Eating below BMR?
 

BMR or basal metabolic rate is the number of calories required to keep your body functioning at rest. For me this comes up to 1481 calories

I've also come across so many tools that let you calculate the number of calories to eat if you want to "lose x pounds in y weeks". For me this amounts to 1200 calories.

My question is:
What are the good or bad effects of eating below BMR?
(I could eat one extra avocado in the amount of calories that my BMR indicates.)
Can eating below my BMR be the reason I'm not losing weight?

Any insight into this from personal experience is appreciated!
Thanks! :)

I take the BMR and multiply by my activity level, the harris benedict equation. I am very active so I multiply that number by 1.725. My number then shows as roughly 2589, which my fitbit does agree with - I workout pretty intensely. So then to lose a lb a week you need to subtract 500/day, to lose 2 lbs you need to subtract 1,000. I eat about 1500 calories a day and I do tend to lose about 2 lbs more or less each week.

I track everything I eat and for the most part make the healthiest choice from my research, lean meats - flank steak, london broil, chicken, turkey, etc, no refined carbs, lots of veggies, whole grains, 2% cheese, nuts, eggs, etc.

I've lost 46 lbs doing it this way. To me, I have to watch calories AND exercise 5 days a week.

I've never heard of eating below the BMR as being bad. Usually it's below 1000 or 1200 calories regardless of your BMR. AFAIK it's not uncommon. I just looked it up on a bunch of different sites and it seems to be one of those circulating myths. The only people I could find perpetuating it were people on internet forums, which isn't always the best place for facts (say I on an internet forum :P).

It's really nice that you're able to track what you eat. I've started doing the same & its been a week. Do you strictly count calories? I've tried it in the past with the MyFitnessPal app and I feel so stressed throughout the day because I'm left hungry and already done with my daily calorie 'requirement'. Has that happened with you as well?

Also, you losing 46 lbs is so inspiring!! I would be happy if I could just get out of my 150s and into the 140s! :dizzy:

I think you may be right about that. I've only read that your body goes into 'starvation mode' and starts saving fat instead of expending it, thus resulting is little to no weight loss. I was just wondering at what point the body goes into that mode. So you're saying its 1000 calories?

I've read that too but there's seems to be a lot of articles saying that's a myth too, so who knows. It's nutrition and knowledge changes so fast. But the guidelines for what I've heard are 1000 for women and 1200 for men. With or without "starvation mode" as such, it's awfully difficult to get the nutrients you need on anything less and I personally wouldn't recommend it.

Yes, I track my calories. I use my fitbit. To eat 1500 I eat 300 for breakfast, 100 snack, 400 lunch, 100 snack, 500 dinner, 100 dessert. That way I am eating all day and never starving.

Breakfast - I have either steel cut oatmeal with strawberries and a yogurt, or 2 eggs, 2 pieces of turkey bacon and a yogurt
early snack - usually a piece of string cheese, i tend to skip this one a lot
Lunch - 2 T of PB on a piece of whole wheat toast and an apple, or a big salad with leftover meat or grilled chicken with low cal dressing
afternoon snack - 30 pistachios, yogurt, yogurt shake
dinner - 5 oz of some kind of meat, half a cup of a grain like brown rice, quinoa, couscous, etc and a cup of veggies
dessert - a 100 calorie ice cream like blue bunny or skinny cow

That's a good plan! And also I am thinking of investing in a fitbit. I think even with a clean diet, consistency is key. How many times do you eat out? I feel like my social life has taken a hit ever since I started watching what I eat :(

I have no idea of it.

Is there any actual valid data about dipping below 1,000 being bad for women? If you eat a lot of vegetables and some lean meat you are going to get a MUCH more nutrition diet than 1200 calories of processed food.