WHAT CALORIE DEFICIT FOR UNHEALTHY BMI?

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beep
beep Posts: 1,242 Member
I read the posts, but I'd like to see up front how much of a calorie deficit should one be going by with an unhealthy BMI say over 30? I tried the math, and know I have LOTS of body fat, so I know I can take a larger deficit. What is the lowest one should go with obese BMI?
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  • beep
    beep Posts: 1,242 Member
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    I read the posts, but I'd like to see up front how much of a calorie deficit should one be going by with an unhealthy BMI say over 30? I tried the math, and know I have LOTS of body fat, so I know I can take a larger deficit. What is the lowest one should go with obese BMI?
  • CrystalBella
    CrystalBella Posts: 848 Member
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    I only do 1000.... plus I work out at least 4 times a week for at least 30mins...

    where is banks when ya need him? lol
  • beep
    beep Posts: 1,242 Member
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    I'm reading the posts, and it's confusing to me.

    If one weighs, lets say 200 for a round number

    Female
    200 pounds
    medium frame
    5'5"
  • Chickiebabe151
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    I can't answer that but I know you never wanna be below 1200 kcals no matter how big or small you are.
  • lotusfromthemud
    lotusfromthemud Posts: 5,335 Member
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    All the research I've read says that you should never go under 1200 (sort of a random number, but standard). Why not start with 500 per day of a deficit (what this website puts you at if you try for a pound a week) and see what your loss is there. Then you can always reduce by 100 calorie increments if you're not losing.

    If you start with a larger deficit, it may be self-defeating. Everyone has a point where they're body is happy to lose weight, and where your body goes into "hoard every calorie mode" and you stop losing. (It's different for everyone.)

    I don't know that there's a standardized number, but I would say going bigger than a 500 calorie deficit should be under your doctor's supervision.
  • mkeithley
    mkeithley Posts: 399
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    Ok my friend, Check this out, these are bmi calculations for celebrities and sports people(The Rock OBESE?!?! I don't think so):

    Barry Bonds: 6'2": 228 lbs: 29
    David Boreanaz: 6'2": 218 lbs: 28
    Tom Brady: 6'4": 225 lbs: 27
    President Bush: 5'11": 191 lbs: 26
    Nic Cage: 6'1": 210 lbs: 28
    George Clooney: 5'11": 211 lbs: 29
    Tom Cruise: 5'7": 170 lbs: 26
    Matt Damon: 5'11": 187 lbs: 26
    Johnny Depp: 5'7": 190 lbs: 27
    David Duchovny: 6'0": 212 lbs: 29
    Vin Diesel: 6'2": 200 lbs: 26
    Cheryl Ford: 6'3": 215 lbs:27
    Harrison Ford: 6'1": 218 lbs: 29
    Brendan Fraser: 6'3": 234 lbs: 29
    Richard Gere: 5'11": 187 lbs: 26
    Ethan Hawke: 5'9": 172 lbs: 25
    Hugh Jackman: 6'2": 210 lbs: 27
    Lebron James: 6'8": 240 lbs: 26
    Dale Jarrett: 6'2": 200 lbs: 26
    Bobby Labonte: 5'9": 170 lbs: 25
    Nick Lachey: 5'10": 180 lbs: 26
    Karl Malone: 6'9": 259 lbs: 28
    Dr. Phil McGraw: 6'4": 240 lbs: 29
    Mark McGuire (playing weight): 6'5": 250 lbs: 30
    Donovan McNabb: 6'3": 240 lbs: 30
    Yao Ming: 7'6": 310 lbs: 27
    Brad Pitt: 6'0": 203 lbs: 28
    Keanu Reeves: 6'1": 223 lbs: 29
    Cal Ripken: 6'4": 210 lbs: 27
    Andy Rod****: 6'2": 197 lbs: 25
    Will Smith: 6'2": 210 lbs: 27
    Sammy Sosa: 6'0": 220 lbs: 30
    Denzel Washington: 6'0": 199 lbs: 27
    Bruce Willis: 6'0": 200 lbs: 29
    Billy Zane: 6'2": 210 lbs: 27
    OBESE:
    Mel Gibson 5'9": 214 pounds: 32
    Matt LeBlanc: 5'11": 218 lbs: 30
    Steve McNair: 6'2": 235 lbs: 30
    The Rock (Dwayne Johnson): 6'5": 275 lbs: 33
    Arnold Schwarzenegger: 6'2": 257 lbs: 33
    Sylvester Stallone: 5'9": 228 lbs: 34
    Mike Tyson: 5'11 ½": fighting weight between 218-235: 30-32


    The federal government defines "overweight" and "obese" using the body mass index (BMI), a simple calculation based only on height and weight. "Normal" weight is defined as a BMI between 18.5 and 24.9. "Overweight" is defined as a BMI between 25 and 29.9. "Obese" is a BMI of 30 or higher.

    Are these classifications meaningful? According to the government standard, Tom Cruise, Sylvester Stallone, and Mel Gibson are technically obese. So are sluggers Sammy Sosa and Barry Bonds, boxer Mike Tyson, quarterback Donovan McNabb, and wrestling superstar The Rock. And if politics is your thing, it turns out that California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger—a bodybuilding legend—is obese, too.

    It’s not just the official category of obesity that has been affected by numerical hocus-pocus. Thirty-five million Americans went to sleep one night in 1998 at a government-approved weight and woke up "overweight" the next morning, thanks to a change in the government’s definition. That group includes currently "overweight" celebrities like Will Smith and Pierce Brosnan, as well as NBA stars Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. It even includes George W. Bush, considered the most fit president in U.S. history. "Overweight" had previously been defined as a BMI of 27.8 for men and 27.3 for women; in 1998 it was lowered to a BMI of 25 for both genders.

    The 1998 redefinition prompted a group of researchers to criticize the new threshold in The American Journal of Public Health. They wrote:

    "Current interpretations of the revised guidelines stigmatize too many people as overweight, fail to account for sex, race/ethnicity, age, and other differences; and ignore the serious health risks associated with low weight and efforts to maintain an unrealistically lean body mass … This seeming rush to lower the standard for overweight to such a level that 55% of American adults find themselves being declared overweight or obese raises serious concerns."
    A research letter published in JAMA (the journal of the American Medical Association) reported that 97 percent of players in the National Football League are technically overweight and more than 50 percent are obese. The NFL responded by calling the BMI "bogus," since it "doesn’t consider body muscle versus fat."
  • mkeithley
    mkeithley Posts: 399
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    I read the posts, but I'd like to see up front how much of a calorie deficit should one be going by with an unhealthy BMI say over 30? I tried the math, and know I have LOTS of body fat, so I know I can take a larger deficit. What is the lowest one should go with obese BMI?
    Now I posted it b/c really bmi is not a good indicator of anything. When I did mine my "range was within a 40 lb. difference. Even if someone has more to lose, a pound is a pound is a pound. To lose 1 lb a week you need to try and create a 500 calorie a day deficit with diet and or exercise(500x7=3500, 3500= 1 pound, for a 2 lb a week loss you would double, however creating a 1000 calorie a day deficit is hard on the body and one should not go below the recommended calories, there is a link somewhere out here about the person who only ate 700 caloriesa day, don't know where it is, but I'm sure some helpful MFP'er out there does:wink:
    Lance Armstrong was considered overweight when he won I think his 6th Tour de France by the bmi calculations and he is a mean, lean muscle machine:happy:
  • fi-nz
    fi-nz Posts: 24 Member
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    I think this might be the post you're looking for:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing?page=1%23posts-19051

    It's very hard to get your head around eating more to lose weight but it does work !!
  • beep
    beep Posts: 1,242 Member
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    Oh, you're good, Girl. See, living in Missouri counts for sumpin!

    Ok, so my BMR is 1505 and my BMI is 32. So, that means that if I didn't move out of bed, I would burn about 1500 calories. If I eat 1200 that gives me a 300 calorie deficit? Is that how that works? Oh, heck. I'll figure this out yet.
  • beep
    beep Posts: 1,242 Member
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    Actually, it's much easier just to not write down what I had for dinner and forget about it :laugh:
  • lessertess
    lessertess Posts: 855 Member
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    [Now I posted it b/c really bmi is not a good indicator of anything.


    It works the other way as well. My trainer is working with a woman right now who is 5 feet 5 inches and weighs 115 pounds. When they measured her body fat she came in at an unhealthy BMI. Apparantly she has no muscle, only fat.

    Weight/height ratios are not a reliable measurement of health.
  • beep
    beep Posts: 1,242 Member
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    I think this might be the post you're looking for:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing?page=1%23posts-19051

    It's very hard to get your head around eating more to lose weight but it does work !!

    Yes, I have read that several times. But that's not my problem. Actually, it used to be my problem. I'm convinced that I have been at a starvation level every time I dieted, went into a depression and then stopped.

    I am actually losing weight, and I am following all the advice, and eating my exercise calories. I just really want to understand all those formulas that have been thrown around on here. It sounds like I should only be eating around 500 calories based on my bmi, bmr whatever, but that it would be unhealthy to go under 1200.
  • lotusfromthemud
    lotusfromthemud Posts: 5,335 Member
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    Oh, you're good, Girl. See, living in Missouri counts for sumpin!

    Ok, so my BMR is 1505 and my BMI is 32. So, that means that if I didn't move out of bed, I would burn about 1500 calories. If I eat 1200 that gives me a 300 calorie deficit? Is that how that works? Oh, heck. I'll figure this out yet.

    Your confusing BMR with maintenance calories. If your BMR is 1505, your maintenance calories is 300-400 calories more than this depending on the level of activity in your day.

    I will say that I think you might be overthinking this. When you entered your stats here, if you set it for a pound a week, what does MFP tell you to eat? It's doing all this math for you. I'm just curious as what MFP tells you to set your calories at?

    Oh, and NO WAY should you eat only 500 calories a day. Seriously.
  • shrtcwgrl
    shrtcwgrl Posts: 18
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    Another issue you are going to run into is in the beginning, while your body is adjusting to activity changes and such, you may not see any decrease at the scale. In fact, you may see an increase briefly. This is the time when your body is adjusting to the activity changes, as well as nutrition changes. My deficit is about 850 calories for a 1.7 pound per week loss. The important thing is to not only remain within your calorie count, but also your nutrition counts as well. Regardless of if you are maintaining your calories, if you go over your fats, carbs, or proteins, you can be counter-productive. When you exercise, and the calories you burn, you need to eat those exercise calories. Trust me! I know how hard it is to eat that many, especially when I burn almost 1000 calories at the gym 5 days a week. Its hard enough to eat 1200 cals for me, but to eat 2200 is almost impossible. Another interesting point is that my BMI is supposedly 31.7...but my body fat is 29%. This tells me that even though I'm supposedly obese, I'm in decent shape.
    Keep plugging away and as you become more fit, it will become a little easier. Its a difficult concept to grasp, eating more to lose...but you'll see progress.
    Good luck!
  • beep
    beep Posts: 1,242 Member
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    Oh, you're good, Girl. See, living in Missouri counts for sumpin!

    Ok, so my BMR is 1505 and my BMI is 32. So, that means that if I didn't move out of bed, I would burn about 1500 calories. If I eat 1200 that gives me a 300 calorie deficit? Is that how that works? Oh, heck. I'll figure this out yet.

    Your confusing BMR with maintenance calories. If your BMR is 1505, your maintenance calories is 300-400 calories more than this depending on the level of activity in your day.

    I will say that I think you might be overthinking this. When you entered your stats here, if you set it for a pound a week, what does MFP tell you to eat? It's doing all this math for you. I'm just curious as what MFP tells you to set your calories at?

    Oh, and NO WAY should you eat only 500 calories a day. Seriously.

    Ok, that makes more sense. It is telling me to eat 1200 for a 2 pound a week loss. Since I have 50 to lose, a 2-lb a week loss is not unreasonable, but once I get closer down there, will probably go for a 1-lb a week loss.

    Thanks for all the info, Gals :flowerforyou:
  • lotusfromthemud
    lotusfromthemud Posts: 5,335 Member
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    Oh, you're good, Girl. See, living in Missouri counts for sumpin!

    Ok, so my BMR is 1505 and my BMI is 32. So, that means that if I didn't move out of bed, I would burn about 1500 calories. If I eat 1200 that gives me a 300 calorie deficit? Is that how that works? Oh, heck. I'll figure this out yet.

    Your confusing BMR with maintenance calories. If your BMR is 1505, your maintenance calories is 300-400 calories more than this depending on the level of activity in your day.

    I will say that I think you might be overthinking this. When you entered your stats here, if you set it for a pound a week, what does MFP tell you to eat? It's doing all this math for you. I'm just curious as what MFP tells you to set your calories at?

    Oh, and NO WAY should you eat only 500 calories a day. Seriously.

    Ok, that makes more sense. It is telling me to eat 1200 for a 2 pound a week loss. Since I have 50 to lose, a 2-lb a week loss is not unreasonable, but once I get closer down there, will probably go for a 1-lb a week loss.

    Thanks for all the info, Gals :flowerforyou:

    Sounds like a plan! If you get stuck, don't be afraid to up your calories to break through a plateau. You may find that your body likes a smaller deficit. It's part art, part science. Best of luck in meeting your goals.:flowerforyou:
  • beep
    beep Posts: 1,242 Member
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    Just read your profile, Vivia... you obviously know what you're talking about, Girl. You are awesome. There are so many "losers" on here, I think even when I've lost all my weight, I'll be so hooked on all these people, I may never leave.....:love:
  • banks1850
    banks1850 Posts: 3,475 Member
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    You guys post too fast for me. :wink:

    looks like the right Ideas show through from what I read.

    Just remember guys, while BMI is a standard based on average body types, it's not a flawless calculation. Depending on your body type (very atheltic people can't use BMI standards as they break down with high lean tissue volumes) you may not be able to squeeze yourself (pun intended) into a particular BMI range. Generally though, if your BMI is up over 30 and you aren't particularly athletic, then you can probably have close to a 1000 calorie deficit to start that is NET deficit (I.E. after your exercise calories are added in!), but once you start losing weight, or otherwise see changes in your body, you need to be vigilant and adjust your deficit downward accordingly.

    for instance, I started this site 40 lbs overweight and was at about 800 calorie net deficit, now I am at about 250 net deficit, and working toward 12% body fat (I'm down from 19% to 14.5), as soon as I hit that 12 I'm going to start gaining again (with lean muscle) and have a net surplus probably for about 3 months before I even out at maintenance. See how it can change?
  • mkeithley
    mkeithley Posts: 399
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    [Now I posted it b/c really bmi is not a good indicator of anything.


    It works the other way as well. My trainer is working with a woman right now who is 5 feet 5 inches and weighs 115 pounds. When they measured her body fat she came in at an unhealthy BMI. Apparantly she has no muscle, only fat.

    Weight/height ratios are not a reliable measurement of health.

    "The BMI (body mass index) numbers are NOT percentages of body fat. For example, a BMI of 29 is in the overweight range for women. This has nothing to do with 29 percent body fat, which is considered healthy.
    There are quite a few groups of people for whom BMI is not as accurate –- short women and muscular people, to name two. BMI also varies according to some ethnic groups".
  • mkeithley
    mkeithley Posts: 399
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    You guys post too fast for me. :wink:

    looks like the right Ideas show through from what I read.


    And the master arrives:laugh: :happy: :laugh: :happy:
    Thank goodness you came and put it in a way that made much more sense than me:blushing: :bigsmile: