Understanding calories

sassyjassy1222

Hey everyone,
Im about 3 months into my weight loss journey and I am trying to understand calories burned and the correlation of losing weight. Here is what I know so far. Please feel free to correct me and add because Im not 100% sure yet.

So i calculated my BMR and its 1509.
If i were to work out I would burn lets say for this instance 500 calories that day.
so that is a total of 2009 calories burned for the day.

I read to lose 1lb of fat I need to have a deficit of 500 calories.

So, my question is do i calculate 2009(BMR+Exercise) calories minus 500 to figure out how many calories i should eat each day?

I hope this wasnt confusing.

thanks community

IsaackGMOON

No.

It's not that hard.

Enter your details into MFP.

Set it for 1lb loss per week.

Ready2Rock206

You'd need to calculate your TDEE and then take a percentage off from that to figure out your calorie goal.

I use: http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/

3dogsrunning

Your BMR isn't where you take your calorie deficit from.
BMR is what you burn just by being alive, like if you were in a coma.
On top of that you burn calories everyday doing things like sitting, walking to the car, brushing your teeth, your job, etc. plus exercise.

MFP is set up using the NEAT. They figure out what your BMR is, and how much you burn in regular daily activity WITHOUT exercise and give you a number. This will still be over 1503. I believe the sedentary at MFP will be 1803.
Then if you exercise they expect you to log it and eat those calories back.

So for 1 lb a week your goal would be 1803 - 500 which would be 1303.
But if you exercise and burn 500 calories, you are supposed to add those in and eat them back. 1303 + 500 = 1803
That would still keep you at a 500 calorie deficit since your overall daily requirement would be 2303 on the day you exercised.

Does that make sense?

3dogsrunning

Ready2Rock206 wrote: »

You'd need to calculate your TDEE and then take a percentage off from that to figure out your calorie goal.

I use: http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/

You don't need to calculate TDEE. You can. Some people prefer MFP's NEAT method.

If done correctly, TDEE and MFP plus exercise will be pretty much the same. Only in one you eat the same number of calories everyday, which some people prefer and is good for those who are consistent with exercise. The other you vary your calories by day depending on activity which is good for people who don't always exercise consistently for whatever reason.

sixxpoint

Energy balance is the primary dietary driver of body weight and it also impacts body composition. A chronic surplus of calories will result in increased body weight and a chronic deficit of calories will result in a loss of body weight.

In other words, in order to gain about one pound of tissue weight (as opposed to transient flux in water weight), you need to consume a total of about 3,500 calories more than you expend. And to lose about one pound of tissue weight, you have to do the opposite -- consume about 3,500 calories less than you expend.

Thus, the first step in constructing any rational diet is to get a sense of how many calories per day, on average, you should consume in order to progress towards your goals.

The average number of calories you expend per day -- called total daily energy intake (TDEE) -- is a function of your basal metabolic rate (BMR) and your average weekly activity level.

To estimate your BMR, it's important to have a sense of how much lean body mass (LBM) you carry. If you're not sure, post a photo or two and we can estimate your percentage body fat and, from this number and your total body weight, it's easy to estimate LBM by using the following formula:

LBM = body weight * (1 - percentage body fat)

To estimate BMR, use the the Katch-McArdle formula:

BMR = 370 + (9.8 * LBM in pounds)
or
BMR = 370 + (21.6 * LBM in kg)

The next step is to estimate average weekly activity using the following guidelines to calculate an activity factor (AF):

• 1.1 - 1.2 = Sedentary (desk job, and little formal exercise)

• 1.3 - 1.4 = Lightly Active (light daily activity and light exercise 1-3 days a week)

• 1.5 - 1.6 = Moderately Active (moderately daily activity & moderate exercise 3-5 days a week)

• 1.7 - 1.8 = Very Active (physically demanding lifestyle & hard exercise 6-7 days a week)

• 1.9 - 2.2 = Extremely Active (athletes in endurance training or very hard physical job)

To estimate TDEE (the calories at which you will neither gain nor lose tissue weight), use the following formula:
TDEE = BMR * AF

Now that you've estimated your TDEE, it's important to refine that estimate empirically. To do so, consume an average amount of calories equal to estimated TDEE for two weeks, monitoring weight change. The results will confirm your actual TDEE.

Once you know your actual TDEE, set your caloric intake to match your goals as follows:

To maintain weight, consume an amount of calories equal to TDEE.
To lose weight, consume 10% to 20% less than TDEE.
To gain weight, consume 10% to 20% more than TDEE.

Monitor weight change via the scale and also body composition via the mirror and how clothing fits, making adjustments as needed biweekly.

Macronutrient Intake

Protein: ~0.6-0.8 grams per pound of bodyweight -- the highest amount justified by research for active individuals.

Dietary Fat: ~0.40-0.45 grams per pound of bodyweight -- the lowest amount implied by clinical observation (unless obese).

Remaining caloric budget: whatever mix of macronutrients you prefer, notably a rich variety of nutritious foods and high fiber items.

M30834134

No, BMR does not take into account any activities - it's the amount of energy your body needs at complete rest. You need add your activity level and then your exercises to BMR in order to get your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure). I think it would be simpler for you to determine your TDEE which would even your calories out throughout the week taking into the account your activity level and exercise. With TDEE, you dont need to add exercise calories. Calculate your TDEE maintenance level - not losing and not gaining weight - and then subtract 500 to create your deficit.

sassyjassy1222

Thank you everyone, that makes so much more sense. I was definitely doing it wrong.