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Net Calories Over/Under Weekly Goal
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thistimereally
Posts: 74 Member
I've tried to make sense of this by reading other posts on the subject but I must be more math dense than I thought. Simplifying the matter: UNDER weekly goal means on the track to weight loss right? Whereas OVER means weight gain?
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Replies
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No.
If you set MFP up correctly, then your goal includes your weight loss. So, using myself as an example.
Ignoring exercise. My goal is ~1500 calories to lose 2 lbs per week. So I burn through ~2500 calories in a day and if I hit my goal of 1500 every day, I will lose 2 lbs per week. If I go under the 1500, I will lose more. If I go over the 1500, I will lose less. Unless I go over my goal by 1000 calories, I will lose weight, just less than the 2 lbs per week. If I eat 2250, or 750 over my goal, I will lose a 1/2 lb per week.
Now, if I exercise or do more than a sedentary level of activity, MFP will add calories to my goal. So if it adds 500, than I burn 3000 in a day and need to eat 2000 to lose 2 lbs per week. This is pretty close to what I'm doing right now.2 -
To add to the above, depending on what your goal, per day, is then you possibly don't want to be significantly under this on a regular basis as it will cause damage to your organs. You need to be eating 1200, net, a day at a minimum (1500 if you're male).
I got my Target Calories from MFP. This Goal figure is the level at which I will lose weight, at my selected rate of 2lbs a week, slowly, over a sensible, sustainable period of time.
I also used a link, that someone posted on here, to find my TDEE. This is essentially what would be my 'maintenance' calories.
Every few days I use the app to check my Net Average, looking at it for the past week. My aim is for my weekly figure to be around my Goal. Even if my Net Average is a little above my Goal, that's fine. As long as it's below my TDEE / maintenance number, then I'm still on track but would lose weight a little slower. If my weekly Net Average is below my Goal, I eat more to bring my calories up.1 -
No, the goal is there to reach it. You have to be 'at' your weekly goal to lose at the rate you told MFP you want to lose.
You can still lose if you are over if it is not much.
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