What to do with Resting Metabolic rate??

[amara11]

I'm slightly confused as to how to incorporate your RMR into your diet and lifestyle. I understand that in order to lose a pound in a week, your body needs a deficit of about 3500 calories/wk, or 500 calories a day. To create this deficit, do you subtract from your RMR, or do you subtract from your "current" caloric intake? Also how do you factor in exercise into the calculation?

If someone could clear this up for me I'd greatly appreciate it. It's time for me to get back on track- the right way.

~amara~

[Soliel185]

You should subtract the deficit from your daily caloric intake and balance out the rest of it with exercise. For example, most plans say you should aim for a deficit of 500 cals a day in order to lose 1-2 lbs a week. So split it in two - subtract 250 from the calories you ingest, and burn an additional 250 through exercise. This is suggested b/c it often easier for people to do then to subtract all 500 from caloric intake as it will leave most people hungry at first.

Your RMR is just a guideline you can use to help determine what your daily caloric intake should be. The more muscle you have, the higher your RMR, meaning the more you can eat and maintain weight, or the easier it may be for you to lose. A low RMR comes from being completely sedetary, or having a high body fat percentage. HTH

[cheetarah1980]

Your resting metabolic rate is the # of calories your body burns just staying alive. It varies per person depending on muscle mass, but 10 calories per pound is an average guess. RMR does not include calories burned doing daily activities and exercise. When trying to lose weight, don't subtract calories from your RMR as these are needed to keep you alive. Your total caloric intake is based on this equation: RMR calories + daily activities calories (sedentary, moderate, or active) + exercise = Total Calories per day. I weigh about 170 pounds so the equation looks like this for me 1700 + 300 (moderate daily activity) + 800= 2800 calories per day. If I'm trying to lose weight, I would cut some calories eaten from either the daily activities or exercise pieces of the equation. I would NEVER go under 1700 a day as I need those calories to properly sustain basic metabolic functions (i.e. breathing, hair growth, digestion, etc.). HTH.

[amara11]

Thanks Ladies! but I still have a few questions:

cheetarah, you said that you were around 1700 + 300 for moderate exercise, then you added 800 to that to get 2800- what was the 800 added for?

Also, just to be completely clear, if I want to lost 1 pound a week, I would subtract 500 calories a day (combo of eating and exercise deficits). Would I subtract this from the "2800" u used as your example?

sorry so many ????????????????????s


amara

[cheetarah1980]

Thanks Ladies! but I still have a few questions:

cheetarah, you said that you were around 1700 + 300 for moderate exercise, then you added 800 to that to get 2800- what was the 800 added for?

Also, just to be completely clear, if I want to lost 1 pound a week, I would subtract 500 calories a day (combo of eating and exercise deficits). Would I subtract this from the "2800" u used as your example?

sorry so many ????????????????????s


amara

Not quite. I added 300 calories for moderate activity. Activity means just your daily routine. Some people have active days (construction workers), while others are pretty sedentary (office workers). Most fall somewhere in between. Remember RMR is just the number of calories your body burns keeping itself alive. You also burn calories cooking, typing, walking to your car, going grocery shopping, etc. That's the 300 activity calories I was counting. The 800 calories is how many calories I burn doing actual exercise (running, lifting weights, aerobics, tae kwon do, etc.). That's how I came up to 2800 calories a day needed to sustain my current weight. If I want to lose I can cut 250-500 calories from my daily caloric intake, thus creating a deficit. If you create too much of a deficit your body will go into starvation mode (storing all calories because it thinks it's starving, thus inhibiting weight loss). The key is to create just enough of a deficit so your metabolism keeps going and you wind up losing weight.