I input all my food and exercise into fatsecret, which does all the calculations (like fitday etc).

It worked out that I use over 4,000 calories a day just being alive. Add to that my one hour of water aerobics every other day and some desk work and walking about and I need 5,000 calories on average per day to maintain my weight. I eat 1,500 calories a day, so I am running a deficit of 3,500 calories a day.

According to calorie theory, every 3,500 calory deficit equals one pound of bodyfat lost. Therefore, if calory theory is true, I should be losing a pound a day/7lb a week and 30lb a month. But I am not.

Is calory theory a load of tosh, or is my BMR wrong?

H.

BMR is wrong... Since I'm not sure of all of your stats this is only a guess, but your daily calorie requirements are probably in the 2300 to 2500 range...

MY STATS

Height 5ft 4
weight 352 lb
age 54
sedentary

Maybe should find some more online BMR calculators?

Ha! You were right!

"You have a BMR of 2233.2." says another bmr calculator!

I wonder why the one on fatsecret is so wrong?

BMR calculators, while helpful to provide a baseline, don't really work all that well for all people. Even more sophisticated devices (bodybuggs, heart rate monitors, and the like) that purport to calculate the exact number of calories an individual burns can't really do so for everyone. There is just too much variation in individual metabolism to make everyone fit into the same formula. You can go to a doctor or some fitness centers and get your BMR actually measured, but beyond that, there's no way to really determine exactly what your BMR is. Every online resource is basically just a guess.

The best way to determine what your calorie burn REALLY is is to compare what you are eating to your weight loss. If you are eating 1500 calories a day, and you are losing 1 lb per week, you are burning an average of 2000 calories a day. If you are losing 2 lb per week, you are burning an average of 2500 calories per day.

Thanks Manda. I clicked on your fitday and it was an error 404, btw.

Hi, some of these calculators automatically factor in your exercise/ movement, is that possible?? If it asked you about your activity level, then it probably gave you your caloric expenditure rather than your BMR (which is what you'd use up if you were in bed all day watching tv!)

It seems like you're losing, but are you eating too few calories and putting yourself in starvation mode? I personally wonder if eating well below your BMR is really all that good for you in the long run....