calorie intake vs deficit calories

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cassandramccuneambersley
cassandramccuneambersley Posts: 4 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Please I need help I'm really not understanding this calorie thing.can someone please explain it.my calorie intake is 1340 and I burn 500 calories exercising.but someone told to eat 15-20% less of my calorie intake.Can someone please explain to me please.TIA

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  • PaulaWallaDingDong
    PaulaWallaDingDong Posts: 4,641 Member
    edited August 2015
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    They must have meant that your intake should be 15-20% less than the maintenance calories for your current weight in order to lose. If you've used MFP to figure what your intake should be to lose weight, the deficit is already built in to your intake, and you don't have to subtract anything unless you're not getting results.
  • EmmaFitzwilliam
    EmmaFitzwilliam Posts: 482 Member
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    You tell MFP how old you are, how much you weigh, how active you are, and how fast you want to lose how much weight.

    MFP calculates the number of calories you need each day.

    MFP then subtracts a certain number of calories (as an example, 500 calories/day if you want to lose 1 pound/week).

    MFP then sets your daily calorie goal as the number it has calculated in step 3.

    If you enter exercise activity into MFP, MFP assumes that activity is *above and beyond* the activity level you set in step 1.

    Based on that foundation assumption, MFP then adds calories to your daily goal, because you have been more active than its initial calculation allowed for.

    Because that activity may not have been as much over and above your actual base burn rate as the calculations assume, the conventional wisdom is to eat back only 50-65% of the added calories.

    There are some problems with this; if you are near your goal, and/or sedentary, your "base rate" may well be the MFP minimum of 1200 calories, in which case it won't allow for a deficit.

    For example;

    MFP's calculation for my base burn, as adjusted for my desired rate of loss, allows me 1200 calories per day.

    If I do a 4 mile walk (which is not factored in at my "sedentary" activity level), at easy pace, I burn on the order of 300 extra calories.

    MFP then adjusts the calories and I have a total of 1500 calories for the day. Because I know the burn rate may be optimistic, my goal is to eat only 150-200 of those calories, or to eat a total of 1350-1400 calories that day.

    MFP has a weird way of displaying your calorie goal and extra burn calories - it shows your goal, minus your logged calories, plus your exercise calories.
  • PaytraB
    PaytraB Posts: 2,360 Member
    edited August 2015
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    If you burn 500 calories, you should eat 1340 + 500 (1840 calories).

    However, exercise calories are sometimes registered higher than what you actually burned. There's no way of knowing exactly what you truly burned. Therefore, most people only "eat back" about 50% of the exercise calories (1340+ 250 = 1590 calories).

    Do this for a month, while monitoring your progress. If you are losing too quickly, eat back a few more exercise calories (ie: try 75%). If you are losing too slowly, eat back fewer exercise calories (ie 25%).

    Note: "too quickly" and "too slowly" means the deviation from your weight loss goals set into MFP (ie: "lose 1lb/wk").
  • mommarnurse
    mommarnurse Posts: 515 Member
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    cassandramccuneambersley wrote: »
    Please I need help I'm really not understanding this calorie thing.can someone please explain it.my calorie intake is 1340 and I burn 500 calories exercising.but someone told to eat 15-20% less of my calorie intake.Can someone please explain to me please.TIA

    Don't count your exercise calories.
  • MakePeasNotWar
    MakePeasNotWar Posts: 1,329 Member
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    mommarnurse wrote: »
    cassandramccuneambersley wrote: »
    Please I need help I'm really not understanding this calorie thing.can someone please explain it.my calorie intake is 1340 and I burn 500 calories exercising.but someone told to eat 15-20% less of my calorie intake.Can someone please explain to me please.TIA

    Don't count your exercise calories.

    That's probably not a great idea. For MFP to give her 500 calories for exercise it would have to be significant, and one needs to fuel that. The deficit is built in already, so adding an additional 250-500 calorie deficit (depending on actual burn vs MFP) every day is likely to cause energy problems and adherence issues.
  • cassandramccuneambersley
    cassandramccuneambersley Posts: 4 Member
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    So don't cut calories..just eat the 1340.and just exercise.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    PaytraB wrote: »
    If you burn 500 calories, you should eat 1340 + 500 (1840 calories).

    However, exercise calories are sometimes registered higher than what you actually burned. There's no way of knowing exactly what you truly burned. Therefore, most people only "eat back" about 50% of the exercise calories (1340+ 250 = 1590 calories).

    Do this for a month, while monitoring your progress. If you are losing too quickly, eat back a few more exercise calories (ie: try 75%). If you are losing too slowly, eat back fewer exercise calories (ie 25%).

    Note: "too quickly" and "too slowly" means the deviation from your weight loss goals set into MFP (ie: "lose 1lb/wk").

    This is really good advice. I'd do this.
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
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    cassandramccuneambersley wrote: »
    So don't cut calories..just eat the 1340.and just exercise.

    What was your goal when your entered stats into MFP? If it was to maintain, you need to eat 15-20% less. However, it is fare more likely that you told MFP you wanted to lose weight, so they've already done that calculation for you. So, eat to your goal. If you exercise, I'd eat at least half the calories back, but not more than 75% (MFP tends to overestimate calorie burns). And be sure you're logging accurately.
  • plyadnov
    plyadnov Posts: 16 Member
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    Play around with your nutrients to see what works best. If you are seeing results at 1340 calories eating what you are eating, then don't change a thing...healthy weight loss is about 1lb/week...water weight is a different story. If you are not seeing results at 1340 calories a day, see where these calories come from. My body reacts better to high protein/low carb/fat diet...so I try to get 50% of my nutrients from protein, 30% from carbs, and 20% from fats. Some might argue this doesn't matter as long as calories in is less than calories out. I disagree. I feel better and drop weight using the breakdown above. MFP is great for figuring out what works best for you. Also try to get the best bang for your calories. Another note on exercise: muscle burns more calories/fat...if you are only doing cardio, it may not be enough. Try doing some weights too.
  • cassandramccuneambersley
    cassandramccuneambersley Posts: 4 Member
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    My current weight is 186.I'm 5'0 feet tall.want to get to a 170 short term goal long term is 150 lbs.

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