Calorie deficit?!

britne87
britne87 Posts: 4 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Hi, I'm new to MFP. Only just started a week ago. Just wondering what this "calorie deficit" is. I have a 640 calorie deficit. Does this mean that I can come under my 1200 calorie daily limit by 640 & still be safe or no? When I say "safe" I mean that it won't tell me that I'm "eating too few calories."
Thanks! :)

Replies

  • pagoubupa
    pagoubupa Posts: 105 Member
    You need to eat at least 1200 calories to not get the "eating too few calories" response.
  • britne87
    britne87 Posts: 4 Member
    Well yesterday at the end of my day I had 363 calories left to consume. When I clicked "finish logging" it didn't say anything about "eating too few calories". I actually ate 1340 calories & burned 503 calories by exercising. Do the exercising have anything to do with why it never said "eating too few calories" ?
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    MFP expects you to eat at least 1200 NET calories a day. That's because your body requires a number of calories every single day for bodily functions ...heart, lungs, kidneys, etc.
  • Willipa9
    Willipa9 Posts: 4
    Hi. I have been at this about 2 week. Not sure what Calorie deficit means, but I bet we can find out on the Internet.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Well yesterday at the end of my day I had 363 calories left to consume. When I clicked "finish logging" it didn't say anything about "eating too few calories". I actually ate 1340 calories & burned 503 calories by exercising. Do the exercising have anything to do with why it never said "eating too few calories" ?


    Yes .... calories in (food) ..... calories out (exercise).

    MFP gave you a calorie deficit BEFORE exercise. When you make the calorie deficit too large .... you are at risk of losing MUSCLE mass .... along with fat. Really high deficit diets are prone to plateaus too (not fun).
  • inshapeeasy
    inshapeeasy Posts: 50
    Calorie deficit can be thought of as what is your decrease in calories for the day? You need to have a decrease "deficit" in order to lose weight. That is why they say that you need to have a deficit because that is the only way that you are going to lose the weight. The deficit needs to be less than your daily calorie intake. Check your Basal Metabolic Rate.

    Check this website for great warm up exercises that will help you lose weight and stay fit
    http://www.isefitness.com/exercises/total-body-exercises/warm-exercises-cardio
  • kwilliams386
    kwilliams386 Posts: 156 Member
    Well yesterday at the end of my day I had 363 calories left to consume. When I clicked "finish logging" it didn't say anything about "eating too few calories". I actually ate 1340 calories & burned 503 calories by exercising. Do the exercising have anything to do with why it never said "eating too few calories" ?


    Yes .... calories in (food) ..... calories out (exercise).

    MFP gave you a calorie deficit BEFORE exercise. When you make the calorie deficit too large .... you are at risk of losing MUSCLE mass .... along with fat. Really high deficit diets are prone to plateaus too (not fun).

    Right. The amount of calories MFP gave you is already minus the deficit. You can eat that many calories and lose weight. That is way MFP will add your calories burned from excerise onto your daily goal and allow you to eat them. This still maintains the deficit. This is assuming you did not factor your exercise into your "daily activity level."
  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,654 Member
    Deficit is the difference between the calories you ate and the calories your body burned thruout the day just breathing and moving around. If you eat 500 calories less per day than your body uses, then you should lose 1 pound in a week.

    Check out this link. It will help explain it.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

    Then read this one

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/818082-exercise-calories-again-wtf
  • britne87
    britne87 Posts: 4 Member
    Thanks everyone! Like I said I'm new to MFP & I'm also new to the whole calorie counting thing! This is a whole new world to me & I didn't realize how many calories I was eating a day until I downloaded the app on my phone & just plugged in what I ate for that day, I ate 2067 calories, with no exercise. Knew it was time for a change when I seen that!
    Thanks again! :)
  • kim_mcintire
    kim_mcintire Posts: 19
    I've tried doing less calories. It backfires. Fuel your body and use them as close as you can. It pays off!!! Slow loss equals keeping it off.
    : ) Good luck to you!!!

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