For those who track their actual deficit

oat_bran
oat_bran Posts: 370 Member
edited November 15 in Health and Weight Loss
Are there people here who wear activity trackers and set their own deficit goals (as in TDEE, including the exercise, minus your intake). I prefer this to letting fitbit calculate my goal intake because my activity level varies greatly and if I eat the same amount on active days as on lazy days I'd be starving.

So I've been experimenting with different deficits and so far 300-500 seems like the maximum deficit I can stick to long term without feeling too hungry and having enough energy to function. I don't have that many pounds to lose so it's ok with me, I guess. On some rare occasions I can even do 800 deficit, but other days I feel so hungry I need to eat at maintenance.

Are there other people on here who track their actual deficit? What kind of deficits you've been experimenting with? What's the maximum deficit you can maintain without going to hungry and having enough energy?

Replies

  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
    I think that is going to depend both on what you eat and how active you are. An athlete who is burning 8,000 calories per day and eating plenty of carbs probably won't even notice a 1,000 calorie deficit, but for someone who is burning 2,000 calories per day and eating mostly proteins a 1,000 calorie deficit would be huge.
  • terbusha
    terbusha Posts: 1,483 Member
    I don't track my activity because it changes your intake from day to day. It seems that people have a harder time building consistency if they are trying to hit a moving target every day. I think a more simple approach is easier to stick to.

    What I do and what I recommend to people is to eat at a calorie level that allows you to make good progress towards your goal. If you are trying to lose weight, eat so you drop 1-2 lbs/week. This assumes an average calorie burn from you getting in all of your workouts. This will be different for everyone, so you'll have to do some trial and error to figure it out. I'd start ~1600 cal/day. Hit this goal, along with your macros and getting in your workouts, for 2 weeks. If you lose 1-2 lbs/week, you're good to go. If you lose too much, increase your intake and repeat. If you don't lose enough, reduce your intake a bit and repeat. After a few cycles, you'll figure out what works for you in your situation.
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