In case you didn't know, your BMR is supposed to be the amount of calories you burn doing nothing but lying down, as if you were in a coma. It is the amount of calories you burn doing nothing but existing. I've read that you aren't supposed to eat below your BMR. If you do, your body goes into "starvation mode" and resists weight loss by attempting to gain all the weight back once you start eating more. This makes a lot of sense to me because I've witnessed so many people losing weight quickly going on a diet, and gaining most of it back once they started to eat normally.
I eat way below my BMR, averaging out at 1,500 calories/day (when I don't exercise) and 1,700 calories/day (when I exercise for at least 1 hour). Being so heavy, my BMR is almost 1,900... this number seems far too high to me. I think my body and organs would function just fine eating below my BMR, since excessive fat is not something I need in order to live. I'm not sure if BMR applies to very overweight or obese people.
So far I've been losing weight consistently and aggressively, the average amount of weight loss being (at the very least) 2-2.5 lbs per week. Last month I lost 13 lbs, but I haven't weighed myself for December yet, although I have a feeling that it is more like 10 lbs this month. This whole BMR thing concerns me though and I will slow down my weight loss if fast weight loss means that I will gain the weight back once I start eating to maintain my weight. I'm so happy that I've lost nearly 50 lbs so far, but the last thing I want is to gain the weight back or to mess up my metabolism. I'm thinking of increasing my caloric intake by a few hundred calories, eating my BMR a few days a week, and doing more strength training, in order to keep my metabolism in shape. I'd rather lose weight slowly and maintain it than to lose a lot of weight all at once and gain it back.
I apologize for this being so long, I didn't intend to write this much. So my question is, do you eat below your BMR, and if so, are you concerned that you will gain the weight back when you reach your goal weight and want to maintain?
The problem is -- none of us know with any accuracy what our BMR is, unless we spend a week in a lab. Not practical! Calculators give us a rough ballpark idea of what the average person of our height, weight, and age burns in a day, but from what I've read, there's about an 800 calorie margin of error, high and low. So it's awfully imprecise and not very reliable on an individual basis. It's hard to put a lot of emphasis on a number that's just a rough estimate.
I've heard people say not to eat below BMR but have never seen any science or studies to back up the idea. Our goal is to burn stored fat and we need to create a calorie deficit to do that. I'm not sure why a theoretical BMR should be a floor to that deficit? It seems artificially limiting to me.
Since it's almost impossible to figure out what our BMRs are with any accuracy, it's just one of many numbers that I chose to ignore when I was losing weight. All I did was pick a reasonable calorie level (I started out at 1600 calories/day) and did a ton of exercise. Simple and effective.
In retrospect, I probably ate way, way, WAY below what a calculator would say my BMR was if you factor in all the exercise I did while I was losing. But I've maintained my loss for more than seven years, so
Maintaining weight loss has a lot more to do with what you do when you reach goal than how you got there. If you keep up your new habits and lifestyle, you'll keep the weight off. If you go back to your old habits and lifestyle, you'll gain the weight back. It's that simple.
So my feeling is -- don't worry about what a calculator says your BMR is and eating below it. If you pick a reasonable calorie level and pack as much nutrition in those calories as possible, you'll be fine. It's what you do AFTER you reach goal that determines whether or not you'll keep the weight off for life!
PS - do the strength training, regardless of effect on BMR! Muscles are your best friend in weight loss.
First of all, congrats on losing the weight and maintaining it for several years!
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Originally Posted by Meg
The problem is -- none of us know with any accuracy what our BMR is, unless we spend a week in a lab. Not practical! Calculators give us a rough ballpark idea of what the average person of our height, weight, and age burns in a day, but from what I've read, there's about an 800 calorie margin of error. So it's awfully imprecise and not very reliable on an individual basis. It's hard to put a lot of emphasis on a number that's just a rough estimate.
I've heard people say not to eat below BMR but have never seen any science to back up the idea. Our goal is to burn stored fat and we need to create a calorie deficit to do that. I'm not sure why BMR should be a floor to that deficit?
Since it's almost impossible to figure out what our BMRs are with any accuracy, it's just one of many numbers that I chose to ignore when I was losing weight. All I did was pick a reasonable calorie level (I started out at 1600 calories/day) and did a ton of exercise. Simple and effective.
In retrospect, I probably ate way, way, WAY below what a calculator would say my BMR was if you factor in all the exercise I did while I was losing. But I've maintained my loss for more than seven years, so
Maintaining weight loss has a lot more to do with what you do when you reach goal than how you got there. If you keep up your new habits and lifestyle, you'll keep the weight off. If you go back to your old habits and lifestyle, you'll gain the weight back. It's that simple.
So my feeling is -- don't worry about what a calculator says your BMR is and eating below it. If you pick a reasonable calorie level and pack as much nutrition in those calories as possible, you'll be fine. It's what you do AFTER you reach goal that determines whether or not you'll keep the weight off for life!
You're right, but I don't want to eat 1,500 calories/day for the rest of my life. I wouldn't eat 1,500 calories/day to maintain my weight loss unless I was very petite, thin and sedentary. I'd like to get to a point where I'm maybe 160 lbs and can maintain my weight loss at something like 2,100-2,500 calories/day with moderate daily activity. My metabolism is not naturally slow or sluggish. When I was 275 lbs I would eat about 4,000 calories/day and was sedentary. I started to slowly lose weight when I reduced my caloric intake to the 3,000s, as crazy as that sounds. When I reduced my calories to 1,500-1,700, I lost more than 15 lbs each month for the first few months with no exercise at all. Now my weight loss is slowing down even when I'm exercising, and I think it has a lot to do with my metabolism and BMR.
I can eat way below my BMR for 3 months before my weight loss stalls or slows down. If I ate at my BMR or above all the time it would take me forever to lose weight and with my top weight being 308lb I wasn't willing to accept that. Until I was down to about 210lb I lost 2-3 lb most weeks. Now it's more like 1-2lb.
Aramaru, if your weight loss calories are 1500, then by definition your weight maintenance calories will be higher. Trust me, you won't be eating your weight loss calorie level for the rest of your life!
When people reach their goal weights, they add back calories in small amounts, usually a 100 at a time, until their weight stabilizes. That's the way we find out what our maintenance calories are. Trial and error is the only way we find out what our own unique calorie needs are. For you, it might be 2100 - 2500 calories, it might not -- you'll find out for sure when you get there.
You're doing so well! Keep up the great work!!
ETA: weight loss inevitably slows down for all of us, like for Rainbow and yourself. Smaller bodies need fewer calories, so it's harder to create a calorie deficit than when we were heavier. It happens to everyone and is just a normal part of the journey (darn it!)
I was pretty much going to say the same thing that Meg was. Luckily she got in here first and did it much more accurately and eloquently.
Since those BMR calculators are just guesstimates at best, we have no idea what our BMR IS, so how do we know if we're eating at it, above it, or below it? Well, we don't. Luckily we don't need to. You find your *right* calorie level through experimentation - through trial and error.
You don't know what calorie level you will be able to maintain your weight loss till you get there. Please don't stress about it now. Don't forget you will be a smaller person at that time and you won't require as many calories to run as you do now. And by the time you get there, you will be so thrilled with your slim self and feeling so marvelous you will be more than willing to *accept* that number. You will be used to it, accustomed to it and it will be habit and automatic to you and yes it WILL be higher (most likely ) than the number you lost on. And for all you know that *number* can be higher than you think. So please, don't be too concerned about it.
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. So my question is, do you eat below your BMR, and if so, are you concerned that you will gain the weight back when you reach your goal weight and want to maintain?
As for eating below my BMR, who the heck knows (or cares)?, but I would assume yes. If I went according to charts, calculators, doctors and what not, I probably wouldn't have gotten very far. I am an individual with individual and unique needs. I can't go "by the book". I have to go by what works for *me*.
And no, I was never concerned, not for a single second that I wouldn't be able to maintain my weight loss once I got to goal. Not for a second. Being overweight is a choice, as is losing the weight a choice. It's all within our own hands. We've got the power to control this (thank goodness). So therefore whether or not we maintain our weight loss is up to us as well. You decide to keep it off, put forth the effort that is needed to keep it off - it stays off. Period. I've been maintaining about 2 1/2 years now.
The reason I wasn't concerned and still aren't is because when I decided to lose the weight, I decided to do it once and for all and permanently. I made a lifetime commitment to lose the weight AND keep it off. No matter what. I knew that I couldn't get to goal and then go back to normal, to my old ways - the ways that got me to be super morbidly obese. I knew that I needed to and was willing to make a permanent lifestyle change. I needed to create myself a new normal. And I have.
And you will too. You're not there yet, but you will be. It takes time. Luckily the weight doesn't come off over night. Because had it done so, I wouldn't have had a clue as to what to do with my slim self and would have turned right back around and gained back every ounce and than some. No the journey is very valuable. It teaches you about you, about good nutrition, your likes and dislikes, meal planning, what works for you and what doesn't, strategizing for the challenging times and the such. It's time to customize, tweak and nail down your plan. It's time very well spent.
Edited to add: I also wanted to add that by the time you get to goal, you will have found new and healthy foods that you thoroughly enjoy. Your tastes and desires will have changed. It won't be a "burden" to eat "this way". It'll just be "what you do" and "who you are". Don't dread this journey. Look forward to it. Be excited about it and the changes you are about to incur. It's a wonderful time of self discovery and self growth.
Last edited by rockinrobin; 12-31-2009 at 06:57 AM.
My understanding is that if you exercise, and thus bring your net calories below your BMR, that doesn't count as eating below your BMR.
So if your BMR = 1350
And you are eating 1500
And you burn off 250 with exercise
You are still eating above your BMR, even though the difference (1600 - 250) is lower (1250).
I personally didn't count exercise calories because they are too variable. I just came up with a target calorie level and tried to keep close to it.
The concern seems to be about going drastically below BMR for an extended period. Some reports say weight loss can stall, but as Meg says, it's hard to find any scientific studies.
If you're feeling OK--that is, not tired or hungry all the time--and you're still losing, then I'd say keep going with it. If you'd feel better with more of a cushion, you could raise your target by 100 cals and see what happens. But stay at the new level for a couple of weeks before you change again.
I've been doing a lot of research on BMR and metabolism lately...like you it worries me I'm not eating enough calories and having my metabolism slow down or body go into starvation mode completely freaks me out. My information is based strictly on googling and personal experience, so take what I say with a grain of salt.
When I first began my 'lifestyle change' (aka no junk food, sodas, ...) I didn't really pay attention to calories, just cut the junk out and ate proper portions. This worked really well and I lost weight. As I became more committed to having a healthy lifestyle I started learning as much as I could. One of the first things I came across a calorie/metabolism healthy diet articles. I realized I was eating far below my estimated BMR and heading into dangerous areas. I changed my eating habits to include more calories and gained some weight (much of it was water weight as my hands and face were bloated). The water weight eventually went down, but my weight loss stalled for several weeks as my metabolism readjusted/healed. I kept eating the same calories, and once my metabolism rebounded I began to lose weight again. I'm still concerned about what will happen when I reach the maintenance phase, but my plan is to slowly increase my calories over several weeks/months.
Thankfully our metabolisms are pretty resilient but it does take time to heal. The best advice I would offer to anyone worried about gaining weight if they up the calories is to take it slowly by increasing around 100 calories a week. From what I've read, if you do it slowly you won't have the sudden 'weight' gain. Again, I'm far from an expert so this is just my opinion.
I just wanted to add that most calculators that take into consideration how much activity you engage in (such as exercise 3 times a week) aren't telling you BMR, but rather your estimated daily burn, which is always higher.
Thanks Jay. That's very true, I've found the calculators to be not the most reliable, but at the time I was eating around 1000 calories a day (usually less). Very unhealthy. Thankfully I've since learned and now aim for 1800.
For the reasons that have already been explained... I have no idea if I'm eating below my BMR.
Sometimes I eat below what the calculators say my BMR should be (around 1400 or a little less), and sometimes above.
If I'm feeling satisfied with a fairly slow weight loss, I'll eat 1500 a day, and with an hour of exercise every day, I can lose a little under a pound a week.
If I'm a little less patient, I'll eat 1200... and with the same amount of exercise I can lose over a pound a week. But I can't keep it up for very long before I feel a bit deprived - at 1200 calories, I have to really make every calorie count, and there's not much room for "junk." However, I don't think there's anything unhealthy or unsafe about that calorie level.. I ate 1000 for a few months once, and I still felt fine, health-wise, I was just hungry all the time.
It is much much much better (I don't get dizzy anymore!). The start of my journey was rocky, I had great intentions but didn't realize what I was doing. I've since armed myself with tons of info and monitor myself (food journal, few visits with a nutritionist, ...) to make sure I'm losing weight as healthy as possible.
I don't know of any science that proves you shouldn't eat below your BMR, although as a concept it just seems right to me.
However, I agree with everyone that you really can't tell what your BMR is from a calculator. Plus, it changes with your lifestyle, habits, activity and changing health over time.
I also think it's clear that many here have the experience of doing well, or only losing at all, on the low calorie end, and others do poorly with that but do well with higher calories.
I also think many have had the experience of starting to lose again without lowering their calories (or raising them), after a few weeks. It's clear that those few weeks are unendurable to some, but to me they're well worth it. Of course, I might not say that if it hadn't worked for me .
In the end, you just have to figure out whether your body is one that needs higher calories or lower calories. Maybe someday we can get tested and not have to do all this experimenting!
My experience is that some people have a more adaptable metabolism than others. I have a former colleague who has worked for years for a group that does very very structured calorie cycling with the aim of raising peoples BMR. The type of food and timing of food is very very regulated to stimulate metabolism and supress ghrelin and insulin levels.
While the company claims this will work for everyone her long experience is that about 50% of the people have an adaptable metabolism. They can raise their metabolism, BUT the downside is those people are also most susceptible to metabolic slowdown with even brief periods of undereating. And of course it is harder to repair than to destroy. She has had clients who fast for religious reasons and take several weeks to recover from a 1 day fast.
The other half tend to maintain about the same metabolic rate no matter what and only large changes in muscle mass seem to affect it.
Do you eat below your BMR (basal metabolic rate)?
