True meaning of 'calorie deficit'

CatieBd

What does it mean by 'calorie deficit'? Does it mean in fitness pal the exercise calorie should outweigh calorie intake? It seems impossible to get more than 1200 calorie burn in a day?

DemoraFairy

You burn calories just by living. That's why we need to eat food :P So you just need to eat less than what your body burns everyday including the calories you burn just by living. MFP includes that into the calorie goal it gives you, so you can lose weight doing no exercise if you wish.

janejellyroll

If you get your goal from MFP, it has a deficit built-in. If you exercise, you make your deficit larger, which is why MFP is designed for you to eat those calories back (in case your deficit gets too large). Because exercise calories can be very over-stated in the MFP database, many people choose to eat back 25-75% of those calories only.

Remember that your body is burning calories all day -- not just when you exercise. I burn about 2,000 calories on an average day just through moving around and being alive -- my exercise is typically only 200-500 of those calories.

cwolfman13

Your body is a machine...like any machine, it requires energy to function...a calorie is the unit of energy your body uses to function.

You need XXXX amount of energy every day to function optimally and maintain the status quot...a big chunk of this requisite is derived from you merely existing...having your power button on. Beyond that, you have your day to day type of stuff, and then exercise...these things all require energy.

your 1200 calorie target already includes your deficit...that's why you put all of that information into the calculator...so it can calculate your target for you based on that information and stated goals.

The average female requires roughly 1800 - 2000 calories to maintain without much in the way of deliberate exercise...so lets assume 1800 is your maintenance...1,800 - 1,200 = 600 calorie deficit from what would be required to optimally run your machine.

now lets say you exercise 250 calories...you could now eat 1,200 + 250 = 1,450 calories and still maintain the same 600 calorie deficit because now your maintenance level of energy would have moved to 1,800 + 250 = 2,050 calories and 2,050 - 1,450 = 600 calorie deficit still.

get it?

WBB55

Where does it say you need to burn 1200 exercise calories per day? You probably burn at least 1200 calories just breathing every day. Exercise brings that number even higher.

On the MFP ap, you don't have to log any exercise to lose weight. Just eat what it tells you. If you do log exercise, it will tell you to eat more.

SergeantSausage

Deficit (because dictionaries are hard ? <boggle>)

Definition #3 is appropriate

"a lack or shortage; deficiency."

It means that you are taking in fewer calories than you need to sustain your current body weight.


What you eat (calories in) less what you burn (out) can result in three distinct outcomes:
Deficit ==> you will lose weight.
Equilibrium ==> you will maintain your current weight ("maintenance")
Surplus ==> you will gain weight.

Exercise is just one (very, very small for most folks) component of the total calorie burn, right?

DeguelloTex

CatieBd wrote: »

What does it mean by 'calorie deficit'? Does it mean in fitness pal the exercise calorie should outweigh calorie intake? It seems impossible to get more than 1200 calorie burn in a day?

It means your total caloric intake is less than your total caloric output. Total caloric output doesn't include just purposeful exercise and, in fact, for most people most of the time, just being alive burns more than purposeful exercise.

mbaker566

so you want to eat at least 1200 cal a day. and if you exercise try to eat half those calories back.
the number you are given is still having you at eat a deficit. you don't need to math. MFP mathed for you

Kalikel

It means you're eating less than you're burning. But you burn calories all the time, even in your sleep. It isn't just exercise. Breathing, pooping, the heart beating, the mouth staying moist and all the millions of things going on inside you, every second - it all requires energy.

There are lots of math calculators and equations out there to help people get their best guess on all of it. You could search them out and use the calculator or do the math yourself...or you can just plug your info into the MFP and follow the instructions. Either way,

Sometimes it just means, "I'm on a diet." The word "diet" is one many people don't like, so they say, "I'm eating at a caloric deficit" instead. That "diet" word seriously freaks people out sometimes.