MFP - Calorie Deficit

geminigarcia199017
geminigarcia199017 Posts: 529 Member
edited November 30 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi MFP,

How do you burn more than what you eat in order to lose 1kg a week.
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Replies

  • leahcollett1
    leahcollett1 Posts: 807 Member
    you eat in a deficit. the calories that MFP gives you. an exercise calorie burnt is an added bonus and you should eat 25%-50% of them back
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    edited February 2016
    We naturally burn calories, anything you do over and above your normal daily activities burns more calories. Mfp will give you the numbers although for some exercises they are over estimated which is why most of us on here would advise eating back 50-75% of those exercise calories.
    To lose 1kg a week you need to be in deficit of 500 calories a day. Depending on age/height/weight MFP will give you the calories you need to eat at in order to lose that amount.
    Log your food as accurately as possible, use food scales so you can be more accurate at logging.
    And start moving when you can, if you don't already - even just incorporating a walk into your day really helps :smile:

  • crb426
    crb426 Posts: 661 Member
    A few ways:
    -You burn calories just by existing, so eat less than you need to stay at the same weight.
    -Eat the same, but increase your exercise level thereby burning more calories than you eat.
    -Lower your calorie intake, up your exercise.

    For specifics, plug in your information in the MFP database and it will tell you exactly how many calories to eat in a day. Then plug in the food you are eating and it will add it up for you. Add your exercise for the day and it will subtract those calories.
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  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    Are you using MFP to log your food and your exercise? if so, then it does the math for you and tells you how much you can/have left to eat each day.
  • echmain
    echmain Posts: 103 Member
    1 kg/week is pretty extreme. What's the rush?
  • trjjoy
    trjjoy Posts: 666 Member
    RunRutheeRun wrote: »
    To lose 1kg a week you need to be in deficit of 500 calories a day.

    No. You need to have a calorie deficit of 1000 a day to lose around 1kg a week.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    @trjjoy you are correct, sorry! I was thinking 1lb per week ...
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    and yes, 2.2lbs/1kg a week is extreme unless you have a lot of weight to lose, then its not...
  • crb426
    crb426 Posts: 661 Member
    geminigarcia199017 wrote: »
    How do add up the the calorie deficit to the calories that you burned through working out,how do you calculate. Is it how much you workout in a week that is how much you have burned!

    MFP will do the math for you. You just need to enter your daily foods and daily exercise. Just be sure that they are accurate: use a food scale when counting calories, and underestimate how many calories you burned.
  • crb426
    crb426 Posts: 661 Member
    geminigarcia199017 wrote: »
    How do add up the the calorie deficit to the calories that you burned through working out,how do you calculate. Is it how much you workout in a week that is how much you have burned!

    Ok, I reread it and I think I see what you are asking. When you plug in how many times you will work out that is just your GOAL. It won't deduct any calories. When you are on that page you are just setting up your goals for what you want to do.
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  • crb426
    crb426 Posts: 661 Member
    geminigarcia199017 wrote: »
    trjjoy wrote: »
    RunRutheeRun wrote: »
    To lose 1kg a week you need to be in deficit of 500 calories a day.

    No. You need to have a calorie deficit of 1000 a day to lose around 1kg a week.

    Is it that too much of a deficit 1000. I only have 691 which is my calorie deficit.

    Depends on your starting weight. If you weigh 500 pounds it will be easier to have a 1000 calories deficit than if you weigh 150.
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  • crb426
    crb426 Posts: 661 Member
    geminigarcia199017 wrote: »
    RunRutheeRun wrote: »
    Are you using MFP to log your food and your exercise? if so, then it does the math for you and tells you how much you can/have left to eat each day.

    Yes,I am using MFP to log food & exercise. Confused about the whole burn more than what you eat calorie deficit.MFP gave me calories for the day of 2,450 to start, then through out the day I ate 1,759 through food. How do I calculate those numbers through working out. Since my calorie deficit is 691 when I do the math.

    The 2450 MFP gave you have the deficit built in. You don't have to subtract anything yourself. If you plugged in that you wanted to lose 1 lb a week, then 2450 is the number that will allow you to do this.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    edited February 2016
    It really isn't confusing, MFP gave you the calories you need to lose weight, if you eat up to that amount plus some of your exercise calories you will lose.
    You only ate 1759, when you were supposed to eat 2450 plus exercise calories (in other words your maintenance cals would be 3040 each day currently) , ok thats basically too much of a deficit. MFP already has you in deficit of 500 calories at 2450, so technically you are in deficit by 1191 calories which is too agressive imo.
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  • crb426
    crb426 Posts: 661 Member
    geminigarcia199017 wrote: »
    crb426 wrote: »
    geminigarcia199017 wrote: »
    RunRutheeRun wrote: »
    Are you using MFP to log your food and your exercise? if so, then it does the math for you and tells you how much you can/have left to eat each day.

    Yes,I am using MFP to log food & exercise. Confused about the whole burn more than what you eat calorie deficit.MFP gave me calories for the day of 2,450 to start, then through out the day I ate 1,759 through food. How do I calculate those numbers through working out. Since my calorie deficit is 691 when I do the math.

    The 2450 MFP gave you have the deficit built in. You don't have to subtract anything yourself. If you plugged in that you wanted to lose 1 lb a week, then 2450 is the number that will allow you to do this.

    So all I have to do is log my workouts & foods as normal. I weigh 90kg & I have completed my diary entry for the day & MFP estimated that in 5 weeks I would weigh 84.3kg.

    Yep. Just keep your actual counts as close to, or slightly under, that calorie goal. When you add it the exercise number, keep in mind that it tends to overestimate what you've actually burned. If you did general cardio for 60 minutes, consider only logging it as 30-40 minutes.
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  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    Yes, you are eating at MORE than the deficit MFP already has set you at. You would be in deficit of over 1000 cals that day. When MFP gives you a figure, you are supposed to eat close to that number. Eating too little is not a good thing at all, it causes muscle loss along with the fat when the deficit is too agressive.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    You need to get your head around the normal way 'diet' thinking goes - we do not have to half starve ourselves to lose weight. We can lose weight eating much more than we ever thought we could and its sustainable.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    To be clear, to lose weight, your maximum calories per day is 2450. Right? thats what MFP gave you?
    And you told MFP that you wanted to lose 1lb or 2lbs per week right?
    If so that amount is the calculated amount for you to lose that weight.

    If you have any doubts, try calculating your TDEE at an online site such as scooby workshop, that will give you an idea of the calories you use up each day (Total Daily Energy Expenditure), then you could calculate 20% of that number - you'll find it will pretty much match what MFP has come up with.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    geminigarcia199017 wrote: »
    But if I ate more than 1759 then I would not be at a calorie deficit.It would have to be under 2450 for it to be a calorie deficit isn't it.

    1760 is above 1759 and below 2450, as is 2440. Both would have a deficit.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    edited February 2016
    geminigarcia199017 wrote: »
    crb426 wrote: »
    geminigarcia199017 wrote: »
    RunRutheeRun wrote: »
    Are you using MFP to log your food and your exercise? if so, then it does the math for you and tells you how much you can/have left to eat each day.

    Yes,I am using MFP to log food & exercise. Confused about the whole burn more than what you eat calorie deficit.MFP gave me calories for the day of 2,450 to start, then through out the day I ate 1,759 through food. How do I calculate those numbers through working out. Since my calorie deficit is 691 when I do the math.

    The 2450 MFP gave you have the deficit built in. You don't have to subtract anything yourself. If you plugged in that you wanted to lose 1 lb a week, then 2450 is the number that will allow you to do this.

    So all I have to do is log my workouts & foods as normal. I weigh 90kg & I have completed my diary entry for the day & MFP estimated that in 5 weeks I would weigh 84.3kg.

    Yes :smiley: although you can't go by that estimated amount they give you, it is just an estimation but its nice to see that it could be possible :smile:
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    edited February 2016
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  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    my advice would be to put your stats into MFP set it to 0.5 kg/week log your exercise and eat back half of the extra calories. Do that for a month and it'll be clear what to do next.
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  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    geminigarcia199017 wrote: »
    yarwell wrote: »
    geminigarcia199017 wrote: »
    But if I ate more than 1759 then I would not be at a calorie deficit.It would have to be under 2450 for it to be a calorie deficit isn't it.

    1760 is above 1759 and below 2450, as is 2440. Both would have a deficit.

    So I should be eating at around 2300 - 2400 is that what you are saying!

    Yes
  • veganbaum
    veganbaum Posts: 1,865 Member
    geminigarcia199017 wrote: »
    yarwell wrote: »
    geminigarcia199017 wrote: »
    But if I ate more than 1759 then I would not be at a calorie deficit.It would have to be under 2450 for it to be a calorie deficit isn't it.

    1760 is above 1759 and below 2450, as is 2440. Both would have a deficit.

    So I should be eating at around 2300 - 2400 is that what you are saying!

    If you entered a goal to lose weight, then yes, you should be eating what MFP tells you to.

    1. Enter your weight loss goal into MFP.
    2. Log your food accurately.
    3. Enter your exercise. Eat around 50-75% of those calories as well (to account for inaccuracies).
    4. Adjust your calorie goal as needed after a sufficient period of time and consistent, accurate logging. 4-6 weeks is a good period over which to determine how accurate your estimated calorie goal is.

    Also, I strongly suggest you read the posts at the top of this forum and the Getting Started forum. They will provide a wealth of information to help you:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10300319/most-helpful-posts-general-diet-and-weight-loss-help-must-reads#latest

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10300331/most-helpful-posts-getting-started-must-reads#latest
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