Im 5'9 168lbs 14-16% body fat . My bmr is 1850. In order to lose 1-1.5lbs (fat) per week i would need a 3500-5200 calorie deficit in the week correct? So if I have 1400 calories per day 45% protein, 25% fat, 35% carbs which is 2800 deficit for the week but I lift 4-5 times a week and do cardio 5 days a week which would be 1500-2000 calories lost by exercise a week. So Im at a deficit of 4300-4800. My question is when i post my diet and exercise routine people respond saying Im not eating enough how could that be true?

BMR is your base rate. In other words, if you lay in bed all day and don't move.

You need to consider activity levels.

I stated that Im losing 1500-2000 a week due to exercising.

I stated that Im losing 1500-2000 a week due to exercising.

So?

If you eat 450 calories per day less than what your body requires just to lay around and stay alive, PLUS you burn off an extra 200-700 calories in exercise, you've got an even bigger deficit and even more muscle being burned up.

Not to mention the calories you use in walking around during the day or doing your job or whatever. Look for calculators with an activity factor.

I just googled, and this (http://www.shapefit.com/basal-metabolic-rate.html) is the first thing that comes up:

Now that you know your BMR, you can calculate TDEE by multiplying your BMR by your activity multiplier from the chart below:

Activity Multiplier
Sedentary = BMR X 1.2 (little or no exercise, desk job)
Lightly active = BMR X 1.375 (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk)
Mod. active = BMR X 1.55 (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk)
Very active = BMR X 1.725 (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk)
Extr. active = BMR X 1.9 (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.)

Example:
Your BMR is 1339 calories per day
Your activity level is moderately active (work out 3-4 times per week)
Your activity factor is 1.55
Your TDEE = 1.55 X 1339 = 2075 calories/day

TDEE is total daily energy expenditure, or the BMR plus your activities.

Your deficit is much bigger than you think it is. I suggest you go reread the stickies.

BTW, why do you not keep all of this in the threads you've already (http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=32297) started (http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=32196) on the subject.

You don't seem to want to believe what people tell you, so why do you keep asking?

I'll try to explain the best I can. I'm going to use the activities that you posted here:
http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showpost.php?p=397803&postcount=1
along with very conservative estimates from www.fitday.com for calories burned. We'll look at weekly totals for calories in and calories out. Again I'm going to be extremely conservative.

Calories Out:
BMR = 1850 x 7 days = 12950
Weights (5 days a week for 45 minutes with some effort) = 315 x 5 days = 1575
Cardio #1 (for 20 minutes 4 days a week after weights) = 195 x 4 days = 780
Cardio #2 (You said you run on Wednesday mornings before food - I'll estimate 20 minutes) = 195 x 1 day = 195
Walking (Brisk pace, 2 miles Monday - Thursday) = 250 x 4 = 1000
Sport (I chose tennis for 30 minutes 1 day a week) = 250 x 1 = 250

Total Calories Out: 12950 + 1575 + 780 +195 +1000 + 250 = 16750

**NOTE: This assuming you do NOTHING else - you wake up, perform cardio/weights/walk/tennis and you go back to sleep. I used ONLY your BMR for the base activity level**

Calories In:
Daily calorie intake = 1400 x 7 days = 9800

Total Calories Out: 9800

TOTAL DEFICIT = 16750 - 9800 = 6950 calories/week.

So, assuming that the entire deficit is fat loss you will lose almost 2lbs of fat every single week. This assumption is poor at best. The truth is that you are probably not feeding your body what it needs and thus you will lose a combination of muscle and fat totaling about 2lbs a week (in theory). This case is also flawed because as I stated above, I used extremely conservative numbers and did not take into account everyday calorie expenditures such as sitting at a desk for 8 hours, walking to the washroom, cooking, and so on. I hope this helps you understand why you have been told by several members on this board several times to eat more. We're not all banding together to trick you into eating more - we're actually trying to help you.

BTW, why do you not keep all of this in the threads you've already (http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=32297) started (http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=32196) on the subject.

You don't seem to want to believe what people tell you, so why do you keep asking?

I agree with keeping it all in one thread. It's easier for others who are new to reading your issues to have all the information housed in 1 location w/out having to hunt all over the board for numerous threads. If however you are just posting in different places to try to look for what you want to hear, that is another issue. (as I gather from the above post)

~SC~

thank you very much for the replies. I was misinformed about bmr and now I completely understand. This is great becuase now I can eat more :). Now with the correct understanding I should be eating 2000 calories a day which is great. Thanks for making me understand now:lol:

Glad we got that straightened out :)

In the end, though, everybody is a bit different. Set a plan and follow it for 2-3 weeks and see what happens. Stick with it for that period. If at the end of the period you don't see positive progress, reevalute. It might be your energy is too low for the workload, or it might be that you're dropping weight too slow or too fast. Make tweaks. Maybe add or subtract 200-300 calories per day. Adjust macros. Change training.

Start the cycle again for 2-3 weeks. Part of the battle here is learning what each of us responds too best. :tu:

In the end, though, everybody is a bit different...Start the cycle again for 2-3 weeks. Part of the battle here is learning what each of us responds too best. :tu:

Definately agreed:tucool: