BMR, RMR, BMI....and a partridge in a pear tree....

So...I saw an article in one of the online sites I use to track my food and such (LoseIt...I signed up for that one through a work challenge that I am starting) and read about Basal Metabolic Rate and that in order to lose weight, one needs to at least eat enough calories to meet that BMR because eating lower than that will throw your body into starvation mode.  Well, I know that not eating enough will do that but when I did the calculator, I about fell over!  I'll show you why:

Calculator Status:

Calculator:  BMR & RMR Next:  Make another calculation or click on Calculators.

 BMR & RMR Results:

The results of your calculations are:  BMR 1,627   RMR 1,564 (calories)

For an explanation of BMR and RMR and important notes on the accuracy of these calculations, see Calculating BMR and RMR. We also explain why RMR is likely to be more appropriate for your needs.

As BMR and RMR only represent resting energy expenditure or calories burned during a day of rest, an adjustment must be made to reflect activity level. This can be done by multiplying by an activity factor:

Factor    Category                Definition                               BMR      RMR   1.2 Sedentary Little or no exercise and desk 1,952 1,877 job 1.375 Lightly Active Light exercise or sports 1-3 2,237 2,151 days a week 1.55 Moderately Active Moderate exercise or sports 2,522 2,424 3-5 days a week 1.725 Very Active Hard exercise or sports 6-7 2,807 2,698 days a week 1.9 Extremely Active Hard daily exercise or sports 3,091 2,972 and physical job Source: http://www.caloriesperhour.com/index_burn.php Um....OH MY GOD!!! How in Gods name am I going to eat THAT much food!  I know that at pre-surgery I could eat that no sweat....and I wasn't sweating, therefore intake lots, expend little....gain weight.  BUT, now I usually get in 1200 or so calories and that apparently is below my BMR and RMR.....so is my body in starvation mode??  Could even my exercise with the lower calorie amount keep me somewhat in starvation mode, thereby keeping me from actually losing my regain weight??  Could it truly be as simple as making different food choices to increase the calorie count in order to get my body to respond the way I want it to? So that is what my head went into when I first saw these stats.  After chewing on this for a couple of days and getting some much needed advice from others in my WLS world, I have come to realize that it truly is the QUALITY of the food and not the QUANTITY of the food that is at stake here.  Add a little avacado....cook with higher quality oil....all that stuff that "they" teach us, really is what needs to happen....not what my food addicted head says. (I heard muffins, cookies, chocolate...those could up the calorie count!). Well....here we go....doing some more research.  I'm curious what others out there have experienced.  Have you had your BMR/RMR tested?  What do you think?? Blessings! Kyle