help understanding the concept of calorie deficit

andreyako
andreyako Posts: 12
in Health and Weight Loss
hey people so i recently started my 90 day cutting phase im currently weighing in at 165 and my goal is to lose 10 lbs in at least 2 months for the summer.
these are the setting on my fitness pal calorie counter
-starting weight 165
-goal weight 155
-height 5 ft 8 in
-21 years of age
-daily activity very active
exercise 6 days a week cardio in the morning before i eat breakfast and weight training in mid afternoon and also try to fit in some more cardio before bed at least 2 hours after my last meal.
-goal is to lose a pound a week
after all that being said my BMR is 2,180 calories/ day. now what i dont understand is if im using the my fitness pal app on iphone when i add in the exercises i do it adds more calories to my daily needs i know in order to lose a pound a week i would have to cut down 500 calories from my daily needs. 1 pound= 3,500 calories / 7 days a week = 500 calories a day. so if my bmr is 2,180 plus burned 400 calories doing cardio is 2,580 does that mean i have to eat that much?
i hope i made it as brief as possible and not confuse anyone please help and reply thanks!!
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

DEDICATION+EFFORT= RESULTS!

Replies

  • JNick77
    JNick77 Posts: 3,783 Member
    hey people so i recently started my 90 day cutting phase im currently weighing in at 165 and my goal is to lose 10 lbs in at least 2 months for the summer.
    these are the setting on my fitness pal calorie counter
    -starting weight 165
    -goal weight 155
    -height 5 ft 8 in
    -21 years of age
    -daily activity very active
    exercise 6 days a week cardio in the morning before i eat breakfast and weight training in mid afternoon and also try to fit in some more cardio before bed at least 2 hours after my last meal.
    -goal is to lose a pound a week
    after all that being said my BMR is 2,180 calories/ day. now what i dont understand is if im using the my fitness pal app on iphone when i add in the exercises i do it adds more calories to my daily needs i know in order to lose a pound a week i would have to cut down 500 calories from my daily needs. 1 pound= 3,500 calories / 7 days a week = 500 calories a day. so if my bmr is 2,180 plus burned 400 calories doing cardio is 2,580 does that mean i have to eat that much?
    i hope i made it as brief as possible and not confuse anyone please help and reply thanks!!
    _____________________________________________________________________________________________________

    DEDICATION+EFFORT= RESULTS!

    Dude, is that a current picture? If so, 10lbs where? Holy crap. I would start with the 2,180 calories and not worry about eating back the cardio calories. I've been working with a nutritionist myself and after 12 weeks he's never had me buy an HRM or eat back calories. My bodyfat is down and my strength is up, hit a few PR's over the last 12 weeks too.
  • andreyako
    andreyako Posts: 12
    hey bro thanks for the reply and that was not recent the picture was taken in august 12/2011 i can post i recent one im really out of shape like i know iam i worked out for a year straight and my bf was down to 14% and i was weighing in at 168 but i stopped working out since September 2011 until a week ago and im really out of shape now im just trying to tone up and get my strength back and to the same i was last summer so i thought maybe dropping 10 lbs was right. so you think just maintaining my bmr and not eating what i burn from cardio/weight training/etc should do the job or what?

    PS.. im not sure what a PR is? please explain
  • JNick77
    JNick77 Posts: 3,783 Member
    hey bro thanks for the reply and that was not recent the picture was taken in august 12/2011 i can post i recent one im really out of shape like i know iam i worked out for a year straight and my bf was down to 14% and i was weighing in at 168 but i stopped working out since September 2011 until a week ago and im really out of shape now im just trying to tone up and get my strength back and to the same i was last summer so i thought maybe dropping 10 lbs was right. so you think just maintaining my bmr and not eating what i burn from cardio/weight training/etc should do the job or what?

    PS.. im not sure what a PR is? please explain

    Personal Record. I've hit PR's in total weight on the Deadlift, Squat, and Overhead Press as well as rep records.
  • healthycurves2012
    healthycurves2012 Posts: 51
    Here is an example:

    My BMR is 1970. 1970 x 7 = 13,790 (calories I consume weekly)

    I eat 1700 calories per day, which is 270 less than my BMR, creating a deficit. [270 calories x 7 days = 1890 calories/week]
    I work out 5 times per week and burn 384 calories each time. [384 calories x 5 days = 1920 calories/week]
    1890 calories + 1920 calories = 3810 calories. This is my weekly deficit.

    There are 3500 calories in a pound, and if my deficit is 3810, I will lose just over a pound weekly.
  • healthycurves2012
    healthycurves2012 Posts: 51
    I'm sorry, I meant "weekly BMR" instead of "calories I consume weekly". The rest of it is accurate though...my bad!
  • Scarlett_S
    Scarlett_S Posts: 467 Member
    Your calculations are correct. In theory, you should lose 1 pound per week.

    I've been doing this over a year and my body does what it wants to, but generally comes back to the "right" number. In other words, I can set up to lose 1 pound per week, and I won't lose any for two weeks, then I'll drop three and not lose again the following week. Things like that. I've learned to just go with the flow and see what happens.

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