Calorie deficit help?

If you are using MFP your deficit is already built in, therefore you goal should be to have 0 calories left at the end of the day. 538 calories remaining means you have a larger deficit than planned. A negative number would mean you ate more.

Keengetslean wrote: »

Brilliant, thanks so much I am struggling to eat more than I already am lol I'm so full up all the Time plus drinking 2 litres of water per day prob adds to that.

This goal represents less than you were eating before though, so I'm sure you can find a way to eat more. Have you cut too many calorie-dense foods from your diet?

Keengetslean wrote: »

loulamb7 wrote: »

If you are using MFP your deficit is already built in, therefore you goal should be to have 0 calories left at the end of the day. 538 calories remaining means you have a larger deficit than planned. A negative number would mean you ate more.

I'm not using MFP default, I added my ideal calorie maintenance level -20% as advised by a PT but I'm still not reaching that 1484...I'm just so full up from what I have eaten throughout the day

If this is what you did, you probably should not be eating back exercise calories (it sounds like you used a TDEE calculator to get your "ideal maintenance level" that already accounts for your exercise). However, if you explain how you actually determined your "ideal maintenance level," people could give you better advice.

So... that TDEE estimate sounds high to me. You're 5'0" and 119 pounds? I would expect your TDEE would be closer to 1500 calories unless your job has you on your feet moving around all day, or training for an endurance race and doing tons of cardio or something.

TDEE calculators are generally good estimates, but they really are just estimates. You can eliminate any mysteries by tracking your diet and your weight carefully. Weight will move around day to day, but if on average your weight is dropping one pound a week, then you're TDEE is 500 calories more than you're eating every day. If your weight is not changing on average, then the amount of calories you're eating is your TDEE. If your average weight is going up by a half pound a week, then your TDEE is 250 calories less than what you're eating.

Personally, I don't like the idea "eating back calories." I prefer to set a goal that gives me a consistent, moderate rate of weight loss with a healthy amount of food even if I'm sedentary (calorie goal 20% below TDEE, 30% at the very most), and then whatever exercise I do simply accelerates that weight loss. So if I were you, I would start with eating 1200 calories per day if your goal is weight loss. Watch your weight carefully, and experiment over the next few weeks to find what calorie target works best for you.

If you find yourself getting irritable or performing poorly in the gym, try being a little more careful to make sure you're getting a good balance of carbs, fats, and proteins. If that still doesn't help, bump your calorie goal up 100-200 calories.

If you feel like you're starving but you're not losing weight, then try changing what foods you're eating. Eliminate low-fiber carbs like white rice, pasta, potatoes, and try to eat a ton of fibrous vegetables and lean meats. They're very filling, calorie for calorie.

Keengetslean wrote: »

Great advice, thanks very much! I originally had 1200 kcal as my goal but I wasn't sure if it was too low but I'm just about reaching 1200 day to day anyway so think I'll change it back

You're welcome! I forgot to mention my new favorite web site, trendweight.com. I just signed up for an account this week. I have a wifi scale that uploads my weight to Fitbits web site, and you can sync your Fitbit account to trendweight.com. The web site mathematically smooths out the water weight fluctuations and tells you exactly how much weight you're gaining or losing per week on average, and gives you a pretty accurate projection of when you'll hit your goal weight.