Calorie deficit calculator

kegan5

Hello

I am trying to wrap my head around what I should use to calculate my daily calorie deficit.

I wear my apple watch as often as possible so believe the data to be as accurate as possible.

Average per day - workout day
Resting 1818
Active 818
Calories all is approx 1400

Does this mean my deficit is 1236?

I saw people talking about total calories burned but no where in the health app does it show this.

PiscesIntuition

It looks like your deficit is 1400, after subtracting active (exercise) calories from resting (no exercise) calories.

Are you needing to know how much of a deficit you need to be in for cutting/fat loss?

kegan5

Hi PiscesIntuition

Yes I'm looking for fat loss info but also would like to understand how to use this Information as a whole.

Out of interest why would I deduct active from resting and you have above ?

kimny72

kegan5 wrote: »

Hello

I am trying to wrap my head around what I should use to calculate my daily calorie deficit.

I wear my apple watch as often as possible so believe the data to be as accurate as possible.

Average per day - workout day
Resting 1818
Active 818
Calories all is approx 1400

Does this mean my deficit is 1236?

I saw people talking about total calories burned but no where in the health app does it show this.

I don't have an apple watch so bear with me.

Is this saying you burned 1800 throughout the day, PLUS 800 through exercise for a total of 2600+ calories burned?

What is your height and weight?

kegan5

Hi Kimny

That's where I am confused but yes for yesterday it shows 1795 in resting calories and 666 in active calories.

No where in the health app does it show a total energy which is why I assumed these are separate.

I work out 5 days a week and work on a ship which means running up and down many flights of stairs daily too.

Height 5'3 weight 163lb

PiscesIntuition

kimny72 wrote: »

kegan5 wrote: »

Hello

I am trying to wrap my head around what I should use to calculate my daily calorie deficit.

I wear my apple watch as often as possible so believe the data to be as accurate as possible.

Average per day - workout day
Resting 1818
Active 818
Calories all is approx 1400

Does this mean my deficit is 1236?

I saw people talking about total calories burned but no where in the health app does it show this.

I don't have an apple watch so bear with me.

Is this saying you burned 1800 throughout the day, PLUS 800 through exercise for a total of 2600+ calories burned?

What is your height and weight?

From my understanding, it means she “burns” 1818 just by living. This seems equivalent to the amount of calories it takes for maintenance.

“Active” probably means how much you burned during exercise AND while doing simple movements (walking to your car).

PiscesIntuition

kegan5 wrote: »

Hi PiscesIntuition

Yes I'm looking for fat loss info but also would like to understand how to use this Information as a whole.

Out of interest why would I deduct active from resting and you have above ?

You would deduct active from resting to get your total caloric deficit for the day.

Do you know what your caloric deficit should be?

try2again

PiscesIntuition wrote: »

kegan5 wrote: »

Hi PiscesIntuition

Yes I'm looking for fat loss info but also would like to understand how to use this Information as a whole.

Out of interest why would I deduct active from resting and you have above ?

You would deduct active from resting to get your total caloric deficit for the day.

Do you know what your caloric deficit should be?

Your calorie deficit is the difference between your total calorie expenditure for the day and the number of calories you eat that day.

try2again

I'm not suggesting anyone is undereating, but this post contains a good explanation of calorie deficits and how MFP is set up.

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10569458/why-eating-too-little-calories-is-a-bad-idea/p1

kimny72

kegan5 wrote: »

Hi Kimny

That's where I am confused but yes for yesterday it shows 1795 in resting calories and 666 in active calories.

No where in the health app does it show a total energy which is why I assumed these are separate.

I work out 5 days a week and work on a ship which means running up and down many flights of stairs daily too.

Height 5'3 weight 163lb

So in order to lose 1 lb per week, you need a 500 calorie deficit daily.
To lose 1.5 lbs per week, you need a 750 cal deficit.
Considering your stats, I think either of those would be appropriate to start out.

So if you're burn 2600 cals on Day 1, you should eat 1850-2100 cals to lose at an appropriate rate.

Make sure you are weighing/measuring your portions as accurately as possible, double checking that the entries you are choosing in the database have the correct calories listed, and not leaving out stuff like beverages, condiments, cooking oils, cheat meals, etc.

kegan5

Hi try2again,

I would think i was eating too little too however the eating plan was put together by the fitness centre so kept to it so far.

I eat a lot more now than I used to but with balanced meals.

I wonder if the watch data is being read wrong?

kimny72

kegan5 wrote: »

Hi try2again,

I would think i was eating too little too however the eating plan was put together by the fitness centre so kept to it so far.

I eat a lot more now than I used to but with balanced meals.

I wonder if the watch data is being read wrong?

I don't mean to harp on this, but double check your logging. 1400 calories is simply not a lot of food. Considering how active you are, you are either a crash & burn waiting to happen, or you're actually eating more than 1400 calories. There are common logging errors many of us made when starting out. When I started using a food scale and double checking the database entries I was choosing, I found I was easily eating 300 to 400 cals more than I'd been logging.

How long have you been eating on this plan, and how much weight have you lost so far?

try2again

Like @kimny72 , I'm not familiar with the apple watch, but I'd say that you are correct that it is indicating your are eating in a 1200+ deficit. That translates to an average weekly weight loss of over 2 lbs/week. Only very obese people should be targeting 2 lbs/week, and it is far too aggressive in your situation.

cmriverside

kimny72 wrote: »

kegan5 wrote: »

Hi Kimny

That's where I am confused but yes for yesterday it shows 1795 in resting calories and 666 in active calories.

No where in the health app does it show a total energy which is why I assumed these are separate.

I work out 5 days a week and work on a ship which means running up and down many flights of stairs daily too.

Height 5'3 weight 163lb

So in order to lose 1 lb per week, you need a 500 calorie deficit daily.
To lose 1.5 lbs per week, you need a 750 cal deficit.
Considering your stats, I think either of those would be appropriate to start out.

So if you're burn 2600 cals on Day 1, you should eat 1850-2100 cals to lose at an appropriate rate.

Make sure you are weighing/measuring your portions as accurately as possible, double checking that the entries you are choosing in the database have the correct calories listed, and not leaving out stuff like beverages, condiments, cooking oils, cheat meals, etc.

I almost never disagree with Kimney, but in this case I think the largest deficit she(he?) should use is "Lose one pound per week."

At 5'3" and 163, s/he is not that far off a healthy BMI.

So if s/he is getting a total calorie usage from her Apple device saying she is using 2600 calories on that day, then she would subtract 500 calories from that 2600 for her weight loss deficit.

Here is the calc:

To lose 1 pound per week, create a 3500 calorie (per week) deficit.
That comes to 3500 divided by 7 = 500 calorie deficit Per Day

So on that 2600 calorie day, eat 2100

Duck_Puddle

To get your total calories burned for the day from you Apple Watch, go to the activity app (not the health app) and swipe on the “move” section. That is the only place I have found that gives total calories burned for the Apple Watch.

Everything else as above-I just wanted to offer where the total calories burned number is.

kegan5

I'll have to do some calculating but since the food here doesn't change much this is a typical days food.

Breakfast
1.5 serving spoons of porridge with a sachet of brown sugar
Handful of pineapple cubes usually 4 large or 5-6 if chopped smaller
Egg white I cut off a fried egg
Half slice swiss cheese

Snack
5-6 walnuts

Lunch
Fist size of vegetables- I aim for green so broccoli, spinach or mangetout usually
Small slice of quiche
Half slice of cheese cheddar or swiss
I'll add spinach or arugula leaf too handfuls

Snack
Skinny protein shake 145 cals with water

Dinner almost identical to lunch

Snack
Rye cracker with cheese spread or peanut butter


I've tracked my meals with mfp and it never seems to be above 1400.

I was told by fitness team onboard I should eat 1200 calories a day... this was from a body composition machine and before i started doing the workout plan they gave me.

I have two thoughts
1. The app is correct and I need to adjust
2. Is it possible the app is over calculating my resting calories since I'm so active in the day? I have to take the watch off the charge it late at night