OMG Ya'll. Still not Losing.

He did it for over 18 months and was just fine. I by no means have fasted, but have not eaten anywhere close to my BMR for over a year, so by your argument I am anorexic and about to die from organ failure

If you are eating as low as you are, you very may well technically be anorexic. And organ failure occurs from long term and severely reduced calories. It is a medical fact, not some hocus pocus I am making up. The rate at which organ damage occurs depends on the number of calories eaten in comparison to BMR as well as a few health factors.

I don't care what "He did" and being "Just fine" is HARDLY a medically sound opinion based on factual evidence.

DO NOT promote anorexia in the forums. It is against forum policy. If you cannot come up with a better suggestion than STARVE YOURSELF for people, do not bother.

I'm not being confrontational either. I know it sounds like it. I just am tired of hearing this advice dished out here left and right like it's gospel. People misunderstand BMR. Look at it this way-- losing fat requires a caloric deficit. SOME bodily activity is going to be 'funded' by calories in fat cells, rather than in today's food. We don't get to pick which day's calories fuel which activities. All that matters is that there is a deficit and that it's not too steep to neglect our bodies' needs for daily fiber, essential amino and fatty acids, satiety, that sort of thing. Energy is not addressed by today's calories alone. Stored calories hold the exact same energy as today's calories (3500 to a lb.) That's what a calorie is, by definition. A unit of energy.

Agreed. And, for those of us here are are bigger folks, there is absolutely no way I will loose weight eating my suggested BMR. At 280 lbs and 6' tall, most BMR calcs put me in the 2,400 calories per day range. I know this doesn't work for me because that's around what I ate for years (while still working out) and I steadily gained weight left and right.

I've been on 1,500 (which according to the BMR calc is 48% under my reccomended BMR). Yet, I am not feeling down, weak, etc.

Each of our bodies are different, and each of us has to find that magic balance between food and healthy weight loss. There is no magic calculation that works for everyone, we are all just too diverse. I am finding it is more an art form, then direct calculations.

John Barban has a masters in exercise physiology and he doesn't agree with you. He said eating WELL BELOW your BMR (as in crash/starvation diets, as in 500 calories) for very long periods will of course result in muscle loss.

Anorexia is very rare. Only one in 10,000-20,000 people have it. You don't need to worry about the lady in this thread. She doesn't.

No one's saying starve themselves.

Here's an example. I'm not particularly young, large, tall or male, so my BMR is fairly low, probably around 1450. I also have a desk job so my TDEE is only 1800ish often. So if I had to eat between those values, that's a whopping 350 calories of deficit I can create per day. According to MFP wisdom, I can't even grow that by being more active because I'm supposed to 'eat back' exercise calories. So under this method, even though I'm 20 lbs. over the top of healthy BMI, I can only aim to lose 3 lbs/month. 350 calories/3500 calories = 1 lb. every 10 days or so. So I have to spend nearly TEN MONTHS to lose 25 lbs.

All authorities say I can safely aim to lose 2 lbs/week. So according to everything except MFP forum wisdom, I can lose my 25 lbs. in about 3 months, not 10. That's a HUGE difference. Are you saying if I lose 2 lbs/week, I'm anorexic? Or on a starvation diet? This is what Weight Watchers allows, Mayo Clinic, every published diet in the last several decades says 2 lbs/week is perfectly healthy.

You don't have to eat back your calories. The "eating back your calories" thing depends on many factors. Basically, the amount of body fat you have on you determines the safe level of a calorie deficit you can handle. (Mine for example is about 998 calorie deficit).

My BMR is about 1500 and my TDEE is about 1900. If I eat 1600 a day, I have a 300 deficit. I can safely exercise an extra 698 calories. If I exercise 998 calories, I now have a 1298 calorie deficit. This is now unhealthy for me. So, I need to eat back 300.

And see, the problem here is that these weight loss goals people have here ARE for long periods of time. So, telling them its okay to eat below their BMR for long periods of time IS anorexia. I'm cool for several days in a row or a day here and there etc. That's A-Ok, totally normal.

But, telling someone to go ahead and eat 500 calories a day or what not for a a year or more to match their weight loss goals... no. I will not ever suggest that.

You need to eat breakfast, coffee alone is not good enough. Poptarts are not a good choice. You need to cut back on the chinese food and desserts. Drink diet soda if you must drink soda.

I by any means am nowhere near anorexic, 178 lbs is NOT anorexic.