why is mfp recommending I eat only just above BMR? Starving!

purdieang
purdieang Posts: 43
edited December 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all,
Quick question,
5'5, 31 yr, FM, CW71.5, GW60, Mod Active, 6x30min w/o perweek

My BMR is 1478, mfp has my calorie goal as 1440 - I lost 19lb quite fast (8 weeks), but my muscles are really sore every day and my mind feels really healthy from choosing the right foods, my body feels really lethargic. I chase after 3 kids all day long (4, 3 and 7 months) so am not exactly sedentary, I at least stand for probably 75% of the day. My workouts are high intensity running/spinning/elliptical.

I have been researching the eat more to weigh less threads and its made me wonder why my calorie goals are so close to "coma calories!" lol

(Diary is open for the first time eek! you ignore the last week, I have been on a real bender trying to recover some energy, then just went nuts)

Replies

  • MouseFood
    MouseFood Posts: 169 Member
    1478 seem sreally low ... I always estimated mine around 1600 (and I'm the same height as you and about the same age.)
    But I noticed that MFP estimates it a lot higher. They think I burn 1900 when I don't do any exercise. I know for a fact that's not true ... I lost a ton of weight about 5 years ago and it was pretty clear I was within the 1600-1700 burn range when I did nothing.

    You might want to compare your BMI on several dif web sites if you haven't already. that's how I came up with my average. :)

    I also tend to try to stay 100-200 lower than the 1440 goal MFP gives me. You can even manually change the goal if you want, but I haven't done it yet.
  • MouseFood
    MouseFood Posts: 169 Member
    Sorry, I mean BMR not BMI.
    So many terms :)
  • Timkoetta
    Timkoetta Posts: 70 Member
    Listen to your body. MFP doesn't know what kind of workouts you are doing and it is just an estimate. Increase to 1600 and see how your body responds.

    Good luck to you. :flowerforyou:
  • moe0303
    moe0303 Posts: 934 Member
    Are you adding your exercises back into MFP? If you are, then your calorie alottment should increase. You should also change your activity level to what actually suits you. That will gain you about 100 calories or so.

    Edit: Also, MFP doesn't factor exercise into the base. When it talks about activity level, it means your everyday life (ie, chasing kids around, standing, etc.)
  • 1a1a
    1a1a Posts: 761 Member
    Yep, listen to your body, i'm typically sedentary but was always hungry, had to select very active to get a good calorie allowance. 5 foot 1 now maintaining on 1800
  • 714rah714
    714rah714 Posts: 759 Member
    Whats with all the quick added calories?
  • IronPlayground
    IronPlayground Posts: 1,594 Member
    I've calculated you BMR and TDEE on another site. BMR = 1431 and TDEE = 2218. If you were trying to maintain current weight, you would eat at your TDEE.

    To lose, roughly, one pound per week, you could eat at 1550. To lose .5 pound per week, you could eat around 1775. Which you choose is up to you. You could try one for a month and see what kind of results you get.
  • nmullins81
    nmullins81 Posts: 35 Member
    Ok, I went here http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/ and figured my BMR which came out around 1489. Then it says to multiply by different #'s for sedentary, lightly active, moderately active, so on and so forth (I went with lightly active- I work in retail and am on my feet all day at work and walking helping customers). So I did 1489x1.375=2047.375. That means that I would need 2047 calories to maintain my current weight. To lose 1#/week I need to cut out 3500 cal/week or 500 cal/day which puts me in at 1500 cal/day. MFP actually sets me at 1400 cal/day and I haven't been hungry when I make good food choices. I looked over your diary and with the Quick Add Calories, I can't say much about it. I know for me that when I eat foods higher in protein I am far more satisfied than eating empty calories.
  • purdieang
    purdieang Posts: 43
    Whats with all the quick added calories?

    thanks for your replies, the quick added calories are when I go nuts and stuff my face with so much food I cant be bothered tracking it. I just add a crazy amount so I can feel accountable and see it on my graphs clearly that I have binged. If you go back a couple of weeks you will see that I eat all fruit, vegetables, grainy bread, pasta etc, and by the end of the week my whole body hurts and just wants to sit. From your replies I see that others are quite comfortable on 1550 - thats only a large apple more than what I eat - surely I am ok? I am usually a carb and junk food addict and eat a lot - i should be a lot bigger than what i am, wish I could afford one of those fitbit things to see what I burn in a day!

    now to try and stop eating junk and get back on the wagon after a 4 day "i'm not doing it anymore" tantrum!
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