is my calorie deficit already calculated into the daily food goal estimate

travistheargonaut

like the title says.

I have the settings at losing 2lb / week (age 53, male, 6ft 1", 285lbs, goal 200lbs, sedentary)

MFP has my food goal set at 1740 cal / day

Does that 1740 include my calorie deficit or do I need to subtract that manually (ie mentally) when looking at it?

I assume it's included, but wanted to make sure. I know it must be mentioned somewhere on the site, but I just can't find it or am overlooking it.

springlering62

welcome to MFP @travistheargonaut

Yes, it includes the deficit.

Many people are surprised that their allowance is higher than expected. Conventional “wisdom” is that it must be 1200, and you must suffer your way through loss.

Not true at all.

Strongly suggest investing in a fitness tracker, it’s not necessary to exercise to lose weight, but exercise contributes to good health, “shape” (if that’s a thing for you), and also earns you extra calories to eat.

For me, muscles opened my eyes to how hard it was to earn back calories for, say, a couple of Oreos, and made me resolve to make better choices on how to spend my calories.

travistheargonaut

Thanks for the response, just wanted to make sure.

and yes a tracker helps immensely. Been using fitbit / google watch for awhile now and it really helps to keep track of things. I've been trying to get 3 miles in each day on our local bike trail which has been good. That and logging my food is a huge help, a single doughnut is nearly an entire meals worth of calories, who knew?

Also prepping my meals so I know exactly what i'm eating for breakfast lunch and dinner, I know the calories, and makes it much easier to stay on track. and I can always add a healthy snack in there when my food budget goes up from exercise if i get hungry.

Thanks again.