3500 Calories

beastmode_kitty
beastmode_kitty Posts: 844 Member
edited September 30 in Health and Weight Loss
So I've been reading online that in order to burn 1 pd a week you need to burn 3500 in excess a week. So would i be ok if I say burn 200 in one day, and 500 in the next, as long as it adds up to 500?

I'm finding it really hard also to track my food after being off of it for a couple months due to a car accident.

Replies

  • dragonbug300
    dragonbug300 Posts: 760 Member
    Yep, that would work (in theory).

    I'll just add that calorie counting is not an exact science. Even with a heart rate monitor, calories burned are a rough estimate. Same goes for calories consumed and your basal metabolic rate.

    Also that some of the weight you lose will be in muscle and water. Muscle composition is much different from fat and therefore requires different calorie equations to burn.

    Plus there are a thousand and a half other factors that affect weight (loss, gain, and maintenance).
    So don't expect an exact weight loss of 1lb a week even if you follow your calories to the T... it will vary (more or less) each week.

    But you probably didn't need to know all that.... I'll be quiet now.
  • MaryKnapp
    MaryKnapp Posts: 1
    I've seen that it's recommended for you to vary the days...so that each day is not exactly the same (input - output) to help your body not reset it's metabolism to survive on the lower calories. I think that's what the calorie's recommended on myfitnesspal tries to do by asking you your weekly exercise and then giving you a daily calorie amount. It assumes that days you don't exercise you'll be a bit over and days you do that you'll be a bit under...causing fluctuation to help keep your metabolism roaring along.

    But to give my 2cents on your question - I think as long as you are short the 3500 calories in a week (if your trying to lose a pound a week) (and don't go below the minimum recommended per day for your gender/age - which is in general 1200 for women (without special circumstances ...like pregnant...etc) and 1500 for men...the amount needed to just crank your basic body needs) it's fine if your under some days more than others and over some days as long as it averages out. =)

    Hope that helps!
  • tassit
    tassit Posts: 7
    You seem to be doing great if you lost 21 pounds (I could be reading these forums wrong, still new here) but you might have better luck if you look at the calories you normally take in, then consider reducing the calories you take in (which will result in weight loss) and then use a way to estimate how many calories you burn during exercise... like a running app or simply some basic comparisons.

    This article has some numbers you can use, but I would do more research to back it up or similar calculations: http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-242-304-311-8402-0,00.html
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,427 MFP Moderator
    I've seen that it's recommended for you to vary the days...so that each day is not exactly the same (input - output) to help your body not reset it's metabolism to survive on the lower calories. I think that's what the calorie's recommended on myfitnesspal tries to do by asking you your weekly exercise and then giving you a daily calorie amount. It assumes that days you don't exercise you'll be a bit over and days you do that you'll be a bit under...causing fluctuation to help keep your metabolism roaring along.

    But to give my 2cents on your question - I think as long as you are short the 3500 calories in a week (if your trying to lose a pound a week) (and don't go below the minimum recommended per day for your gender/age - which is in general 1200 for women (without special circumstances ...like pregnant...etc) and 1500 for men...the amount needed to just crank your basic body needs) it's fine if your under some days more than others and over some days as long as it averages out. =)

    Hope that helps!

    This is good information.

    Also below is a link to a thread with some good information from several sources. Check it out. It is actually how I calculate my caloric needs and will allow you to not have to track exercise calories as it's built into the equation.


    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/282320-caloric-intake-body-fat
  • LadyOfOceanBreeze
    LadyOfOceanBreeze Posts: 762 Member
    wow. that's no small feat!
  • JennLifts
    JennLifts Posts: 1,913 Member
    yes, but if youre not set to maintenance, this site built in a deficit for you.
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