Basic Metabolic Needs

I found this website that calculates your Basic Metabolic Rate. That is the amount of calories your body burns if you don't do anything all day.

http://health.discovery.com/tools/calculators/basal/basal.html

If you don't eat at least your basic metabolic needs your body will go into starvation mode and that slows your metabolism. After a week to a month of dieting below your BMR your metabolism will slow down.

Mine came at just over 1500 calories. I was surprised to see it was that high. On Atkins I don't count calories except for curiosity's sake and to make sure I am eating enough, but I found it interesting.

What is YOUR metabolic rate? Was it higher or lower than you expected? What are your thoughts? Are you getting at least that many calories?

Oh, and this is the activity calculator, if anyone is interested.

http://health.discovery.com/tools/calculators/activity/activity.html

I know that this site has this calculator too, but maybe there are activities that aren't listed here.

Thanks Sara!! I'm going to check this out right now

So basically you have to eat a minimum of your BMR to NOT go into starvation mode? Mine was 1346-1358 (With NO physical activity AT ALL). I checked a couple of different websites

That is how I understand it, Keri. Plus a little more for any activity that you do.

Cool find, thanks for sharing!

I just did mine, it said 2,000 for me! WOW huh?! There is no way! I was diagnosed (DM) with diabetes in February and was directed to consume 1,500 calories a day to both manage my DM and lose weight! Even still, I don't always even get the 1,500 in...more often than not, I am between 1,200-1,400.

...and I thought I was doing good! GEEZ!

Uhmmm ... wow. I don't get it then.... why would most docs, or all that I've talked to, tell me to eat 200 - 400 calories less than this site says??

Do you guys know how the weightwatchers points translate into calories? At my allowable 22 points, I'm wondering how many calories would that be?

according to this i should be at 1486...i never reach that unless i do a couple of large burbons and cokes...how interesting...

My favorite site is caloriesperhour.com. Here is a nice link that shows your RMR, BMR, caloric needs...it has some great weight loss calculators.
http://www.caloriesperhour.com/index_burn.php

According to caloriesperhour:
If you want to lose weight, you can use the Weight Loss Calculator to calculate how many more calories you need to burn each day than you eat. This figure is called a calorie deficit.

calories eaten - calories burned = calorie deficit

Once you determine the calorie deficit you'd like to achieve, you can use the Food Calculator to calculate how much less you need to eat, or the Activity Calculator to calculate how much more you need to exercise. Or you can achieve the deficit you desire with a combination of eating less and exercising more.

If you eat 1200 cal/day but your RMR with activity factored in is 1500 cal/day, your deficit is 300..and in 10 days with these variables alone, youd burn 3000 extra calories....maybe this is what the DOCS are talking to you about? Eat less than you burn if you want to lose weight?

Yes.. more or less WW point are about 50 cal/point...So 22 pts would be 1100 cal give or take..right?

Rosanna, what the site gives is an avarage for the information you put in. If you have DM it is different for you because your metabolism is different. Go by what your doctor tells you.

BT, that goes for you too. Go by what your doc says.

It's hard to translate that into WW points because there are many things that have some calories but are 0 points (i.e. most veggies, etc.). I don't think the two systems would jive.