Translating calories mumbo jumbo

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spottedlee
spottedlee Posts: 372
in Health and Weight Loss
I guess I can't add screen shot in here to explain what I am talking about. You know in home page,, you see at the top,, Goal, Food, Exercize and net,, I am confused as to what exactly it means.

Also, I read that we are to burn 3,500 a week in order to lose a pound. Can anyone point me to a good site that explain all this? So to lose 2 pounds,, that's 7,000 a week! I am confused because according to BMR, I am burning almost 2,000 a day for being LAZY! Lazy as in stay in bed all day. If that is true,, then we don't have to excercise at all... 2,000 a day equals 14,000 a week. Don't make sense. Does it mean I can eat over 1,500 a day as long as I burn off the excess through exercise?

Thank you!

Lee

Replies

  • meerkat70
    meerkat70 Posts: 4,616 Member
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    We all have BMRs that are in roughly the range you describe (it will be higher for those of us with more body fat, lower for the skinnies - it's based on your weight). You need a deficit of about 600cals per day to lose a pound a week (roughly). So yes, if you eat around your BMR, and exercise (but make sure you're sensible in the way that you count up your calories - MFP tends to overestimate them), you will still lose weight.

    If you're aiming for 2lb a week, exercising most days, and having a food calorie deficit of about 600 should do the trick.
  • spottedlee
    spottedlee Posts: 372
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    If you're aiming for 2lb a week, exercising most days, and having a food calorie deficit of about 600 should do the trick.

    So you are saying,, if my intake is about 1,500 a day, my net should be at about 1,100 or less after exercising? Or does it mean I should see -600 net?

    Still confused.
  • sugarbone
    sugarbone Posts: 454 Member
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    If you do not eat enough your body gets weak and shuts things down, starving yourself is terrible for you and will actually slow down your weight loss eventually. Starving causes irreparable damage to organs and your heart.

    7000 calories to lose 2lbs per week is correct (mostly - you will lose muscle too and there are less calories in muscle than fat, as well as water weight). This is true because in 1lb of actual fat, were you to eat it, would have 3500 calories. It doesn't translate 100% to real life weight loss but it's the closest thing we can get. Any deficit is going to cause weight loss so we might as well aim for something that makes sense.

    Also, if you eat 1500 calories, then burn 1500 calories, you have a net of 0 calories. That is the same as eating 0 calories and not working out - aka starving yourself.
  • sugarbone
    sugarbone Posts: 454 Member
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    If you're aiming for 2lb a week, exercising most days, and having a food calorie deficit of about 600 should do the trick.

    So you are saying,, if my intake is about 1,500 a day, my net should be at about 1,100 or less after exercising? Or does it mean I should see -600 net?

    Still confused.

    MFP should have set up a deficit for you when you signed up. If you chose 2 lbs lost per week, MFP will subtract 1000 calories a day (7000 a week) from what it calculated you should eat in a day to maintain your weight. However, MFP will never recommend eating below 1200 calories because that can be detrimental to your health. What is ACTUALLY detrimental to your health varies from person to person (for example, a 100 lb girl could eat 1200 a day and be healthy, but a 200 lb man would not) it is a good guideline. Sorry to double post :)
  • spottedlee
    spottedlee Posts: 372
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    Also, if you eat 1500 calories, then burn 1500 calories, you have a net of 0 calories. That is the same as eating 0 calories and not working out - aka starving yourself.

    ok, so no matter how much I eat, as long I get my butt moving (more exercise) and keep my net at 1450 as recommend or less, I am on right track?
  • Thomasm198
    Thomasm198 Posts: 3,189 Member
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    Also, if you eat 1500 calories, then burn 1500 calories, you have a net of 0 calories. That is the same as eating 0 calories and not working out - aka starving yourself.

    ok, so no matter how much I eat, as long I get my butt moving (more exercise) and keep my net at 1450 as recommend or less, I am on right track?

    To try and simplify it, net is the amount of calories consumed minus calories burnt through exercise. Example:

    So if target (net) = 1,500
    And Calories burned through exercise = -500
    Then Calories to consume to hit Net is 2,000.

    2,000 - 500 = 1,500

    Hope this clarifies it for you.

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