Deficit question?

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kschottgen
kschottgen Posts: 4 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Advice anyone? My doctor put me on a 1200 a day calorie diet. I am new to dieting using an app and also with counting calories. Is the earned calories I burn each day allow me to consume those or am I supposed to still stick to my unadjusted number?
Thanks!

Replies

  • jdog022
    jdog022 Posts: 693 Member
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    All your stats and activity level plus your goals and then we can give you an idea. OR what MFP gives you +50% of your exercise calories back
  • Luna3386
    Luna3386 Posts: 888 Member
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    What's your stats? Height and weight?

    On mfp the formula is designed to consume at least some of your activity calories. But 1200 might be too low to start with. If you've been eating way more than that, sticking to such a deficit may make it hard to sustain.
  • Meganmalone11
    Meganmalone11 Posts: 3 Member
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    I believe that you can eat them back, in fact after you do a hard workout it is good to have protein for muscle recovery. But stick to something like a Quet bar or protein shake, and what I personally try and do is still stay under the calorie limit. But yes, eat after your workout and it's ok to eat some of those calories back! Hope this helps
  • jdog022
    jdog022 Posts: 693 Member
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    Meal and protein timing is irrelevant unless your a super top tier elite athlete
  • missmagnoliablossom
    missmagnoliablossom Posts: 240 Member
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    Meganmalone11 wrote: »
    I believe that you can eat them back, in fact after you do a hard workout it is good to have protein for muscle recovery. But stick to something like a Quet bar or protein shake, and what I personally try and do is still stay under the calorie limit. But yes, eat after your workout and it's ok to eat some of those calories back! Hope this helps

    You do not have to use earned calories on protein only. A calorie is a calorie.
  • missmagnoliablossom
    missmagnoliablossom Posts: 240 Member
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    I'd consult your doctor on this one. Generally, it's good advice to begin by only eating back 50 percent of your exercise calories (as many trackers and indeed MFP itself can be inaccurate) and adjust as you go forward.
  • kschottgen
    kschottgen Posts: 4 Member
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    Thanks everyone for the advice. I think I'll stick to only consuming 50% of the earned calories. Not sure how to share my stats but I feel confident in what I gathered from everyone.
  • Strudders67
    Strudders67 Posts: 980 Member
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    I eat about 75% and am still losing weight at my expected rate. Like you, I'm on 1200 calories a day so there's no room for that to go down whereas, if I plateau, I could reduce the percentage of my exercise calories.
  • kschottgen
    kschottgen Posts: 4 Member
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    Thank you for your insight. I'm 5'4" and 235 lbs. I'm averaging 1/2 lb a day loss and have been on this diet for 21 days. Doing between 4500 to 9500 steps a day. I'm 45 and female. I'm curious about the loss you are seeing with 1200 calories a day.
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
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    I'd first ask you doctor why, exactly, (s)he put you on 1200 Calories. I suspect the answer will be a generic one regarding diet. As such, I'd advise eating back at least some (if not all) of your exercise Calories.
  • DrifterBear
    DrifterBear Posts: 265 Member
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    If your doctor said you should be on 1200 calories, that's what you should eat. Not eating back exercise calories that go beyond 1200. IMO anything a doctor tells you is taking into account more than posters on a forum can. If you trust your doctor, follow their orders. If you do not trust your doctor, find a new one.
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,107 Member
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    DrifterBear wrote: »
    If your doctor said you should be on 1200 calories, that's what you should eat. Not eating back exercise calories that go beyond 1200. IMO anything a doctor tells you is taking into account more than posters on a forum can. If you trust your doctor, follow their orders. If you do not trust your doctor, find a new one.

    1200 calories even on recommendation from a doctor is most likely to be 1200 net calories, can't imagine a doctor would recommend eating less than is nutritionally recommended and if you didn't eat any exercise calories back on a low calorie diet, it would be straying into undereating territory for most people, particularly in the OPs case where 1200 would be more than half of her TDEE.
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
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    tinkerbellang83 wrote: »
    DrifterBear wrote: »
    If your doctor said you should be on 1200 calories, that's what you should eat. Not eating back exercise calories that go beyond 1200. IMO anything a doctor tells you is taking into account more than posters on a forum can. If you trust your doctor, follow their orders. If you do not trust your doctor, find a new one.

    1200 calories even on recommendation from a doctor is most likely to be 1200 net calories, can't imagine a doctor would recommend eating less than is nutritionally recommended and if you didn't eat any exercise calories back on a low calorie diet, it would be straying into undereating territory for most people, particularly in the OPs case where 1200 would be more than half of her TDEE.

    and if her doctor recommended a specific caloric intake, then they should have also provided a referral to an RD or similar to work with to ensure that nutritional needs are being met in conjunction with medical guidance
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,107 Member
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    deannalfisher wrote: »
    tinkerbellang83 wrote: »
    DrifterBear wrote: »
    If your doctor said you should be on 1200 calories, that's what you should eat. Not eating back exercise calories that go beyond 1200. IMO anything a doctor tells you is taking into account more than posters on a forum can. If you trust your doctor, follow their orders. If you do not trust your doctor, find a new one.

    1200 calories even on recommendation from a doctor is most likely to be 1200 net calories, can't imagine a doctor would recommend eating less than is nutritionally recommended and if you didn't eat any exercise calories back on a low calorie diet, it would be straying into undereating territory for most people, particularly in the OPs case where 1200 would be more than half of her TDEE.

    and if her doctor recommended a specific caloric intake, then they should have also provided a referral to an RD or similar to work with to ensure that nutritional needs are being met in conjunction with medical guidance

    Agreed. OP should definitely have been given a bit more information from doctor. @kschottgen were you given any sort of plan to follow from doctor or have you been left to your own devices?
  • morganfx
    morganfx Posts: 12 Member
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    One sure way to find out what your doctor intended: ask him/her, not a bunch of strangers on the internet. However well-informed or well-meaning we may be, we have no idea what your doctor wants you to do.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    kschottgen wrote: »
    Thank you for your insight. I'm 5'4" and 235 lbs. I'm averaging 1/2 lb a day loss and have been on this diet for 21 days. Doing between 4500 to 9500 steps a day. I'm 45 and female. I'm curious about the loss you are seeing with 1200 calories a day.

    You are losing weight at an aggressive pace! I would let your doctor know (if they don't already) that you are losing weight that quickly and ask them if you should eat back your exercise calories considering that.

    If you were just a random person doing this on your own, I would say you are losing weight too quickly and you absolutely should be eating back your calories, but considering you are working with a doctor and we don't know why they have you on such an aggressive plan, you should consult with them.
  • Silentpadna
    Silentpadna Posts: 1,306 Member
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    kschottgen wrote: »
    Thank you for your insight. I'm 5'4" and 235 lbs. I'm averaging 1/2 lb a day loss and have been on this diet for 21 days. Doing between 4500 to 9500 steps a day. I'm 45 and female. I'm curious about the loss you are seeing with 1200 calories a day.

    Since 1200 calories is a "floor", your stats were necessary to put context to it. At 4500-9000 steps a day, your activity level is probably "light" (4500 steps) or "moderate" (9000 steps). Your TDEE would be between 2400 and 2700. This means a 1200 calorie per day diet is somewhat aggressive (your deficit would then be 1200-1500). If you were completely sedentary, your deficit would be closer to 900 or 1000 calories a day, or in the 2 lb/wk range.

    1/2 pound per day is pretty high.

    As other posters have said, however, your doctor should know you better that we do.

    If you really are averaging 1/2 pound per day (or 3.5 pounds per week), that would mean your average deficit is close to 1750 calories per day. That's mathematically possible for you if you were heavily active. If you are not exercising more than the 4500 to 9000 steps you mention, then your initial loss probably is due to fluid loss being a large component. I would expect your weight loss to continue, but not at that rate.
  • kschottgen
    kschottgen Posts: 4 Member
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    tinkerbellang83 My Dr. instructed me to use any diet I preferred but to stay at 1200 calories. He didn't mention referring me to a RD yet. I have been solely using the app to keep track of my calories, fat, carbs, protein, sugar, salt, vitamins. I have to say I do like the idea of seeing a RD just to get better food ideas and fine tuning.

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