should you eat the calories calculated by your bmr or aim for 500 cal deficit? LETS VOTE!!

CC calculates that on days that I do not exercise that I burn approx 1900 calories. I also googled a bmr/rmr calculator and it told me my approx bmr is 1642 and my rmr is 1547. So, should I aim to consume 1400 cals to get a 500 cal deficit or my bmr?? By the way, Im a 24 F, 186 lbs, 5'2 if that helps.

Thanks for all your replies.

1000 > Burn - Eat > 500

You should try to go no lower than your BMR.  You will need to recalculate your bmr on occasion as you lose weight, also.  If you still wish to have a 500 calories deficit you will need to exercise to bring your burn up past 2000

See this is why I am soooo confused. Only two responses and two different answers. LOL. Anyone else want to weigh in and we will take a vote!!

check out the advice tab -- might provide the answer you are looking for (might not, also)

here is another calculator many folks here swear by -- you could check it out also

People make this a lot harder than it has to be by obsessing about the numbers.  Burn more than you eat but don't overdo it because that's counter productive. 

Personally, I check my burn first, then decide what my deficit should be. I pay very little attention to BMR or calorie target, although I am aware of what it is approximately.  I aim for only a deficit of 300-400 cal a day because I've found that slow weight loss is better for me.  Other, more active, people might want that 1000 cal deficit for faster loss. 

I vote BMR.

It seems like my metabolism stalls out a bit when I eat below my BMR.  Our height/weight is similar, by the way.  I'm 5'1" 180lbs.  I'm one of those who swear by Phord (coach_k's second link up there).

What if I switched it up a bit and consumed 1400 calories one day and then 1600 (my bmr) the next (adjusted of course depending on exercise for the day  ). Would that be better???

**~~bump**~~

There are some threads on here about zig-zag calorie eating, meaning eat 1400 one day, 1800 the next, etc.  I think as long as your average calories consumed throughout the week is in accordance with what the Phord calculator says, you'll lose weight.

For example, my resting metabolism is 1700 calories.  So every day I try to eat at least that much.  Any exercise I do is going to burn calories, so the more exercise the better, without going to crazy.

Everybody's body reacts different - so what works for one will not work for everyone.  I suggest trying it for a week and see how you feel.

I don't know what everyone else does, but using all these calculators is confusing.  Losing weight is simple, as well as simple math.  Burn more calories than you consume.  Period.  I weighed 193 on April 21 of this year, I met my goal weight of 165 on July 25.  What I did was try and have a calorie deficit of at least 1000 everyday, while maintaing a 2000 calorie diet every day.  Sometimes it was more, sometimes it was less, but that was my average.

To do that, I logged everything.  Sleep, eating, walking, standing, grooming, yard work, washing cars, work outs, etc.  along with EVERYTHING I ate.  I didn't care then and I still don't care about my BMR, RMR or any other R.  If you eat wisely (which includes not eating past 7 p.m., if you can manage that based on your job or whatever),  exercise regularly and are honest with yourself and truly want to lose weight, you will.  Keep at it and good luck.

By the way, I am a 38 y/o male, 5'5" and now weigh 162 with a muscular (from good genetics) build.  I have lost 31 pounds and 5 inches from my waist from cardio and circuit training.  I did NOT use any weight training.

Lots of people on here confuse their BMR for their maintenance level (or TDEE, total daily energy expenditure). If you're eating less than your BMR, you're headed for trouble.

Your BMR is simply the number of calories you burn by EXISTING. If you walk, talk, eat, or otherwise move around, you burn more calories than that.

Your TDEE, on the other hand, is the number of calories you burn every day, given your BMR and activity level. TDEE is found using the following formula:

BMR * Activity Factor = TDEE

For fat loss, you need to make sure the deficit you create is no more than 20% below your TDEE. Eating any LESS than 80% of your TDEE risks starting up your starvation response, which will prevent you from losing ANY weight. So:

TDEE * 0.80 = Optimal calorie intake for fat loss

Plus, since your activity level has been factored in, you don't need to worry about counting the number of calories you burn in the gym. Simply eat no LESS than 80% of your maintenance level, continue exercising, and you will see the FAT fall off in no time.

I question the accuracy of CC's meters and tools, which is why I suggest calculating your own BMR. Use the Katch-McArdle formula if you know your body fat percentage, or the Harris-Benedict formula if not.

Re: finding out your body fat percentage, one way to do this is with an inexpensive tool called the Accu-Measure ($20). It has been shown to have exceptional accuracy, close to the results from more expensive tools & tests.