Calorie deficit????

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amberl10
amberl10 Posts: 75 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I know this probably a really dumb question but can someone explain it to me? I'm still not understanding it even after searching old posts on it.

Does BMI and BMR play into it to? I have my settings to lose 1/2 lb a week and I'm given 1520 calories a day. My BMR is 1414. I usually burn off around 200 calories from exercise a day. My BMI is 28.5 so don't know where that plays into either. I read somewhere that based on my BMI a calorie deficit to see success would be 500. So how do I figure out what my deficit is????

Replies

  • lovelee79
    lovelee79 Posts: 362
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    Bump. (I have been thinking the same thing, and totally confused!)
  • HazelElfwand
    HazelElfwand Posts: 83
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    Bump
  • anubis609
    anubis609 Posts: 3,966 Member
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    Umm... if you're using this site, it's already gone ahead and created the deficit for you, assuming that your goal is to lose weight.
  • MrsCon40
    MrsCon40 Posts: 2,351 Member
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    So much good info can be found here
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/457-unofficial-mfp-faq

    This post addresses caloric deficit
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/390144-what-is-a-calorie-deficit

    And this post addresses BMR
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/390140-what-is-bmr

    Enjoy! :flowerforyou:
  • SergeantSunshine_reused
    SergeantSunshine_reused Posts: 5,382 Member
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    BMI is worthless :] I wouldn't go off that scale

    Your BMR is how many calories you burn just by living. By lying in bed all day not moving.
    Your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) is what is important. This is how many calories you burn in a day with normal daily activities included. So my TDEE is about 2000 calories we will say. If I eat 1500 then I have a 500 calorie deficit
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
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    If your Total Daily Energy Expenditure is 2000 for example, your calorie deficit is whatever you eat under that. If you eat 1500 then you have a 500-calorie deficit.

    It takes about 3500 calories to gain or lose a pound. So if you want to lose 1 pound a week, you need to have a deficit of 3500 calories per week, which works out to 500 calories per day.

    TDEE is not the same as BMR. Your BMR is the calories you burn by breathing and existing and so on. Your TDEE is that plus the calories you burn moving around, doing stuff all day. (Not exercise but your normal daily activities.)

    The site does all the work for you if you enter your information.
  • CMmrsfloyd
    CMmrsfloyd Posts: 2,383 Member
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    Your BMR is the number that you would burn if you laid in bed all day. It's the bare minimum for your body to keep up organ functions and stay the same size. Your deficit is not taken off of your BMR, it is taken off of your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure- I think that's right LOL). TDEE is found by taking your BMR number and multiplying it by a number that corresponds to your daily activity level (I think if you choose sedentary it multiplies by 1.2). Since you don't just lay in bed all day, BMR does not cover your daily activities - you burn more than BMR b/c you get out of bed, walk to the car, walk around the house, go to work/store/etc, and anything else you do on a daily basis. If you choose 'lightly active' or another activity level higher than 'sedentary', your TDEE is bigger b/c your body needs more energy for daily activities. The 250 calorie per day deficit is subtracted from that TDEE number which is supposed to support your daily activities. That's why your 'deficit goal' looks odd when you compare it to your BMR, b/c the number of calories you actually use each day is larger than BMR unless you basically don't get out of bed that day. :-)

    But anyway, when you filled out all your info (height, weight, age, activity level) and then selected your weightloss goal (1/2 lb per week), MFP took all that info and calculated your calorie goal to be at a 250 calorie per day deficit. If you eat what MFP tells you for your goal, you will be at the deficit you requested. :-)
  • 123456654321
    123456654321 Posts: 1,311 Member
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    Umm... if you're using this site, it's already gone ahead and created the deficit for you, assuming that your goal is to lose weight.

    Yup, that's the best part about sites like this. Enter your stats, enter your goals and it does the rest of the math for you. Since our body's aren't necessarily "cookie cutter" I recommend going by what MFP says for about a month...if you see you are losing to quickly, you may want to look into increasing a little. If you see you aren't losing enough, you may want to look into decreasing a little.

    Good luck!
  • jayliospecky
    jayliospecky Posts: 25,022 Member
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    I know this probably a really dumb question but can someone explain it to me? I'm still not understanding it even after searching old posts on it.

    Does BMI and BMR play into it to? I have my settings to lose 1/2 lb a week and I'm given 1520 calories a day. My BMR is 1414. I usually burn off around 200 calories from exercise a day. My BMI is 28.5 so don't know where that plays into either. I read somewhere that based on my BMI a calorie deficit to see success would be 500. So how do I figure out what my deficit is????

    MFP uses your BMR to calculate your deficit. It adds in what you set as your activity level, to figure out an estimate of the total calories you would burn in a day. So, let's say for example, your BMR is 1414. MFP figured your estimated daily calories burned (not including workouts) to be 1770 calories per day. Since you set your goal to lose 1/2 lb per week, they subtracted 250 calories from 1770 to get a goal of 1520 calories for you for a day. If you wanted to lose 1 lb per week, MFP would give you a goal of 1270 calories per day. If you add your exercise in separately, you can eat the extra 200 calories you get from working out and still have a deficit.

    In other words, if you want to lose a 1/2 pound per week, your daily deficit should be 250 calories.
    If you want to lose 1 pound per week, your daily deficit should be 500 calories.
    MFP calculates all this for you, so you don't really have to figure it out unless you're just wanting to understand better what's going on.

    Also, these are all estimates. Not everyone burns calories at the same rate. Some people would lose more than 1/2 pound per week if they followed MFP's guidelines. It's not an exact thing, and everyone is different.

    Like someone else said, BMI has nothing really to do with it, other than if you are close to a healthy weight, you will probably not have success trying to lose 2 pounds per week.

    Edit: I see a lot of people were writing the same things as me.
  • Teddiedoll
    Teddiedoll Posts: 6
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    Great question!
    I have been on here for 10 days and I am still trying to find this out as well. My biggest confusion is:
    Calories IN vs. Calories OUT...a person needs to burn more than they put in, right? So why is it that I am reading in so many places to eat more (including my exercise)? How does someone lose weight without having a deficit? (I realize that everyone is different and it can be a trial and error for most).

    T~
  • veganbaum
    veganbaum Posts: 1,865 Member
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    Simple, don't overthink it - MFP does everything for you. You have already been given the deficit in your 1520 to lose 1/2 lb a week, period - if you don't exercise and stay near your calorie goal, you should lose weight. If you do exercise you are supposed to eat some of those calories back in order to fuel your body properly for that extra energy expenditure that was not accounted for in your 1520. At the end of the day, your NET should be close to 1520. As long as your NET is close to 1520, you will have a 250 cal deficit a day, which is 1750 cal deficit a week, which equals a half pound loss.
  • LisaKyle11
    LisaKyle11 Posts: 662 Member
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    Simple, don't overthink it - MFP does everything for you. You have already been given the deficit in your 1520 to lose 1/2 lb a week, period - if you don't exercise and stay near your calorie goal, you should lose weight. If you do exercise you are supposed to eat some of those calories back in order to fuel your body properly for that extra energy expenditure that was not accounted for in your 1520. At the end of the day, your NET should be close to 1520. As long as your NET is close to 1520, you will have a 250 cal deficit a day, which is 1750 cal deficit a week, which equals a half pound loss.

    great explanation!
  • amberl10
    amberl10 Posts: 75 Member
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    Thanks so much that really clears it up for me.
  • lovelee79
    lovelee79 Posts: 362
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    This is taken (copied & pasted) from my personal goals page in Goal settings.....I just noticed this (*) on the small print today !! Check out the small print on yours (*)..... MFP suggests to eat back exercise calories, it's built into the daily goal like the others said. MFP is saying that 1300 is what my net daily goal should be. If I don't exercise I should eat 1300, if I do exercise I should eat enough to get my 'net' back up to 1300. Hope this helps, kinda confusing:

    Your diet Profile Target
    Calories Burned
    From Normal Daily Activity 1,910 calories/day

    Net Calories Consumed*
    Your Daily Goal 1,300 calories/ day
    Daily Calorie Deficit 610 calories
    Projected Weight Loss 1.2 lbs/ week

    * Net Calories Consumed = Total Calories Consumed - Exercise Calories Burned

    (example: 1239 net cals = 1579 total cals consumed - 340 exercise cals burned)

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