Why i recommend seeing a nutritionist

Last tuesday i went to see a nutritionist/certified personal trainer.  She used a breathing tube to measure my BMR which is a lot more accurate than the generic formulas on this site and the internet in general (i think this site uses Harris Benedict but im not positive).  Anyway, according to this site, my calorie expenditure at sedentary is 1700, okay, seems reasonable.  However, after getting my BMR tested by the nutritionist, which we all know is the calories i need to SURVIVE, that alone was 1600....if i slept all day and wasnt digesting a thing and never got up to go to the bathroom or anything.  If you add in daily functions, such as eating, moving at all, i need over 2000 calories to maintain my weight.  What a shocker considering it is 300 more calories than this site says.  Add in exercise and it is a lot more, obviously.

My point is this, everyone needs to let go of their fixation of 1200 for women/1500 for men numbers.  Everyone is different, and if i came to these forums and read a lot of them and used the advice given, i would be undereating by a lot.  I feel like many people, and myself in some situations, rely too heavily on the advice of amatuers (please dont take offense to that term) who are just regergetating information that they previously read on forums.  We are not experts, these formulas are not always accurate, and sometimes are way off, so i think we all need to realize this when giving information and posting on topics.

In conclusion, I think seeing a nutritionist, doctor, personal trainer, or whomever uses the actual breathing machine to calculate bmr would be money well spent because otherwise, even with all the info on this site, you may still be severely undereating or overeating because we are all unique and there just is not a magic number for men or women. period.  Take me as an example. i need 1600 to live, 100 more than a man does and im no man.  Sorry for such a long post, i just get a little frustrated with the constant brigade of "so long as you are eating 1200 net calories you are fine" posts, no, no you may not be fine!

You make a very good point and I agree; however, I find that all of these nutritionists and personal trainers EACH say something different. How can you even trust them? You know?

Wow.  That's very interesting.  How did you find your nutritionist.  I'm curious why you went in the first place.  I'm also curious what changes she/he recommended.  Have you been losing weight when you had the wrong information?

Did you ask the nutritionist about the 1200/1500 rule we hear about all the time here?  I have a feeling I burn less than 1200 a day, that's why I'm asking.

alayney---I trusted her for 2 reasons.  First is because it wasnt her telling my bmr, it was my body.  I had to fast for 12 hours and then was hooked up to a breathing machine in  a dark, quiet room for 15 minutes.  Somehow the machine reads how well my body burns calories and also whether i am a carb or fat burner, of which i am a heavy carb burner.  Second reason i trust her is because this is her area of expertise, hence she isnt an amateur...and i know opinions vary, but i do trust the breathing test.

I went out of pure curiousity because i had knew these sites couldnt be 100% accurate and i am a female with a good bit of muscle so i felt the formulas couldnt take that into account.  I didnt ask her about the 1200/1500 rule, however i have a feeling she would have said it was too low.  I'm 23, 5'6" and weigh anywhere from 127-129 and i need 1600 just to sustain bodily functions.  I really doubt many healthy adults need 1200 or less to sustain these functions, i believe it is higher, so diana2356, i'd say you burn at least `1200, but again, i am no expert~! it is worth checking out, just call around your area for someone who does this but make sure they use this procedure because a lot of people just do it by the formula.  It was $75 well spent for me.

As for changes, she told me to eat more!!

I think it's interesting too.  But when I had my bmr figured by the machines, I only use 1100 to function.  So it's kind of not accurate at all to have the 1200 calorie minimum for women, 1500 for men.  Like erinumd said, she needs more than that and consuming 1200 might set her up to fail.  But in my case, or someone who is even smaller than me, we can get away with eating a little less.  I still aim for 1100-1300, and unfortunately haven't been "on the ball" lately, so it's been 1400-1600 on average.  Of course, that would be fine if I was kicking my butt at the gym... but... I'm not.

Anyway, there is no magic number.  I say, take the site's estimates, your personal trainer and/or nutritionist's estimates, and your family doctor's, and average them out.  There is no way to actually know.  It's all just "educated guessing".

Good luck everyone.

I remember her interview after she lost her weight....Im not positive but i do believe she was eating 1400 calories a day.  Just one of those weird, useless facts that has stuck in my head.

I don't think it's possible for a computer generated number to match anyone to a tee. I'm quite sure my bmr is higher than this and other sites have calculated it to be. Although, it is definitely lower than it was five years ago. As we get older we generally eat less, hence the Diane Sawyer thing, possibly. I think we just need to really listen to our bodies, or at least that's what I'm trying to do.

What you've all said makes sense.  The reason I think I burn less than 1200 is because I have very little muscle.  I don't like to exercize...but I don't like being fat, either.  I've been taking 30 - 90 minute walks MOST days since finding CC.  I did a beginner callenetics tape today for 30 minutes.  I'm sticking close to the 1200 calories and losing weight...as I grow some muscle, I think my caloric needs WILL go up....I just have a feeling that for right now I'm not burning that much.

I just checked the yellow pages for a nutritionist.  I'm going to try to find one who has that machine.  Thank for the info, erinumd.

Great info erinumd! Do you know what the machine is called or the name of the specific test they gave you?

most gyms have these machine to measure resting rates and active rates.  I know most YMCAs have them.  It is 75 bucks for the resting test and 75 more for the active rate test.  I have been thinking about it but I don't really have the extra cash.  The recommendations on this site have been working well for me and I take it all with a grain of salt.  I know my actual caloric intake may be off by as much as 200 cals and my exercise ones may be off be even a bit more so I guess it it just kinda of washes out in the end....?

I dont know the name of hte machine, it is just the resting metobolic rate test. 

agana--im surprised that all your local gyms have them, especially the ymca.  i had a rather tough time finding it in my area.

come of the innercity Ys won't have them but if you hit up the suburban Y with all their fanciness you will find them.  Most hosptials should also have the equipment available.

I love the YMCAs.  I actually got a 2nd job at one so I get a free membership and some extra cash....SWEET!!!!  I get all the free advice I can handle from the trainers...they are very cool people

At 1200 calories per day, I gain weight.  Being pregnant royally screwed up my metabolism. 

Agana - with working at the YMCA, do they let you use the on-site childcare while you are working?  I have a hard time forcing myself to go (closest one is a 20 minute drive), BUT if I had a job there, it would be easier to force myself to go, and well, if I'm already there, then when I get off, I would go work out.  My biggest problem with going to the Y has been the motivation to drive over there.  My 2nd biggest issue has been childcare, but that's no longer a problem since they have the on-site, but I think you are limited to like 6 hours/week for the freebie childcare.  If employees have unlimited freebie childcare, that would be a perfect solution to my motivation problem! 

erinumd - I so agree with you.  I cringe when I see the 1200/1500 cal benchmark being tossed about.  Everyone should listen to their bodies.  If I only ate 1200 calories, I think I would pass out.  I know my resting metabolic rate is higher than this (I suspect around 1500), although I've not had it tested (I am 5'7", 135).   I also dislike the "eating back your exercise calories".  This is also not a hard and fast rule and it makes me cringe to see it applied as such. 

Sounds like a neat test that could really help folks around here!

Erinumd is absolutely right!  My mother is a nutritionist and lives her life by the book, and as a result, is at an appropriate size for her age and height.  I've also gotten a lot of good advice from nutritionists outside of the family and much of the advice they've given me is very well reflected here on CC, but the key idea is that one method does not work for everyone.

Sometimes, if you are eating a low amount of calories, eating more is the key to weight loss, as counter intuitive as that may seem.  My friend discovered this--she simply does not eat enough throughout the day because she is just so busy.  But if she eats properly, which includes for her several hundred more calories of protein a day than what she normally eats, she sheds weight.  That by no means is advice, just an example of how weight loss differs for each person.

You've just got to find what works for you because the same old system may work for many people (I'm living proof), but not for everyone.  Your metabolism is a funny, complicated thing and it fluctuates throughout your life for many reasons. 

A professional, like a nutritionist, can make the world of difference in deciphering why it does what it does.

Um... I think there's some misunderstandings in this thread.

First your nutrionist said you needed around 2000 to maintain your current weight.

So to lose weight you'd need to... oh yes... you'd need to cut some calories.  500 to 1000 calories.


The 1200/1500 NET calorie numbers are for those looking to cut too many calories from their diets.

You may need 1400 for your body functions... but you may be living more than a sedentary lifestyle.

The formula is:

1200 Women/1500 Men
+ what you burn exercising
+ a couple hundred more if you have a more active lifestyle


It seems to work for everyone that does this.   I have seen people time and time again not follow these basic rules and they stagnate on weightloss... even sometimes gain weight.   I've seen people too eat too much because they weren't computing their exercise calories burned accurately because they were doing the same exercises for months and their bodies adapted.


If you want the most accurate info possible get a heart rate monitor.   Sure you can take a test at a nutritionist office or at the YMCA or somewhere but you can get more accurate info from your own body with a heart rate monitor.

nightc1, how can a person use a HRM to figure out exactly how many calories they use just existing?

Nightc1--My whole point of this thread is that 1200 is NOT a magic number. If i read many of htese threads and took the advice, id be eating less than what my body needs to survive, which is 1600 calories a day, bedridden.  Add in movement and we shoot up to 2000 calories a day, add in exercise and we shoot up another few hundred. So technically, i can lose weight eating 1800-1900 or even 2000 calories a day if i exericse at all.  And i have been losing weight, and i dont really have anymore weight to lose now. I just wish people would stop saying that if you eat a net of 1200 you will be fine, because for lots of people it just isnt true, plain and simple.  i would pass out if i ate only 1200.  We are all unique and so our our bodies, no formula is gonna do it for everyone.  That is why i recommend seeing a professional who can actually read the numbers that your body gives him/her through a machine.  not a calculator and formula from the internet that completely fails to take in muscle weight as a factor as well as bone density and all that, because i am female with a sufficient amount of muscle so i burn more than the average female...but i cant tell an online formula that!

Hey Marrrow

My particular Y doesn't have childcare.  we are in a downtown area and not a lot of children to work with.  You would just have to talk to your local Y and I am sure something could be worked out.  Usually at most Y they have free child drop off so you can go get a good workout in.  Sometimes its free up to 2 hours of daycare.  Its pretty sweet.  I never actually have time to workout when I work cause I have 2 jobs.  So I go to the gym in the morning then go to my first job and then go back to the Y to work..