Hi everyone,

I just saw another user post something super similar, so I tried to differentiate in the title.

I am LOST! I have read the FAQ in the Calorie Counters Section and many articles on BMR and TDEE. I never thought I'd say this but...am I eating too little?

My BMR is about 1700 and my TDEE is about 2300. When I first began looking at weight loss info, people said 1500 is good for weight loss. I've lost an average of 2.5 lbs a week, over the past 5 weeks, and now I am seeing "don't eat under your BMR!" I hadn't heard of BMR and TDEE until today.

I also strength/HIIT train 6x a week, and don't eat back the calories I burn (which I can't calculate anyway)

Am I doing this wrong? I am not hungry! Aaargh I don't want to sabotage myself and it seems like JUST when I think I've got this down, I am wrong.

Any advice? And apologies to dms6k for splitting the thread- I needed similar advice

So let's see... You're losing weight and you're not hungry and you're eating around 1500 calories a day? I'm sorry, but I don't see much of a problem there... And as far as "Don't eat under your BMR"... where did you get that from? I would just continue with whatever you're doing since apparently it's working for you...

Thank you. I cheated and looked at MyFitnessPal and there is like a whole forum declaring how unhealthy it is, etc, etc.

I didn't think there was a problem, but I was worried I was self-sabotaging. I've lost weight unhealthily in the past and I am doing every I can to be educated this time and not revert to poor habits. I let a lot of people down, including myself, when I was bulimic, and I was worried eating too few calories was my latest form of unhealthy weight loss. Since my recovery from bulimia, I find I am perhaps overly-open with my concerns, as keeping my fears to myself last time caused a lot of pain.

I'm sorry if my response came across the wrong way... that wasn't my intent... Do you have someone that you've worked with for the ED that could possibly help you with this? It might be helpful to have someone with that insight when it comes to trying to figure out what's right for you when it comes to calorie counting...

Oh, not at all! I was just explaining myself And the ED was about 10 years ago and I feel I moved past it- I am just extra careful these days, as I am proof "it can happen to you". I've got a big support network of family and friends who know what I am doing. Unfortunately, no doctors in our town again for another 2 months.

You probably just have a faster metabolism than the "norm" that those calculations are based on. I found that this was the case for me as well. When I was losing weight, I set my calories for 1400 per day, and I lost pretty rapidly (I didn't use a scale then, but I was going by how I looked and my clothes). I started increasing my calories to 1700 and then 1800 and then 1900---and I kept losing. After I lost all the weight I wanted to, I experimented with maintenance and learned that I can maintain my goal weight on 2200 calories a day. That is MUCH more than most of the calorie calculators that I had seen put me at.

We are all different, and those charts and calorie estimators are just based on the norm. Those are a good starting point, but you have to experiment to learn the range that best suits you. My motto is to eat as many calories as you can get away with to reach your goal.

This meme floats around a lot, but it's simply not true. Many people eat 1,200 cals while in weight loss mode, and 1,200 is less than BMR for most people. It's not a good idea to go down to, say, 800 cals, because of metabolic adaptation, but there is no logical reason you can't eat below your BMR. When you're not meeting your energy needs through food, your body dips into its fat stores for energy. Which is the whole point, right?

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Yes there is. I made some rather extensive Google attempts at finding research studies that support that claim--and came up blank.

There is an assertion that is taken as gospel by some on MFP that one should eat 20% less than your TDEE and never less than your BMR. There are lots of posts (including the infamous 'roadmap') that "explain" why that is so.

However, they don't point to any research studies, and as far as I can tell, that's because there aren't any. When I've searched for topics such as BMR research studies minimum calories, I haven't found any studies. Just people saying it makes sense. That's not enough to convince me.

I don't even find references on reputable websites such as the Mayo Clinic or WebMD or less-sound but usually comprehensive ones such as about.com.

I'm definitely eating below my BMR. I'm willing to re-assess that if I'm pointed to some research results--until then, my doctor and I think I'm doing fine.