Nat - basal metabolic rate
 

Nat (or anyone really),

On the Introduction board you answered my first post and suggested I investigate basal metabolic rate since you said my calorie intake was too low (I used fitday and I came up just shy of 2000 calories). My question is this: The basal metabolic rate is what your body needs to survive 'at rest' so assuming you consume LESS than this amount wouldn't your body burn itself to keep going? Assuming your in ketosis this would be fat. The way I understand it (and here is where I probably need clarification) is that if you consume your BMR of calories you will neither gain nor lose any weight. I always understood this to be the thinking behind reduced calorie diets (I know, LC isn't a low calorie diet, but doesn't the logic still apply?).

If I consume 500 less calories than I need to live, won't my body burn those calories from it's stores (ie FAT)???

Please help me understand this.

From what I gathered researching that post in daily "Where's the Fat " BMR is what your body needs to function; cell division, respiration etc... it does not take into account that we walk, talk, move about, go to our job, sit at work, and that some of us workout quite strenuously. Eating 10 - 12 times your body weight is actually eating less than your body needs and you do lose weight. Based on my fitday calculations I expend over 3500 calories a day if I go to work, feed my BMR and then workout. Now there's no way I eat 3500 calories, I manage about 1600 - 1900 daily, that puts me at a deficit of 1600 - 1900 calories (numbers are confusing but it just worked out that way, I swear ;)).

Eating 500 calories below your BMR over an extended period of time will only force your body to make do on less, it will think there is a famine coming and start preparing for it.

Does this help?
Nat