Calorie Deficit at the end of day...Good or Bad?

Leisha908
Leisha908 Posts: 35 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey all, just wondering what your opinions are on leaving a calorie deficit after exercise every day? My goal is 1200 calories a day and sometime I eat the calories I burn during the day back, sometime I don't. So far I have been very successful in only 14 days with losing 6 pounds which I think is awesome. When I eat back my calories some days I can eat up to 1500-1600 calories (even though a actually net the total of 1200) Hope I am explaining this right. I don't want that to throw me off though. So in a nutshell just curious to see how everyone does their eating habits here. :flowerforyou:

Replies

  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    Your net should be at least 1200. So if you're hitting that you're probably good (although 1200 is still pretty darn low).
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    MFP is designed for you to use your diet for weight control and exercise for fitness. When you set you activity level, you do NOT include exercise...that activity has to be accounted for somewhere...with MFP you account for it after the fact when you log it. You just have to be extremely careful that you are not overestimating your burn. Here's what my numbers look like so that you can see how the actual formula works...

    My non-exercise maintenance is 2,350 calories...to lose 1 Lb per week with ZERO exercise, MFP gives me a calorie goal of 1,850 which is a 500 calorie per day deficit from that non-exercise maintenance number.

    Now, I decide that exercise is really good for me and I need to do that...and let's say I burn 300 calories...I account for that additional activity by logging it and my new calorie goal is 2,150 calories. But, I still have a 500 calorie deficit to lose that 1 Lb per week because now my maintenance number is also 300 calories higher...2350 + 300 = 2,650 calories and 2,650 - 2,150 = 500 calories deficit still.
  • Leisha908
    Leisha908 Posts: 35 Member
    That explanation was super helpful! I get very confused with all this talk but my calorie burn is measured by my fitbit which is a permanent fixture to me. Thanks you for takin the time to write that!
  • itskaravan
    itskaravan Posts: 1 Member
    i dont know why i'm still confused by this... -__- i guess because im using a fitbit and now im even more confused im trying to lose 2 pounds a week and so my daily calorie intake based on MFP is 1270 i have a desk job and im rarely moving around but i do workout after for 30 min and burn 300 calories.. i just dont get the defecit part of it...i use to be fine without the fit bit and just eat what i burn off but now with the fitbit i have an extra 500 calories a day..??? confused!
  • FJDodd
    FJDodd Posts: 140 Member
    A Fitbit measures your everyday normal activities. If you set your daily routine as sedentary, and you have extra calories you can eat on Fitbit, that means you are likely moving/active more than you think. Just make sure that if you log your exercise, its just to MFP or Fitbit, not to both.
  • mschicagocubs
    mschicagocubs Posts: 774 Member
    Honestly, I do both because I am tired of trying to understand this crap! lol

    My BMR is like 1400 and my TDEE was around 1900 I believe. So I set MFP to 1400 a day for a deficit and I eat back the calories I burn during workouts (200-300calories). I dont always eat them all, if I workout late, I will just grab a fiber bar or some fruit.

    So basically I look at like as long as I am at 1400, logging my food (which isnt an exact science), work out, eat at least 1/2 of my burned calories back...I'm doing fine. I've lost 7 lbs in 4 weeks so .. it's working for me to just combine the two ideas and just GO! lol

    Good luck!

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