[MissSMcC]

Should you always eat at least your BMR or is it okay to be under?

[twinieten]

If you're trying to lose, you need to be under your BMR calories. If you are maintaining, then you need to at least eat to your BMR. As I understand it....

[MissSMcC]

yes i meant BMR as in the amount of calories you would burn if you did nothing but lie in bed all day, it's just something someone said about making sure you eat all your BMR calories and creating a deficit from lifestyle and excersise. my BMR is something like 1900 and i do not want to eat that much, but my weightloss has completely stalled and i am wondering why.

[Blueberries]

Originally Posted by twinieten

If you're trying to lose, you need to be under your BMR calories. If you are maintaining, then you need to at least eat to your BMR. As I understand it....

Not exactly. It's okay to eat under your BMR occasionally, but you don't want to make a long-term habit of it. I ate under mine yesterday, but I'm not worried about it because it was a one-off, you know? I'm sure today will be a different story.

Your baseline BMR (what it takes to maintain essential functions if you lie in bed all day) should be considered your caloric floor, where your maintenance calories should be the ceiling (if you want to lose weight).

Disclaimer: No BMR calculator is going to be exact.
To find your baseline BMR, use this calculator. Then take that number and multiply by your activity level here to get your maintenance calories. ETA: Even if you don't exercise, there is a sedentary multiplier to use. The only way you'd keep the original BMR is if you are bed-bound.

Keep in mind that your BMR will change as you continue to lose weight, and your maintenance calories will change with activity level, so you'll want to recalculate from time to time to change your target intake.

[freelancemomma]

Originally Posted by twinieten

If you're trying to lose, you need to be under your BMR calories. If you are maintaining, then you need to at least eat to your BMR. As I understand it....

Not quite. If you're trying to lose, you need to eat less than your TOTAL energy requirements (BMR + extra caloric requirements for activities of daily living), while if you want to maintain you need to eat the same as your total energy requirements.

In practice, people often end up eating a little less than their BMR when dieting, because when they subtract 500 to 1000 (to lose 1 to 2 pounds per week) from their total energy requirements, the resulting figure is often lower than the BMR.

F.

[MissSMcC]

so apparently my baseline BMR is 1939? i have to say eating that much whilst trying to lose weight seems awful scary, but i have been eating around 1500-1600 a day and i havent lost any weight for a month, could this be why?

[LockItUp]

Ya, it could be! I upped my calories a little bit and it jump started my weight loss after a short stall. Honestly it couldn't hurt! If you are being 100% honest and accurate when recording your calories, upping by a couple hundred won't do you any harm! Worth a try right!?

[MissSMcC]

Stephanie its definetly worth a try, don't think i could force myself to 1900 though that is just too scary, but 1800 maybe? this is possibly the first time i have felt afraid to eat haha. does anyone have any ideas for higher calorie foods that are still healthy?

[LiannaKole]

Does anyone know what the margin of error is on those BMR calculations? I can't seem to find it, but I'm betting it's at least +- a couple hundred calories.

OP, I would recommend trying out something close to your approximate baseline for a couple weeks. See how you feel, see how fast you're losing weight, and then readjust up or down about a hundred calories or so and reevaluate.

Edit: For higher cal foods that are healthy, I'd go for nuts, avocado (yum!), and nut butters. A little of these goes a long way, and they're full of healthy fats and nutrients.

[MissSMcC]

thank you Lianna i will try some almonds n things, luckily i love nuts haha