General Confusion!

I would say stick to what MFP has set you at, it seems reasonable. You shouldnt eat below your BMR and eating 10-20% less than your TDEE is a good starting point.

I also think if your BMR is 1700 your TDEE will be much higher than 2000, unless you do absolutely no exercise/walking/cleaning each day.
Maybe have a look at www.fat2fitradio.com/tools to work out your BMR and it will give you an idea for how many calories you should eat depending on your exercise/activity level.

Some people like to average out their exercise cals through the week and eat a little more each day, I like to eat my BMR and any exercise cals I burn that day which is the way MFP suggests.

Just try out a few different numbers, stick with each for 3/4weeks before writing them off and see how you go. Its trial and error until you find the number that works for you :-) Good luck xx

I am confused too, and would appreciate advice. The more I read about BMR's and TDEE's the more confused I get. Please could someone sort me out!

The facts are -

Female
Age -51
SW - 231lbs
MFP = daily calories - 1310
Exercise about 350-400 calories 3-4 times a week
According to Scooby - BMR -1697, TDEE - 2631, TDEE(-15%)-2236

So, I have all the figures but I don't know what to do with them!

What I want to know is -

1. How much do I eat on exercise days

2. How much do I eat on non-exercise days.

Thanks

At least im not the only one confused. I dont even know what my BMR or TDEE is!?

See this is what I don't understand. Everyone says you shouldnt eat below your BMR... but MFP has my calorie goal set at BELOW my BMR.

Websites tell me that my BMR is 1773.9.calories a day... yet MFP has me set at 1690 calories a day. If I shouldnt be eating below my BMR then why does MFP set me to that? and thats for a 1lb loss a week.

My BMR is 1655 and MFP has set my calories to 1200!! thats 400 cals less then my BMR and probably an explanation as to why im not really loosing much!! Im going to try eating a bit more than my BMR for 2 weeks and see how it goes!

Okay, I'll give this a go......

To work out your BMR, the calculation is:
655 + (4.3 × weight in pounds) + (4.7 × height in inches) − (4.7 × age in years) - This is for a female.

66 + (6.3 × body weight in pounds) + (12.9 × height in inches) − (6.8 × age in years)

Your BMR is what you use when you do absolutely NO ACTIVITY AT ALL. Basically, this is what you would use if you didn't get up out of bed.

For me, my BMR is 1482. So if I just woke up and sat on the couch all day, I would use 1482 calories to stay alive.

Obviously, we do not just wake up and do nothing all day. We go to work, we walk around we play etc. Depending on our day to day activity, we select the next number:

a. Sedentary Physical Activity Level
Do you have a desk job or do some other kind of work that keeps you in your chair for most of the day? If the answer is yes, your score is 1.1.

b. Light Physical Activity Level
Are you on your feet and walking around for at least half the day? Stay-at-home moms, salespeople, and doctors fall into this category. If this is you, your score is 1.2.

c. Moderate Physical Activity Level
If you're on the move pretty much all day, with a few limited periods of being sedentary, this is the level for you. People in this category include gardeners, carpenters, and mail carriers. If you're in this category, your score is 1.3.

d. High Physical Activity Level
Does your job require being constantly on the move, and does it entail significant amounts of manual labor? Construction workers, farm workers, and movers are among those who land in this category. If you're in this group, your score is 1.4.

For me, I have a Sedentary Physical Activity Level. I take this number and I multiply it to my BMR.
1482 * 1.1 = 1630
Now multiply this by 7 and you have your weekly calorie allowance to maintain the weight you currently are.
1630 * 7 = 11410

Everyone here has mentioned they are physically active, which means you have another number to factor in to work out your AMR (Active metabolic rate). This is your excercise expenditure.

I do on average 300 calories a day when I go to the gym 5 days a week. Multiply this and you have your weekly expenditure.
300 * 5 = 1500

Now, add it all together
11410 + 1500 = 12910

Take this number and divide it by 7.
12910 / 7 = 1844
This gives me my daily eating allowance. If I ate 1844 calories per day I would maintain my current weight. So, in order to lose a 1lbs a week, I minus 500 calories per day.
1844 - 500 = 1344 calories per day.

1344 is now my magic number and has taken into consideration my BMR, my activity level and my exercise expenditure level.

MrsBunnyBaby...I just printed off your reply. You did a wonderful job of explaining.