Still confused about calorie deficit

benhead280
benhead280 Posts: 7 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
For example, Let's say my body normally burns 1500 calories on a normal day. To lose weight I eat around 1200 calories a day. That means my deficit is 300. Now let's say I burn 500 calories while do my usual workout routine while still eating only 1200 calories. 300 calories from deficit+500 from workout= 800 calories burned or lost. I'm confused whether or not I eat those calories back. Do I eat again to get back to 1200? Or do I just keep it as is?

Replies

  • jjplato
    jjplato Posts: 155 Member
    Yes, eat them back, assuming you want to maintain a 300 calorie deficit. Those 500 calories net out to zero (500 eaten - 500 burned off in exercise), so you're back to the deficit you started with.
  • hotsungirl
    hotsungirl Posts: 107 Member
    Or don't eat them back if you're not feeling really hungry...there's lots of discussion on that plan of attack too.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    For example, Let's say my body normally burns 1500 calories on a normal day. To lose weight I eat around 1200 calories a day. That means my deficit is 300. Now let's say I burn 500 calories while do my usual workout routine while still eating only 1200 calories. 300 calories from deficit+500 from workout= 800 calories burned or lost. I'm confused whether or not I eat those calories back. Do I eat again to get back to 1200? Or do I just keep it as is?

    It depends on if those 1500 calories is your NON EXERCISE maintenance calories...which if you are using MFP properly they should be and are actually probably a little low. If that is the case then you would eat them back and still have a deficit of 300 calories because your NON EXERCISE maintenance of 1500 calories now includes 300 calories of exercise burn and 1500 + 300 = 1,800 calories (your new maintenance number) and 1200 + 300 = 1500 (your new calorie goal) and you still have that same 300 calorie deficit because 1,800 - 1,500 = 300 calorie deficit still.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    Or don't eat them back if you're not feeling really hungry...there's lots of discussion on that plan of attack too.

    While I agree that we should be learning to listen to our bodies, I think it's important to point out that hunger is not the only indicator you should be paying attention to to make sure you're eating enough. Gym performance, mood, energy levels, and physical cues like healthy hair and nails can be just as important since our hunger cues can be suppressed by too many things (including exercise and prolonged periods of undereating).

    MFP is designed for you to eat back at least a portion of your exercise calories to help keep you at a reasonable, sustainable deficit. This assumes, of course, that you have no underlying health problems, are setting up your profile accurately, and have a reasonable estimate of your calories burned and consumed.
  • LazSommer
    LazSommer Posts: 1,851 Member
    Whatever works best.
  • terbusha
    terbusha Posts: 1,483 Member
    What I do and what I recommend to people is to eat at a calorie level that allows you to drop 1-2 lbs/week. This assumes an average calorie burn from you getting in all of your workouts. This will be different for everyone, so you'll have to do some trial and error to figure it out. I'd start ~1600 cal/day. Hit this goal, along with your macros and getting in your workouts, for a week. If you lose 1-2 lbs, you're good to go. If you lose too much, increase your intake and repeat. If you don't lose enough, reduce your intake a bit and repeat. After a few weeks, you'll figure out what works for you in your situation.

    Allan

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