TDEE and BMR

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priyac1987
priyac1987 Posts: 115 Member
in Motivation and Support
Hi guys,

I have been on my fitness pal for a while, and i generally stick to my 1200, sometimes can be a little lower or a little higher, but I just do not seem to be loosing much weight. I exercise regularly and eat heatlhy and now after reading some posts about TDEE and BMR i think this has something to do with it, but everytime i read it I JUST DONT GET IT! could someone please help me out so i can figure out how much im meant to be eating, and please put it in simple terms, because i really dont get some of the technical gargon floating around! lol

Thanks! :)

Replies

  • bathsheba_c
    bathsheba_c Posts: 1,873 Member
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    BMR: How many calories your body needs each day to stay alive.
    TDEE: How many calories your body uses each day, including every day activities and exercise.

    In order to lose weight, you need to eat less than your TDEE (i.e. calories in versus calories out). A target of 500 calories below TDEE corresponds to a 1 lb per week loss. However, you ought to eat MORE than your BMR because a) it is healthier, and b) your body will respond to eating below BMR by slowing down your metabolism, which makes weight loss harder.

    What MFP does is calculate TDEE, and then subtract out the exercise calories. This makes sense since people's exercise habits are usually changing when they are trying to get healthier. When you log your exercise, MFP then adds those calories to your daily total in order to keep your weight loss fairly constant.

    If you think you may not be eating enough, check out a group on here called Eat More to Weigh Less.
  • spaingirl2011
    spaingirl2011 Posts: 763 Member
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    Okay: In a nutshell:

    BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate): the base amount of calories you would need to sustain life and cell function if you were in, say, a coma.

    TDEE: Total Daily Energy Expenditure: What you actually burn during daily activity including exercise.

    Some people (myself included) believe that if you go below your BMR, you're eating far too little--nowhere near enough to sustain workout (especially if your BMR would be just enough to sustain you in a coma) and daily living. In some cases (not all), it can cause your body to not lose weight because your body doesn't trust you to feed it. Not necessarily starvation mode, but simply, why would your body lose weight if you're not feeding it enough to make you active?

    Lots of people on this site do just fine on 1200-1300 calories a day. I don't know how, but it works for them.

    Come visit the group Eat More to Weigh Less for more information.
  • girl_afraid82
    girl_afraid82 Posts: 178 Member
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    This is a good site for calculating

    http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/
  • priyac1987
    priyac1987 Posts: 115 Member
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    ok so i think i have totally misjudged something, when working out my TDEE, i always put down no exercise because i have a desk job, but i do try and do zumba 3 times a week, so should i be putting lightly active instead of no exercise and will this effect my weight loss?!
  • herownkindofwonderfull
    herownkindofwonderfull Posts: 307 Member
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    ok so i think i have totally misjudged something, when working out my TDEE, i always put down no exercise because i have a desk job, but i do try and do zumba 3 times a week, so should i be putting lightly active instead of no exercise and will this effect my weight loss?!

    light to moderate, yes. probably more along the lines of moderate. also take account walks, or any other exercise.
  • priyac1987
    priyac1987 Posts: 115 Member
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    I have just worked out that my TDEE with little exercise (1-3 times a week) is 2276 and my TDEE with no exercise is 1986.
    My BMR is 1655 so ideally i need to be eating between these numbers.

    But my MFP is telling me i should be eating 1200 which is waaay below my BMR?
  • chelll224
    chelll224 Posts: 52 Member
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    I think it puts 1200 for everyone who puts 2lb loss per week as their goal. Ignore that number, use the one you calculated. You can customize your goals yourself so your numbers are more accurate. I did the exact same thing when I started here, mfp told me 1200 so that's what I was doing, I upped it after finding out my bmr.
  • josephinabonetto
    josephinabonetto Posts: 253 Member
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    An FYI some people call BMR, RMR (Resting Metabolic Rate). I think they are the same thing, but I may be wrong.

    I second trying the Eat More to Weigh Less group if you wish to experiment eating above the 1200 calorie mark. I have links in my profile.
  • herownkindofwonderfull
    herownkindofwonderfull Posts: 307 Member
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    I have just worked out that my TDEE with little exercise (1-3 times a week) is 2276 and my TDEE with no exercise is 1986.
    My BMR is 1655 so ideally i need to be eating between these numbers.

    But my MFP is telling me i should be eating 1200 which is waaay below my BMR?

    MFP isn't calculated to your PERSONAL fitness needs. That is the lowest rate that any female should eat... however, it is not everyone's BMR. We are all different.
  • priyac1987
    priyac1987 Posts: 115 Member
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    Thanks guys im gna try uping my intake which is going to be kinda hard because im so used to eating 1200!!
  • jumadey
    jumadey Posts: 60 Member
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    I have just worked out that my TDEE with little exercise (1-3 times a week) is 2276 and my TDEE with no exercise is 1986.
    My BMR is 1655 so ideally i need to be eating between these numbers.

    But my MFP is telling me i should be eating 1200 which is waaay below my BMR?

    Your post is very timely! I was just reading about TDEE and BMR on the board yesterday and getting mighty confused but I think I got the gist of it now! Our numbers are very similar:

    My TDEE with little exercise with little exercise (1-3 times a week) is 2307 and my TDEE with none is 2013.
    My BMR is 1678

    MFP had sent my daily allowance to 1300, which I've been doing for the last week, but taking in account what I've read I've now readjusted my daily allowance to 1700...hopefully that should be enough!

    hmmm on second thoughts maybe I should up it 1800...?!
  • priyac1987
    priyac1987 Posts: 115 Member
    Options
    I have just worked out that my TDEE with little exercise (1-3 times a week) is 2276 and my TDEE with no exercise is 1986.
    My BMR is 1655 so ideally i need to be eating between these numbers.

    But my MFP is telling me i should be eating 1200 which is waaay below my BMR?

    Your post is very timely! I was just reading about TDEE and BMR on the board yesterday and getting mighty confused but I think I got the gist of it now! Our numbers are very similar:

    My TDEE with little exercise with little exercise (1-3 times a week) is 2307 and my TDEE with none is 2013.
    My BMR is 1678

    MFP had sent my daily allowance to 1300, which I've been doing for the last week, but taking in account what I've read I've now readjusted my daily allowance to 1700...hopefully that should be enough!

    hmmm on second thoughts maybe I should up it 1800...?!

    Yeh sometimes i get home so late im too knackered to work out, so for the time being im going to stick to consuming 1700 cals which is still below both of my TDEE and slightly above my BMR, when I changed my goal to loosing 1lb a week it went up to 1650, which is still 5 below my BMR so i guess its safe to say i should be ok with 1700, and it actually makes sense because this week i havnt been too well and ive been eating more and not exercising and i lost the 2lbs i put on last week eating less and doing zumba everyday!!

    Funny how it takes an incredible amount of work to lose weight but to put it on i just have to look at a cake.

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