What does eating at a deficit mean?

NaomiMc_Ra
NaomiMc_Ra Posts: 64 Member
in Getting Started
HI,

I now what all the words mean just don't undertsand what it is. I see lots of people post 'I ate a a 20% deficit' but don;t know how this refers to me calorie intake per day

Replies

  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
    Eating less than your maintenance (aka TDEE - total daily energy expenditure).
  • christa279
    christa279 Posts: 222 Member
    It means they are eating 20% less than their TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure). Basically they figure out how much energy (calories) they would burn in a day and eat below that.
  • weber22c
    weber22c Posts: 41
    The deficit is in reference to your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE). A 20% deficit would mean that the number of calories you're eating per day is 20% lower than your TDEE. Let's say that your TDEE is 2000 kcal/day. 20% of 2000 is 400 kcal, so in order to be at a 20% deficit, you'd be eating 2000 - 400 = 1600 kcal/day.

    There are several online calculators you can use to determine your TDEE, which depends on your individual height, weight, age, and activity level.
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    it means they're eating 20% fewer calories than they're burning off. There are calculators that can estimate how many calories you're burning each day.... eating at a 20% deficit means subtracting 20% from this number, and eating that many calories.
  • NaomiMc_Ra
    NaomiMc_Ra Posts: 64 Member
    Thanks all - this was really helpful!!

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