at least 1200/day is BULL!!!!..for most people

Yes, the average amount a women should eat is at least 1200.  We all agree on this. But... what CC does not calculate is this:

I will use myself as an example. I'm 5'5 134lbs and 22 years old.  I have my activity set on sedentary as I sit in an office all day and classes (1700 cals/day) and add any additional excercise (going to the gym etc..) on top of that.

Now at 1700 cal/day CC says I could safely eat 1200 cal/day and lose 1/lb pere week.  WRONG.  Eating 1200 still puts my body in starvation mode!

Why?

My BMR is 1440.  this is the number that my body would burn if i slept for 24hrs straight.  It is the min # i need to eat to maintain my normal bodily functions (ex: breathing)  If I eat lower than this my body will go into starvation mode and store everthing I eat to have a 200 cal reserve for each day I only ate 1200 cal.

What this means as far as losing 1 lb per week:

1440+500 = 1950 burned to lose 1/lb per week

If I don't work out one day and still want my 500 deficit...too bad I cannot get it.  The highest deficit for that day will be 260.  Never eat below your bmr! and bmr is not 1200 for everyone that is an AVERAGE

I followed CC's advice in sept 06 to eat 1200 a day and safely lose.  What bull! I started at 129lbs and in 4 months had gained 15lbs. I was excercising and eathing healthy, just not enough. Once I figured out what was going wrong I bumped up my cals.  In another 3months I was back down to 134 by eating more!  I wasn't able to work out during this period either because I was too busy.  That's 10lbs in 3 months by eating more and not working out!!!!

Also while i'm posting I have something to add about low fat/carb diets.  Yes they work for the most part. But the biggest mistake that people make is think that if they eat no fat their body won't gain any fat. Wrong! You could eat no sugar or fat at all (hypothetically) but if you at 1500 cal and only burned 1400, 100 cal of those no fat no sugar foods would be turned into FAT by your body.  anything extra your body gets that is not burned off is turned into fat, regardless if it was a non fat food to begin with.

This also explains body starvation mode.  If you are eating low fat/carb but eating below your bmr you will gain fat.  Your body knows it needs to start reserving energy to maintain your bodily functions, so it turns whatever you feed it to fat because it is scared it would get feed again (and then what will it use to give you the energy to breathe?)  once you start eating at your bmr or higher again, you will initially gain a few lbs because your metab. is still slow, but once your body realizes it is getting food it will start let go of its reserves and you will start being able to lose as your metab. speeds back up.

This is also why it is important to eat breakfast! Even though you have only slept for about 8hrs this is enough time for you body to slowly start storing rather than burning.  If you eat as soon as you get up, your body knows it has energy till your next meal and won't hold onto your dinner from the night before.

Now people, STOP WITH THIS 1200 crap! calculate your BMR!

Original Post by jengrutzius:

Here's the problem...this makes it pretty much impossible to lose weight!  my BMR is 1550...times 1.2 for sedentary activity is 1860.  I want to lose 2 lbs a week (that is safe according to most people) so I need a deficit of 1000 calories a day WITHOUT dropping below 1550 calories eaten...this means that after I cut the 310 calories I can safely cut without starving myself, I still have to burn close to 700 calories at the gym!  that is a LOT of working out...more than I have energy for.

This is depressing to me...

 Our stats are very similar, that's my situation too.  And since I'm just starting to exercise, I really can't throw myself into those long work-outs.  

As for the comment above about feeling cold if you have a slow metabolism:  well, it's January.  I prefer not to crank the heat up too high, so I'm always grabbing a sweater or wrap and my hands are often chilly.  But is it metabolism or just cold? 

This info makes me feel like I should just give up now.  I don't even have the money to buy an extra meal's worth of food every day.  The 1,200 diet just feels right, I have lots of energy and feel like I eat plenty.  

The equation is just confusing to me. At my current height/weight, to maintain, I would eat 1650.

At the weight I want to be at, I would eat 1570.

The difference between the two is 120 calories. Should I be able to eat 1570 and not exercise and get to my goal weight (that'll take...ages, since a pound of fat is 3500 cal/120 cal deficit a day = 30 days for 1 lb??) Or should I eat 1650 and exercise down to 1570 (still presents the same problem, as I'm still only 'losing' 120 cal?)

Or should I eat 1650 (or 1570, w/e!) and burn 500? Doesn't really make sense to me b/c then you're taking away energy you needed for your BMR, so wouldn't you still run into 'starvation' mode??? *rips hair out*

Original Post by sauvignon:

The equation is just confusing to me. At my current height/weight, to maintain, I would eat 1650.

At the weight I want to be at, I would eat 1570.

The difference between the two is 120 calories. Should I be able to eat 1570 and not exercise and get to my goal weight (that'll take...ages, since a pound of fat is 3500 cal/120 cal deficit a day = 30 days for 1 lb??) Or should I eat 1650 and exercise down to 1570 (still presents the same problem, as I'm still only 'losing' 120 cal?)

Or should I eat 1650 (or 1570, w/e!) and burn 500? Doesn't really make sense to me b/c then you're taking away energy you needed for your BMR, so wouldn't you still run into 'starvation' mode??? *rips hair out*

If your BMR is 1650 then you would multiply that by 1.2 for sedentary.

1650 x 1.2 = 1980

Then you add however many calories you burned that day. If you burned 500 calories that day it would be

1650 x 1.2 = 1980 + 500 = 2480 to maintain

If you don't eat back those calories you burned then your body thinks it's only getting 1150 calories and will go into starvation mode.

However, if you want to lose weight, you would need a deficit of 500-1000 calories. So lets say you wanted to lose about 1lb a week. That's 3500. And you want to work out 7 days a week. That would mean you would need to burn 500 calories each day with a deficit of 600 calories.

1650 x 1.2 = 1980 + 500 = 2480 - 600 = 1880

And 1880 is how many calories you would need to consume every day when you work out if you want to lose 1lb each week giving you a deficit of about 4200 calories.

I hope you understand it better now. =]

Hello All, I just wanted to hop in here with what might be an important point for us to consider when we use these tools. I've copied from: http://health.drgily.com/basal-metabolic-rate -calculator.php

How Accurate Is This BMR Calculator? While these formulas are widely used to predict the basal metabolic rate, please keep in mind they only provide an estimate, as there is significant variability in basal metabolic rates between similar individuals, and even in the same individual, bmr can vary from day to day.

For the basal metabolic rate estimation to be accurate, several assumptions must be true at the time of measurement: absence of gross muscular activity - i.e. you MUST be resting, and your muscles MUST be relaxed post-absorptive state - i.e. 12 hours or more after the last meal thermal neutrality - i.e. ambient temperature variations should be minimal emotional disturbance must be minimal, as studies have shown that emotional upset, particularly apprehension, may result in rises in BMR of from 15–40 percent awake state, as sleep tends to depress BMR by approximately 10 percent If you want to read more about BMR variability, J.V.G.A. Durnin from the University of Glasgow Glasgow, Scotland, has published a very interesting paper on this topic, entitled BASAL METABOLIC RATE IN MAN.

Here is the address of that study: http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/MEETING/004/M2845E/ M2845E00.HTM

From Kristensguide.com, here is another factor to consider:

Be forewarned, the rate you calculate may not be accurate. If you are muscular, your BMR will actually be higher than the calculated rate because muscles are always using energy and burn calories even when they aren't doing anything. If you are fat, your BMR will actually be lower than the calculated rate because fat cells store energy rather than use energy. Either way, at least you can get an idea of your maximum or minimum BMR depending on your situation. Women generally have more fat, and men generally have more muscle, so there are two separate equations for the calculation.

Here is the address for that site: http://www.kristensguide.com/Health/Weight_Lo ss/bmr.asp

This also discusses the difference between the equation used for men and women.

Just thought before some folks start using the number they get from the calculators, both BMR, and Daily Caloric Requirements, which is really the number we care most about, as if they are gospel, and absolute, we need to make sure to include this information while we are creating a nutrition/exercise strategy for weight loss. Good Luck All, Jen

Here is another:

Because of the increased activity of cells undergoing division, the younger the person, the higher (faster) the metabolism. And the taller and heavier a person is, the faster their metabolism. Because of the greater percentage of lean muscle tissue in the male body, men generally have a 10-15% faster BMR than women. Restrictive and traditional diets may cause your BMR to drop as much as 20%. People living in tropical or very cold environments generally have BMR's 5-20% higher than those living in more temperate climates. In general, depending on the intensity and duration, consistent exercise will also increase your BMR.

Note: BMR calculators should only be used to provide a rough guideline on daily energy expended. Actual values cannot be attained using such calculators, and may be quite inaccurate depending on several factors such as geographic location, body-type, diet, body  composition, supplementation and some genetic factors. Values which extend +/- 15% above and below your calculated BMR may be a more accurate representation of your actual BMR range as daily fluctuations are constant and your BMR is rarely the same on a daily basis.
 Here is the site address:

http://preventdisease.com/healthtools/article s/bmr.html

 

Last post on this from me...

Some folks seem confused.

This isn't too hard to calculate using a BMR calculator.

http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

OK, so now you have a number.

That number rougly estimates how many calories your body will burn if you lay in bed all day.

Now, we just multiply that number X the number that matches our activity.

We use this chart to find that number that we multiply times the first number we got from the calculator.

Harris Benedict Formula

To determine your total daily calorie needs, multiply your BMR by the appropriate activity factor, as follows:

1. If you are sedentary (little or no exercise) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.2
2. If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375
3. If you are moderatetely active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.55
4. If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.725
5. If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.9

No big thing, just BMR X the number that matches our activity.

I hope you read the last two posts, though, so you don't take the figure to be absolute.

I'm going to take my numbers to my Doctor next month, and see if he can work with me to try and tweek it to match my body, or at least give me his medical input.

One would think a well-educated fitness or nutritional expert would also have some great advise, too.

Good Luck, all.

Jen

I also don't understand all of this crap lol...I mean first it told me that I could or should consume 1750 calories a day...thats a lot of friggin calories if you ask me...

 Then I upped my ideal weight becuase I am right now 183 lbs, and they said for somebody who is my height ( 4' 11" ) should be 108 lbs...I'm sorry but thats really friggin skinny....having that weight so low, I feel like it will take me FOREVER to lose all that weight...already I am losing my patients on this....when I upped my ideal to like 140 (gotta go in incraments ya know) it said I can have 1450 calories a day....I hope I am not doing this wrong. 

 

to strikez, i didn't say a reduced calorie diet puts you in starvation mode or famine mode what ever you want to call it, I said under eatting causes.  If a reduced cal diet caused it there would be no way to lose weight.  And yes I understand there are a lot more scientific things going on in your body, but in the end if you don't eat enough your body will store what you do eat so it can have those reserves to tap into. so I dumbed the explanation up for people to understand. in the end it doesn't matter don't eat below your bmr and burn more than you eat. When you eat less than than your BMR your body will start taking away your lean body tissue (muscle) to make up the difference and slow your metab. and so it may appear you are losing weight but then the weightloss stops because your body cannot take any more muscle.  You metabolism is now super slow and your body will only burn what it absolutely needs to to survive and the rest gets stored as reserves (fat).  so all in all you under eat your body stores what you do eat as fat

For those people who said they have to burn 700 cals in one workout.  Do a 1hr spin class, as long as you are using the tension and not just sitting there you burn 600-1000 cals in ONE HR!

I was hoping you could help me, I want to make sure I am heading in the right direction.  You seem knowledgeable and know what you're talking about.  I am very confused. I calculated my BMR at 1493.75 and my deficit at 599.  I want to loose the last 10 lbs.  I eat well, have fairly active jobs,  I lightly exercise three or four times per week, and I mean lightly.....like 20 Min's on the bike.  I think my calorie count should be just a bit under 1500, I think it's 1394.  I am sick about it because I feel like I am going to go into starvation mode.  Last night at work, I felt very weak, like I didn't eat enough through out the day.  I know I did, well according to this site.   Do you have any suggestions should I go above 1500 calories or stay what I am trying too do, to loose that last 10 lbs?

Any suggestions? 

Thank You :)

god THANKYOU. it's been a week and I almost sent my body plummetting into a horrible mess. I can't thank you enough for clearing this up...I wish the site would just give you the damn equation instead of trying to tell you averages! It recommended I eat 250 cal a day less then what is needed before even calculating in my lifestyle. uck!

What a rant! Wow. Don't expect the calculators to be the end all, be all. The 1,200 is the minimum you should eat--that's to keep people from totally starving themselves. Keep track of your deficit everyday and if you aren't seeing the scale move, try some fine tuning.

Not everyone's body runs the same way, the BMR is only an average. Also remember that as you drop weight your BMR has to be recalculated and your calorie intake readjusted.

Find what works for you, stick with it and when it stops working, rethink your plan. Adding new challenges like drinking more water, increasing fruit and vegetables, different exercise routines all help to add variety and keep your metabolism ticking along.

Ah wait, I am so confused. How is it possible for an anorexic person to lose weight then?

when i use your figures i need a min. of 1180...add the activity level (sedentary) then it goes to 1400 min...so in order for me to lose say a lb. a week...(hypothetically speaking) i'd need a 500 per day deficit...either up my activity to burn that...or reduce my caloric intake to 900?...am i understanding this right?

I just wanted to say thanks for this post.  I have been doing well with a target of 1500 cals/per day but never even knew what a BMR was, much less how to calculate it.  My BMR is 1443 using the equation you gave so luckily my target calorie intake # was above that.  It is great to know this new info though, especially considering that quite a few days I've gone under this number.  It also tells me I NEED to exericise :) to get the better deficit.

WOW!!! I have been on this roller coaster FOREVER I work out daily walking ellipitcal etc... I have a burn of 2650 (active) and a calorie of 1700- I put that in.. I don't go above 1650 calories and WORK OUT and still... ACTUALLY I have gained so I decided to up my calories to 1850 and when I work out hard I will eat more. Hopefully this will work better than what I have been doing. So discouraging!!!

According to these tools on this forum :

1458 is what i burn sedentary..

multiplied by 1.2

i should eat 1749 ???

and that gives me a deficit of 291...so does that mean to lose weight i should eat about 1460 a day..orr cut like 200 cals so i creat a 500 cal deficit.. ??? im confused. please message me pr ill check this..

Thanks for the post, I tried to get the message across a couple of times, but it didn't really work. Wondering if anyone here can help with my problem...

height 5'8, weight 145 lb, age 26

BMR: 1483

sedentary burn: 1483 x 1.2 = 1779

exercise per day ranges between 300 and 900 cals.

I've been eating on average 1700 cal/day, and had no weight loss for 2 weeks. I haven't lost a lot of weight previously, I'm pretty much towards the high end of what I've ever weighed. Anyone got any suggestions about what to do? Not sure if I should raise or lower my cals. I'm not usually completely sedentary during the day, walk around a bit. 

Why would eating your BMR calories plus exercise be different than not exercising and eating a little less?  If you exercise you are making your organs work harder and thus they need more calories to be maintained.  Most things I have read (multiple reliable websites) just say reduce your calorie intake by 500 per day either from diet, or exercise or both.  Of course exercise is better b/c you end up with more muscle which then increases your BMR.  The BMR (adjusted for activity level) -500 calories (exercise or diet) is the rule I trust.

Hey everyone, I'm pretty new here but not new to trying to cut calories. I have figured out my calorie needs but maddprofessor makes a good point. What is the difference in upping exercise and eating less,(apart from the fact that exercise is better for you.)

Still I am encouraged, my doctor told me that I should be eating only 1100 calories and that when I drop 8 more lbs that it needs to drop to 900 calories. I know I am short (5'3) and getting up there in years (36) but I did feel that was nigh unto impossible! When I asked him if this was healthy he assured me that people need much less food than they think and this would make me much healthier.

I'm glad to have found this site, now I do not have to feel like a failure for being unable to stick to such a restricted calorie allowance, nor do I have to be STARVING every day