Guide to calorie deficits

nycegurl74

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ItsTerriC

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graysmom2005

Hello Folks,

So often people personal message me asking me if I think their calories are correct. It seems that people think there is some magical formula that only a very few can figure out. I see so many people on here just popping in numbers and following them heedless of what the numbers mean. I feel it's ULTRA important to know why MFP (and me, and a few others) gives you certain numbers. To that end I will try to empower YOU to be able to understand the basics about calories, calorie deficits, and why we recommend eating exercise calories. With this knowledge you should be able to easily figure out what your calories should be at for reasonable, healthy weight loss. So without further ado, lets get started.

1st things first, a few givens must be stated:

-Everyone's body is slightly different. ALWAYS keep in mind your numbers may not be exactly what MFP thinks simply because everyone's bodies all burn energy at a different rate. Tweaking may be needed.

- MFP's goals wizard is a "dumb" tool. That means it doesn't care whether a specific goal is healthy and/or right for you, it just subtracts the goal deficit from projected maintenance calories. This means that even if you shouldn't be trying for a 2 lb a week loss, MFP won't care, it will still try to help you get there.

-1200 calories is a generic number. It's not right for everyone. It's a baseline minimum given out as a floor by MFP based on prior research by the medical community. NOT everyone will need a minimum of 1200, very small people can go under, and bigger people need more.


OK with those facts firmly set in your mind (please go back and re-read the givens until you have them firmly planted in your skull!), we can continue. Figuring out your perfect deficit isn't magic, it's a few simple formula's base on some basic, worldwide standards, and generally with slight modefication, will work for just about anyone who (besides weight) is generally healthy.

Here's what you need:
Height, weight, age, activity level, sex

NOTE: activity level isn't as mysterious as it sounds. If you have a desk job, and do very little walking throughout the day and don't really perform any sports or physical activities, then you are sedentary, if you do some walking every day (or at least 4 days a week) or other light activity for at least 30 minutes cumulative at least 4 times a week, you are lightly active. If you do 60 minutes of light activity 5 days a week or do some kind of sport that requires walking or light jogging (say swimming or mailman or warehouse employee) then you are active, If you do a physically demanding activity (one that makes you sweat) for 4 days a week or more and for more than 1 hour a day, you are very active (like a coach that runs drills or you play volleyball). When in doubt, go down 1 level, you'd rather burn more than you think than less.

With all these numbers you can generate your BMI. Now I realize BMI is flawed, but for what we're doing it's good enough. After years on here, and doing lots and lots of research, I've been able to associate general BMI ranges with approximate goal levels. This works for about 80 to 85% of people out there (there's always a few that are outside the curve).

So now we can figure out where your goal should be.
Go to the tools section and figure out your BMI:

Generally someone with a BMI over 32 can do a 1000 calorie a day (2 lbs a week) deficit
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 building, and reducing fat. This means it 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).

With this quick guide you can figure out your goal rather easily. I know many people will say "I can't eat my exercise calories, I gain weight when I do". Well I have news for you, that's not correct. I submit this, if you eat your exercise calories and gain weight 1 of 3 things happened:
1 you were previously in starvation mode, and you upped your calories, and had an immediate weight gain, that's normal, to be expected, and necessary to get your body on track. Give it a month, that will stop, and you, once again, will begin to lose, but this time, in a healthy manner.
2 you incorrectly calculated something, either your exercise calories, your calorie intake, or you put in to large of a goal. Go back and check all your numbers.
3 you haven't given it enough time to work. This site promotes HEALTHY weight loss people. Healthy weight loss doesn't happen in days or weeks, it takes months and years. Each change you make in how you eat needs a month or more to work, be patient, give it time. It will happen.

And to everyone who has a trainer that doesn't agree with eating your exercise calories. I also submit this: In 90% of the cases (and I have talked to a LOT of trainers about this exact topic) they actually DO agree with this method, you just explained it wrong.
Just saying to a trainer "should I eat my exercise calories?" isn't enough, you have to explain to them that MFP already generates a deficit prior to any exercise, therefore the deficit will remain whether you exercise or not. Once you give them that idea, and you are relatively sure they understand the concept then I'll bet they change their tune.

I hope this helps, it's pretty straight forward if you've been here a while, and to you new guys, I recommend going to the message boards link, clicking on the "general diet and weight loss" area, and clicking on those first few posts that have the little mouse trap next to them, they are sticky and will always be there, and are a wealth of knowledge about this site, exercise calories, starvation mode...etc.

regards,

-Banks

Banks...I am a fitness instructor so I at first had my activity level as high, but then was told if I add my exercise calories and eat them I'm basically eating those calories twice and that I shouldn't count my classes as part of my activity level. I then moved myself to sedentary since I'm a stay at home mom when I'm NOT teaching my classes. Is this correct? My calories will be WAY off if not. Thanks!!

SHBoss1673

Banks...I am a fitness instructor so I at first had my activity level as high, but then was told if I add my exercise calories and eat them I'm basically eating those calories twice and that I shouldn't count my classes as part of my activity level. I then moved myself to sedentary since I'm a stay at home mom when I'm NOT teaching my classes. Is this correct? My calories will be WAY off if not. Thanks!!

hmmm, well, I don't usually classify SAHM's as sedentary for young children. In all honesty you're probably somewhere between sedentary and lightly active.

Couple things to remember, how much you work out and the types of workout CAN effect your RMR, so if you're training 2 or 3 times a day (either instructing others or training yourself) every day, then I doubt you're sedentary, even taking away the calories for the actual work. If you're getting muscle burn every day, then I'd classify yourself as lightly active. Also, if you're walking around chasing a child and doing things around the house, again that's not sedentary. Sedentary is for people who sit at a desk all day, get home, and flop down on the couch. If you're really concerned, get a pedometer, they're cheap and it'll tell you how many steps you take in a day. Anything over about 6 or 7 thousand and you're lightly active IMHO.

If you're REALLY confused, call your PCP and see if there's a lab around that does metabolic testing with indirect calorimetry, it'll cost you a couple hundred bucks, but you'll know for sure what your AMR (Active Metabolic Rate) and RMR is.

Nellie1drfl

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KellyBurton1

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Yori1

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slieber

Bump!

dodd319

Thanks for the info!

TheMaidOfAstolat

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Happyoceangirl

Bumping. I have a question but chances are good that it has been answered in the previous 17 pages. Just feeling a bit lazy (sigh) to comb through all these comments to find it!

Gay11nell

Bump - I should have read this long time ago!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LilySzalay

Thank you.

SereneRose

Good info, bumping for later

MissJoy18

Thank you! Bump.

designerel

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irishcrab

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thanks!

Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Calorie Counter

goingtobefit2015

you are so amazing thank you so much for all you do!!

PJilly

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jessicamarie81

Saving!

SHBoss1673

you are so amazing thank you so much for all you do!!

well thank you! :embarassed:

luvmykid28

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PJilly

Bump.

djkymba

Thank you! I've been on here two weeks now and I haven't been able to clearly understand how it worked, but now I do. According to MFP, with my weight, I should be aiming for .5 a week loss. I'm impatient, so of course I want it faster than that, but at least now I understand why the scale doesn't seem to be budging yet.

veggievanessa

This was so helpful! was was trying to save a few a day so i would lose but i've been working out like a maniac and i'm always hungry!

Thank you , thank you!

SHBoss1673

You're ever so welcome guys, it's my pleasure. feel free to pm me if you have additional questions, this is an extremely rough guide, just to get people started, there's a lot of tweaking to be done after you go through this and find a starting point.

lotusfromthemud

Bump.

Have I mentioned lately that Banks is awesomesauce?

SHBoss1673

:embarassed:

Bump.

Have I mentioned lately that Banks is awesomesauce?

lotusfromthemud

Are you blushing?

As long as people keep undereating, I'll keep bumping this and reminding you that you're awesome and making you blush.

So, that's forever.:laugh:

yeabby

Thanks!