When other MFP users say Deficit....?

jymmeh · April 2014

I am not entirely sure what people on other posts mean by "to lose weight, you need to be in a deficit of calories." I take this as my calories need to be in the negative, so by that I eat very little calories (sometimes 900 or less when MFP says I should be eating 2530 per day) then working off like 1000 or more calories so I am sometimes in the negative by -350. Is this what people are meaning or am I misunderstanding. Please help, Thanks :-)

ravenmiss · April 2014

Deficit = falling short of your intake.

For example if you expended 2500 calories one day if you eat 2499 or less then you are in a deficit.

editorgrrl · April 2014

Deficit is the difference between the number of calories you eat & the number of calories you burn. If you eat 1,500 calories & burn a total of 2,000 calories (activity level + exercise), then your deficit is 500 calories.

One pound is approximately 3,500 calories, so if you eat at a 500 calorie deficit every day for a week, you should lose approximately 1 lb.

Your MFP calorie goal is your activity level minus the appropriate deficit for the goal you set in your profile. Since the deficit is already built into your goal, you must eat back at least a portion of your exercise calories.

Read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

kmm0034 · April 2014

MFP makes this pretty visual. Green is good, Red is bad.

ravenmiss · April 2014

Not always, depends on your targets/goals.

If I go in the red with some of my macros I see it as a good thing as for me some are minimums not maximums.

ndj1979 · April 2014

if you are bulking red can be good..

eatspopcorn · April 2014

You're misunderstanding. When you set up your account with MFP and tell the system you want to lose 2lbs a week, it gives you a target calorie daily goal. Your deficit, is already factored into this goal. You should eat this amount, MINIMUM each day, and if you do extra exercises and log your calorie burns, you should eat back 50-75% of those burned calories.

Right now it sounds like you're eating WAY too little. Don't be scared to eat!

StaciMarie1974 · April 2014

Your body burns calories all day long, even when you're sleeping. MFP estimates your regular calorie burn based on your height, weight, gender, age. So when you put that info in, and set a goal to lose x pounds per week: MFP figures out the necessary deficit and tells you eat Y calories. Y calories is after your deficit. You want to eat Y within +/- 50 calories or so. You are not doing your body anything good by drastically eating less than Y.

Then you exercise and burn more calories. Exercise estimates are not always accurate, so plan on eating extra for exercise but perhaps not all of them. Maybe 50-75%.

davidjulian · April 2014

You're misunderstanding. If you have your goals set to be "lost 1 pound a week" and MFP is saying you should eat 2,530, then you should eat 2,530, not any amount below zero. MFP calculates for you how many calories you should be taking in to reach that goal.

By "deficit," people mean less than what your body requires, and that is what MFP already accounts for. Your body probably requires more than 2,530 to stay at its same weight, so in order to lose weight, you need to be less than that 2,530; not less than zero.

Does that make sense?

ILiftHeavyAcrylics · April 2014

No no no.

A deficit just means you're eating less than you burn. You burn a lot of calories just by existing. Then exercise and other activity adds additional burn. So for me, my total daily energy expenditure is 1950. If I eat more than that, I'm in a surplus and I gain weight. If I eat less than that I'm in a deficit and I lose weight.

Too much deficit, like having negative net calories, means you sacrifice your health and your muscle. MFP sets your calorie goal with your deficit built in. Eat up to the amount you're given. Don't undershoot.

jymmeh · April 2014

Yeah, I usually never go over 1000 calories in and on most days (when weather is nice, not like today) I burn 800-1100 calories. Which is always leaving me in the negative for the end of the day and I just feel like I am doing something wrong, I mean, I have lost 42 pounds so far but I just wasnt sure if I was getting it ya know. Thanks for the reply!

cwolfman13 · April 2014

You have a total number of calories that you "burn" every day...this isn't necessarily through exercise...this includes your BMR calories (the largest part of your calorie requirements) + your day to day stuff + exercise = calorie requirements. In my case, I maintain my weight on roughly 2700 - 2800 calories per day (only about 400 - 500 of those are exercise)...so to lose weight, a 500 calorie deficit would be 2200 - 2300 calories to lose 1 Lb per week.

MFP builds a deficit into your calorie goal by assuming a theoretical non exercise maintenance number (NEAT method) as per the stats you put in and your desired loss rate. Your deficit is already included. Note that if you're using the MFP method correctly, your exercise isn't accounted for in your activity level which is why you get those calories to eat back when you log it...just make sure not to overestimate your burns.

LiftAllThePizzas · April 2014

When MFP says you should be eating 2530 per day, it means you should be eating 2530 per day, plus exercise calories. That number already includes a deficit that was calculated in to begin with. (Unless you chose to lose 0 lbs per week as your goal.)

KariOrtiz2014 · April 2014

REALLY??? Is this a legit question because I LOL!!

cwolfman13 · April 2014

Yeah....you're doing it wrong...the calculator does all the calculating...that's what it does. At that calorie level you are burning up a **** ton of lean mass not to mention jacking with your metabolism big time.

editorgrrl · April 2014

You're eating 1,000 calories a day?! I'm sorry, but ur doing it wrong. Your MFP calorie goal has your deficit built in. If your goal is set to 1 lb. per week, then your calorie goal is your activity level minus 500 calories—that's already way more than 1,000 calories.

Then you log your exercise, and eat back at least half your exercise calories.

Please read the Sexypants link: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

vjohn04 · April 2014

Yeah, stop doing that. Eat the calorie allowance MFP tells you to.

ravenmiss · April 2014

Erm, how do you function?!!!

eatspopcorn · April 2014

First, congrats on your loss so far, that's fabulous!

Second, this isn't a race. To lose weight in a healthy sustainable manner, you should do it slowly. No more than 2lbs per week (and that's if you have 75+ lbs to lose, as you get closer to your goal you should lose more slowly) so please eat more! As a lifestyle change, this journey will teach you better eating habits along the way, and how to incorporate your favorite foods into your everyday life. If you're only eating 1000kcals a day you must be depriving yourself of specific things. Don't do that, just eat them in moderation as long as they fit into your calorie goals.

Good luck!

jymmeh · April 2014

Yeah, I am really hungry most of the time, lol. Guess this explains why. ha.

chrisdavey · April 2014

you should probably do some research on adaptive thermogenesis while you are at it.

ndj1979 · April 2014

you should be netting at lest 1200 a day .

and what are you using to estimate a 1100 calorie burn? That is pretty high...

ndj1979 · April 2014

OP you are 20 year old male…you should be able to net 1500 to 1700 a day and still lose weight..

I am a 34 male and 2100 is a 500 calorie cut for me….

jymmeh · April 2014

On good days, I get about a 80 - 90 minute work out I use a bowflex tread climber and do a lot of walking during the day and use another app MapMyFitness

When other MFP users say Deficit....?

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