Damn You BMR! No wonder why we all get fat as we age

[CzeCze]

Okay, I just checked my BMR annnd SAY WHAT? I need around 1400 calories a day to maintain my weight. OMG. Do you know how little 1400 calories is? Unless you are cooking at home aware of portion control for diet/fitness purposes I would routinely be going over this 1400 mark.

Bah, I'm not sure what the point of this thread is other than to complain. Also, don't bodies 'adjust' and 'reset' to the number of calories you eat for better or worse? That's why diets fail and people can survive on lower calories and also why even if you aren't watching your diet and eat what you like you don't have noticeable weight gain? At least...not for a while?

Has anyone else checked their BMR? Does anyone actually follow those guidelines, either to lose, gain, or maintain their weight? Or like most people do you just generally maintain your weight and slowly creep up the scale over the years. Bah.

 

[Glycerine]

I checked mine, it's 1200 cal/day to maintain my weight. 1000 to lose weight. Some days, I eat about 1000 and other days 1500 so it evens out.

I eat what I want to eat and eat until I'm full. Drinking mostly water leaves you more calories to expend. Eating is seriously one of the only things I have good self-discipline with.

I think bodies do adjust so it's my personal philosophy to go over every once in awhile to keep your metabolism sharp.

 

[lunalum]

Isn't BMR the amount of calories we burn just to function? So unless you are truly just laying still all day and completely relaxed you are burning more than the BMR...

I am maintaining my weight right now and haven't been exercising and I probably eat a lot more than 1480 calories.

 

[Glycerine]

yes, it's basal metabolism rate.

"You expend energy no matter what you're doing, even when sleeping. Thus your Basal Metabolic Rate is the number of calories you'd burn if you stayed in bed all day - a tempting idea for some. If you've noticed that every year, it becomes harder to eat whatever you want and stay slim, you've also learned that your Basal Metabolic Rate decreases as you age. Likewise, depriving yourself of food in hopes of losing weight also decreases your BMR, a foil to your intentions. However, a regular routine of cardiovascular exercise can increase your BMR, improving your health and fitness when your body's ability to burn energy gradually slows down."

http://health.discovery.com/centers/heart/basal/basal.html

 

[Death]

1400 KCAL = 5857.6 KJ PER DAY. A WATT IS A JOULE PER SECOND, SO THAT MEANS YOU ARE CONSUMING ABOUT 68 WATT WHILE YOU ARE ALIVE.

IF HUMANS COULD BE SIMULATED ON LESS ENERGY THAN THIS, THEN THERE WOULD BE NO NEED FOR YOUR BODIES.

SORRY, JUST THINKING OUT LOUD.

 

[Southern Kross]

I've never heard of this before. Based on the calculator on Glycerine's link, I got 1445 Calories per day (which I discovered is 6046kj). That seems like a lot, right? Is that good or bad?

 

[Tiger Owl]

1837.4 kcal. I can live with that.

 

[Riva]

My father always tells me as his father has always told him -

It doesn't matter how much you eat, as long as you work out.

And work out he does.

Every day of his life, somedays he does it twice.

Since he was 23.
(Except on Sundays.)

He is 60 this December.

He is an ESTJ.

My grandfather was an ESTP.

He lived till 90.

Didn't have any of those diseases people are always concerned about and fear.

Died in his sleep.

 

[Elfboy]

mine is probably like 3000. I'm shrinking into a scrawny pile of bones

 

[Qlip]

My BMR is 1800. I don't count calories, as a rule I don't like to count anything at all unless I'm forced to by necessity. For the most part my body manages to tell me when I've eaten enough or not enough, but I don't often listen to it. :/

 

[Glycerine]

I've never heard of this before. Based on the calculator on Glycerine's link, I got 1445 Calories per day (which I discovered is 6046kj). That seems like a lot, right? Is that good or bad?

That sounds about right. It's not good or bad... it's just what it is. It's 1445 cal just for laying in bed all day long. In reality, if you do more than than that, you would need more calories to maintain your weight.

 

[INA]

I followed it briefly, with definite if minimal effect. Then again, I was already thin and my weight rarely ever gets outside a 5-pound band. The extent to which your body just adjusts is limited, not to mention dependent on your body type.

 

[Saslou]

Holy crap .. You guys got such higher numbers than me .. Mine is only 880.4 .. That's bad isn't it?

 

[INA]

Are you a "little person?"

 

[Rail Tracer]

BMR 1547.25 (technically, to be healthy, I should be at around a BMR of about 1703)

But I am ....slim.

I should be eating upwards to about 2500 calories.

However, maintaining 2500 calories a day for me is a great task unto itself. I generally only am able to eat about 2000 calories on a daily basis.

Heard that, by about age 25 is when people start gaining weight. Well? I am not 25 yet, but I would at least want to get 2500 calories a day.

But hey, it could explain why I am always at the same weight I have always been since middle school. I haven't really eaten more or less than I "need" (in quotes because I know I need to eat more) to eat

Anyhow, to survive with little energy, people need at least 1200 calories. Any less than 1200 calories is extreme starvation.

 

[Stanton Moore]

1961.9. I must be fat...

 

[Rail Tracer]

1961.9. I must be fat...

I would love to have that high of a BMR, it means that I am keeping a good weight for me.

 

[CzeCze]

[

1400 KCAL = 5857.6 KJ PER DAY. A WATT IS A JOULE PER SECOND, SO THAT MEANS YOU ARE CONSUMING ABOUT 68 WATT WHILE YOU ARE ALIVE.

IF HUMANS COULD BE SIMULATED ON LESS ENERGY THAN THIS, THEN THERE WOULD BE NO NEED FOR YOUR BODIES.

SORRY, JUST THINKING OUT LOUD.

Umm...hi "Death"...I like having my body just fine...

:backs away slowly:

That sounds about right. It's not good or bad... it's just what it is. It's 1445 cal just for laying in bed all day long. In reality, if you do more than than that, you would need more calories to maintain your weight.

The thing is I'm always reading about how people overestimate the calories burned during exercise. Cardio doesn't burn a ton, even if you run at moderate to high intensity you are burning what - maybe 350 calories? 350 calories is not even a full meal. 350 calories *is* however 2/3s of a Starf*cks frappucino.

Holy crap .. You guys got such higher numbers than me .. Mine is only 880.4 .. That's bad isn't it?

Wow. If you did it correctly I wouldn't say it's bad. I guess it's only bad if you find it very hard to eat around that many calories a day.

However, maintaining 2500 calories a day for me is a great task unto itself. I generally only am able to eat about 2000 calories on a daily basis.

I'm guessing you are either a guy (arrgh so many guys have this "problem" of naturally easily losing weight or being slender) or a true ectomorphic female and picky eater?

1961.9. I must be fat...

Haha. No. Having that high of a BMR is a nice starting point if you want to maintain or lose weight. You would also have a high BMR the more exercise/activity you have a day. And technically muscle. Or something.

I've never heard of this before. Based on the calculator on Glycerine's link, I got 1445 Calories per day (which I discovered is 6046kj). That seems like a lot, right? Is that good or bad?

Heck no!

For visual presentation check out this video of Beyonce's 1600 calorie diet. For her body type and the amount of dancing she does 1600 is tiny and is basically a chronic caloric deficit.

Ugh. That is not appetizing for 365 days a year. I have long stretches where I eat like that (or try to) but who naturally eats like that?

Watch from 1:13 to 1:31 to see what 1600 calories a day looks like

[video=youtube;-YuvvkjHouk]1:17 to 1:31 see what 1600 calories a day looks like[/video]

Part of the reason I posted about the BMR is that for most people in the US calories stack up hella FAST.

And if you eat out a lot? Very hard to hit near your maintenance BMR. In my jobs where I was on the road I would literally have to get fast food through a drive through and eat it in the parking lot before speeding to my next appointment (joking about the speeding ) or I was chained to my desk from 8am-7pm and eating 3-4 times a day at my computer or for a brief respite at some highly fattening office cantina.

And at the time I wondered how I got so fat. Then I lost it. Then some of it has crept back up. Now that I know better I'm seriously just like WTH. It is a challenge to plan meals that hit that maintenance mark, even with a lot of daily physical activity that bumps up your limit by a few hundred calories.

The weight on the scale slowly creeps up. Ever. So. Slowly. By months not days.

OMG, I think I'm just discouraging myself and getting obsessive before I hit my fitness goals (go go TypeC Exercise Challenge!)

 

[Glycerine]

R U FREAKING KIDDING ME ABOUT STARBUCKS? I know people who go there religiously.... that's a lotta calories.

 

[violaine]

I have a calorie/nutrition tracker app. I'm vaguely interested in calorie restriction/optimal nutrition for longevity and am experimenting. (I'm always experimenting! I think it's important not to restrict calories too far as that really messes up one's metabolism.) So far, I very easily and happily get by on under 1300 calories a day when I'm eating fresh foods. Not too strict with myself. Some days I eat more and some much less. The main thing is trying to eat nourishing foods without all those extra calories. I don't go crazy with exercise anymore either as I'd then need to bump up my calorie intake a bit.