Calorie Deficit to lose weight?

LIAMSKINNERR

After doing quite a bit of research on different nutritionists there’s a lot of them just doing a calorie deficit so you can still eat the foods you like but obviously cutting your calorie intake in half.....

So if I normally eat around 2300 calories and cut it down to 1100 calories I’d be eating and drinking throughout the day will I lose weight from this ?

Nony_Mouse

Calorie deficit is the only way to lose weight. Well, aside from chopping off limbs.

MFP should have given you a calorie target when you signed up, based on your current weight, age, height, and daily activity level excluding exercise, plus your weekly target weight loss amount (many people choose the 2lb per week option, unless you have a significant amount of weight to lose, like over 100lb, this is too aggressive, 1lb is probably more appropriate, but depends on how much weight you need to lose). MFP will not give you a calorie goal below 1200 if you're female, or 1500 if you're male (and those are generally only appropriate for a relatively small number of people, most should be eating more). This is to ensure you are getting adequate nutrition and sufficient calories to fuel basic life needs. So no, please don't cut your calorie intake to 1100.

If you are currently maintaining your weight on 2300, 1800 a day would be an appropriate calorie goal for you.

And yes, you can eat what you want within that, so long as you're not exceeding your calories, and you will lose weight. Good nutrition is another matter, and obviously you should not be attempting to subsist solely on 'junk' food. Working in treats and smaller portions of high calorie foods is perfectly fine though

adoucet15

I’m no expert... but in short, yes.

However, 1100 calories is very low and may be even unsafe low.

For instance my calorie goal is 1500 a day. If I keep my intake to that even with light exercise, I should lose 2lbs a week.

The safest way to do calorie deficit is to input your weight/goals into this app and how much you want to lose per week.

It’ll give you a calorie goal that if you stick to, will get you to your goal in 5-6 weeks.

As long as the goals/targets are a safe mark.

ceiswyn

adoucet15 wrote: »

I’m no expert... but in short, yes.

However, 1100 calories is very low and may be even unsafe low.

For instance my calorie goal is 1500 a day. If I keep my intake to that even with light exercise, I should lose 2lbs a week.

The safest way to do calorie deficit is to input your weight/goals into this app and how much you want to lose per week.

It’ll give you a calorie goal that if you stick to, will get you to your goal in 5-6 weeks.

As long as the goals/targets are a safe mark.

I agree that 1100 calories is likely a bad idea, as the lower your calorie goal the trickier it is to get proper nutrition into it.

However, I'd just like to clarify that MFP will absolutely NOT give you a calorie goal that will get you to your goal weight in 5-6 weeks. For most people, this is an impossibly short timescale. MFP will give you a calorie goal that, if you track accurately and stick to it, will result in you losing 0.5-2 lb each week. How long it will take you to get to your goal weight depends on how far from your goal weight you currently are!

lemurcat2

Yes, a calorie deficit is how weight loss works (under any plan).

No, you don't cut your calories in half. You subtract a sensible amount based on current body fat, height, and weight. -500 is usually a good number if you have more than vanity weight to lose. If very obese more would be okay, and if super lean trying to get leaner less is better. MFP will provide a good goal to start with (say 1 lb/week).

Worth noting that the TDEE sites that are more focused on athleticism and becoming lean and maintaining or gaining muscle tend to recommend -20% as the most to cut by (and -10% if one is lean already).

jayemes

adoucet15 wrote: »

I’m no expert... but in short, yes.
It’ll give you a calorie goal that if you stick to, will get you to your goal in 5-6 weeks.

@OP just to clarify, this is completely false for 99.9% of people.

cwolfman13

LIAMSKINNERR wrote: »

After doing quite a bit of research on different nutritionists there’s a lot of them just doing a calorie deficit so you can still eat the foods you like but obviously cutting your calorie intake in half.....

So if I normally eat around 2300 calories and cut it down to 1100 calories I’d be eating and drinking throughout the day will I lose weight from this ?

Well, you are a male, so you have no business eating 1100 calories per day. But yes, a calorie deficit is how you lose weight...but a more appropriate cut from maintenance should be made.

kimny72

LIAMSKINNERR wrote: »

After doing quite a bit of research on different nutritionists there’s a lot of them just doing a calorie deficit so you can still eat the foods you like but obviously cutting your calorie intake in half.....

So if I normally eat around 2300 calories and cut it down to 1100 calories I’d be eating and drinking throughout the day will I lose weight from this ?

Yes, a calorie deficit is how you lose weight. No, you do NOT cut your calorie intake in half.

In general, a 500 calorie daily deficit will lead to losing @ 1 lb per week. So if you've been eating 2300 cals and maintaining your weight, eating 1800 cals would be your goal if you want to lose 1 lb per week. And eating anything under 2300 cals will have you losing some weight.

As a male, you shouldn't eat less than 1500 per day.