not all of my exercise calories back to net 1200. I just recently calculated my BMR and TDEE and they are:

    BMR: 1507 using the Harris-Benedict formula
    TDEE: 2326

    According to fat2fitradio.com I need to eat 2184cal a day for moderate exercise 3-5 day/week and 2431 for very active/hard exercise 6-7 days/week. I would consider Insanity between one of the two. I guess its just scaring me a little bit to increase my calories by almost 1000 a day as this was around how much I was eating before my weight loss journey! Does anyone have any advice or has anyone upped their calories by this much and seen success? Also, will I start to gain some before I start to loose? I only have about 20-25 lbs to my goal

    The numbers on fat2fit only include a small deficit which may be under 1lb / week, which is what you should aim for with the amount you have to lose.
    Rerun your numbers with your current weight in the 'goal weight' box, this will give you your current tdee rather than one for your goal weight. Take your deficit from this (500 cals for 1lb).
    I would start with the moderate activity, if you lose more than 1lb them increase slightly more.

    You will probably gain first week of increase, then loss will start. Stick with the cals for a few weeks before adjusting.
    My friend recently increased from 700 to 1700 and only gained 1lv. I gained 0.8 from 1100 to 1650 net.
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
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    Eating more is definitely important if one is exercising frequently.

    I only work out 3 times a week for a 200 cal burn per session.
    Anabolic mode ON!
    Nutrient partitioning at its best.
    Any overflow from fats gets burned off during the morning fast.
    Leangains at its best....
  • Mompanda4
    Mompanda4 Posts: 869 Member
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    Bump
  • mikey1976
    mikey1976 Posts: 1,005 Member
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    bump for later good question
  • nikit32
    nikit32 Posts: 7 Member
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    Could someone tell me if my numbers look right please ?
    Im 33 female, 5'4" 135 pounds.
    Exercise 5 days a week about 40 min each, running and/or weights.
    Desk job 5 hours a day 5 days a week, but garden and clean and am on my feet till evening at home.
    TDEE 2141
    BMR 1382
    15% of TDEE is 1819

    At this point on mfp I have it set to lose a pound a week and thats 1280 calories a day, but then with exercise I eat back at least another 200-250 daily so im at like 1480-1530 calories a day.

    If I follow the formula thats an approximate 280 calories more a day. Should I try this? I am within about 14 pounds of my goal and I have built up good muscle but this last bit is all fat. Im afraid that I may start to stall out since I am so close.

    That would be about 3hrs weekly of time, no matter it is 5 days, so that is top of Lightly Active - so 1900.
    15% off is 1615 daily, workout or not.

    So not much more from where you are at, make the jump.

    If you increase the time of the workouts, bump up to 2000.

    Thank you for the reply!
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    I'm sorry to say I have no idea what Insanity is. But as a general rule I'd say that you're not going to lose much weight if you eat the calories that you earn from exercise.
    The benefits of this MFP, for me anyway, are that I definitely moderate what I eat when I have to record everything that I put in my mouth and also that if I stick to my recommended calories and exercise 3 times a week I lose weight!
    I NEVER eat the calories I earn from exercise - it defeats the purpose of doing the exercise in the first place! The way I see it, if you eat the calories earned from exercise you've only bothered to do exercise so you can eat more which means that you are not really as focussed on weight loss as you should be.

    I'm in favour of "eat less, move more" if we all did that, these sites wouldn't be so necessary! :)

    This just means you don't understand how MFP works differently from most other sites giving you a goal.

    Might look at the FAQ to understand. Common confusing idea by those not looking at the goal page closely enough after they entered in their stats.

    Do you recall anything about exercise in your selection of activity levels?
    Did you select a weight loss goal in that setup?
    Now go look at your Goals page and do some math to see what is going on.
  • Whissy
    Whissy Posts: 40
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    Okay im so new to this site i dont even have a profile set up! These board are beyond amazing!! I am 5'6 124lbs (dieting has got me used to american weighing) and i want to lose but i have suffered with ED in the past and so the idea of potentially gaining is enough to break me into a nervous sweat. Oh im also scared of my scales! I exercise 4-5 times per week for 70ish mins burning about 500 cals. About to start a desk job. I also have hypoglycemia whi h EATING SO LITTLE IS NOT HELPING WITH but then my ED KICKS IN and well....im a bit of a mess really, can anyone give me advice on how much i should be eating?
  • ladyraven68
    ladyraven68 Posts: 2,003 Member
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    I'm sorry to say I have no idea what Insanity is. But as a general rule I'd say that you're not going to lose much weight if you eat the calories that you earn from exercise.
    The benefits of this MFP, for me anyway, are that I definitely moderate what I eat when I have to record everything that I put in my mouth and also that if I stick to my recommended calories and exercise 3 times a week I lose weight!
    I NEVER eat the calories I earn from exercise - it defeats the purpose of doing the exercise in the first place! The way I see it, if you eat the calories earned from exercise you've only bothered to do exercise so you can eat more which means that you are not really as focussed on weight loss as you should be.

    I'm in favour of "eat less, move more" if we all did that, these sites wouldn't be so necessary! :)

    I suggest you read the stickied threads at the top of the page - they will explain to you how MFP works, and why you eat back your exercise calories, if yuo are following MFP's methods.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/6556-the-answers-to-the-questions
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
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    Okay im so new to this site i dont even have a profile set up! These board are beyond amazing!! I am 5'6 124lbs (dieting has got me used to american weighing) and i want to lose but i have suffered with ED in the past and so the idea of potentially gaining is enough to break me into a nervous sweat. Oh im also scared of my scales! I exercise 4-5 times per week for 70ish mins burning about 500 cals. About to start a desk job. I also have hypoglycemia whi h EATING SO LITTLE IS NOT HELPING WITH but then my ED KICKS IN and well....im a bit of a mess really, can anyone give me advice on how much i should be eating?

    You are a bit underweight at 5'6".
    Perfect weight at your height is about 130lbs.
    If you lift weights, hit the food hard on lifting days and eat about 2200-2500 cals that are heavy in protein and carbs.
    Protein should be about 1g per pound, fats should be about .30g per lean pound.
    Carbs make up the rest at about 55-60% of your overall cals for the day.

    On rest days eat about 1500cals with heavy protein and fats at about .70g per Lean Pound.

    PM me for details if you need help.
  • Misslisat
    Misslisat Posts: 203 Member
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    [/quote]
    Yes. You can either set up your goal to be your Goal Weight TDEE at sedentary, the add and eat your exercise calories. But if you exercise regularly its just better to not worry about eating back calories. I still log my lifting, I just put that it burned 1 calorie.
    I was thinking of setting my goal to 1860 but if i do that do you think I should eat my calories back?
    [/quote]

    This is exactly what I've started doing this weekend. Previously, I was netting 1200 calories, but burning 600-800 per day. My body lost weight at first, but then I stalled out. Someone here mentioned setting the goals like you mentioned above. I've put my calories at 1700 and still log exercise, but enter the calorie count at 1. This way I know exactly how many calories I'm actually consuming. I was also told not to exercise so much. He said try about 3 times per week, burning no more than 400 calories. And if I need to do more, take a walk or a leisurely bike ride. I'm going to try this for a month and see where it puts me.
  • YoYo1951
    YoYo1951 Posts: 370
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    bump for gong back and digesting all of this information
  • AmyLRed
    AmyLRed Posts: 894 Member
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    HEY Hey!
    I'm to tired to comment tonight but awesome work flying this flag!

    BTW Watboy contacted me today.
    Dropped from 25% BF down to 19% in 6weeks on my numbers.
    Awesome stuff happens when you realize it isn't just calories in vs calories out but hormones up vs hormones down!
    =D

    HelloitsDan- I've seen your name around a bit!

    Can you clarify what you mean by "hormones in, hormones out"? You lost me on that one.

    I am 32, female, 5'1"
    I started out (in November) eating MFP's standard short woman calorie goal of 1200. Yeah, great, had some success for awhile. Short plateau in February or so, and upped to 1400 cals.

    Now i am fluctuating in a 6lb range since early April. I increased my calories in May, but i could still really use some help. I am not sure if i am eating too much for me or not enough.

    Current weight is 146-150lbs. Goal weight is who knows what, but on the fat2fit site, i entered 120lbs.

    Fat2Fit gives me a BMR of 1362-1449, depending on method used.

    For lightly active, i should eat 1825, moderate 2057

    My workouts are now 1.5 hours Tuesday (bootcamp/crossfit) and 1 hour on Thursday (Strength or cardio kickboxing class) 45 min Friday (bootcamp) and 30min-60min on Saturday (jog/walk) That is fairly consistent. My HRM seems to give me slightly lower cal burns than others think i should be getting for my workouts, i hit over 400 for Tuesday but otherwise it is more in the 300-350 range and 170 or so for strength class.

    Can anyone help me out? I am so ready to bust through this plateau. I dont eat super clean, but i aim for 90grams of protein a day and try to make wise choices. I have not been logging consistently on weekends lately.

    Thanks.

    Edited to add: my daily cal goal was set at 1800 and i recently dropped it down to 1680 for fear that i was eating too much. Yes, 1680 is basically a number i pulled out of the sky, thus why i need some guidance:)
  • Whissy
    Whissy Posts: 40
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    Okay im so new to this site i dont even have a profile set up! These board are beyond amazing!! I am 5'6 124lbs (dieting has got me used to american weighing) and i want to lose but i have suffered with ED in the past and so the idea of potentially gaining is enough to break me into a nervous sweat. Oh im also scared of my scales! I exercise 4-5 times per week for 70ish mins burning about 500 cals. About to start a desk job. I also have hypoglycemia whi h EATING SO LITTLE IS NOT HELPING WITH but then my ED KICKS IN and well....im a bit of a mess really, can anyone give me advice on how much i should be eating?

    You are a bit underweight at 5'6".
    Perfect weight at your height is about 130lbs.
    If you lift weights, hit the food hard on lifting days and eat about 2200-2500 cals that are heavy in protein and carbs.
    Protein should be about 1g per pound, fats should be about .30g per lean pound.
    Carbs make up the rest at about 55-60% of your overall cals for the day.

    On rest days eat about 1500cals with heavy protein and fats at about .70g per Lean Pound.

    PM me for details if you need help.



    Ah thank you!!! I dont lift as i have puny arms but i am aiming to get into bodypump at my gym, im not a fan of Les Mills but i loved body pumping the other day! I am a cardio freak, treadmill, ski-skatr, elliptical etc, would that workout day cal intake be the same regardless of HOW the calories are burned? I eat fairly clean in terms of meals, eggs, fish, chicken, veg etc but i snack DIRTY
  • TripleJ3
    TripleJ3 Posts: 945 Member
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    I just wanted to chime in and also suggest http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/3834-eat-more-to-weigh-less.

    Tons of stickies and videos to answer your questions plus a group of very helpful encouraging people!
  • RushBabe214
    RushBabe214 Posts: 469 Member
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    bump
  • Whissy
    Whissy Posts: 40
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    I use an app called DB tracker, eaten 1410 cals and burned 564.....is that where im going wrong?! This is beyond confusing to me i thought eat less, move more was the simple math!
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    I use an app called DB tracker, eaten 1410 cals and burned 564.....is that where im going wrong?! This is beyond confusing to me i thought eat less, move more was the simple math!

    Move more is easy, more than you did previously.

    But eat less than what? What you did previously? Very few ever take the time to log exactly what they used to eat before deciding to make changes.
    If they did it would be simple - I ate 3000 calories and never seem to gain nor lose.
    There's your TDEE, now eat 2000 and lose 1lb a week.
    But start exercising, you are causing the same thing with bigger deficit.
    So ok, eat 2500 and move more. 500 calorie burn daily avg more.

    Still deficit of 1000 from a known level.

    You've big an estimated figure based on who knows what, possibly having a huge deficit, and an additional big deficit from moving more.
    If big deficits aren't bad, just don't eat until you've lost all the weight.