Calorie tracker

stellaroc4001

Is the daily calorie intake amount already calibrated with a deficit included? for example, my goal is to lose 1lb per week, and my tracker advises to eat 2144 calories per day. So, does that mean if I eat 2144 calories per day, I should expect to lose 1lb per week?

Lietchi

The calorie goal does include weight loss, if you selected a weight loss rate in your goal settings, yes.

As for effectively losing 1lb a week, generally speaking yes, but:
- it depends on the accuracy of your food logging (weighing your foods and carefully selecting accurate food database entries versus volume measurements, generic food entries etc)
- the number is based on population averages: it will be more or less accurate for most people, slightly inaccurate for some and very inaccurate for a small minority. And when I say inaccurate, it goes both ways, don't just assume it will overestimate, it could just as well underestimate. That's why the calorie goal is just a starting point and you should adapt based on real life results
- weight loss is not linear, you won't lose weight every day, or even every week, because the number on the scale reflects much more than just fat loss - water weight fluctuations (from stress, hormones, exercise, etc) and variations in the amount of food waste in your system will mask fat loss on the scale. So it's important to take a longer term view of your weight trend: look at at least one month/menstrual cycle, preferably two, to assess your weight. Apps like Happy Scale or Libra can help you see your weight trend through the fluctuations.

stellaroc4001

Thank you for replying. I appreciate the information!