BMR!!! Eating To your BMR... No Matter What!

[piedrafina]

yeah, i love that i have fit day to go back to as well. i just went back to see the date of my last loss and its been 5 months.

i do know that i have a lot working against me. i have pcos and i am on a diuretic for water retention. i know that i have to be extra vigilant, but i am definitely willing to do whatever it takes. no matter what.

i just looked at fitday for today and i'm only up to 1000 calories. how on earth am i going to eat the same amount of food i've eaten the whole day in just a few hours this evening?

[Ilpirata]

i just looked at fitday for today and i'm only up to 1000 calories. how on earth am i going to eat the same amount of food i've eaten the whole day in just a few hours this evening?

That DOES sound daunting. Maybe pack alot more calories in smaller food morsels? mix together half an avocado with 2 tbs of mayo - very calorie and fat dense. If you have coconut oil and heavy cream try adding 1-2 tbs of the CO and 1 fl oz of the heavy cream to some hot tea. Sneaks those calories in there! Eat something really calorie dense for dinner - I'm thinking a nice fatty cut of steak, and veggies drenched with butter and perhaps paremegan cheese... yum!

[Mommie22boys]

Ok, I have seen Hummingbird recommend this thread so many times, I had to stop in and check it out. After reading EVERYTHING, I decided to give this a try. So I started this morning. I have been in the same weight decade for months, so this sounds like as good a place as any to start!

My BMR came out at 1476.25, with the Harris Benedict factor, I get 2029.8. So I think I'm aiming for 1730 as a minimum?? Does that seem right? If so, I definately overshot it today. Of course, I did have to guess at some quantities, but still. . . Here's how today went. What do you guys think?

Average Calories
Total: 1912
Fat: 143 1287 69%
Sat: 28 253 13%
Poly: 29 258 14%
Mono: 27 246 13%
Carbs: 25 80 4%
Fiber: 5 0 0%
Protein: 127 509 27%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%

Here's my food from fitday (don't know why quantities didn't show up):

(#'s that follow each item are: cal., fat, carb, protein, in that order)
Coffee, made from ground, regular, flavored 6 0 1 0
Cream, half and half 79 7 3 2
Egg, whole, raw 149 10 1 12
Yocheese made from Dannon Full-Fat 60 4 3 4
Cocoa powder, not reconstituted (no dry milk) 1 0 0 0
Almond Breeze 25 2 1 1
coconut milk, canned 44 5 1 0
Tuna, canned, water pack 145 1 0 32
Egg, whole, boiled 232 16 2 19
Mayonnaise, regular 396 44 1 1
Tomato catsup 2 0 0 0
Soft drink, cola-type, sugar-free 4 0 0 0
T. Marz Chunky Blue Cheese 150 15 1 1
Chicken, breast, prepared skinless 256 7 2 44
Lettuce, cos or romaine, raw 8 0 1 1
LindaSue Broc-Caul Gratin 357 33 7 10
Totals 1912 143 25 127

[Angel373]

My problem has been complicated by my being too lazy to weigh and measure and use Fitday. So I have NO idea how many calories I was eating before. I was just eating low carb basically. My BMR is 1854 and I would say I'm moderately active. I take care of 2 small kids and try to work out a few times a week. So I think my HB is about 2873, which minus 500 would put me at 2373. Earlier this week I was eating about 2600 a day and feeling like I was starving! BUT...BUT..it was my TOM! AND I was drinking tons of diet soda in addition to my water. Once I quit drinking diet soda completely, my appetite came to a standstill and I'm actually feeling ketosis for the first time in like EVER. Imagine that! So now I'm eating about 2200-2400 a day and that seems to be the magic number for me. I eat when I'm hungry, stop when I'm full and make sure I stay over 1854. I eat as many veggie carbs as I can shove in my pie hole because I don't want to stay at induction levels forever. I have been getting about 30 net carbs even despite that. So far I've lost 1 pound this week and I'm FINALLY under 240, which I never thought would happen!

So anyway, that's where I'm at!

Stacey, you kind of seem to be where I was at for a while. I started at 290 last October and I stalled out at about 240. I've been bouncing around 240-246 the last three months. You mentioned you have PCOS...are you taking metformin? I know a lot of people with PCOS have trouble losing weight at all unless they are on metformin.

[Cyard]

Thanks, K and lene, thanks so much for the support. I'm still struggling, but on plan. Fighting off serious urges to go back to binge behavior. Somewhere I do NOT want to go again. My free meal was Friday night, so maybe it's still water weight?

Did eat to my BMR today The carb numbers are off, though b/c I had dreamfield's pasta and you don't count a lot of those carbs...

Total: 2282
Fat: 158 1418 62%
Sat: 66 594 26%
Poly: 32 285 13%
Mono: 48 429 19%
Carbs: 123 412 18%
Fiber: 20 0 0%
Protein: 112 447 20%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%

[dointhis4me]

Just wanted to post today numbers before I go to bed, still feeling pretty bad but ate lots of mayo today to get my #s up...



Total: 1768
Fat: 135 1212 69%
Carbs: 20 65 4%
Fiber: 4 0 0%
Protein: 119 476 27%

[duece49424]

okay - I'm new here, but was recommended to do this from another thread I'm on. Now, I'm totally confused. If we find out the calories we need, by figuring out the bmr, do we still count carbs? This is a lc website, so on fitday, how do we keep track of both? I sure am asking some crazy questions, but really, really, need help and need to do things the right way. Have not lost weight in a year. So, I have been reading on and off for most of the day about what to do. I have been told to do Induction, Callanetics, and this. Is this a good plan??? Thanks to anyone who took the time to listen to me ramble

[Zer]

Hey, Jane...glad you found your way here. I've learned a LOT about my BMR and about how to figure getting all the way up to my BMR:2423cals using FitDay to track all the significant data. Two ways to use FitDay. It reports food eaten, after the fact. It's also great for planning what to eat to meet one's goals.

As I work my own program, my carbs are a lot higher than I figure they ought to be and my protein grams are lower than the 182g that I should be aiming for - so I am working to find more protein that is carb-free, to bring my totals in at a ratio that meshes with Dr.Atkins' idea of 75%Fat, 20%Protein, 5%Carb (vegie carbs being the best and healthiest carbs for a vitamin-rich program).

Toss your menu into FitDay and just see what a purty pie chart it makes for you as it reports what values your menu has. Good luck working this BMR angle!

[duece49424]

thanks zer, I'm working on it...whew...

[Mommie22boys]

Originally Posted by duece49424

okay - I'm new here, but was recommended to do this from another thread I'm on. Now, I'm totally confused. If we find out the calories we need, by figuring out the bmr, do we still count carbs? [B][COLOR="Red"]This is a lc website, so on fitday, how do we keep track of both?[/[/COLOR]B] I sure am asking some crazy questions, but really, really, need help and need to do things the right way. Have not lost weight in a year. So, I have been reading on and off for most of the day about what to do. I have been told to do Induction, Callanetics, and this. Is this a good plan??? Thanks to anyone who took the time to listen to me ramble

Fitday will track your fat, calories, protein AND carbs. You just type in what you ate. Now, today is my first day trying to eat to my BMR in order to start the scale moving again, but I am absolutely keeping it low carb. If you haven't taken the time yet to read the first two posts on this thread I would encourage you to do so. . .lots of good info there that may help you decide if this is what you want to do.

[duece49424]

thanks, andrea....

[Ilpirata]

Hi Andrea and Jane,
Welcome! We've had some good success here so far and I'm sure you will too.

Jane, YES low carb is first and foremost. Follow Atkins induction before all. Second, eat to your BMR to feed your metabolism, third, if you're up for it DEFINATELY exercise!

I'll post more tomorrow.
Going to eat some melted cheese to meet my BMR!

[retroworx]

Originally Posted by JerseyGirl1969

Zer and Sybil, very happy for you guys.

Well, I have no idea. I have put the scale away for the entire month of June. I need to for my mental health. I am logging my food and calories, trying to get in 1900-2200/day (though one day it was 1700) and I've eliminated whey shakes for the time being and will let you know in a few weeks, how I've done. I was 269 and want to see 259-263 by July 1.

Huh. Just typing those numbers out, particularly the 259, I didn't realize that will soon be me...my weight. It's like I was typing about someone else. Guess my head still sees 320+.

Hello:

I've been following this thread to see how eating to BMR is working for all of you as I consider doing the same. Good work, folks!

JerseyGirl: Is there a reason you dropped the whey shakes? Were they having some sort of negative impact on your weightloss?

Thanks,

[retroworx]

Originally Posted by Cyard

Ok ladies, I'm seriously struggling. This whole 6lb gain from vacation is killing me. I really tried to make good choices! I had one free meal, which was planned, but didn't expect a gain. I'm working really hard at not letting this get me down, but I'm feeling those familiar..."what's the point?" feelings. The whole vacation I watched as my family ate all kinds of goodies and didn't partake and I gained 6lb!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Someone help....

Do you use a lot of salt when you cook for yourself at home? Because simply eating restaurant food for a good couple of days, even if on-plan choices, could cause that kind of water weight gain from the added salt they usually use.

Just a thought,

[Cyard]

Originally Posted by retroworx

Do you use a lot of salt when you cook for yourself at home? Because simply eating restaurant food for a good couple of days, even if on-plan choices, could cause that kind of water weight gain from the added salt they usually use.

Just a thought,

No, I don't use salt much at all. Thanks, I'll consider that. Of course, I'm up MORE pounds today,....

[JerseyGirl1969]

Originally Posted by retroworx

JerseyGirl: Is there a reason you dropped the whey shakes? Were they having some sort of negative impact on your weightloss?

I was losing faster before I included them in my eating. Eliminating to determine if they stall me.

[retroworx]

Originally Posted by JerseyGirl1969

I was losing faster before I included them in my eating. Eliminating to determine if they stall me.

Interesting. I use a bit of protein powder in my diet so I'll be interested in seeing your results with their elimination.

Thanks for the info,

[Serene1]

This is a very helpful thread!

I've been stuck losing and gaining the same few pounds over and over, so I've decided to keep track of my calories as well. Looks like my BMR should be around 1600, so I'm aiming for that. It can be a drag to enter everything into FitDay, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do. I think I was suffering from calorie creep.

[Zer]

I did it! I got up and OUT today! Yesterday was a total bummer, with me all dressed and still not able to make myself go OUT - not at 7am, at 8am, at 9am, at 10am - finally got the point at 11:30 and undressed. I'd been napping and stalling all morning, fully dressed and shoes all tied and not an ounce of courage to sally forth and meet the public or do all of the stuff that needs to be done once in a while. Just gave up on me. What a bummer!

Today was different. I just got up...got dressed...got OUT the door by 8:15am!

At 2:20am Wed: I'm psyching myself to get up and OUT today. Just DO it! Sometimes I can do that, without all the melodrama and angst. I just DO it.

At 10am Wed: Just back from a trip to haul trash out to the car (still in the trunk, for a later trip to the dumpster) and to collect mail at the p'office - and to collect a LC cheeseburger at Carl's. Found out my local Carl's discontinued the Breakfast Bowl that Cleochatra so recently extolled in her LC column. The local Carl's mgr told me it was "full of fat" and did not sell, so they discontinued. This Carl's peddles Mexican food on the side, loaded with fat as well as carbs. Go figure!

Maybe I can locate another Carl's, so I can try out the Breakfast Bowl.

Anyway, what I did different this morning was to NOT engage in dialogue about how scared I am of falling, etc. I just got up, got OUT by 8:15am, did what I had to do, and got myself back home, where I am safely ensconced in my bed writing to you about my small success today.

Actually I can celebrate several successes, because I did not pick up any carby stuff as a 'reward' for being brave and going out. I got a container of cottage cheese that I thought might go well with the bunless burger, but the burger was enough. I was not as hungry as I thought. *burp* I'll have the cottage cheese with tuna and maybe an egg or two for lunch. Got to get my BMR:2423cals!

Thanks for the support and encouragement. Y'all make life more bearable!

[piedrafina]

ok, i gave it my best shot yesterday and i went over! here are my totals for yesterday:

Total: 2285
Fat: 153 1374 61%
Sat: 60 544 24%
Poly: 18 162 7%
Mono: 39 347 15%
Carbs: 77 233 10%
Fiber: 19 0 0%
Protein: 134 536 24%
Alcohol: 15 106 5%

net carbs 43 (the extra "alcohol" is from the dreamfields pasta. i couldn't make the math work to enter it as a custom food any other way than to hide them in the alcohol)

now i am wondering if all the days i didn't track my food in fitday (there was a period of like two months straight) i wasn't going over the whole time and maybe that is causing my stall? i thought i wasn't eating enough but could i have been eating too much? or is it just right? the calculator said i needed 2200 to maintain. so yesterday would have no calorie deficit?

Originally Posted by Angel373

Stacey, you kind of seem to be where I was at for a while. I started at 290 last October and I stalled out at about 240. I've been bouncing around 240-246 the last three months. You mentioned you have PCOS...are you taking metformin? I know a lot of people with PCOS have trouble losing weight at all unless they are on metformin.

i am most definitely stuck at 240. i've had a few plateaus since i started over a year ago, but none that lasted this long. i don't take anything at all for my pcos. my doc wanted me to try diet and exercise to get things in check and said we'd followup later. i haven't been back because ts been over a year, and things were going just fine until 5 months ago. might be time to go see her again.

Originally Posted by Cyard

Ok ladies, I'm seriously struggling. This whole 6lb gain from vacation is killing me. I really tried to make good choices! I had one free meal, which was planned, but didn't expect a gain. I'm working really hard at not letting this get me down, but I'm feeling those familiar..."what's the point?" feelings. The whole vacation I watched as my family ate all kinds of goodies and didn't partake and I gained 6lb!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Someone help....

i SO feel your pain. the same thing happens to me all the time. i always tell myself that nothing tastes as good as thin feels, but its hard to keep that up when you deny yourself and still don't lose. i wish i had some words of wisdom for you, but i'm still trying to find the answer to my scale bouncing too.

[dointhis4me]

Originally Posted by Zer

I did it! I got up and OUT today! Yesterday was a total bummer, with me all dressed and still not able to make myself go OUT - not at 7am, at 8am, at 9am, at 10am - finally got the point at 11:30 and undressed. I'd been napping and stalling all morning, fully dressed and shoes all tied and not an ounce of courage to sally forth and meet the public or do all of the stuff that needs to be done once in a while. Just gave up on me. What a bummer!

Today was different. I just got up...got dressed...got OUT the door by 8:15am!

At 2:20am Wed: I'm psyching myself to get up and OUT today. Just DO it! Sometimes I can do that, without all the melodrama and angst. I just DO it.

At 10am Wed: Just back from a trip to haul trash out to the car (still in the trunk, for a later trip to the dumpster) and to collect mail at the p'office - and to collect a LC cheeseburger at Carl's. Found out my local Carl's discontinued the Breakfast Bowl that Cleochatra so recently extolled in her LC column. The local Carl's mgr told me it was "full of fat" and did not sell, so they discontinued. This Carl's peddles Mexican food on the side, loaded with fat as well as carbs. Go figure!

Maybe I can locate another Carl's, so I can try out the Breakfast Bowl.

Anyway, what I did different this morning was to NOT engage in dialogue about how scared I am of falling, etc. I just got up, got OUT by 8:15am, did what I had to do, and got myself back home, where I am safely ensconced in my bed writing to you about my small success today.

Actually I can celebrate several successes, because I did not pick up any carby stuff as a 'reward' for being brave and going out. I got a container of cottage cheese that I thought might go well with the bunless burger, but the burger was enough. I was not as hungry as I thought. *burp* I'll have the cottage cheese with tuna and maybe an egg or two for lunch. Got to get my BMR:2423cals!

Thanks for the support and encouragement. Y'all make life more bearable!

I am so proud of you KUTGW!!!!!!!!

[ragtopwife]

This is a great thread. The eating to your BMR concept just makes sense.

I have done Atkins off and on for several years and I know as I go into ketosis and my appetite drops, my calories drop drastically to. After years "Lo-cal indoctrination" I thought this was a good thing. Now I am rethinking things.

After reading and researching I got all excited and ran out and bought some CO, Bullet mixer and a shiny brand new notebook to use as a brand new food journal.

I am making a commitment to eat up to my BMR everyday no matter what!


BMR - 1608
HB - 2211

So aiming for between 1800 - 1900 daily.

Ragtopwife

[LoraJR72]

Originally Posted by Zer

I did it! I got up and OUT today! Yesterday was a total bummer, with me all dressed and still not able to make myself go OUT - not at 7am, at 8am, at 9am, at 10am - finally got the point at 11:30 and undressed. I'd been napping and stalling all morning, fully dressed and shoes all tied and not an ounce of courage to sally forth and meet the public or do all of the stuff that needs to be done once in a while. Just gave up on me. What a bummer!

Today was different. I just got up...got dressed...got OUT the door by 8:15am!

At 2:20am Wed: I'm psyching myself to get up and OUT today. Just DO it! Sometimes I can do that, without all the melodrama and angst. I just DO it.

At 10am Wed: Just back from a trip to haul trash out to the car (still in the trunk, for a later trip to the dumpster) and to collect mail at the p'office - and to collect a LC cheeseburger at Carl's. Found out my local Carl's discontinued the Breakfast Bowl that Cleochatra so recently extolled in her LC column. The local Carl's mgr told me it was "full of fat" and did not sell, so they discontinued. This Carl's peddles Mexican food on the side, loaded with fat as well as carbs. Go figure!

Maybe I can locate another Carl's, so I can try out the Breakfast Bowl.

Anyway, what I did different this morning was to NOT engage in dialogue about how scared I am of falling, etc. I just got up, got OUT by 8:15am, did what I had to do, and got myself back home, where I am safely ensconced in my bed writing to you about my small success today.

Actually I can celebrate several successes, because I did not pick up any carby stuff as a 'reward' for being brave and going out. I got a container of cottage cheese that I thought might go well with the bunless burger, but the burger was enough. I was not as hungry as I thought. *burp* I'll have the cottage cheese with tuna and maybe an egg or two for lunch. Got to get my BMR:2423cals!

Thanks for the support and encouragement. Y'all make life more bearable!

Zer! That's fantastic!

[lisabinil]

[QUOTE=piedrafina;10405944]ok, i gave it my best shot yesterday and i went over! here are my totals for yesterday:

Total: 2285
Fat: 153 1374 61%
Sat: 60 544 24%
Poly: 18 162 7%
Mono: 39 347 15%
Carbs: 77 233 10%
Fiber: 19 0 0%
Protein: 134 536 24%
Alcohol: 15 106 5%

net carbs 43 (the extra "alcohol" is from the dreamfields pasta. i couldn't make the math work to enter it as a custom food any other way than to hide them in the alcohol)

now i am wondering if all the days i didn't track my food in fitday (there was a period of like two months straight) i wasn't going over the whole time and maybe that is causing my stall? i thought i wasn't eating enough but could i have been eating too much? or is it just right? the calculator said i needed 2200 to maintain. so yesterday would have no calorie deficit?



i am most definitely stuck at 240. i've had a few plateaus since i started over a year ago, but none that lasted this long. i don't take anything at all for my pcos. my doc wanted me to try diet and exercise to get things in check and said we'd followup later. i haven't been back because ts been over a year, and things were going just fine until 5 months ago. might be time to go see her again.



You may need to ask your doc about metformin. This link might help you-it tells about insulin resistance and pcos and the other thread is one started by bloodsugar101-a lot of great info there.

Metformin for PCOS: Discover the Benefits and Side Effects of Glucophage.

BMR wake up call for us older ladies

[Leannemomof2girls]

Ok, I wanna do this, but I'm confused...

My BMR is 1831. So I do the Harris Benedict formula and get 2198. But it says that this would be what I need to eat to MAINTAIN my weight (I don't wanna maintain). SO, do I subtract 500 calories from the 2198 to lose??? I'm lost. Math wasn't my strong subject.

[Coconutty]

Originally Posted by Leannemomof2girls

Ok, I wanna do this, but I'm confused...

My BMR is 1831. So I do the Harris Benedict formula and get 2198. But it says that this would be what I need to eat to MAINTAIN my weight (I don't wanna maintain). SO, do I subtract 500 calories from the 2198 to lose??? I'm lost. Math wasn't my strong subject.

You would typically subtract 300-500 cals from your HB BMr to lose, but since that would put you under your 1831 BMR, eat no lower than 1831 to avoid starvation mode. You should still be able to lose at this amount. I'm sure that others will chime in on how they lost weight eating over 2000cals. Also, If you can add a little activity (i.e. walking) you can create a bigger deficit

ZER, I'm so happy that you were able to get out today. I know that you will see the day that it will not be such a struggle for you. You are doing awesome!!

I haven't checked in for a few days, but I'm still eating to my BMR. I went to my doc today, and not surprisingly she thrashed the LC woe. She also had a few things to say about my calorie level. She said it was too high, that I will never lose weight at this level, blah blah blah. But when I told her that I was finally able to drop a couple pounds after upping the calories, she said "Well you probably were in starvation mode." Which is it, either the calories are too high or too low. Anyway, I'll give her the benefit of the doubt because I know doctors are not trained in nutrition. Plus she's a good doc, so I forgive her (but won't follow her nutrition advice!) She's very interested to see the results of my blood work (triglycerides, cholesterol). I'm hoping they will be sparkling so she can know that LC is a healthy woe, and maybe try it herself!

[Leannemomof2girls]

Originally Posted by Coconutty

You would typically subtract 300-500 cals from your HB BMr to lose, but since that would put you under your 1831 BMR, eat no lower than 1831 to avoid starvation mode. You should still be able to lose at this amount. I'm sure that others will chime in on how they lost weight eating over 2000cals. Also, If you can add a little activity (i.e. walking) you can create a bigger deficit

ZER, I'm so happy that you were able to get out today. I know that you will see the day that it will not be such a struggle for you. You are doing awesome!!

I haven't checked in for a few days, but I'm still eating to my BMR. I went to my doc today, and not surprisingly she thrashed the LC woe. She also had a few things to say about my calorie level. She said it was too high, that I will never lose weight at this level, blah blah blah. But when I told her that I was finally able to drop a couple pounds after upping the calories, she said "Well you probably were in starvation mode." Which is it, either the calories are too high or too low. Anyway, I'll give her the benefit of the doubt because I know doctors are not trained in nutrition. Plus she's a good doc, so I forgive her (but won't follow her nutrition advice!) She's very interested to see the results of my blood work (triglycerides, cholesterol). I'm hoping they will be sparkling so she can know that LC is a healthy woe, and maybe try it herself!

ok, so if I eat OVER the 1800+ calories, would I gain??? Or is this just to make sure we're eating enough. Trust me, I have NO problem eating enough, lol.

[Coconutty]

Originally Posted by Leannemomof2girls

ok, so if I eat OVER the 1800+ calories, would I gain??? Or is this just to make sure we're eating enough. Trust me, I have NO problem eating enough, lol.

Well, according to the HB equation, you need to eat 2198 to maintain your current weight. So eating a couple hundred over 1800 should not cause you to gain, and it likely you can still lose at that level (of course if you go way, way over you are likely to gain or stall). But I don't think that we can know for sure until you try eating to your BMR and track your progress. Most of us use the BMR to make sure we eat enough, but it also makes sense to use it to make sure you're not eating too much.

[Mommie22boys]

Well, I'm JUST going to make my BMR today. I wasn't even hungry, but after the boys' soccer practice I had to add a small protein shake and now I'll go have a 1-egg egg salad just to get there. Tomorrow I'll plan more calories during the day (i.e. take more food to work with me) so I'm not struggling to make it to my goal at nighttime.

Here it is:

Total: 1773
Fat: 143 1291 73%
Sat: 50 450 26%
Poly: 25 221 13%
Mono: 35 317 18%
Carbs: 31 107 6%
Fiber: 4 0 0%
Protein: 90 361 20%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%

What do you guys think of these numbers? I guess the percentages don't look too bad, but it seems like maybe I need more protein? Is 90 enough? I wouldn't mind giving up some carbs if I needed more protein. I guess I'm still confused as to what my goals are, besides my magic, never-go-below number of 1730.

[lowcarblulu]

Hi everyone - do you have room for one more? I've been reading this thread with great interest and it makes a lot of sense.

My BMR is 1735 and my HB BMR is 2386. My daily range is 1886-2086 calories. Unlike others here, my challenge is keeping my calories that low. So I've cut out most cheese and LC goodies and eating really clean. I've been doing pretty well doing this and I'm convinced that this will help get the scale moving once again.