How to cut calories / exercise and to lose 2lbs a week?
belladean53
Posts: 3
Hey guys 
I was just hoping someone would explain this to me as I have ALWAYS struggled (anything with numbers is a no-no for me). I am aiming to lose at least a pound a week, but am prepared to work hard at losing two if all possible... I am 20, 5'5, 142lbs..
If I burn 3000 calories a week through exercise, how many calories should I eat everyday to get a big enough deficit to lose 2lbs?
I get confused once exercise is involved - you cut 500 calories out of your diet, you can lose a lb a week.. But what about when you eat your calories back i.e. eating 1200, working out for 500, eating them back - am i still at a deficit for 2lbs a week?
Sorry for a ramble - just shows how confused I am hehe x
I was just hoping someone would explain this to me as I have ALWAYS struggled (anything with numbers is a no-no for me). I am aiming to lose at least a pound a week, but am prepared to work hard at losing two if all possible... I am 20, 5'5, 142lbs..
If I burn 3000 calories a week through exercise, how many calories should I eat everyday to get a big enough deficit to lose 2lbs?
I get confused once exercise is involved - you cut 500 calories out of your diet, you can lose a lb a week.. But what about when you eat your calories back i.e. eating 1200, working out for 500, eating them back - am i still at a deficit for 2lbs a week?
Sorry for a ramble - just shows how confused I am hehe x
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Replies
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I think you'll find it hard to lose 2 lbs per week. At your weight, I would set my goal for 1/2 pound per week or 1 lb per week. That means a total deficit of 250-500 calories every day.
Have MFP give you that number. Let's say it's 1750 every day. Then when you exercise, it will raise your target, to let's say 2150. If you eat all 2150 calories, you are still at the 250 calories per day deficit and will lose.0 -
2lbs a week is usually for those who have over 100lbs to lose...
I mean you didn't gain your weight in a few weeks...
But for the math....
MFP sets your deficet in your food...and any exercise you do should be eaten back or you are in a bigger deficet...
So if you are at 1200 calories and burn 500 you are actually 1k deficet each day...and only getting 700 calories a day which is not healthy.
And remember if you don't eat enough you will lose muscle along with the fat and you will not like the results...weak, soft and squishy.0 -
i am 5'5 at 141 pounds. I eat at a very small deficit since i am already at a healthy weight. I have my MFP set to lose 0.5 pounds per week and eat all exercise calories back.0
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2lbs a week is usually for those who have over 100lbs to lose...
I mean you didn't gain your weight in a few weeks...
But for the math....
MFP sets your deficet in your food...and any exercise you do should be eaten back or you are in a bigger deficet...
So if you are at 1200 calories and burn 500 you are actually 1k deficet each day...and only getting 700 calories a day which is not healthy.
And remember if you don't eat enough you will lose muscle along with the fat and you will not like the results...weak, soft and squishy.
I just realize because you worded this to be understanding that I'm not eating enough...0 -
3,500 calories = 1 pound.
Usually eating 1200 calories a day will make you lose a pound a week, without taking into account exercise.
So burning 3,000 a week in exercise and eating 1200 calories a day will put you very close to 2 pounds a week.
This is a very generic answer, because I don't know your metabolism. Everyone's metabolism is different, some have a fast metabolism, some slow.
Also I don't know how active you are. Workouts aside, some people have jobs that require them to be on their feet, or doing lifting. Others have desk jobs and virtually sit all day long. This has an effect on it too.
Hope to not confuse you too much but here is a quick example: An average resting metabolic rate is about 1400. That means if you laid down all day and didn't move your body would burn 1400 calories to keep your body running. Then if you work a normal day, just getting to work, walking to the kitchen, to the bathroom and such you will burn maybe 300 or so calories. So if you eat 1200 calories, and you burn 1700 calories (1400+300) you have a daily deficit of 500 calories. Multiply by 7 days= 3,500 which equals one pound. If you want to lose 2 pounds a week you would have to work off an additional 3,500 calories. I would not suggest eating less than 1200 calories.
I got my metabolism tested, but there are calculators online, but it only gives you an average, based on weight, height, gender and age. have a slower than normal metabolism for my weight, height and age so I have to alter my calculations based on that.0 -
Hey guys
I was just hoping someone would explain this to me as I have ALWAYS struggled (anything with numbers is a no-no for me). I am aiming to lose at least a pound a week, but am prepared to work hard at losing two if all possible... I am 20, 5'5, 142lbs..
If I burn 3000 calories a week through exercise, how many calories should I eat everyday to get a big enough deficit to lose 2lbs?
I get confused once exercise is involved - you cut 500 calories out of your diet, you can lose a lb a week.. But what about when you eat your calories back i.e. eating 1200, working out for 500, eating them back - am i still at a deficit for 2lbs a week?
Sorry for a ramble - just shows how confused I am hehe x
Here's the thing about fast weight loss......it's not healthy weight loss. When you try for really big calorie deficits you will lose "weight" as in fat+muscle.....when you try for a modest deficit (and exercise) you lose mostly fat.
What are your goals.....a number on a scale.....or do you want a lower body fat %?
Pounds per week
75+ lbs to lose 2 lb range
Between 40 - 75 lbs to lose 1.5 lb range
Between 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lb range
Between 15-25 lbs to lose 1 -.50 lb range
Less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs range0 -
2 pounds per week isn't an appropriate goal for you since you only need to lose about 20 pounds.
But as to your question, MFP does not include exercise in its calculations for your calories. Just what you need for regular daily life. This is so you would lose weight if you were not able to do any exercise. Then when you do exercise, you need more fuel for that.
Example:
1500 (the amount MFP tells you to eat to lose 1 pound a week)
-300 (the amount you burned in exercise)
+300 (the amount more you eat for the exercise)
=1500 (you still have the same amount of deficit as if you didn't exercise, to lose 1 pound a week).0 -
The calorie deficit thing has always confused me as well. Ive been at all this long enough, you would think I would have figured it out by now. I have lost lots of weight, get sick of working at it and gain it back, lose it, gain it all back. Its such a vicious cycle. But anyway, back to my confusion. MFP tells me to eat 1200 calories in my day, before I put in exercise so thats what i eat regardless of how much I exercise. Right now I need to lose about 15-20 more lbs. I'm working out 35-50 min, 6 times a week and sticking to 1200 calories a day. What confuses me is if you burn 400 calories in a day and eat 400 more calories, then why am i working out? It seems like that would just negate all the calories burned?? Please excuse my confusion here, I just really want to understand this and see if theres something better I can be doing for myself.0
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The calorie deficit thing has always confused me as well. Ive been at all this long enough, you would think I would have figured it out by now. I have lost lots of weight, get sick of working at it and gain it back, lose it, gain it all back. Its such a vicious cycle. But anyway, back to my confusion. MFP tells me to eat 1200 calories in my day, before I put in exercise so thats what i eat regardless of how much I exercise. Right now I need to lose about 15-20 more lbs. I'm working out 35-50 min, 6 times a week and sticking to 1200 calories a day. What confuses me is if you burn 400 calories in a day and eat 400 more calories, then why am i working out? It seems like that would just negate all the calories burned?? Please excuse my confusion here, I just really want to understand this and see if theres something better I can be doing for myself.
The reason you eat back exercise calories.......MFP gave you a calorie deficit BEFORE any exercise. That way people who can't/won't exercise at all, still lose weight.
Strength training while eating at a deficit "should" help you protect existing muscle mass (good reason to exercise if you can). However....... with a large calorie deficit, your body is likely to use exisitng muscle as fuel.
You are actually working out to increase muscle loss. Check your BMR (calories based on zero exercise, zero activity) .......it is likely above 1200......that means netting below 1200 (or 800 in your case ....1200-400=800) .....is going to be a large deficit for you.
http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/0 -
The calorie deficit thing has always confused me as well. Ive been at all this long enough, you would think I would have figured it out by now. I have lost lots of weight, get sick of working at it and gain it back, lose it, gain it all back. Its such a vicious cycle. But anyway, back to my confusion. MFP tells me to eat 1200 calories in my day, before I put in exercise so thats what i eat regardless of how much I exercise. Right now I need to lose about 15-20 more lbs. I'm working out 35-50 min, 6 times a week and sticking to 1200 calories a day. What confuses me is if you burn 400 calories in a day and eat 400 more calories, then why am i working out? It seems like that would just negate all the calories burned?? Please excuse my confusion here, I just really want to understand this and see if theres something better I can be doing for myself.
MFP gives you the amount of calories where you would lose weight if you did no exercise. So, no, you don't have to work out. If/When you do exercise, you need more fuel for that.
Think about it like gas in your car. If you put just enough gas in your car to get to and from work today, but then you want to drive 50 more miles round trip tonight to go to some special event, you need to put more gas in the car. The calories that MFP gives you for your day is just like the gas you have to get to and from work. The extra calories you would need for exercise is like the gas you would need for the special event.0 -
Thank you!0
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Wow, thank you guys! I told you I had no clue.. hehe.
I will aim to lose 0.5-1lbs a week then x 0 -
Awesome explanations!! Thanks everyone!0
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