Have to be 500 calories? Or not

Yoeil7
Yoeil7 Posts: 7
edited November 10 in Fitness and Exercise
I know when you are trying to lose weight you should burn 500 calories everyday to get results right? I walk as my excercise once around the park and that leads to 300 calories and it's too time consuming so my question is to lose weight do you have to burn 500 calories or can you lose weight by walking 300 calories everyday with a diet

Replies

  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    I think you have quite a few misconceptions on how this works.

    If you burn more calories than you ingest you will lose weight. Generally a deficit of 500 calories per day equals 1 pound of weight loss per week.

    How you choose to create that deficit is up to you.

    You may eat less, exercise more, or a combination of the both. It's up to you.

    Assuming you set up myfitnesspal to lose weight (you select how much you want to lose per week) then the deficit is ALREADY alloted in your calorie goal.
  • ThickVic
    ThickVic Posts: 1 Member
    Google "calorie calculator" to estimate the calories you need to consume each day for your body to maintain weight. That's your Basal Metabolic Rate or (BMR). BMR is the minimum number of calories needed at rest-without exercise. Knowing that number makes weight loss easy..You're either over it or under it. Whether you exercise and burn 300 calories or 500 you will lose weight IF you are below your bodies BMR. Just depends on whether you want to be able to eat a little more (and continue to lose weight), or to lose the weight even faster. Hope this helps.
  • mantium999
    mantium999 Posts: 1,490 Member
    ThickVic wrote: »
    Google "calorie calculator" to estimate the calories you need to consume each day for your body to maintain weight. That's your Basal Metabolic Rate or (BMR). BMR is the minimum number of calories needed at rest-without exercise. Knowing that number makes weight loss easy..You're either over it or under it. Whether you exercise and burn 300 calories or 500 you will lose weight IF you are below your bodies BMR. Just depends on whether you want to be able to eat a little more (and continue to lose weight), or to lose the weight even faster. Hope this helps.

    It could be dangerous territory using BMR to calculate an appropriate deficit over an extended period of time. BMR is the caloric requirement to stay alive, at rest. Did you mean to suggest that they calculate TDEE, and consume below that?
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    You lose weight by creating a calorie deficit. You create the deficit by eating less OR by moving more OR by a combination of the two. 500 calories a day is the benchmark for losing approximately 1 pound per week.

    The calories that MFP gives you is dependent upon how many pounds per week you want to lose. Eat that much and you will lose that much weight. It calculates it NOT INCLUDING exercise, so you would lose weight just by dieting.
  • sheldonklein
    sheldonklein Posts: 854 Member
    mantium999 wrote: »
    ThickVic wrote: »
    Google "calorie calculator" to estimate the calories you need to consume each day for your body to maintain weight. That's your Basal Metabolic Rate or (BMR). BMR is the minimum number of calories needed at rest-without exercise. Knowing that number makes weight loss easy..You're either over it or under it. Whether you exercise and burn 300 calories or 500 you will lose weight IF you are below your bodies BMR. Just depends on whether you want to be able to eat a little more (and continue to lose weight), or to lose the weight even faster. Hope this helps.

    It could be dangerous territory using BMR to calculate an appropriate deficit over an extended period of time. BMR is the caloric requirement to stay alive, at rest. Did you mean to suggest that they calculate TDEE, and consume below that?

    Whatever he meant, what he said is wrong. BMR >=< maintenance.
    OP -- you can either use MFP's calorie recommendation and add on your exercise calories or use a TDEE calculator recommendation, which already includes exercise. Two similar roads to the same destination.
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