Calorie Deficit Help

GraceKathrynE

I want to lose 2 lbs a week, so I need to create a calorie deficit of 1000. Since MFP has me eating 1200 calories a day, that creates a 500 calorie deficit from my BMR. Does this mean that the calorie deficit that shows on my home only needs to be 500?

TiDinzeo

If you set your goal to lose 2lbs a week, MFP should give you a daily calorie total, including a deficit for your target.

allaboutme221

it generally won't allow you less than 1200... but it will slow down how much you lose each week... redo your goals and it will tell you when you are done!

meggonkgonk

1) BMR is the amount of calories you would burn if you were in a coma- it's the basic amount of calories your body needs to function.

2) 1200 is the lowest MFP will let you go- you may not be "losing" 2lbs a week with this, but a 1000 calorie deficit likely brings you too low (like to 1100 or 1000). You should strongly consider dialing it back to 1lb or 1.5lbs per week.

3) Eat what MFP recommends for you- your deficit is built in to your calorie goal. If you go to 'goals' (under the MY HOME tab) you will see the number mfp estimates you burn- "Calories Burned from Daily Activity"- this is the number your deficit is calculated from.

To use MFP you should be eating your goal in NET calories. The equation on your homepage:

GOAL FOOD -EXERCISE = NET

Your NET number should be as close to equal your GOAL number as possible.

GraceKathrynE

I plan on exercising too. That way what I eat will be -500 calories, and what I exercise will (hopefully) -500, to create a calorie deficit of 1000 a week.

meggonkgonk

I plan on exercising too. That way what I eat will be -500 calories, and what I exercise will (hopefully) -500, to create a calorie deficit of 1000 a week.

Sorry, but this isn't really how MFP works. I mean, you can certainly do this but there are many reasons you shouldn't. Cheif among them is that you will not be properly fueling your body. MFP isn't designed for you to get additional deficit from exercise. That is why I advised you to eat your "NET" calories.

Here is a guide to healthy deficits (That I cribbed from one of the personal trainers on here):

With a BMI of 32 or more a deficit of 1000 calories is generally correct (about 2 lbs a week)
With a BMI of 30 to 32 a deficit of 750 calories is generally correct (about 1.5 lbs a week)
With a BMI of 28 to 30 a deficit of 500 calories is about right (about 1 lb a week)
With a BMI of 26 to 28 a deficit of about 300 calories is perfect (about 1/2 lb a week)
and below 26... well this is where we get fuzzy. See now you're no longer talking about being overweight, so while it's still ok to have a small deficit, you really should shift your focus more towards muscle tone, and reducing fat. This means is EXTRA important to eat your exercise calories as your body needs to KNOW it's ok to burn fat stores, and the only way it will know is if you keep giving it the calories it needs to not enter the famine response (starvation mode)

Definitely check out the links in the "NEWBIES PLEASE READ ME" post in General Health and Nutrition section of the boards so you can best understand how weightloss and MFP work together.