Do you include your BMR when calculating Calorie Deficit?

CourtDines1

Hi Everyone.

Im abit confused with calorie deficit. i know what it means but having trouble calculting it... below is what i think it is but please tell me if this is right.

Calories in (1250) - BMR (1450) - Excerice Calories (150) = Deficit 350

Is that the correct way to calculate it?

so if i am trying to loose a pound per week (3500 Calories) i need to be in a deficit of 500?

Its so confusing getting started.

ChrisM8971

Hi CourtDines,

Let MFP calculate it for you, eat the calories it suggests and eat back at least 50% of your exercise calories back.

Your calculation seems wrong to you because your BMR is the amount the body burns while doing nothing, you will also burn calories moving around, working etc.

Ian_Stuart

If you want to calculate it yourself for comparison, I recommend this site: http://www.1percentedge.com/ifcalc/
The number you are talking about isn't BMR, it is TDEE, which includes daily activities. BMR is how much you would need to eat in order to maintain weight if you were in a coma and not moving at all.

CourtDines1

Geezz i ont know why im finding this so difficult to understand... so on the calculation i showed above would this make me stay the same weight?

I love understanding how things work this is why i dont want to just trust MFP i really want to know the math lo, Thank you for your help!!

CourtDines1

is there a way to calculate it so at the end of the day i can see what my deficit is?
that is what keeps me motivated.

can you give me an example of how you calculate yours?

Ian_Stuart

Ok. Here is the more complete explanation. I think it is good for people to have some understanding of these things.
As I said before, BMR is the amount of calories you would need to consume just to cover your basic body functions (breathing, heart beating, etc...). Most people are at least slightly more active than that, so there are multipliers that you use to account for normal daily activity. (The vast majority of Americans qualify as sedentary) The sedentary multiplier is 1.25, so multiply your BMR by 1.25 to get your TDEE. This is the amount of calories you should eat to maintain weight assuming you just live your life and don't specifically exercise. This is the number that MFP calculates for you. Then, depending on your goal, you modify that number to get your target calories. You can eat about 20% more or less depending on whether you are trying to gain or lose weight. If you REGULARLY eat too much below your TDEE you get into other issues with energy levels and changes in hormones.
Then we get to exercise. Say your TDEE was 2000 calories (It makes the math nice) If you are trying to lose weight, you can eat up to 20% below this number, or 1600 calories. But then you walk or run or lift and burn an additional 300 calories. This puts you at an apparent 1300 calories that your body has to maintain itself. So you should eat back at least half of the calories that you burn from exercise.
TDEE=2000
Calorie target for weight loss = 2000*0.8 (20% deficit) =1600 calories
Exercise = 300 calories
Apparent daily intake = 1600-300=1300 calories
So you should eat your 1600, plus at least an addition 150 to account for the exercise.

CourtDines1

Thank you StuartIan

Makes alot of sence now but to confirm i am onto it please confirm the below?


MFP is telling me to eat 1230 per day for 0.5kg weightloss per week.

if I weigh 65kg and 165cm tall does this sound right/ healthy?

my TDEE is 1800.

Ian_Stuart

Those numbers sound about right, but I typically don't advise regularly eating more than 20% below your TDEE. (In your case, 1440 calories.) It can be done for a while, but shouldn't be maintained for long.

anwylyd_un

It's doable, but you will need to exercise daily to bring your calorie allowance up, 1230 is going to be difficult to maintain as it is pretty restrictive.

I'm 160 tall and 66kg, I'd recommend resetting your loss goal to 0.5kg/wk which will bring your calories up a little, use exercise to burn off extra and eat back half your exercise calories as Stuartian says. That way you still get the weight loss, but also have greater flexibility in your meal planning.

Quieau

OP, have you used the "customize" feature on the goals page? It really lays it all out there in a way easy to understand. When you change one number, you see them all change. It helped me understand.

ChrisM8971

Thank you StuartIan

Makes alot of sence now but to confirm i am onto it please confirm the below?


MFP is telling me to eat 1230 per day for 0.5kg weightloss per week.

if I weigh 65kg and 165cm tall does this sound right/ healthy?

my TDEE is 1800.

MFP is set up for you to eat your exercise calories back, people suggest 50% because sometimes MFP exercise burns are over estimated (my HRM generally shows me burning about 70% of what MFP suggests)

I use exercise as a way to eat more calories or to add in those extra treats :-)

arrseegee

Your BMR is what you would be being fed if you were in a coma. Your net calories shouldn't be lower than that.