Burn more calories then you consume..

bri_fitnessjourney

Hello,
i always heard in order to loose weight you have to burn more calories than you eat that day. So if i eat 1200 calories a day I have to burn 1700 calories that day. (Which is an extra 500 to burn plus what was consumed) That just seems like so much lol Is this what it takes to loose weight plus eating healthier and daily exercise (Which I use the ellitpical machine 30 mins)

thanks for all the comments and help! ☺

Ready2Rock206

You burn calories just by being alive. Unless your tiny and/or very old you likely burn a lot more than 1200 just by living. Those 1700 calories do NOT need to burned in the gym. In fact if MFP told you to eat 1200 calories you don't need to burn any extra calories in the gym and if you do you can eat more because then you're increasing your deficit more than you need to.

quiksylver296

Your body burns calories all day long, when you breathe, when you walk, when you do laundry, etc, etc, etc. You need to eat fewer calories than your body uses in a total day, not in your daily workout.

My body uses approximately 2300 calories a day. I definitely do not cause that total calorie use in my workout. I try to eat about 2000 calories a day. Result? Pretty steady weight loss.

Duchy82

As the average woman burns 2000 cal a day and the average man burns 2500 cal a day it really isn't hard to create a deficit. Don't forget this isn't 1700 cals of exercise you have to create, just being alive will burn an amount of calories(basal metabolic rate), to maintain body temp, cell repair/division, digestion, breathing, ect. it all requires your body to use up energy

TeaBea

Keep in mind your body burns calories 24/7. Bodily functions - heart - lungs - kidneys all use calories.

1200 is the default minimum for women, so it's very likely you can lose weight with zero added exercise. If fact if you log your workouts in MFP you will earn more calories.

So eat 1200 + (at least) 50% of exercise calories. Use 50% for starters because calorie burns are estimates. Lots of other estimates (logging food, activity level)....these are not exact things.

After a few weeks see if weight loss is progressing, faster than expected....eat more. Slower than expected....eat less.

StaciMarie1974

You are thinking intentional exercise burn, but as others have explained your body is always burning calories. Google BMR.

PaulaWallaDingDong

It's way easier than you're thinking and totally doable. The others have already said why, but I just wanted to add an extra dollop of encouragement.

cwolfman13

bmraynor92 wrote: »

Hello,
i always heard in order to loose weight you have to burn more calories than you eat that day. So if i eat 1200 calories a day I have to burn 1700 calories that day. (Which is an extra 500 to burn plus what was consumed) That just seems like so much lol Is this what it takes to loose weight plus eating healthier and daily exercise (Which I use the ellitpical machine 30 mins)

thanks for all the comments and help! ☺

When they say "burn", they're not saying to literally go out and exercise and burn those calories off. You burn calories 24/7. You "burn" a crap ton of calories merely existing...like really, that's most of your energy expenditure in most cases. You "burn" calories just going about your day to day. And finally, you "burn" calories through deliberate exercise.

For example, if I want to lost about 1 Lb per week MFP will give me a target of about 1900 calories. I burn between 1700-1800 calories just being alive...I'd burn that in a coma. Then I have my day to day which is accounted for in my activity level...in this case, MFP is assuming a maintenance level of calories for existing and doing my day to day is around 2400 calories.

Finally, I would have exercise...in this case, exercise isn't accounted for in my activity level...so If I went out and burned 400 calories with exercise I could eat 1900 + 400 = 2300 calories and still lose 1 Lb per week because my non exercise maintenance would have increased when accounting for exercise by the same 400 calories.

jelleigh

Im not sure if I'm allowed to post links to outside sourses, but I found this calculator really helpful for understanding how many calories being alive burned vs my various levels of activity.

http://www.health-calc.com/diet/energy-expenditure-advanced