Wait a minute...what?!
McKayMachina
Posts: 2,670 Member
Okay, so sometimes I use this calculator to pre-check how many cals I'll burn for a particular work out: http://www.healthstatus.com/cgi-bin/calc/calculator.cgi
At the bottom of my result, I see it says, "To lose one U.S. pound (.454 kg), you must burn 3,500 more calories than you take in as food."
WHAT?!
So, if I'm, eating 1600 calories/day I have to burn MORE than that?! What about BMR? According to MFP, mine is around 1600. Isn't my body using 1600 calories just to support basic organ functions?
I am SO confused with this whole BMR and calories in/calories out thing. I thought I got it but now I'm lost again. Can someone help?
Like Denzel says in 'Philadelphia': Explain this to me like I'm a six year old!
I just need to know my exact, ideal numbers.
THANKS!
-McKay
At the bottom of my result, I see it says, "To lose one U.S. pound (.454 kg), you must burn 3,500 more calories than you take in as food."
WHAT?!
So, if I'm, eating 1600 calories/day I have to burn MORE than that?! What about BMR? According to MFP, mine is around 1600. Isn't my body using 1600 calories just to support basic organ functions?
I am SO confused with this whole BMR and calories in/calories out thing. I thought I got it but now I'm lost again. Can someone help?
Like Denzel says in 'Philadelphia': Explain this to me like I'm a six year old!
I just need to know my exact, ideal numbers.
THANKS!
-McKay
0
Replies
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yes, you need to burn more than that if you want to lose a pound a day...
they didnt say how long it would take.. 3500 cals=a pound.0 -
By creating a calorie deficit of 500 daily you should lose one pound each week...
Keep genetics and storing calories in mind...
500x7=3,500 calories or 1 lb.
I hope that helps.0 -
What is your goal set for to loose? 1lb a week? then you should burn 500 a day you dont want to burn 3500 in a day its not healthy to loose a 1lb a day.0
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By "burn" they mean you either have to burn those calories or just give your body a calorie deficit thru food. Or you can do a combo, which is the healthiest.0
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Your calorie deficit must add up to 3500 calories to equal a pound. If you programmed in your goal into MFP, it will calculate your goal calories based on your goal. If your day adds up to zero, you should lose the 1 or 2 pounds a week that you set as your goal. If your day is negative, you may lose more. If your negatives add up to 3500, you should lose an additional pound above your weekly goal. Does that make sense?0
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a pound of fat is equal to 3500 calories!
as for the cal in and out.
my personal way: I try to eat 1200 calories ( that is what MFP says and my surgeon told me after my stomach staple)
I personally try to burn off 3500 calories each week to lose a pound.
for me I physically can not eat back any of the calories I burn off .
I started on here on 2/9 and I have lost 7 pounds and 6 inches
everyone will have their own input on this subject
most say to eat back the calories you burn. If your confused about this you could consult with your DR or a dietician. They are the ones who can give the correct answer to this problem0 -
So, if I continue to eat 1600 cals/day AND want to lose a pound a week, I have to burn 2100 calories per DAY through exercise?!
3500 cals/lb.
÷ 7 days
500 cals/day
1600 cals eaten/day
+ 500 cals burned/day
2100 cals must be burned each day
WHAT?!
That CANNOT be right. That would take me like 5 hours every day!0 -
So, if I'm, eating 1600 calories/day I have to burn MORE than that?! What about BMR? According to MFP, mine is around 1600. Isn't my body using 1600 calories just to support basic organ functions?
Don't forget that the MFP has already taken all of that into consideration. If you put in your current weight, activity level, # of pounds you want to lose per week, etc., the program has determined that eating 1600 calories per day will take care of that. So if you chose 1 lb/week, which is, as the other posters stated, 500 calorie deficit per day, the software has decided that for you to maintain your weight you would eat 2100 calories per day but to lose, you eat the 1600. After a week, you've obtained that 3500 deficit and so you've lost a pound.
However, it's not exact science and lots of things affect your weigh in so it's not so much an exact 1lb loss each week but an overall trend that averages out to 1 lb per week.0 -
MFP includes your deficit in the number that they give you based on what you are looking to do. If you are given 1600 calories, then you eat that amount, log your workouts and eat the additional calories that are added. So if you want to lose a pound per week, probably the ideal amount, then the calculations consider calories eaten and burned all week. The 3500 burned is already in there throughout the course of the week.
I don't know if I explained that right. There are some sticky notes at the beginning of the weightloss topic page. Browze through those and they explain this program pretty well. Or search shboss, he has posted alot on how it works and you can really trust what he says because he actually knows what he is talking about.0 -
The 3500 is usually what you need to burn in a week to lose 1 pound a week (the suggested amount). That equals 500 calories a day. MFP calculates your estimated (base) daily calorie burn based on the activity level you submitted, your weight, etc. Then MFP tells you to eat 500 calories less than that # each day to lose 1 lb per week. If you tell it you want to lose 2 lbs per week, it would give you a goal 1000 calories less.
For example:
Daily Calorie Burn = 2600
Weekly Weight Loss Goal = 2 lbs
Daily Calorie Goal = 1600
If your weekly weight loss goal is 1 lb you'd be given a daily calorie goal of 2100 calories in this example.
You also earn additional calories to eat when you work out. There is more info under the HELP section and FAQ's if this doesn't make sense.
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Please, please, please don't forget that part of this "burn" you have to do is taking your Basil Metabolic Rate into consideration!0
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So, if I continue to eat 1600 cals/day AND want to lose a pound a week, I have to burn 2100 calories per DAY through exercise?!
3500 cals/lb.
÷ 7 days
500 cals/day
1600 cals eaten/day
+ 500 cals burned/day
2100 cals must be burned each day
WHAT?!
That CANNOT be right. That would take me like 5 hours every day!
No. You burn your BMR every day without exercise. So if your BMR is 2100 and you eat 1600, you would lose 1 pound a week without exercise.0 -
If your food intake = your BMR then you should be losing weight, at least a little at a time.
I think, though, that the BMR here also takes into account how active you are during the day. So it's really like (basicBodyFunctions + alpha). If you eat 1,600 calories, and MFP tells you that your BMR is 1,600, the best thing you can do get a bit of exercise, as that will help you be sure that your daily net calories are less than the consumed/BMR 1,600.
Good luck! :-)
(ps- Also make sure you're drinking plenty of water. the best I've been able to gather is 8 cups + 1 cup for every pound you're overweight. Water helps your liver metabolize your food, and so helps assure that you're burning like you should be.)0 -
OKAY!
So, MFP does the math for me. THAT helps!
So, I went to 'tools' and it tells me my BMR is 1600.
THEN, I went to 'goals' and it sets my calorie goal to 1200.
Which do I use?0 -
MFP already factors in a deficit for you when you tell it how much you want to burn.
MFP may tell you that you should eat 1200 calories a day to lose 2 lbs a week, for instance. If you didn't want to lose any weight at all and wanted to maintain your weight, you would be eating more like 1700 calories a day. The deficit is already there when you look at the calories MFP gives you to eat.
Of course, most of us don't really do that great on 1200 calories a day. Exercise buys you more calories. If you go to the gym and burn 200 calories, you can then eat 1400 calories and still lose weight-- because, again, the deficit was already factored in for you.
I hope that explains it a little... 0 -
Sorry--just to add:
So let's say you eat 1,600 calories, and you exercise worth 150 cals a day.
That would mean:
Eaten 1,600 calories - BMR 1,600 calories = 0 - Exercise 150 calories = -150 calories a day. That's your total calorie deficit for the day: -150.
Every time your caloric deficit adds up to 3,500, you lose a pound. So, in the case I describe above, you'd lose a lb. in about 23 days.0 -
If your BMR is 1600, you should eat at least that many calories. That is the bare minimum your body needs to function well-- to breath, metabolize, and etc. If you eat less than your BMR, you won't feel well at all.0
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8 cups + 1 cup for every pound you're overweight
Well, I'm still 83 over so...91 cups of water? hehhe I think that must have been a typo. XD
I do try to get 7-10 cups/day. I think that's good, right? 0 -
Yeah, that was a typo. Sorry. :-)
1 cup for every 25 lbs. overweight.0 -
OKAY!
So, MFP does the math for me. THAT helps!
So, I went to 'tools' and it tells me my BMR is 1600.
THEN, I went to 'goals' and it sets my calorie goal to 1200.
Which do I use?
So you will use the goal calories that MFP has set for you for your food (1200). If you exercise in any given day and record that exercise (e.g., 400 calories burned doing 50 mins of aerobics or whatever), then you will find that MFP gives you those additional 400 calories to "spend" that day. Since I don't work out every single day, I try not to "spend" all my allotted calories on workout days so that I can eat a little more on non-workout days, but that's just me. You'll have to adjust to see what works for you.0 -
You guys are so awesome!
Thank you for humoring me and explaining it to me in toddler terms. I'm such a noob! haha
Okay, so to recap: If MFP tells me my BMR is 1600 and my cals goal is 1200, I should average 1200 with food (cals in) AND exercise (cals out) in order to lose the weight it tells me I'm going to lose. In my case: 1.8 lbs./wk. ALRIGHT!
YAY I LOVE THIS PLACE.
High fives all around!!!
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@Sara1978: If you eat your BMR every day, you won't lose any weight. (Unless, of course, you exercise so that your net calories come in below BMR)
It's fine to come in below your BMR, just not too far below.
If you burn 2,000 cals/day, and you eat 2,000 cals a day, there's no calorie deficit. :-)
1,600 calories is probably perfectly fine for a person with a 2,000 BMR who wants to lose weight. 800 probably isn't.
(I'm not a doctor--don't anyone stake your life/health on the above, please. :-) )0 -
So, if I continue to eat 1600 cals/day AND want to lose a pound a week, I have to burn 2100 calories per DAY through exercise?!
3500 cals/lb.
÷ 7 days
500 cals/day
1600 cals eaten/day
+ 500 cals burned/day
2100 cals must be burned each day
WHAT?!
That CANNOT be right. That would take me like 5 hours every day!
the bmr calculator under tools calculates what it takes for you to survive if you sleep all day. on top of that is your normal daily activity level plus exercise. the total -500 cals is what you should eat/day to lose a pound a week. The net calorie intake level on mfp takes all this into account for you and gives you the balance. There is a big debate on whether or not to eat back your exercise calories but that is for you to decide.0 -
This place (especially the iPhone app) has definitely been a big part of the success I've encountered so far.
Good luck to you!!0 -
So, if I continue to eat 1600 cals/day AND want to lose a pound a week, I have to burn 2100 calories per DAY through exercise?!
3500 cals/lb.
÷ 7 days
500 cals/day
1600 cals eaten/day
+ 500 cals burned/day
2100 cals must be burned each day
WHAT?!
That CANNOT be right. That would take me like 5 hours every day!
you dont need to burn 2100 calories a day honey!!
the 1600 cals u are eating a day already has a built in deduction from what ever you put in goals to lose each week.
example: If you want to lose 2 pounds a week and you weigh 225 now but your goal weight is 170. It will say you need to eat 1225 cals day to make sure you lose 2 pounds a week. ( before most ppl might have been eating 2000-3000 cal a day and that is why they were NOT losing but staying at that 225lbs)
IF you wish to burn calories you can which it is good to exercise to lose and tone. But IF you burn 500 calories a day, then that is subtracted from your 1225 calories you are eating each day. SO then you only gave your body 725 calories for the day. Which is not enough for the body to make it, it will just store that . So that is why ppl say to eat back that 500, but you are still burning away fat and building muscle at this time0 -
thats why say in your aily routine you burn 2000 calories if you cut your calories by 500 a day thats 3500 a week, then if you do a bit of excercise a week too you will get 1-2lb weight loss a week which is a steady loss and your more likely to keep the weight off the longer itt akes to lose it.0
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You will lose weight if you eat your BMR. BMR is the number of calories you burn just by existing. The second you get up out of bed in the morning, you have already created a calorie deficit...
When I first started on this site, I was eating the 1200 MFP said to eat + my exercise calories. I felt horrible. I bumped up to eating my BMR (which was 1300 at that time) + exercise calories, and instantly felt better and started losing weight much more steadily.0 -
OKAY!
So, MFP does the math for me. THAT helps!
So, I went to 'tools' and it tells me my BMR is 1600.
THEN, I went to 'goals' and it sets my calorie goal to 1200.
Which do I use?
eat 1200 calories0 -
OKAY!
So, MFP does the math for me. THAT helps!
So, I went to 'tools' and it tells me my BMR is 1600.
THEN, I went to 'goals' and it sets my calorie goal to 1200.
Which do I use?
eat 1200 calories
mine is set that way too. ( we must be aiming for the same round about numbers )0 -
To lose a pound, you must burn 3500 calories more than you eat, yes. That's 500 a day, over seven days.
2100 calories a day is what your daily life is burning off already. That's basic being alive, as well as whatever your activity level is set to. MFP has subtracted 500 from that, to get 1600. Eat those 1600 a day, and you'll lose a pound a week, theoretically. You are burning those 1600 hundred calories off just from being alive, you don't have to get rid of them any other way.
MFP will add any exercise calories in as a bonus because you're already 500 deficit. Any more would lead to hunger, frustration, and, possibly, health issues.
Oh, nvm, 1600 is your BMR, not your deficit. And it seems like you got it figured out already, anyway.:)0
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