Calorie deficit, yes or no?

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flwrgrl11
flwrgrl11 Posts: 15
in Food and Nutrition
ok so I have been using MFP for awhile now but am still confused about the calorie goal set and your actual calorie consumption. Are you supposed to eat all of the calories that are allotted? Like when you exercise you obviously earn more calories but should we be using (eating) all of these burned calories back?

Please help I am very confused. Thanks :)

Replies

  • camarand
    camarand Posts: 21
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    well i personally, what i do is try to eat around 1500 of calories, then the rest plus the exercise is what i usually burn... but i'm not sure if this is the correct way to loose weight...
  • amymeenieminymo
    amymeenieminymo Posts: 2,394 Member
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    Yes, MFP already builds a calorie deficit into your plan. So say your daily goal is to eat 1400 calories...you're already eating less than you used to, and the amount that you need to lose weight. So if you work out and burn off more, you should eat those back so you're body is getting enough fuel and nutrients to run properly.
  • SammyPacks
    SammyPacks Posts: 697 Member
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    It's healthy to eat the calories you burned.

    But if you don't want to do that... just eat the bare minimum of your calorie goals. I usually zig-zag my calorie intake a lot (not on purpose though)... so I guess that helps with weight loss... so I've heard anyways.

    Just make to sure to eat a good amount of calories per day to have a healthy diet.
  • brndygrl98
    brndygrl98 Posts: 196 Member
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    You should eat atleast 1200 calories. If you are allowed 1500 calories and you exercise 500 more calories, you should eat atleast 1700 calories so that you have a net of 1200 calories for the day. This keeps you from burning muscle instead of fat and/or forcing your body into starvation mode. Good luck on your weight loss journey!
  • anubis609
    anubis609 Posts: 3,966 Member
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    Simple answer: yes.

    If MFP already decided on a weekly deficit for you to lose weight, then creating more of a deficit will backfire later. You can try it for yourself if you don't believe it, but if you're not the experimental or adventurously defiant type, then just eat them and make sure you're as close to your net intake as possible without going over.
  • jhamlin6668
    jhamlin6668 Posts: 23 Member
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    I try not to eat back what I exercise off. Now that I am careful about what I eat I find that I am way below my calorie requirement of 1,590 per day (yup, I'm that fat). Most days it's easy but I was so hungry today so I ate more than usual but still stayed under my goal. Just my thoughts. Julie (jhamlin6668)
  • Mindful_Trent
    Mindful_Trent Posts: 3,954 Member
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    MFP builds your deficit into the calories it suggests you eat. If you go to your "goals" tab, you will see all your numbers:

    1) Calories burned from normal daily activity - this is what MFP thinks you burn on a normal day without exercise
    2) Your daily goal for Net Calories consumed - this is how many NET calories MFP thinks you should eat
    3) Daily calorie deficit - this is what your deficit should be based on #1 and #2 (It is #1 minus #2)
    4) Projected weight loss (per week) - this is #3 multiplied by 7 days to get your projected weight loss per week

    So - what this means is that MFP assumes that you will do no exercise and gives you a plan to lose weight without exercise. Your deficit is built into the calorie calculation. When you do exercise, MFP recommends you eat back your exercise calories, otherwise your NET calories (Calories consumed - exercise calories burned) will be less that your goal in #2 and your deficit will therefore be higher. Higher deficit is not always better - it's important to keep your deficit at a safe level.
  • flwrgrl11
    flwrgrl11 Posts: 15
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    Thanks everyone! Sounds like I am doing the right thing because I do eat back almost all of my calories burned exercising, just wanted to make sure that was correct :)
  • kaitimae
    kaitimae Posts: 727 Member
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    I try not to eat back what I exercise off. Now that I am careful about what I eat I find that I am way below my calorie requirement of 1,590 per day (yup, I'm that fat). Most days it's easy but I was so hungry today so I ate more than usual but still stayed under my goal. Just my thoughts. Julie (jhamlin6668)

    Just wanted to comment... your suggested calories aren't totally based off your current weight. They are also based on how much you want to lose a week, and your normal daily activity level. So saying you're "that fat" is not at all accurate and doesn't really work. I weigh 255ish right now and eat close to 1,800 calories a day - and I have a pretty sedentary day job! I do have MFP set to help me lose 1.2 pounds a week, and I have a pretty muscular build, and definitely need those 1,800 a day. When I do earn exercise calories, I eat around 2,100-2,300 depending on the exercise I do! And yes, I lose plenty eating this way.

    Please be careful regarding eating your exercise calories!!! Your body needs them to replenish the fuel you used exercising! MFP already has your deficit to lose built in, and when you exercise, you need to replace what you burned. At the very least, make sure you are getting 1,200 NET calories a day.
  • flwrgrl11
    flwrgrl11 Posts: 15
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    Oh don't worry, I always get at least 1200 a day. :)
  • TurboFireMama
    TurboFireMama Posts: 121 Member
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    I agree with what you are all saying here. BUT I am confused in regards to the fact that in the goals section they also ask you to state your fitness per day. I have mine entered as 6 days a week at 45 minutes a day. My question is, Does MFP factor this automatically into the equation which reflects the number of calories you can eat everyday? I am wanting to be sure that by adding my exercise into my daily log, that I am not doubling what MFP has already pre-figured into those calories I should be eating daily.

    I am suppose to be eating 1500 calories a week and I burn on average 700-1000 calories a workout. Do I eat those back??

    Thanks so much for any input that you are willing to share.

    Michelle
  • Mindful_Trent
    Mindful_Trent Posts: 3,954 Member
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    I agree with what you are all saying here. BUT I am confused in regards to the fact that in the goals section they also ask you to state your fitness per day. I have mine entered as 6 days a week at 45 minutes a day. My question is, Does MFP factor this automatically into the equation which reflects the number of calories you can eat everyday? I am wanting to be sure that by adding my exercise into my daily log, that I am not doubling what MFP has already pre-figured into those calories I should be eating daily.

    I am suppose to be eating 1500 calories a week and I burn on average 700-1000 calories a workout. Do I eat those back??

    Thanks so much for any input that you are willing to share.

    Michelle

    No, MFP does NOT factor your goal exercise into your calorie goals. That's why it adds your exercise calories to your food log - it doesn't factor those in unless you actually *do* the exercise and log it. Think of it this way - lots of people plan to do more exercise than they actually do. If MFP sets your calorie goal based on your goal exercise, then you'd be in trouble if you regularly exercised less than your goal. The way MFP does it, your calorie goal starts with your non-exercise-included goals and then is adjusted each day based on your actual exercise.
  • TurboFireMama
    TurboFireMama Posts: 121 Member
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    THANK YOU so very much for clearing that up for me! Makes perfect sense the way that they do it.....

    I am under eating WAY to much...by 700-1000 calories a day. I have been having trouble losing weight the last month and I am betting this is why. Although I am toning up and losing inches. I am going to have to figure out a way to eat those calories now.

    One more question. Do you know how much of a deficit that MFP calculates into the totals? Is it the standard 500?

    Thank You so much again!!
  • Dnsnyder
    Dnsnyder Posts: 263 Member
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    THANK YOU so very much for clearing that up for me! Makes perfect sense the way that they do it.....

    I am under eating WAY to much...by 700-1000 calories a day. I have been having trouble losing weight the last month and I am betting this is why. Although I am toning up and losing inches. I am going to have to figure out a way to eat those calories now.

    One more question. Do you know how much of a deficit that MFP calculates into the totals? Is it the standard 500?

    Thank You so much again!!

    The calculated deficit depends on the rate of weight loss you've selected. 1lb / week = 500 calorie daily deficit, 1.5 lb / week = 750 calorie daily deficit and etc. =)
  • TurboFireMama
    TurboFireMama Posts: 121 Member
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    Thank You! I am so grateful for the info!

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