Eating less calories

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aaron_simcoe
aaron_simcoe Posts: 3 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Does eating less calorie actually make you lose weight?

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  • IsaackGMOON
    IsaackGMOON Posts: 3,358 Member
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    Yes and that is the only way to do so.
  • MakePeasNotWar
    MakePeasNotWar Posts: 1,329 Member
    edited June 2015
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    As long as you eat less than you burn, yes.

    Edited to clarify: by calorie burn, I mean all day calorie usage, not just exercise calories
  • aaron_simcoe
    aaron_simcoe Posts: 3 Member
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    So if my calorie count is 2300 but I never make it to 2300 that's good?
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
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    Sort of. Activity actually makes you lose weight, but you burn so many calories doing your normal activities that if you don't replace them you will end up losing weight. Eating less just means that you aren't replacing part of those calories that you are burning.
  • MakePeasNotWar
    MakePeasNotWar Posts: 1,329 Member
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    aaron_simcoe wrote: »
    So if my calorie count is 2300 but I never make it to 2300 that's good?

    What do you mean by your calorie count? The number that MFP gives you is based on the goals you enter during set up. If you stay within that limit, you should lose fairly close to the goal you stated (lbs per week). It may be a bit more or less, as it is only an estimate of your calorie needs, but it tends to be pretty accurate for most people.

    So if you are tracking accurately and you stated weight loss as your goal, then you'll lose weight at or below your MFP calorie target.
  • aaron_simcoe
    aaron_simcoe Posts: 3 Member
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    Oh ok, what I mean is if I get less then what the app gives me is that bad or good?
  • GaleHawkins
    GaleHawkins Posts: 8,159 Member
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    It is about what you eat/do not eat over the long haul that tends to build or destroy one's health in my experience.
  • MakePeasNotWar
    MakePeasNotWar Posts: 1,329 Member
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    aaron_simcoe wrote: »
    Oh ok, what I mean is if I get less then what the app gives me is that bad or good?

    If it's once in a while, it's no problem. If it's consistently below and your goal was aggressive to begin with, you might want to try to increase your intake. Let your weight loss be your guide. If you are losing more than 2 ish pounds a week (not counting the first couple of weeks when most people lose water weight), your calorie deficit may be too high.

    One note about the exercise calories - many MFP members find the estimates are significantly overstated and only "add back" half of the exercise calories for the purposes of adjusting their calorie target.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,941 Member
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    Go back to http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/change_goals_guided and follow the wizard.

    The app is giving you the amount of calories you should eat to achieve the goals you've stated.

    You are supposed to eat back the exercise calories you "earn", assuming you can figure out the true net calories you earned from the exercise.

    A lot of people simplify the process and eat back 50% of their exercise calories in order to avoid possible exercise calorie over-estimates, and then re-evaluate that decision a few weeks down the road based on their actual weight loss results.

    if you are over or under your goal on a consistent basis you will either speed up or slow down the targeted weight loss.

    Generally speaking, while goals of 1lb or 1.5lbs a week make sense in the beginning (or even 2+lbs a week for obese individuals), goals as small as 0.5lbs a week make sense when you are in the normal weight range and approaching your goal weight.
  • Rayrayz93
    Rayrayz93 Posts: 4 Member
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    If you cut down on your carb intake then you will lose weight a little quicker. Carbs make you retain water weight and although carbs are in literally everything, eating foods with less carbs help you drop weight cause you aren't retaining water weight.

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