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Calculate Carlorie Deficit

Katie_Y89
Katie_Y89 Posts: 330 Member
edited December 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
How to or what is a good formula/method to calculate a calorie deficit??

Besides using MFP

Replies

  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    So - you've been a member since 2012.

    Have you ever logged food and exercise for a few months? If so, you would know what your calories needs are.

    As far as how much of a deficit you should consider, how much weight do you need to lose to be in your healthy BMI range? The amount of weight you have to lose will determine how large your deficit can safely be.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    In general:


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  • Terytha
    Terytha Posts: 2,097 Member
    Google a TDEE calculator, get your TDEE, then subtract per the chart @cmriverside posted.
  • Redordeadhead
    Redordeadhead Posts: 1,188 Member
    What do you not like about the MFP calculation?
    If we knew that we might be able to suggest better alternatives.
  • nanastaci2020
    nanastaci2020 Posts: 1,072 Member
    One flaw in MFP in my opinion: putting in your stats, goals and getting a calorie goal does not help a person understand their TDEE.

    Every body burns calories just to function. How much depends on height, weight, age, gender. MFP and other websites uses established formulas to estimate the # of calories burned based on a person's stats. Of course it is an estimate, and one person could be above or below average but its a starting point. This is called BMR - look online for a BMR calculator. You don't really have to 'do' anything for this calorie burn. Your body does it for you, as your heart/lungs/brain/circulatory system/respiratory system/etc. do their daily work, they use energy and burn calories.

    Then you also burn calories as you move thru your day. Think of this as activity level for your normal life. Running errands, moving as you do your job, doing things around the house, hobbies, etc. This is usually estimated as a portion of your BMR. Like a fairly inactive person may use an additonal 15-20% of their BMR for activity. A person who is pretty active, on their feet a good bit, may use 30-35% of their BMR for activity calories.

    Then you have intentional cardio/exercise where you've moving multiple major muscle groups for an extended period of time and burning a higher than normal level of calories in the process.

    For example I am female, 45 , 146ish, 5'5". My BMR is about 1384. I'm pretty inactive in my normal life so I would estimate my activity calories at about 200 daily so I use roughly 1600 calories per day without exercise. I'm not doing anything intense right now, but a 30 minute walk means I could burn about an extra 150 calories roughly. Knowing all of this: I understand that a fast weightloss is not reasonable for me. I have my deficit set at .5 pounds per week (250 per day) so aim to eat around 1400 approximately.
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