Calorie Deficit

courtneyalllyce
courtneyalllyce Posts: 1 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Never posted before but I am needing some help setting up my caloric goals. I don't understand how many different TDEE calculators are vastly different. I set up MFP according to my current stats and my goals, and it gave me a caloric goal of 2050 per day. Does that include a deficit? Do I subtract 500 from that and go with it?

Replies

  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    If you asked for weight loss when setting up your Goals, then yes, MFP has calculated your deficit.

    You do need to enter exercise (purposeful exercise) into the "Exercise" tab when you do it.

    Here's the MFP explanation:
    https://support.myfitnesspal.com/hc/en-us/articles/360032625391-How-does-MyFitnessPal-calculate-my-initial-goals-
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    MyFitnessPal isn't a TDEE calculator - it doesn't include exercise.
    Which is part fo the reason numbers are different.

    Another reason is that different studies are used by different calculators. There's also different activity and exercise descriptors in use across different sites.

    Your 2050 (+exercise) goal from here is a 500cal deficit if you selected "lose 1lb a week".
    If you selected "maintain current weight" then no it doesn't include a deficit.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    courtneyalllyce wrote: »
    Never posted before but I am needing some help setting up my caloric goals. I don't understand how many different TDEE calculators are vastly different. I set up MFP according to my current stats and my goals, and it gave me a caloric goal of 2050 per day. Does that include a deficit? Do I subtract 500 from that and go with it?

    If you stated losing weight is your goal, then yes...the calculator calculated your calorie target with your deficit. MFP isn't a TDEE calculator though, it is a NEAT method calculator where exercise is accounted for after the fact when you log it and get additional calories to consume. TDEE calculators include your day to day as well as exercise in your calorie target, so you get a higher starting point.

    Many TDEE calculators also use a % to cut from TDEE rather than a whole number like 500 calories...so that % may or may not be a target to lose 1 Lb per week or more. This would also often result in a higher target.

    All of these calculators simply provide for a reasonably good starting point. They are estimates and use different algorithms in determining your calorie needs. Choose a method and choose a calculator and go with it ad nake adjustments as per your actual results.
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 8,681 Member
    edited November 2021
    I’d pay particular attention to setting your “activity” level.

    A relative recently set their MFP goal up and selected moderately active, got a fitness tracker, and was astounded to find out she wasn’t as active as she thought.

    She had to dial back her initial chosen activity level, which in turn reduced her calorie allotment.

    You’ll find it here:

    8loo4nqvghmb.jpeg
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    edited November 2021
    I just kept things simple by using MFP and completely ignoring other sources of information. Down almost 40 pounds this year!

    Other ways I keep things simple - I don't do any sort of fasting or follow a named diet. Eating less and moving more works for me :)

    I did play around with what combinations of foods/macros keep me the fullest for the least calories. It turns out that as long as I don't get a lot of carbs from flour/sugar*, the MFP default macros of 50% from carbohydrates, 20% from protein and 30% from fat work great for me.

    I am fairly active - if I were sedentary I'd boost my protein to 30%.

    * I'm not eliminating flour/sugar; just not eating a lot of them.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    I keep it simple by using the MFP calculator. I set it to lose 1 lb. a week and put my activity as sedentary. I do not count any regular data from my tracker like housekeeping or short walks (5 minutes or less) but enter any purposeful exercise I do. I eat back about 75% of the calories from logged exercise.

    Occasionally I have plugged my numbers into TDEE calculators and, if I use the same activity setting, I get similar numbers to what MFP gives me. If I use a lightly active setting, I get a similar number to what MFP tells me on the days I do purposeful exercise.

    Like @kshama2001 I do not follow any named diet or do any fasting. I am T2Dm so I moderate my carbs to keep them under 150 g per day (currently 35% of my total macros) and make sure I get at least 25-30 g of fiber per day.

    You will find your sweet spot. Decide if you prefer TDEE or NEAT. If you do purposeful exercise daily for about the same amount of time, TDEE might be easier. If you, like me, are more of a 3 times a week exerciser maybe MFP's NEAT calculation is best. Each day is an entity unto itself and you don't need to worry that you are overeating.



  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    To help us out, what were your inputs into MFP. Over 2000 with a deficit seems high for a woman and likely is due to the activity level chosen. If you put in your exercise into the activity level it should be similar to the TDEE + deficit from other calculators, but that's typically not how MFP does it -- you just put in activity not including exercise (for example, if an active job or you walk a bunch just during the day) and then later add back exercise you actually do, which increases the calorie total.

    If you are willing to tell us, what are your stats, and what did you put in for activity level and loss goal? What are the TDEEs + deficit you are getting from other sites for comparison?

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