Are we doing it wrong?

BigClaire88
BigClaire88 Posts: 23
edited September 29 in Health and Weight Loss
I think I may have made a mistake when counting in my calorie deficit.. here is how my goals read -

Calories Burned From Normal Daily Activity 2,620 calories/day
Your Daily Goal 2,120 calories/ day
Daily Calorie Deficit 500 calories
Projected Weight Loss 1.0 lbs/ week


What I (and my partner) have actually been doing is having a deficit of over 500 on our food diary. Is this right? Or is the 500 calorie deficit already taken away from the calories our food diary says we can allow.

If we've been doing it wrong and actually having a deficit of over 1000 calories a day, is this ok? We havn't been hungry, havn't gone without food and have been allowing snacks with excersise, so we're happy to continue the way we have been if it's not bad for us.

Any advice will be appreciated! Thank you x

Replies

  • ambie35
    ambie35 Posts: 853 Member
    Yes the deficit is already accounted for. But as long as your not hungry and are "netting" at least 1200 cals after exercising your not going to do any harm being under your amount.
  • poopoomonkey1978
    poopoomonkey1978 Posts: 108 Member
    the defecit is already built in and they say you should never go under 1200 calories plus eat back your workout calories if you don't feel like eating all of them at least eat some.
  • LLbeers
    LLbeers Posts: 1 Member
    It already has taken the 500 calories into account so you are doing 1000. It would be like setting up to loose 2 pounds rather than 1 pound which is still a reasonable amount.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,321 Member
    You are supposed to eat the calories it says you should eat, that has the deficit already built in. As for whether a 1000 calorie deficit hurt your weight loss efforts, if you are obese probably not, although it is too large of a deficit. If you are overweight it may have slowed it although a lot of people here function with a 1000 cal deficit, 500 is much better for fat loss so I would suggest just starting to do what the site suggests as far as how much you eat.
  • ChrisAlPro
    ChrisAlPro Posts: 3
    I believe that the 1200 calories is right but I do believe that you have to make sure you check your goal for protein, fat etc. going less can often send your body into starvation mode.
  • BigClaire88
    BigClaire88 Posts: 23
    Thanks so much for the help, that explains alot, though I don't know that I would want to fit more food in than I already am! I use to skip breakfast and would often skip lunch, so I'm having to remind myself to eat throughout the day otherwise Id slip into old habbits and have a large dinner. I am obese, so it is alright to come under the 500 calorie deficit?

    I'll do whatever I need to be doing to lose it but I really would struggle to get my calories up without adding unhealthy food back into my diet and Id rather avoid that..
  • LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo
    LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo Posts: 3,634 Member
    It already has taken the 500 calories into account so you are doing 1000. It would be like setting up to loose 2 pounds rather than 1 pound which is still a reasonable amount.

    Oh I didn't know that either. What I do is that I make sure I burn 200+ calories a day and not eat back my workout calories but somehow I still managed to go 1100-1200 calories and less than 1100 during my two no-training rest days. No wonder why I'm losing 4 pounds in less than a week.
  • LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo
    LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo Posts: 3,634 Member
    Thanks so much for the help, that explains alot, though I don't know that I would want to fit more food in than I already am! I use to skip breakfast and would often skip lunch, so I'm having to remind myself to eat throughout the day otherwise Id slip into old habbits and have a large dinner. I am obese, so it is alright to come under the 500 calorie deficit?

    I'll do whatever I need to be doing to lose it but I really would struggle to get my calories up without adding unhealthy food back into my diet and Id rather avoid that..

    As long as you are eating right and not starving, its OK to have more than 500 calorie deficit. But don't skip breakfast, that will slow your metabolism. Eat something for breakfast even a little. I was also a non-morning person but now my body knows that it needs to get up early for breakfast.
  • RehmanK
    RehmanK Posts: 11
    So it's okay if you have 1200 calories and have 623 deficit? What if you aim to burn that deficit off? Is that ok?
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