How Do You Calculate Your Own Appropriate Calorie Deficit?

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  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
    If there is one area in which MyFailPal totally fails it's that the site does not offer members any information to help them decide how many pounds to lose per week. So many people - particularly women - are choosing the wrong deficits simply because they are unaware that we have limits to how much fat that can be oxidized in a 24-hour period.

    To answer your main question, which [again] isn't addressed by MyFailPal, we calculate our deficits considering how much total fat mass we have and how much fat mass we wish to lose. Think of it as a maximum deficit in which fat reserves will be used as fuel since we all have a limit to how much fat that can be burned daily. The closer one reaches this maximum deficit, the more lean body mass is lost. If one goes over this max deficit, then only lean body mass, and not fat, is utilized.

    Use this simple formula: 31 x lbs of total fat mass.

    For me, 31 x 16 lbs = 496 max deficit

    This means that my theoretical max deficit should be no greater than 496 calories since my body will not burn more than that amount in fat mass daily. However, based on real world practice, I choose no more than a 300 calorie deficit since I seem to lose excess lean body mass beyond that.

    I'm not sure it would be sensible to apply this to women - I am around 160 lbs and 25% bf which gives me 40lbs fat. 40 x 31 = 1240 deficit. I would not be comfortable cutting that much. My TDEE is 2750 so that would leave me with 1510 cals per day total. As a very active woman I would be ravenous on that.
  • Rbacchiega
    Rbacchiega Posts: 52 Member
    BUT do you figure your TDEE-20% at sedentary or do you set your activity level to match your activity?

    When I was getting my TDEE-20 numbers I factored in my activity level. I'm exercising 7 days a week, so it classified me as "very active"
  • KatNewby
    KatNewby Posts: 26
    There is a spreadsheet floating around that I have been using to calculate my caloric needs. I think it came from the Road Map post by "helloitsdan." I would attach it here but frankly idk how I found it in the first place. I only bumped this because I was curious about what was said about "MyFailPal" and a simple formula of (31 x lbs of total fat mass) equating to a persons max deficit. It totally goes against all the other advice I'd heard previously.
  • melindasuefritz
    melindasuefritz Posts: 3,509 Member
    140- 1400 cal
    145- 1450 cal
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    There is a spreadsheet floating around that I have been using to calculate my caloric needs. I think it came from the Road Map post by "helloitsdan." I would attach it here but frankly idk how I found it in the first place. I only bumped this because I was curious about what was said about "MyFailPal" and a simple formula of (31 x lbs of total fat mass) equating to a persons max deficit. It totally goes against all the other advice I'd heard previously.

    According to that post I should only be eating 1000 calories per day, which is not a good idea for me. If you are understanding the spreadsheet version then just use that, track your results and adjust if needed. Give it at least a month before you decide whether it's working though.
  • KatNewby
    KatNewby Posts: 26
    Yeah, that's definitely what I'm going to do. I would like to think that in 3 months I will have lost at least 10lbs with that method, but if within a month I've dropped 2-3lbs I'll accept that as a success and I'll stick with the plan.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    There is a spreadsheet floating around that I have been using to calculate my caloric needs. I think it came from the Road Map post by "helloitsdan." I would attach it here but frankly idk how I found it in the first place. I only bumped this because I was curious about what was said about "MyFailPal" and a simple formula of (31 x lbs of total fat mass) equating to a persons max deficit. It totally goes against all the other advice I'd heard previously.

    Agreed, as many have pointed out, rather low goals there. Besides the study that formula is roughly based on was theory, not practice.

    Spreadsheet referenced in posts above.

    And here!

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/750920-spreadsheet-for-bmr-tdee-deficit-macro-calcs-hrm-zones

    With better description here.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/813720-spreadsheet-bmr-tdee-deficit-macro-calcs-hrm-zones
  • ellskiNZ
    ellskiNZ Posts: 32 Member
    I'm really confused also.

    I weigh 85kg and am 165cm. I'm mostly sedentary at work, but I do yoga for 90 mins 1-2 x per week, and I do a jazz dance class for 60 mins once per week. I'm 22, and would like to lose 15kg.

    MFP said to do 1520, and I lost about 800grams doing that for a couple of weeks. (I lost 5kg earlier this year and gained it back in like 2 weeks when I went off the rails a bit). I thought I should decrease to 1400 as my mother is adamant I shouldn't eat more than 1200. Other calculators say more like 1700, which I feel like is a lot. Help!
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    I'm really confused also.

    I weigh 85kg and am 165cm. I'm mostly sedentary at work, but I do yoga for 90 mins 1-2 x per week, and I do a jazz dance class for 60 mins once per week. I'm 22, and would like to lose 15kg.

    MFP said to do 1520, and I lost about 800grams doing that for a couple of weeks. (I lost 5kg earlier this year and gained it back in like 2 weeks when I went off the rails a bit). I thought I should decrease to 1400 as my mother is adamant I shouldn't eat more than 1200. Other calculators say more like 1700, which I feel like is a lot. Help!

    Read right above your post.
  • QueenGyn
    QueenGyn Posts: 106
    Bump

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