New to MFP

michelleeharrison

Hi I'm new to all this just started in August ..it says that I have a calorie deficit of 750 I really don't understand
This can someone explain?

KingNitty

What did you put your activity level and exercise at in your fitness profile?

michelleeharrison

I set it as active I'm always moving doing something.
Exercise is at 5-6 times a week for 40min.

buzzerj

If your deficit is daily or weekly it is what you are logging in for your food intake compared to whatever your daily calories are set in your goals. If you set your goals to say lose 0.5 lbs per week or whatever, if you then have net calories to that goal level you should lose 0.5 lbs. per week. But if you are 750 calories shy of that on a daily or weekly level you will lose more weight. That's good if you want to lose weight quickly, but why? Because if you lose quickly, you'll probably gain it all back quickly later if you stop the discipline. I've lost weight over say a 6 month period and have maintained that weight for another 6 months but adjusting to a new low fat diet. Haven't had to kill myself with aggressive levels of exercise either. So focus on your intake and concentrate on the fat grams. Each gram of fat = 9 calories. If you really want to reduce caloric intake focus on the fats. And substitute good fats (unsaturated fats like from nuts and avocados) for bad fats like saturated fats. You really don't need 750 calorie deficits. Set your goal intake to something that reduces your weight gradually and track your food intake to match it. Don't make this torture girl. make it part of your everyday life. You'll practice it much longer. Your body will thank you.

michelleeharrison

Thanks I really understand it now I was really confused by all of this. I'm not a patient person I was trying to lose it all quickly if I don't see results right away with anything I give up. This is the first time dieting its all so new to me. Now if I decrease the pounds I want to lose and it increases my calories won't I start gaining since I was on such a low cal diet???

buzzerj

You can see exactly the amount of calories it takes to maintain your current weight using this app. Or you can set your caloric target to lose say a half pound per week. Now that might seem like a pittance for you to lose I grant you. But this isn't supposed to be a crash diet. You're supposed to learn something by this effort you're putting in. You're supposed to find out that if you reduce fat in your diet, you can maintain your weight or lose weight. You are really in control of this. What you're not in control of is going out to eat when the fast food selection is cheese curds or fat burgers. In other words, bad choice #1 and bad choice #2. The wise choice is to maintain control and have an apple instead. You can't go wrong with fruit. Substituting good choices for bad choices is the key. So how do you know what's a bad choice versus a good one? Just call up a fat burger on this app and it will tell you the gross amounts of calories you would ingest. Then call up a salad, or some grapes, or chicken breast. You can have fat in your diet. But look into how much daily fat would be appropriate while still losing weight. Like is it 20% or 25% of your total intake? OK make it so and then track what you eat, this app makes it simple. You can even track all the ingredients you put in your homemade recipes. Not rocket science here. Just use patience and discipline and you'll learn something. Hey Michelle, its your life. Make it a great one. Make others envy your weight loss. I have. All the best.