Deficit Question

Amyl32283

So I am allotted 1280 calories per day (ya be jealous, jk ;0) Is that 1280 including the deficit I need in order to lose weight. So part 2 of my question is, if I burn exercise calories I should be able to eat back those calories and still lose weight since there is already a deficit accounted for?

shadow2soul

1280 would be what you eat to lose weight at your selected rate WITHOUT exercise
1280 + 50% exercise calorie burns* would be what you eat to lose weight when you exercise

*start with 50%. If in 4-6 weeks, your average loss was more than planned then you can eat more/adjust up to 60% and if it was less then planned adjust down to 40%. So on and so forth until you are losing at a reasonable rate that you want.

JLPersall

Yes. Lots of people will tell you that mfp over estimates burn so they eat 50 or 75 percent back and some people dont eat any back.

Amyl32283

Thank you Shadow - I've never really understood this deficit thing and really want to lose weight.

Amyl32283

I do use a HRM when working out so I don't over estimate on the calories burned. I feel MFP way over estimates.

SezxyStef

I always ate all mine back when I logged exercise here...never hampered my weight loss.

WendyLaubach

If you find you can consistently lose weight while eating back some portion of your exercise calories, it shows that you're counting both your food calories and your exercise calories accurately enough. Results always win! I tend to be skeptical of eating back exercise calories, because I've read hundreds of posts here from people who tried it and found they weren't losing. The only thing to do really is to try it and see if it works; if it doesn't, food has to go down or exercise up or both.

erinc5

Amyl32283 wrote: »

Thank you Shadow - I've never really understood this deficit thing and really want to lose weight.

Is your profile picture you? If so, it looks like you do understand the deficit thing, even if it is subconsciously! Nice work!

The most important thing is consistency. Pick a strategy for how many calories you eat each day (with or without exercise, high or low deficit, etc..) and adjust your strategy based on how fast or slow you are losing. Some people love the MFP way of eating where you eat what MFP gives you (1280 in your case) plus 50% of workout cals. Some people love the TDEE method where they eat the same amount each day regardless of working out (You can use a calculator like scooby's to figure out your tdee http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/)

I like the MFP method, personally.