Calorie Goal/Exercise Deficit query

zak138

I train five times a week at the gym for about ninety minutes, and every Wednesday I play basketball for about two and a half hours + gym later in the evening which equates, according to MFP, to approximately 900 calories burnt on that single day.

Last Wednesday I ate about 1900 calories (usual goal is 1400) minus the 900 from the exercise so my total was 1000 for the day. Is it ideal to eat back to my goal of 1400? I assume leaving it at 1000 would increase your weight loss overall.

Thanks everyone!

zak138

bump

Ian_Stuart

Eat your calorie goal plus at least half of your exercise calories.
So if your goal 1400 and you burn 900, you should eat at least 1850 that day (900/2=450, plus 1400=1850)
You can eat all of your exercise calories if you don't want to lose weight faster, which would be 1400+900=2300 calories.
Honestly, looking at your profile pic, I am amazed that 1400 is your goal.
That seems low to me.

Shaky44

The short answer is yes, you should eat back those exercise calories using the "MFP system."

The longer answer is that you probably are eating too little for sustainable weight loss. At age 19 and 76kg, your BMR is roughly 1900 calories/day (this is roughly the number of calories your body would burn if you stayed in bed all day). With as much exercise as you are doing, your TDEE = roughly 3000-3200 calories. Most people here would tell you to eat no less than 80% of that, so 2400-2560 calories/day. Using this method you would NOT eat back your calories.

Your goal is to lose an additional 8kg, so you might be able to sustain eating at your current levels for a while (especially at age 19), but you are better off to add in more food in a relatively high protein diet. Assuming that your 5x/week workout has a big strength training component to it, the added nutrition will help you achieve better results - in other words, you will maintain more muscle. If your workout doesn't contain a significant strength component, it should be added.

melaniecheeks

The short answer is "it depends". Your body isn't a machine, so although the "calories in-calories out" equation is an overall guide, it's more complicated than that.

Your body needs a basic amount of nutrition just to survive. MFP has this base level set at 1200, but clearly that's an approximation. However, eating at least 1200 on most days is a reasonable start point.

Your body will use way more than that if you're exercising. Now, if you have plenty of weight to lose, then there's fuel already stored in your body for it to use. As you get closer to goal weight you may find you need to be smarter about fuelling workouts.

zak138

Eat your calorie goal plus at least half of your exercise calories.
So if your goal 1400 and you burn 900, you should eat at least 1850 that day (900/2=450, plus 1400=1850)
You can eat all of your exercise calories if you don't want to lose weight faster, which would be 1400+900=2300 calories.
Honestly, looking at your profile pic, I am amazed that 1400 is your goal.
That seems low to me.

Haha thanks, I was a bit thinner when that photo was taken, it's kinda my motivation to get back there + some muscle. I am aiming to drop my body fat quite significantly and be quite toned.

At 1400 for 4 weeks I've dropped about 5kg which seems relatively okay with me, I have been eating about half of my calories back so far, so I think that's probably the best way.

Thanks!

...but you are better off to add in more food in a relatively high protein diet. Assuming that your 5x/week workout has a big strength training component to it, the added nutrition will help you achieve better results - in other words, you will maintain more muscle. If your workout doesn't contain a significant strength component, it should be added.

Yeah the 5x/week training sessions are strength based and very intense. So potentially upping my calorie intake could benefit muscle growth, sounds good

As you get closer to goal weight you may find you need to be smarter about fuelling workouts.

I have heard this quite a bit, so the closer I get to my goal 68-70kg, the harder/longer it will be for me to burn that off right?

TavistockToad

Eat your calorie goal plus at least half of your exercise calories.
So if your goal 1400 and you burn 900, you should eat at least 1850 that day (900/2=450, plus 1400=1850)
You can eat all of your exercise calories if you don't want to lose weight faster, which would be 1400+900=2300 calories.
Honestly, looking at your profile pic, I am amazed that 1400 is your goal.
That seems low to me.

Haha thanks, I was a bit thinner when that photo was taken, it's kinda my motivation to get back there + some muscle. I am aiming to drop my body fat quite significantly and be quite toned.

At 1400 for 4 weeks I've dropped about 5kg which seems relatively okay with me, I have been eating about half of my calories back so far, so I think that's probably the best way.

Thanks!

...but you are better off to add in more food in a relatively high protein diet. Assuming that your 5x/week workout has a big strength training component to it, the added nutrition will help you achieve better results - in other words, you will maintain more muscle. If your workout doesn't contain a significant strength component, it should be added.

Yeah the 5x/week training sessions are strength based and very intense. So potentially upping my calorie intake could benefit muscle growth, sounds good

As you get closer to goal weight you may find you need to be smarter about fuelling workouts.

I have heard this quite a bit, so the closer I get to my goal 68-70kg, the harder/longer it will be for me to burn that off right?

you arent going to get any muscle growth with the massive deficit you're running... before exercise you are at a deficit of 1000 cals, and then you dont eat all your exercise cals back, so you are makign that deficit larger, so really you're doing a fairly good job of losing muscle as well if you have lost 5kg in 4 weeks.

zak138

Got enough muscle on me, mainly cutting, the weight training I'm doing because I love it and it's a good way kick it up a notch. Plus I am getting stronger.

I can guarantee from measurements and from my appearance, I've lost a majority of fat, potentially with some muscle, although my arms have grown and legs seem to look bigger and can lift more.

I was 81kg and 170cm, there are dudes that are way bigger and leaner than me and are sitting at 64kg at ~180cm.

Ian_Stuart

Sounds like you need more of a body recomp than actually to lose the weight. Focus on eating more protein and less carbs. Maybe google leangains.

LaurensE1

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