kind of lost here...

crystalroselynn
crystalroselynn Posts: 117 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
i know my past couple days have been bad. im back to eating on track tho :)
im not sure how accurate these numbers are on here...
so im 5`1, 20, and 273lbs.
what is the amount of calories that i should eat to lose 2lbs a week?
what is the least amount of calories i should consume?

im also confused on what calorie deficit means and what net calories are.

so if you guys could help me that would be awesome.

Replies

  • herblackwings39
    herblackwings39 Posts: 3,930 Member
    Whatever that number is under Your Daily Goal without exercise is your calorie goal WITH deficit. Add 1000 calories to it and you'll have your maintenance calories since you chose lose 2 lbs a week. That's what people mean when they tell you that the deficit is built in and why you need to meet your goal and eat your exercise calories. For 2 lbs a week loss you automatically lose 1,000 calories.
  • quirkytizzy
    quirkytizzy Posts: 4,052 Member
    Calorie deficit is just how much you've reduced your calories. I used to hit 2K+. My current is now 1,400 - roughly a 600 calorie deficit.

    Net calories are how much you've eaten TOTAL, including eating exercise calories back. Say you eat 100 calories and then exercise 50 of them off and then eat another 50 calories. Your net is going to be 100 calories - that's how much you've eaten once exercise and food is all taken into account.

    You want your NET calories to add up to your calorie goal. So if you're burning off lots of cals, eat back up to your goal. MFP already figures a deficit into your goal number, you don't want to end up undereating.
  • Shea100
    Shea100 Posts: 16
    Hi Crystalrosely,

    I'm new here too, but this is what I think happens with the calories:

    My daily goal is to consume up to a maximum 1200 calories.
    If I eat only 900 calories, then I have a 300 calorie deficit / or 300 calories still available to eat.

    If I exercise and burn 400 calories, then we add that to the 1200 to equal 1600 Max calories I can have that day.
    When you subtract the actual calories consumed (i.e., 900) from the 1600, then you get 700 Net Calories.

    I'm thinking that even though I exercise, I still want to keep those calories below 1200 in order to lose weight.
    If we consume the full 1600 calories, we negate the benefits of the exercise. I think.

    If anyone can explain this further, please elaborate. This was tricky for me too!

    Good Luck, Crystalrosely!
  • 1OoAliciaoO1
    1OoAliciaoO1 Posts: 5
    I found this calculator to be much more reliable and accurate
    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator

    Please be careful to never eat under your BMR as you can severly mess up your matabolism ... according to your stats provided yours is 1862 .
    Your BMR is the amount of calories your body needs just to live .... you will see another term on the page called TDEE this accounts for your total daily energy expendiger or what you would consume to stay at the same weight you are now.I would highly suggest not going more then 15% below your TDEE. I can't give you your # for TDEE as you did not state your activity lvl.



    Hope this helps :-)
  • herblackwings39
    herblackwings39 Posts: 3,930 Member
    Hi Crystalrosely,

    I'm new here too, but this is what I think happens with the calories:

    My daily goal is to consume up to a maximum 1200 calories.
    If I eat only 900 calories, then I have a 300 calorie deficit / or 300 calories still available to eat.

    If I exercise and burn 400 calories, then we add that to the 1200 to equal 1600 Max calories I can have that day.
    When you subtract the actual calories consumed (i.e., 900) from the 1600, then you get 700 Net Calories.

    I'm thinking that even though I exercise, I still want to keep those calories below 1200 in order to lose weight.
    If we consume the full 1600 calories, we negate the benefits of the exercise. I think.

    If anyone can explain this further, please elaborate. This was tricky for me too!

    Good Luck, Crystalrosely!

    To lose weight you need to eat the 1200 calories without exercising or the 1600 with exercise. Depending on what you told MFP you wanted to lose per week you already have a 250, 500, or 1,000 calorie deficit built into that 1200 calorie number. If you said 2 lbs that means, to stay the same weight, you should be able to eat 2,200 calories or so. That's the deficit. Eating under 1200 makes your deficit grow which tends to get out of hand. You can even eat OVER 1200 some days and still lose weight because you have your original deficit still there.
  • 1OoAliciaoO1
    1OoAliciaoO1 Posts: 5
    Hi Crystalrosely,

    I'm new here too, but this is what I think happens with the calories:

    My daily goal is to consume up to a maximum 1200 calories.
    If I eat only 900 calories, then I have a 300 calorie deficit / or 300 calories still available to eat.

    If I exercise and burn 400 calories, then we add that to the 1200 to equal 1600 Max calories I can have that day.
    When you subtract the actual calories consumed (i.e., 900) from the 1600, then you get 700 Net Calories.

    I'm thinking that even though I exercise, I still want to keep those calories below 1200 in order to lose weight.
    If we consume the full 1600 calories, we negate the benefits of the exercise. I think.

    If anyone can explain this further, please elaborate. This was tricky for me too!

    Good Luck, Crystalrosely!


    ^^^^^ this is very unhealthy^^^^


    I UNKNOWINGLY was consuming netting 600-800 cals a day for over 6 years and have suffered many consiquences not only did I stop losing I actually gained 30lbs!!! My hair got brittle and fell out nails cracked and chiped and my skin was horrible!not to mention tired and cranky!.... I've slowly been upping my calories by 100-200 a week and I'm finally seeing the scale move but it has taken many months. Remember your health is more important then what the scale will say.
  • Shea100
    Shea100 Posts: 16
    HerBlackWings and 1OoAliciaoO1:


    Oh, thank you guys! I didn't realize that -- no wonder I'm hungry! :-)

    I appreciate your help in understanding this. Can you refer me to where you learned about it?
    I'm feeling in need of remedial education in this area.
    I also find it is easy to have my sugar, fat and protein go over.
    I'm guessing I need more vege's...

    Crystalrosely, sorry I had that wrong!
    I'm so glad we have experienced, knowledgeable folks to watch out for us.
    Hopefully this kept us both from making a big mistake!

    God bless you all,

    Shea

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