I have read pieces and parts on the Basal Metabolic Rate and was wondering what folks in here think of it. For me, my BMR is 2600 calories. On an LC diet that is alot of food. Veggies don't have a lot of calories and eating that much in protein is too much food for me. It was nothing in my pre-LC days but now I can't eat that much. So I don't get all the calories in. Do you think that can cause stalls or slow downs? There is the old theory of starvation mode and I am a believer in it but I thought that would only come into play if your eating 10% or 15% of your BMR.
Thanks,
John

When I was trying to figure this out, I found different sources calculated the BMR and "required" calories differently. I don't think it's an exact science, particularly at the individual level. People are so different; and those calculations refer to an approximate average at best, I'm sure.

It's true that eating too much protein can interfer with weight loss. Some protein gets converted to glucose when it's being metabolized. So, eating excessive amounts of protein can have the same effect as eating too many carbs.

Do you eat many high fat foods (olive oil, cheese, butter, nuts)? If you really need to boost your calories (and I'm not at all sure that's the case), perhaps you could incorporate some of the healthy fats in your meal. Healthy fats provide lots of important nutrients (vitamins, Omega 3 and 6, as well as other essential fatty acids). Fats also help the body metabolize fat-soluable vitamins.

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~~~Teelbee
Back to GOAL!!!
start weight: 176/goal range: 137-134/now: 138
Reached goal in Aug. 2003 - 4rd year of maintenance.

Here's a snippet from an MSNBC news article that explains this better than I did above:
from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7514105/

__________________
~~~Teelbee
Back to GOAL!!!
start weight: 176/goal range: 137-134/now: 138
Reached goal in Aug. 2003 - 4rd year of maintenance.

my personal theory is that all of the charts, numbers, etc. like bmr are guidelines, generalities to give you an idea of where you're at compared to the "average." but there seem to be lots of personal fluctuations. sort of like the expected height for a 10 year old male or something: there are averages, but a great deal of individual differences as well.

and just from my time around here, i've seen huge differences in individual needs and reactions to various eating patterns. some people have to watch calories closely, some don't, some can do well with food x or y, some cannot get near it without gaining, and so on.

personally, i use that sort of info as a starting point for personal experimentation to find out what works for me. i mean, heck, if the chart says something that doesn't work for me, then who am i gonna listen to? me or the chart?

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