Staying under calorie range- how does it work?

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mhlew
mhlew Posts: 377 Member
in Food and Nutrition
For the most part by the time I eat for the day and factor in any excersize I did I usually have a calorie defecit of around -250 to -300 calories. Is this good? About average? Should I shoot for a larger defecit for weight loss? I do not know how it works really, I just shoot to always be under my calorie goal.

If I am hitting my 2100 calories a day does this mean I wont lose weight and just maintain my current weight? If anyone could explain that would help.
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Replies

  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    I'm confused. What is your MFP goal set at - maintenance? Losing weight? If your goal is set to lose weight, the deficit is already calculated, and you should eat what it tells you. If your goal is to maintain, then yes, you need to keep a deficit if you want to lose weight.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    A goal is something to be achieved...why would you undershoot your GOAL? If you told MFP you wanted to lose weight, MFP gave you a calorie deficit that includes your deficit for weight loss already built in...you calorie goal isn't maintenance unless you told MFP you wanted to maintain...that's kind of why you input all of that information into the calculator...so that it can calculate all of this for you...all you have to do is hit your goals.
  • mhlew
    mhlew Posts: 377 Member
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    It is set for weight loss (-2 pounds a week) when I first started I lost more then that now it seems to be about 2 a week. I guess im doing it right lol
  • woofer00
    woofer00 Posts: 123 Member
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    Depends on at what rate you want to lose. At 250-300 per day, you'll probably lose about a pound of fat every other week. This is progress, but it won't be measurable on the scale until you sustain it for a few months on end. You'll see larger flux from water retention than from daily calorie deficit. There's a fair chance you'll see NSV changes though.

    A larger deficit would speed up the pace, but it's about your personal comfort level and goals. A deep deficit is uncomfortable on any long term basis.
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
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    MFP already set you up with a calorie deficit when they set your daily calorie goal - it's already in there. As cwolfman said, the point of a goal is to try to reach it so no need to come in under. Also, make sure you're eating back at least a portion of earned calories when you log exercise.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    For the most part by the time I eat for the day and factor in any excersize I did I usually have a calorie defecit of around -250 to -300 calories. Is this good? About average? Should I shoot for a larger defecit for weight loss? I do not know how it works really, I just shoot to always be under my calorie goal.

    If I am hitting my 2100 calories a day does this mean I wont lose weight and just maintain my current weight? If anyone could explain that would help.

    You put your data in MFP (height, weight, activity level). Then you set a goal to lose, gain, or maintain weight. If you set a goal to lose weight and MFP gave you a 2100 ....then you lose weight without any additional exercise at 2100. MFP is designed this way because some people can't exercise (other people just won't).

    The part that can be confusing.....because MFP does not include any exercise.....you "earn" additional calories when you log it. MFP expects you to eat any exercise calories back. This keeps your "original" deficit. A really large deficit can lead to fat+muscle loss if you're not careful.

    Be wary of calorie burn estimates.....sometimes they are inflated. Start by eating back 50% or so....if you feel tired or run down....eat more.
  • woofer00
    woofer00 Posts: 123 Member
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    It's worth revisiting your goals and targets every 5-10 pounds or so, even if just to confirm. If MFP says you're at a 250-300 deficit but you're losing 2 lbs per week, I'd guess you're burning a lot more than you think. 2 lbs per week is in the 1k per day deficit range.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    It is set for weight loss (-2 pounds a week) when I first started I lost more then that now it seems to be about 2 a week. I guess im doing it right lol

    If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal, and
    If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    It is set for weight loss (-2 pounds a week) when I first started I lost more then that now it seems to be about 2 a week. I guess im doing it right lol

    If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal, and
    If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal.

    This and eat your calorie goal (and most of your exercise calories).
  • yc4king
    yc4king Posts: 117 Member
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    When I don't exercise, I usually am about 100'ish calories below my goal for the day, sometimes a bit closer to the actual goal. If i'm not hungry I don't eat more just to make up the last 100 calories...

    When I exercise, I usually assume that i did not burn as many calories as what the app is telling me, so I will usually have a larger deficit on those days.

    Example, daily calorie goal of 1500 + an exercise burn of 600 calories = 2100 calorie goal for the day to eat. On a day like that I would usually eat something like 1700-1800 calories.
  • mhlew
    mhlew Posts: 377 Member
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    Depends on at what rate you want to lose. At 250-300 per day, you'll probably lose about a pound of fat every other week. This is progress, but it won't be measurable on the scale until you sustain it for a few months on end. You'll see larger flux from water retention than from daily calorie deficit. There's a fair chance you'll see NSV changes though.

    A larger deficit would speed up the pace, but it's about your personal comfort level and goals. A deep deficit is uncomfortable on any long term basis.

    What do you consider a "deeper defecit"? I think you are wrong based on my caloric defecit tht I am only losing about .5 pounds a week (or 1 pound every other week as you had stated) Something is wrong with your math because I am crushing your calculations of my projected weight loss. I am past the "it's water weight" stage. I will take what you said into consideration but pretty much disagree.
  • extra_medium
    extra_medium Posts: 1,525 Member
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    I can definitely see how it is a little confusing, since the site and the app gives you a nice green number when you're under your goal, and a semi-congratulatory post to your wall when you finish your day under your calorie goal. For someone like me it makes me want to make that green number as big as possible, even though I technically should be aiming to be as close to the goal as possible.
  • sullus
    sullus Posts: 2,839 Member
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    A goal is something to be achieved...why would you undershoot your GOAL? If you told MFP you wanted to lose weight, MFP gave you a calorie deficit that includes your deficit for weight loss already built in...you calorie goal isn't maintenance unless you told MFP you wanted to maintain...that's kind of why you input all of that information into the calculator...so that it can calculate all of this for you...all you have to do is hit your goals.

    I don't really get this. The goal is to get DOWN to a certain number of calories .. so by going even lower, you're crushing your goal - you're overshooting it, not undershooting it.
  • 12_oz_Curls
    12_oz_Curls Posts: 140 Member
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    I can definitely see how it is a little confusing, since the site and the app gives you a nice green number when you're under your goal, and a semi-congratulatory post to your wall when you finish your day under your calorie goal. For someone like me it makes me want to make that green number as big as possible, even though I technically should be aiming to be as close to the goal as possible.

    I was thinking on this the other night as I approach my "lose goal" and prepare to switch to the "maintain and muscle" goal. They should have a target calorie RANGE of about 100-200 calories. This way if you're below that range, it's red, and if you're above that range it's red. This way you're encouraged to hit your goal rather than aiming to get as big a green number as possible.
  • socalkay
    socalkay Posts: 746 Member
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    What do you consider a "deeper defecit"? I think you are wrong based on my caloric defecit tht I am only losing about .5 pounds a week (or 1 pound every other week as you had stated) Something is wrong with your math because I am crushing your calculations of my projected weight loss. I am past the "it's water weight" stage. I will take what you said into consideration but pretty much disagree.

    Dear OP -
    It strikes me as ungracious and ungrateful to ask for help and then disparage well intentioned advice you receive.You're free to disagree but do you need to say things like, "something is wrong with your math?"

    That said, if you have lost 10 - 15 lbs, try redoing your goal calculations. I think that is suggested. Also, a loss of two lbs a week seems very good to me.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    A goal is something to be achieved...why would you undershoot your GOAL? If you told MFP you wanted to lose weight, MFP gave you a calorie deficit that includes your deficit for weight loss already built in...you calorie goal isn't maintenance unless you told MFP you wanted to maintain...that's kind of why you input all of that information into the calculator...so that it can calculate all of this for you...all you have to do is hit your goals.

    I don't really get this. The goal is to get DOWN to a certain number of calories .. so by going even lower, you're crushing your goal - you're overshooting it, not undershooting it.

    Really...'cuz if your goal is 1800 calories per day and you only take in 1300, you have undershot your GOAL...you are under your goal...you are below your goal...a goal being something to be achieved and all. The goal is not to be below your goal...a GOAL is something to be achieved. Undershooting energy goals can be a detriment to your overall health and well being, not to mention fitness aspirations...you aren't "crushing" jack **** by not eating enough.

    If your goal was 1800 calories and you ate 2500 calories, that would be overshooting your goal...as in you would be eating more than your goal...which wouldn't be a good thing either...
  • higgins8283801
    higgins8283801 Posts: 844 Member
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    I refuse to eat back all my calories so on exercise days you best believe I'm coming in under
    I don't trust calorie burned calculations. Just like I will round up calories I eat for similar reasons.

    If that makes me a bad mpf user or dieter because i dot do it as perfectly as everyone else than oh well.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    A goal is something to be achieved...why would you undershoot your GOAL? If you told MFP you wanted to lose weight, MFP gave you a calorie deficit that includes your deficit for weight loss already built in...you calorie goal isn't maintenance unless you told MFP you wanted to maintain...that's kind of why you input all of that information into the calculator...so that it can calculate all of this for you...all you have to do is hit your goals.

    I don't really get this. The goal is to get DOWN to a certain number of calories .. so by going even lower, you're crushing your goal - you're overshooting it, not undershooting it.

    Really...'cuz if your goal is 1800 calories per day and you only take in 1300, you have undershot your GOAL...you are under your goal...you are below your goal...a goal being something to be achieved and all. The goal is not to be below your goal...a GOAL is something to be achieved. Undershooting energy goals can be a detriment to your overall health and well being, not to mention fitness aspirations...you aren't "crushing" jack **** by not eating enough.

    If your goal was 1800 calories and you ate 2500 calories, that would be overshooting your goal...as in you would be eating more than your goal...which wouldn't be a good thing either...

    Thank you......some people think that all weight loss is created equal. I wish that all weight loss was fat+water. But I know that really aggressive goals lead to fat+muscle loss (been there done that). Slow & steady helps me keep muscle. Some things are more important than the number on the scale.
  • stillhere1981
    stillhere1981 Posts: 119 Member
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    I usually don't eat too much of my exercise calories back. I do try to hit my 1420 goal before exercise though. I don't know if this is the right thing to do or not. I just worry about underestimating calories consumed and overestimating calories burned with exercise. I have a FitBit, but I don't trust it. I haven't lost weight in about a week, but my waist and hip measurements have gone down.
  • mhlew
    mhlew Posts: 377 Member
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    What do you consider a "deeper defecit"? I think you are wrong based on my caloric defecit tht I am only losing about .5 pounds a week (or 1 pound every other week as you had stated) Something is wrong with your math because I am crushing your calculations of my projected weight loss. I am past the "it's water weight" stage. I will take what you said into consideration but pretty much disagree.

    Dear OP -
    It strikes me as ungracious and ungrateful to ask for help and then disparage well intentioned advice you receive.You're free to disagree but do you need to say things like, "something is wrong with your math?"

    That said, if you have lost 10 - 15 lbs, try redoing your goal calculations. I think that is suggested. Also, a loss of two lbs a week seems very good to me.

    Kay-

    I apologiese if my tone offended you. Thing's easily get miscontrued in email type conversations. I am very direct and straight to the point and I want to be as clear as day, even if I come off a little abrasive. I wish I could have spoke so you could hear the passion in my voice of my own mission for weight loss, I have a fire under my *kitten* and I will heat up if someone is implying that what I have done will pose minimal results, also I am always up for a good debate. This is how I am, and by all means am not hear to offend anyone, this is me, otherwise I suggest to not read my posts :)

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