So confused about daily calorie deficit please help

benhead280
benhead280 Posts: 7 Member
in Getting Started
After putting in all my information MFP tells me I burn 1,570 from normal daily activity. It also says I should eat 1,200 calories a day. My daily calorie deficit is 370. What does this mean? I burn about 500 calories from exercising each day. I know to lose weight your calories burned has to be greater than calories consumed. So do I eat my 1,200 calories, workout by losing 500 calories, then eat back the calories I lost? Or do I eat my 1,200 calories then go workout and lose more than 500 calories? I hope I'm not confusing anyone with my question. Please try explaining it to me simply though.

Replies

  • kmash32
    kmash32 Posts: 275 Member
    A net of 1200 calories is the lowest you should eat, so yes eat your exercise calories. You might want to look at www.scoobysworkshop.com to see what it says your calories are, MFP always says 1200.
  • jjplato
    jjplato Posts: 155 Member
    1570 calories is what you would need to maintain your current weight. 1200 is what you should eat if you want to lose (assuming no exercise beyond normal daily activity). The 370 calorie deficit (1570-1200) is the amount of calories you're consuming below your maintenance level. If you burn off another 500 calories, you should eat those back to stay at a 370 calorie deficit. So, on a day like this, your total calorie intake would be 1200+500 = 1700 calories.
  • nyiballs
    nyiballs Posts: 147 Member
    MFP is just estimating a normal day based on normal activity. General rule of thumb is you burn 10x your weight. Exercise supplements the burn.

    Let's say you weigh 200 lbs. You will burn roughly 2000 calories with normal daily activity. 500 cal of exercise means your total burn is roughly 2500 calories. So take your input, subtract from 2500, and that is your deficit or surplus.

    But as I said, MFP is an estimate for burn. Get a fitbit or other device, link to MFP, and you can get much more accurate and refined in determining your burn and needed input/output
  • Joanne_Moniz
    Joanne_Moniz Posts: 347 Member
    After putting in all my information MFP tells me I burn 1,570 from normal daily activity. It also says I should eat 1,200 calories a day. My daily calorie deficit is 370. What does this mean? I burn about 500 calories from exercising each day. I know to lose weight your calories burned has to be greater than calories consumed. So do I eat my 1,200 calories, workout by losing 500 calories, then eat back the calories I lost? Or do I eat my 1,200 calories then go workout and lose more than 500 calories? I hope I'm not confusing anyone with my question. Please try explaining it to me simply though.


    MFP does not go under 1200 calories. They do not believe it is safe. They also do not use TDEE so you have to eat back your calories. TDEE includes exercise. MFP does not include exercise because they do not know that you are exercising until you log it.


    Joanne Moniz
    The Skinny on Obesity
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    you only want to lose 5lb, set MFP to lose 0.5lb per week.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    A net of 1200 calories is the lowest you should eat, so yes eat your exercise calories. You might want to look at www.scoobysworkshop.com to see what it says your calories are, MFP always says 1200.

    No MFP does not always say 1200 it is all based on user entered information.

    If there is small weight amounts to lose and someone puts in 1-2lb a week then yes...but someone who wants to lose 0-25lbs shouldn't be doing it at 1-2lbs a week.

    to the OP change your weekly weight loss goal to 1/2lb a week...you will get more calories that way. Then exercise and eat back 50-75% of those calories back to fuel your next workout.
  • shambler101
    shambler101 Posts: 15
    i just went to scoobys page and done the calculation.

    my bmr is 1886
    maintenance intake is 3253
    daily rec intake is 2602

    i have been using mfp and it has suggested that i eat 1950.
    and then if i exercise for an hour thats approx -700 calorie of which i have to eat back say half.
    so that makes it 2300.

    seems like a lot of food for me, its more food than i have ever eaten on a daily basis.

    could i have not been eating properly most of my life?
  • BlueeyedKelly
    BlueeyedKelly Posts: 18
    curious, I would like to know the answer too

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