Is our calorie go for the day what we need to hit or what we need to stay below?

Bren7670

I was wondering if our goal of calories is what we need to hit to lose weight or what we need to stay below and whatever we stay below is the deficit? Some clarification will be great!

Carriehelene

That is the goal you want to hit. Try not to go below.

Retroguy2000

Nobody knows. The estimate of your TDEE is just that. An estimate. Your description of how active you are might be off. Your accounting for exercise calories might be off.

Track your input calories and track your weight change. That will tell you what your current actual deficit is, better than any calculator based on population averages and limited personal inputs can do.

AnnPT77

If you told MFP you wanted to lose weight (in your profile) at X pounds or kg per week, your goal already includes a deficit. Therefore, the goal would be a number to hit close to, on average over a few days. (Maybe +/- 50 calories would be a reasonable target for "close", and "on average" means that if you're less hungry and eat further under goal one day (which is OK to do occasionally), you can eat those calories later in the week if you happen to be more hungry.)

In the phone/tablet version of MFP, you can get a weekly view of calories in the Nutrition menu. That will tell you your average daily calorie intake (gross or net). If that average is close to your goal calories, that's A-OK. MFP may reset at midnight, but our bodies don't.

Best wishes!

age_is_just_a_number

The MFP target calorie goal is calculated with your goals in mind. Any caloric deficit is embedded in the target. So, do your best to hit the target.

tomcustombuilder

Just try not to go over if possible however some days you will so some days try to be a bit below to compensate so that your weekly numbers Calc out.