calories deficit question

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beatrixkiddo23
beatrixkiddo23 Posts: 14
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi Everyone!
okay so i have a question...so i'm doing 1200 calories a day right? and when i exercise, whatever calories i burn are then added back to my calories remaining...my question is, if I eat those calories, aren't i just burning off what i ate, and not creating a deficit?
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Replies

  • susannamarie
    susannamarie Posts: 2,148 Member
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    Your deficit already exists, so you don't need to create one. Not eating them back would be increasing your deficit.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    No.

    1200 is already at a deficit. And it doesn't include exercise. If you chose 1 lb a week, your deficit is 500 calories. At 1200 goal, that means your body needs 1700 calories and you are only feeding it 1200. If you exercise and burn off 300 calories, your body then needs 1700 plus 300 = 2000. If you only eat 1200, your body only gets 900 calories.
    So you are supposed to eat back those 300 calories which puts you at a calorie intake of 1500 but a net of 1200 (1500 eaten - 300 burned = 1200).

    There are a lot of reasons why people suggest keeping a modest deficit. Eating too little over a long period of time can have a lot of negative side effects, including plateauing and making it difficult to maintain once you get to your goal.
  • starladolihite
    starladolihite Posts: 6 Member
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    What is the Daily Calorie Deficit anyway? Mine is projected at 500 calories... what exactly does that mean. My daily goal is 1290 calories per day. How do those 2 work together?
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    MFP deducts 500 calories from your projected energy needs (not including exercise) if you choose "I want to lose 1 pound per week".
  • Mmmmona
    Mmmmona Posts: 328 Member
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    I eat 1200 a day (well I try to). I don't eat back my exercise calories. That way I have a bigger deficit. This way I have been losing about 3.6 lbs a week.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    I eat 1200 a day (well I try to). I don't eat back my exercise calories. That way I have a bigger deficit. This way I have been losing about 3.6 lbs a week.

    Not a good idea long term.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    What is the Daily Calorie Deficit anyway? Mine is projected at 500 calories... what exactly does that mean. My daily goal is 1290 calories per day. How do those 2 work together?

    MFP gives you a 500 calorie deficit for every pound per week you ask to lose. So 1 lb a week is -500, 1.5 lbs a week is -750 and 2 lbs a week is 1000.

    2 lbs a week is only appropriate for those with 75 or more pounds to lose. For those with less, it isn't a realistic goal and will often give you too few calories to eat.

    If your goal is 1290, and your deficit is 500, MFP figures that your BMR (basal metabolic rate - what you need just to live and organ function i.e. not even getting out of bed) plus your daily activity which would include walking to the car, sitting, and your job (not exercise, it is not calculated in MFP's calculations until you log them) is equal to 1790. That means if you ate that number and did no additional exercise you would neither lose or gain weight.
  • notworthstalking
    notworthstalking Posts: 531 Member
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    The deficit is the difference between how much you need to eat to maintain your current weight and what they recommend you eat to lose. For example for half a pound loss you need to eat 250 a calories less. If you wanted to gain weight you would eat more than your requirements. A reason people recommend eating no less than 1200 calories is it's really hard to get enough nutrients on low calories. So if you exercise and eat the calories, you can fuel your body with more good stuff. Or the occasional treat :wink:
  • BernardPumpkin
    BernardPumpkin Posts: 86
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    I eat 1200 a day (well I try to). I don't eat back my exercise calories. That way I have a bigger deficit. This way I have been losing about 3.6 lbs a week.

    Not a good idea long term.

    but they do that on the biggest loser...
  • kts3639
    kts3639 Posts: 188 Member
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    I eat 1200 a day (well I try to). I don't eat back my exercise calories. That way I have a bigger deficit. This way I have been losing about 3.6 lbs a week.

    :huh: Good luck sticking to that and keeping the weight off. This is terrible advice!
  • Mmmmona
    Mmmmona Posts: 328 Member
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    I eat 1200 a day (well I try to). I don't eat back my exercise calories. That way I have a bigger deficit. This way I have been losing about 3.6 lbs a week.

    :huh: Good luck sticking to that and keeping the weight off. This is terrible advice!

    Thanks. I've been sticking to it and keeping the weight off for over six months.

    Some people do things differently than you do and it works for them. The only thing that is terrible here is your judgemental attitude.
  • beatrixkiddo23
    beatrixkiddo23 Posts: 14
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    No.

    1200 is already at a deficit. And it doesn't include exercise. If you chose 1 lb a week, your deficit is 500 calories. At 1200 goal, that means your body needs 1700 calories and you are only feeding it 1200. If you exercise and burn off 300 calories, your body then needs 1700 plus 300 = 2000. If you only eat 1200, your body only gets 800 calories.
    So you are supposed to eat back those 300 calories which puts you at a calorie intake of 1500 but a net of 1200 (1500 eaten - 300 burned = 1200).

    There are a lot of reasons why people suggest keeping a modest deficit. Eating too little over a long period of time can have a lot of negative side effects, including plateauing and making it difficult to maintain once you get to your goal.

    this was a really good breakdown..i never fully understood until now..thank u so much..sometimes i'm scared to eat too much cause i feel like it will defeat the purpose
  • starladolihite
    starladolihite Posts: 6 Member
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    ok... still trying to understand.. so, in order to lose 1 lb. per week, I really need to stick to the daily calorie goal of 1290 that mfp has set for me, without any regard to the deficit? Or, can I go over, up to the 1790 and still see myself losing, just not necessarily at a rate of 1 lb. per week?
  • beatrixkiddo23
    beatrixkiddo23 Posts: 14
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    I eat 1200 a day (well I try to). I don't eat back my exercise calories. That way I have a bigger deficit. This way I have been losing about 3.6 lbs a week.

    :huh: Good luck sticking to that and keeping the weight off. This is terrible advice!

    i definitely want to do this the healthy way and keep it off..that's been my problem for years..loosing, and then gaining it right back..thanks to everyone though for all the clarification!
  • RllyGudTweetr
    RllyGudTweetr Posts: 2,019 Member
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    I eat 1200 a day (well I try to). I don't eat back my exercise calories. That way I have a bigger deficit. This way I have been losing about 3.6 lbs a week.

    Not a good idea long term.

    but they do that on the biggest loser...
    You mean, where they do nothing but train for a majority of the day? Where a sizable number of participants regain their lost weight after they leave the show? That "Biggest Loser"?
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    ok... still trying to understand.. so, in order to lose 1 lb. per week, I really need to stick to the daily calorie goal of 1290 that mfp has set for me, without any regard to the deficit? Or, can I go over, up to the 1790 and still see myself losing, just not necessarily at a rate of 1 lb. per week?

    You eat the 1290 PLUS the amount earned when you exercise. Because MFP's energy need calculation doesn't include exercise, you need to add fuel for that. It is set up so that you would lose weight if you did no exercise.
  • wild_wild_life
    wild_wild_life Posts: 1,334 Member
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    ok... still trying to understand.. so, in order to lose 1 lb. per week, I really need to stick to the daily calorie goal of 1290 that mfp has set for me, without any regard to the deficit? Or, can I go over, up to the 1790 and still see myself losing, just not necessarily at a rate of 1 lb. per week?

    If MFP gave you a calorie goal of 1290 to lose 1 lb per week, then it has calculated your maintenance calories as 1790. So you should lose weight eating anything less than 1790. It's all an estimate so you may need to play around with it a bit to find out what your maintenance calories really are.
  • AmberA219
    AmberA219 Posts: 27 Member
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    I'm confused about this as well. I just changed my goals to 1 pound a week instead of 1 1/2. MFP says I should net 1540 calories a day. If I exercise and burn 300 calories, should I be eating 1840? I don't understand this, what's the point of burning calories just to put them right back in? Also, 1840 seems ridiculously high. Since I've joined MFP I have stayed under my calories all week, exercised nearly every day, and drank tons of water. Today it's been a week since I joined and I've gained 3 pounds! Is this normal? I'm doing everything MFP is telling me too for the most part, except for going over my sodium a few times. I don't want to give up, but it is very disheartening to see that I've gained three pounds in my first week. I know I shouldn't expect results right away but still....
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    I'm confused about this as well. I just changed my goals to 1 pound a week instead of 1 1/2. MFP says I should net 1540 calories a day. If I exercise and burn 300 calories, should I be eating 1840? I don't understand this, what's the point of burning calories just to put them right back in? Also, 1840 seems ridiculously high. Since I've joined MFP I have stayed under my calories all week, exercised nearly every day, and drank tons of water. Today it's been a week since I joined and I've gained 3 pounds! Is this normal? I'm doing everything MFP is telling me too for the most part, except for going over my sodium a few times. I don't want to give up, but it is very disheartening to see that I've gained three pounds in my first week. I know I shouldn't expect results right away but still....

    Once again..... MFP calculates your energy needs based on what you need just to exist to fuel your organs (this is called BMR, basal metabolic rate, it is the amount they would feed you in a coma) and what you need for your regular daily living, working, taking care of children, etc. It DOES NOT INCLUDE THE ENERGY YOU NEED FOR EXERCISE. So when you do exercise, you need to add fuel for that. This is set up so that you would lose weight through diet alone, without exercise. When you do, it adds that fuel for you to eat.
  • taylzqwert
    taylzqwert Posts: 3 Member
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    I'm confused about this as well. I just changed my goals to 1 pound a week instead of 1 1/2. MFP says I should net 1540 calories a day. If I exercise and burn 300 calories, should I be eating 1840? I don't understand this, what's the point of burning calories just to put them right back in? Also, 1840 seems ridiculously high. Since I've joined MFP I have stayed under my calories all week, exercised nearly every day, and drank tons of water. Today it's been a week since I joined and I've gained 3 pounds! Is this normal? I'm doing everything MFP is telling me too for the most part, except for going over my sodium a few times. I don't want to give up, but it is very disheartening to see that I've gained three pounds in my first week. I know I shouldn't expect results right away but still....

    My Husband has had the same results as you. He is getting unmotivated too because he is not losing.

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