General "newbie" question

Hirgy03

I have a question on daily intake vs. expenditure vs. weight loss. Sorry this is so novice, but I've never paid attention to calories in vs calories out before now.

I am seeing that I need to bring in "X" amount of calories to lose weight efficiently, which is actually pretty surprising to me. I mean, I know that you need nutrients, etc., but I never would have thought that you actually needed to increase basic caloric intake just to lose weight. I have also seen many people on here talk about the "deficit".

So I have two questions: (1) Where do I go on here, or anywhere, to figure out my daily caloric intake needs? I may have seen this already but just overlooked it or didn't pay the right amount of attention to it. and (2) Once I've taken in whatever my daily "needs" are, does it matter how many calories I burn (by that I mean, can I burn too many calories?). In other words, if my intake needs are 1750 calories and I burn 1750 calories (just as an example) working out, am I screwing myself at that point?

thanks again for any input you have. I appreciate all the help you guys have given me just in my first 24 hours on this site!

Have a great day all!

Bobby__Clerici

I follow the MFP recommendations and eat back exercise calories to maintain a steady deficit as it's built in to your daily calorie goal. Settings...Update diet/fitness profile...
You can check these numbers using a TDEE calculator - google that, and see what your daily calorie number is, then subtract 500 from that for 1 pound of weekly weight loss.
Compare this with MFP just to have that 2nd opinion.
Good Luck!

JustANumber85

There is a thread for figuring it out with pictures-- search Road Map. Thats how i figured mine out. MFP had me at 1340 (eating back exercise cals) but Road Map has me at 1600-1800 cals (not eating anything back).

as for your exercise question.... Lets say my cals were set at 1340 and I burned 500 doing Zumba. Id have 1840 cals total for the day. I can choose to eat those back or not. I have not screwed myself if i eat all 1840 or even close to it.

psuLemon

There are two factors in weight loss. Bmr or basal metabolic rate or the number of calories your body uses if it slept for 24 hours. And there is tdee or total daily energy expended. This is what you burn in a day. The more you burn the more your body requires for fuel. More fuel prevents muscle loss. Ideally, you want to optimize fat loss as muscle is lean and tight.

The general consensus is to eat above your bmr so you do not eat below your metabolic rate. Extended periods of under eating will lead to a slower metabolism through metabolic adaptation.

I am a firm believer in adding your exercise into your lifestyle. So if you consistently workout 5-6 days a week set you account to moderately active so you do not need to eat back exercise calories. If you follow mfp you should eat back some of your exercise calories.

Also, unless you are obese 2 lbs per week is too aggressive. Its generally better to set it at 1 lb per week to minimize muscle loss. Additionally, adjust macros to around 35/40/25 c/p/f will ensure proper protein intake is accomplished.

RunsOnEspresso

I would suggest reading the first post in this thread: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

It really helped me. I was following the MFP guidelines and eating back some of my exercise calories but was still feeling hungry & not satisfied. I wasn't losing much weight either. I found the above thread and it has helped a lot.

Just my opinion. :drinker:

TurtleRunnerNC

I would suggest reading the first post in this thread: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

It really helped me. I was following the MFP guidelines and eating back some of my exercise calories but was still feeling hungry & not satisfied. I wasn't losing much weight either. I found the above thread and it has helped a lot.

Just my opinion. :drinker:

This ^^^^^^^

trogalicious

I would suggest reading the first post in this thread: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

It really helped me. I was following the MFP guidelines and eating back some of my exercise calories but was still feeling hungry & not satisfied. I wasn't losing much weight either. I found the above thread and it has helped a lot.

Just my opinion. :drinker:

this is the go-to thread. TONS of information to take in, but it makes all the difference in the world. Good luck with everything.