Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Ok, Shell, Laurel and all I need your help again

yup, that's way too low, and I think I know why...

Shell may have already addressed this in her email to you but, 1770 is your *actual* BMR, right? As in, what your body would need if you just lay in bed all day? The term "BMR" gets some conflicting definitions on here sometimes, in that some people use it to term that number (lying in bed) and some people use it to term the calories they need all day - which INCLUDES ACTIVITY (that's not right, as in BMR = basal metabolic rate which just means what you'd need to lie in bed but that's ok

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So my guess is that 1770 is your *actual* BMR and that you haven't added on what you need for a basic lifetyle. For example, my BMR is 1400 but when I add on basic lifestyle my body really needs is around at least 2000 (and I'm pretty tiny but that is higher than the number you've got there, which sets of bells for me). So, here's a basic example of an "activity multiplier" by which you'd multiply your BMR to find out how many calories you body needs on an AVERAGE DAY (not including any exercise):

Sedentary (bed bound) BMR x 1.2
Seated work BMR x 1.4
Seated work, some movement BMR x 1.6
Standing work (i.e. housework, retail) BMR x 1.8
Strenuous work (i.e. construction) BMR x 2

Do that calculation and you'll get what's called your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) - which doesn't include any extra exercise you might do. From this, it's safe to decrease your calories by up to *20%* (which for most women averages out to the 500 number you mentioned, and leads to about 1 lb a week ON AVERAGE).

So lets say that yes, 1770 is your BMR, and that you do seated work (for example, use whichever one is most appropriate for you):
1770 x 1.4 = 2478 TDEE - 20% (495) = 1982 daily calorie budget (aim for 1950-2150 calories a day)

But if you do, say, standing work, you can see how many more calories you'd need:
1770 x 1.8 = 3186 TDEE - 20% (637) = 2549 calorie budget (aim for 2500-2600 calories a day)

And just for the hell of it while I'm at it, standing work with some movement:
1770 x 1.6 = 2832 TDEE - 20% (566) = 2266 calorie budget (aim for 2200-2300 calories a day)

So as you can see, if I remember correctly you were going for around 20 points a day on WW? Which equals around 1000-1200 calories a day! Ack! That's insanely low for what your body seems to need. No WONDER you were having so much trouble staying under budget and NO WONDER you weren't losing weight!

Ok hope that helps!!

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