Guide to calorie deficits

nansidhe · July 2011

my pleasure. but just remember, when I say a month, recognize that that is an artificial limit I added based on averages I've seen, it may or may not be what you realize, what you want to do is track how you feel. If you go a month on higher calories and don't GAIN, then you're doing it right.

I guess I should give an update--if just to confirm to people everything that you stated in your original post. After bringing my calorie intake up to 1,200 a day, I gained a total of 1.5 pounds. So, I guess that I really was in starvation mode previously.

Roughly three weeks later and still "netting" at least 1,200 calories a day, I'm losing again. I've lost the 1.5 pounds that I have gained plus I've lost an additional 3.5 more.

Looking forward to some day finally seeing what I'm supposed to look like.

)

SHBoss1673 · July 2011

I guess I should give an update--if just to confirm to people everything that you stated in your original post. After bringing my calorie intake up to 1,200 a day, I gained a total of 1.5 pounds. So, I guess that I really was in starvation mode previously.

Roughly three weeks later and still "netting" at least 1,200 calories a day, I'm losing again. I've lost the 1.5 pounds that I have gained plus I've lost an additional 3.5 more.

Looking forward to some day finally seeing what I'm supposed to look like. )

wow, sound's like your body is making up for lost "loss" time. Good work!

ozycat · July 2011

bump!

LauraMarie37 · July 2011

Banks thanks so much for posting this! I have a question about activity level. Is the level based on how much you workout or your level of activity without working out? I am a stay at home mom during the week. Do one hour and 20 minutes of hot yoga five times a week and on the weekend I am a cocktail server at a very fast paced casino for eight hours two nughts a week. I have my activity level at lightly active then add in my workouts. But wondering if I need to up my activity level to moderate?

I have been using MFP for three days. I got the app on my phone and I am loving it. I am pretty lean. 18-19% body fat 5'8 148 pounds. BMI 22.5 just looking to lose the last eight pounds or drop one more dress size. Not so much concerned with the number on the scale. I started added some gym sessions 3x a week on top of the hot yoga 5x a weeks to burn the extra fat. I know now I wasnt eating enough calories and after a few days would feel like crap and eat everything it site that was carby and sugary. It's been a vicious cycle of me reducing what I eat to lose the last little bit of weight. I do it for a week and lose 4 pounds or so but cant maintain it and spend the next few days gaining it back eating everything in site.

Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge!
Jen

Bump; also, I'm curious to see what your answer to this person is regarding her activity level. I'm in a similar situation in that I workout a lot (I'm a professional dancer), but when I'm not working out I'm pretty sedentary. Also, while my cross training workout are as intense as I can make them, my hours of rehearsal and teaching aren't necessarily that intense (though sometimes they are; it depends on the day).

Basically, I read somewhere that your "activity level" really means your activity level outside of what you log. Since I log my cross-training and rehearsal, and eat those calories back, should I consider myself sedentary/lightly active because I am pretty sedentary outside of what I already log?

rileysowner · July 2011

bump

charlene77 · July 2011

I wasn't going to read through the whole 19 pages, so someone may have already said this.....but for someone to actually work this out properly I think it would be important to let a person know where they take their calories off of! Some people take it off their BMR, some people take it off of their total daily needs. Here is an example of what a misinformed person would do: 1760 is my BMR, I am obese, so I should lose 2 pds a week. Therefore, I should be eating 760 calories per day. We wouldn't want that now would we? I think this is an important addition to the origional post, respectfully

SHBoss1673 · July 2011

I wasn't going to read through the whole 19 pages, so someone may have already said this.....but for someone to actually work this out properly I think it would be important to let a person know where they take their calories off of! Some people take it off their BMR, some people take it off of their total daily needs. Here is an example of what a misinformed person would do: 1760 is my BMR, I am obese, so I should lose 2 pds a week. Therefore, I should be eating 760 calories per day. We wouldn't want that now would we? I think this is an important addition to the origional post, respectfully

BMR should not be a consideration when using this guide. It's not needed for this.

lcarter25 · July 2011

I am going to zig zag my calories. Do I eat extra on the days I exercise?

innerfashionista · July 2011

bmp

SHBoss1673 · July 2011

I am going to zig zag my calories. Do I eat extra on the days I exercise?

"zig zagging" or calorie cycling is an advanced technique and doesnt' fit with this basic guide. The question you pose can't really be answered easily, that depends on your calorie cycle, how big of a gap you are trying to impose, which days will be your high calorie days in relation to your workout days, the type of workout, what your body fat % is...etc. As you can see, this goes far deeper and you need to do some very deep investigation not only into the logic behind calorie cycling, but also how you will set it up for yourself individually. As one might imagine, much of this would depend on your specific situation, and therefore it would be wrong of me to try and answer a question like this without being far more well versed about your situation than I am (which, in most cases requires the type of consult a dietitian would do with a client). In other words, don't just jump in and say "I think I'll try zig zagging my calories." Have a specific reason and goal for doing this, otherwise you're grasping at straws.

SIDE note: I am all for calorie cycling if you do it the correct way, I just believe it's a more advanced form of nutrition and should not be undertaken without some pretty serious planning and a specific goal in mind.