Calorie deficit...confused
Charabz69
Posts: 52 Member
Hi,
I have now really confused my self over what 'calorie deficit' is?
My calorie limit is set at 1200, my job is sedentary but I exercise most days, burning 600+ calories, I only ever eat back about 50% of these but I do eat my full 1200 allocation?
Should I be eating less than the 1200 calories if I don't exercise to create the deficit or has MFP already set 1200 to include a calorie deficit??
Help!!
I have now really confused my self over what 'calorie deficit' is?
My calorie limit is set at 1200, my job is sedentary but I exercise most days, burning 600+ calories, I only ever eat back about 50% of these but I do eat my full 1200 allocation?
Should I be eating less than the 1200 calories if I don't exercise to create the deficit or has MFP already set 1200 to include a calorie deficit??
Help!!
2
Replies
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MFP has already set you at a deficit. MFP is designed for you to eat the calorie goal and, if you exercise on top of that, to eat the calories burnt through exercise. So you should be eating 1,200 plus at least a portion of your exercise calories. If you don't exercise, just eat the 1,200.9
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The calorie deficit is already there. Eat your 1200 calories PLUS some of your exercise calories.4
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Hi,
I have now really confused my self over what 'calorie deficit' is?
My calorie limit is set at 1200, my job is sedentary but I exercise most days, burning 600+ calories, I only ever eat back about 50% of these but I do eat my full 1200 allocation?
Should I be eating less than the 1200 calories if I don't exercise to create the deficit or has MFP already set 1200 to include a calorie deficit??
Help!!
1200 is your deficit already...1200 is not a maintenance level of calories. You put your info into the calculator and state your rate of loss goal and the calculator calculates your calorie GOAL for weight loss...2 -
You should be eating 1800 calories (1200+600) MFP already takes your BMR into account to give you a calorie deficit of about 500 calories per day.1
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Thanks guys, I was panicking there as I often still feel hungry on 1200 (weirdly more hungry on the non exercise days). Really appreciate your comments x1
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Thanks guys, I was panicking there as I often still feel hungry on 1200 (weirdly more hungry on the non exercise days). Really appreciate your comments x
Yep, if you eat 1,200 and truly are burning 600 in a day through exercise, then your body is having to run all essential functions and other activity on just 600 calories a day. This isn't enough!3 -
Your calorie goal from MFP already includes the deficit based on the rate of weight loss you chose when setting up so you should be eating the full 1200 + whatever percentage of your exercise calories you think is accurate.
The way MFP calculates your goal is NEAT - Deficit + exercise calories.
Your NEAT is your calorie burn from normal activity without purposeful exercise, i.e. work/home life and is determined by your gender, age, height, weight and activity level.
The deficit is calculated based on the pounds/kg per week weight loss rate you've chosen, example if you've chose 1lb per week loss - 1lb of fat is equivalent to 3500 calories, that is divided by 7 to give you a daily deficit of 500 calories per day.
Your calorie goal from MFP doesn't factor in purposeful exercise so any calories burned through exercise can then be added to the calorie goal. Eating 50% of these is a good starting point for around a month, after which you will be able to determine accuracy by reviewing your weight loss (losing more than expected = eat more exercise calories, losing less than expected = eat less exercise calories).5 -
My calorie limit is set at 1200, my job is sedentary but I exercise most days, burning 600+ calories, I only ever eat back about 50% of these but I do eat my full 1200 allocation?
On Mondays, you get to eat 10 % of your 1,200 calories, on Tuesdays you can have 20 %, Wednesdays you get none and have to dress up like a mime, but Thursday you get to binge.
No I'm just kidding. You'll read a lot of dumb rules on the internet, you should ignore the ones that don't make any sense.
Those 1,200 calories are your goal. You're supposed to eat all of them.
If you think you burned 600 calories exercising, you should eat all of them, too.
After several weeks, with good logging, you go back and check the numbers and adjust if necessary. That's how you succeed over the long term.
You shouldn't just take random numbers away. If you feel like 600 isn't accurate, subtracting some random number is going to make it even less accurate. You want more accurate instead, so just give it time.6 -
Do this as an experiment.
Put your current stats in but set your weight loss goals to maintain and see how many calories it gives you.
Then set up your weight loss goals. Now it should be 500 less per day for a 1 lb a week loss, but it will not go below 1200, so if maintenance is 1600 and you put in a goal of 1 lb per week, MFP will not give you the expected 1100 but will give you 1200. If you are trying for more than a 1 lb per week loss, rethink this unless you have a lot to lose (in which case you would be above 1200).
Hopefully, by seeing the results you will understand what your numbers mean and that the deficit to lose weight is included in the 1200.
Eat 1200 as a minimum. If you exercise, eat at least 1/2 of those calories back, so eat more than 1200 those days.1 -
what is your age/height/current weight/goal weight? 1200 might be too aggressive for your goals0
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I would recommend using a TDEE calculator (https://tdeecalculator.net/) and going from that and ignoring everything else that MFP has to say about workout calories, etc. Knowing your estimated BMR (what you burn just by existing) and TDEE (your BMR + activity) is what is going to help you.
It is very hard to quantify what you burn in workouts. I'd say cardio machines give a fair estimate, but it always depends on your weight, etc. Weight training is nearly impossible to actually quantify, but let's face it, it burns a lot if you're doing a good amount of it.
Set a caloric goal that is not too low and not too high, and don't account for your workout calories because eating them back likely will cause you to overeat as it does for many. Yes it is important to refuel (I'll get to that), but one mistake a lot of people make is they go "Oh well I ate 1800 calories today, but I ran 3 miles so I burned around 350 calories, so I can eat those back!".. yes if you're training intensely I'd agree with this, but if you're purely going for weight loss, I wouldn't TRY to eat those calories back until you know you're absolutely starving. It leads to a dark path of overeating. I've been there.
1200 calories is very low for anyone... especially trying to sustain that for 7 days straight. If you exercise 3-5 days a week, I'd up it to 1700 MINIMUM honestly and do that for a few weeks. One thing to keep in mind is you might have a goal each day but find yourself eating more towards the end of the weeks because you're trying to refuel yourself--that is okay--keep a 7 day schedule of calories (Sunday to Saturday, 7 days total = x). You might have a goal of 1,700 per day, so x 7 = 11900 per week, but you might go over that if on Friday say, you go out and have a few drinks, or eat out Saturday and your total 7 days comes out to 14000... that's still 2000 per day (average) and that's really good + you of course burned from exercise. This is pretty normal for most people I know who track calories. I guarantee you still see results at this if you're honest about your counting.
Maybe on a day you don't workout eat less, but still, 1200 is very aggressive for ANYONE. Once you starve yourself youmay end up binging or relapsing into a spiral of snacking. Once again, I've done this, trial and error, I've found higher caloric limits daily lessened this.
You're likely more hungry on non-workout days because you worked out the day before. If you're honestly burning 600+ calories from workouts each day (I'm assuming you know this from running GPS trackers/cardio machines) then I would up the calories to 1700-1800 minimum. If you find yourself sluggish, add 100-200 more. It all comes down to how honest you are about what you're burning and counting.
TL;DR:
- Don't rely on MFP calculators, use a BMR/TDEE (Google top 2 hits) and use that to find your goals and learn about BMR/TDEE.
- Don't count workout calories into your daily goals. If you have a goal of 1200, make that your goal, not 1200 + whatever I burned from the gym. In fact, the same principle of just upping calories per day is the same thing. If you're burning 400-600 a day in the gym, just add it to your normal intake because 1200 is low. Now you're at 1600-1800 a day and that is still incredibly good for burning fat. Now you have enough fuel for those workouts.
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hansklamp2112 wrote: »I would recommend using a TDEE calculator (https://tdeecalculator.net/) and going from that and ignoring everything else that MFP has to say about workout calories, etc. Knowing your estimated BMR (what you burn just by existing) and TDEE (your BMR + activity) is what is going to help you.
This absolutely does not work for me. My activity level and exercise is not consistent enough for me to be able to rely on a TDEE calculator. I need to work more with the system MFP uses to allow for the variability from week to week on what I do.
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hansklamp2112 wrote: »I would recommend using a TDEE calculator (https://tdeecalculator.net/) and going from that and ignoring everything else that MFP has to say about workout calories, etc. Knowing your estimated BMR (what you burn just by existing) and TDEE (your BMR + activity) is what is going to help you.
It is very hard to quantify what you burn in workouts.
This boils down to "you can't figure out how many calories you burn in 30 minutes, so guess how many you burn over 7 days and then eat according to that." Terrible advice.
Some people find a weekly goal useful for various reasons, like consistency, but multiplying error is not one of those reasons.6 -
Tacklewasher wrote: »hansklamp2112 wrote: »I would recommend using a TDEE calculator (https://tdeecalculator.net/) and going from that and ignoring everything else that MFP has to say about workout calories, etc. Knowing your estimated BMR (what you burn just by existing) and TDEE (your BMR + activity) is what is going to help you.
This absolutely does not work for me. My activity level and exercise is not consistent enough for me to be able to rely on a TDEE calculator. I need to work more with the system MFP uses to allow for the variability from week to week on what I do.
This^
TDEE is great when you know your exercise will be consistent, but it's not the best choice for everyone.5 -
NorthCascades wrote: »
First off, using the calculations by MFP is the SAME EXACT THING except it does not give any information on why--where most calculators give an explanation as to the background of BMR and TDEE. You claim terrible advice yet I've given this advice to people I know in person and used it myself and have seen incredible results. A TDEE calculator gives you your BMR and TDEE.hansklamp2112 wrote: »I would recommend using a TDEE calculator (https://tdeecalculator.net/) and going from that and ignoring everything else that MFP has to say about workout calories, etc. Knowing your estimated BMR (what you burn just by existing) and TDEE (your BMR + activity) is what is going to help you.
It is very hard to quantify what you burn in workouts.
Anyone who says a BMR/TDEE calculator is terrible advice is likely not in shape and that is what I am willing to bet here. You use the calculator as a STARTING point. Any respectable weight loss/bodybuilding/athletic performance/weight training community online will tell you to start with a BMR/TDEE calculator. Nobody ever lost weight consistently by doing the same thing forever... things change... when you lose weight that means your BMR is lower so you'll need to compensate by eating less or working out more. So for those saying it doesn't work for those who aren't consistent, you need to be ready to re-assess after you noticed stalls in progress.
For others, if your exercise is not consistent, then you aren't doing it right. Everybody wants to be fit but doesn't want to put the work in. A TDEE calculator for the purposes of showing your BMR does not bet on you doing the same workouts 5 days a week.. it uses your personal specs to find a give or take margin on what you likely are burning... after that, it's up to you to track and watch progress. It's pretty incredible you'd come here to nay say this advice to a person asking, when TDEE calculators have been proven TIME AND TIME again to be excellent starting resources for people. You pick something and you stick with it for 8 weeks... changing your caloric expectations week by week means you will never be able to adequately find your actual CALORIC maintenance.
I feel bad for some of the people who ask for advice here as they tend to get responses like "Oh TDEE doesn't work" or "Terrible advice"... coming from people who have no clue what tracking nutrition and progress really is like other than "Oh look I logged my calories today, yay!" Then they move on and never look at the data again.
Take it from someone who has a spreadsheet with almost a year of data having used a TDEE calculator and testifying as to how incredibly accurate it was from the beginning... yes it's not infallible, but NOTHING is when it comes to weight loss because we're all individuals and do different things. If you can't find success by starting with a TDEE calculator and tracking 8 weeks if intake, then you are 1) lazy 2) overeating 3) dishonest with your diet 4) you put that you workout heavy when all you do is go in and throw a few free weights around and jog .5 miles before going home.
Please stop saying this advice is terrible with literally nothing to base it off of... there is a reason these calculators exist.
A personal example: May 2016 through September 2016 I tracked every calorie I ate daily and at the end, look at every single week total and compared it to what the TDEE calculator told me and it was within ~750 give or take almost to perfection on maintenance as I hadn't lost any weight, but was aiming to eat around maintenance for performance reasons. This means after actually correctly using the tools provided to me and CORRECTLY tracking my intake, I was able to show that the TDEE calculator is pretty accurate.0 -
hansklamp2112 wrote: »NorthCascades wrote: »hansklamp2112 wrote: »I would recommend using a TDEE calculator (https://tdeecalculator.net/) and going from that and ignoring everything else that MFP has to say about workout calories, etc. Knowing your estimated BMR (what you burn just by existing) and TDEE (your BMR + activity) is what is going to help you.
It is very hard to quantify what you burn in workouts.
This boils down to "you can't figure out how many calories you burn in 30 minutes, so guess how many you burn over 7 days and then eat according to that." Terrible advice.
Some people find a weekly goal useful for various reasons, like consistency, but multiplying error is not one of those reasons.
First off, using the calculations by MFP is the SAME EXACT THING except it does not give any information on why--where most calculators give an explanation as to the background of BMR and TDEE. You claim terrible advice yet I've given this advice to people I know in person and used it myself and have seen incredible results. A TDEE calculator gives you your BMR and TDEE.
Anyone who says a BMR/TDEE calculator is terrible advice is likely not in shape and that is what I am willing to bet here. You use the calculator as a STARTING point. Any respectable weight loss/bodybuilding/athletic performance/weight training community online will tell you to start with a BMR/TDEE calculator. Nobody ever lost weight consistently by doing the same thing forever... things change... when you lose weight that means your BMR is lower so you'll need to compensate by eating less or working out more. So for those saying it doesn't work for those who aren't consistent, you need to be ready to re-assess after you noticed stalls in progress.
For others, if your exercise is not consistent, then you aren't doing it right. Everybody wants to be fit but doesn't want to put the work in. A TDEE calculator for the purposes of showing your BMR does not bet on you doing the same workouts 5 days a week.. it uses your personal specs to find a give or take margin on what you likely are burning... after that, it's up to you to track and watch progress. It's pretty incredible you'd come here to nay say this advice to a person asking, when TDEE calculators have been proven TIME AND TIME again to be excellent starting resources for people. You pick something and you stick with it for 8 weeks... changing your caloric expectations week by week means you will never be able to adequately find your actual CALORIC maintenance.
I feel bad for some of the people who ask for advice here as they tend to get responses like "Oh TDEE doesn't work" or "Terrible advice"... coming from people who have no clue what tracking nutrition and progress really is like other than "Oh look I logged my calories today, yay!" Then they move on and never look at the data again.
Take it from someone who has a spreadsheet with almost a year of data having used a TDEE calculator and testifying as to how incredibly accurate it was from the beginning... yes it's not infallible, but NOTHING is when it comes to weight loss because we're all individuals and do different things. If you can't find success by starting with a TDEE calculator and tracking 8 weeks if intake, then you are 1) lazy 2) overeating 3) dishonest with your diet 4) you put that you workout heavy when all you do is go in and throw a few free weights around and jog .5 miles before going home.
Please stop saying this advice is terrible with literally nothing to base it off of... there is a reason these calculators exist.
A personal example: May 2016 through September 2016 I tracked every calorie I ate daily and at the end, look at every single week total and compared it to what the TDEE calculator told me and it was within ~750 give or take almost to perfection on maintenance as I hadn't lost any weight, but was aiming to eat around maintenance for performance reasons. This means after actually correctly using the tools provided to me and CORRECTLY tracking my intake, I was able to show that the TDEE calculator is pretty accurate.
Literally nobody in this thread has said that TDEE doesn't work. The claim that is being made is that it can be easier for some people (especially those with variable amounts of exercise) to use NEAT. They're two paths to the same destination, the point is for people to use that which they find easier to manage.
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I see the judgers are out in full force today.
Why can't people realize the very simple truth that different individuals have different goals for both weight loss and fitness, and stop spouting this crap that they way they do it is the right way and if you don't do what they say, then your not into fitness or whatever the hell their judgement is today.
So above having to get 10K steps, we have to use TDEE and if we aren't doing the same routine we are not fit.
Guess it's time to start using the ignore function.
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hansklamp2112 wrote: »Anyone who says a BMR/TDEE calculator is terrible advice is likely not in shape
So I point out that your advice is bad because of obvious math, and you reply by insulting me even though you have no idea what you're talking about. That says everything anyone needs to know about your credibility.
PS - I do about 100 miles a week on a gravel road bike.10 -
The entire point of me sharing that was to show the alternate route from the MFP calculator to help someone better educate themselves on deficit and the what to WHY.
So to sit and say "why can't people realize that there are different individuals with different goals" while your nearby patron is doing exactly the opposite of that by claiming terrible advice with no basis, is pretty ridiculous.
You point out my advice is bad because of "obvious" math, yet you still have yet to claim what is so obvious about it other than saying "obvious math"
100 miles a week on a bike doesn't mean you have a solid understanding of steps that may help someone understand their deficits by using a BMR/TDEE calc and learning what the driving forces are behind weight loss. OP asked questions about their daily caloric intake, their exercise, and how they should compensate. Oh my gosh! That's what the BMR/TDEE calculator and information is for! To help you figure that out! To inform yourself on terms like: caloric maintenance, caloric deficit, daily expenditure, etc.
The MFP calculator does not give rhyme or reason outside of you telling it what you wanna lose and HOPING that it is right... the BMR/TDEE calculator at least tells you about how your body burns daily, what you likely burn based on exercise, and you use that information to start there. The point is MFP takes your workout calories into account and the BMR/TDEE calculator gives you the option to not do so, so that you're made very well aware as to WHY you have chosen that number.
Yet you come to say that is terrible advice.. you're literally robbing OP of some great information by instilling doubt in her because you ride a bike on gravel. Incredibly noble of you to state someone's advice is terrible, yet something tells me, you've never even tried it.0 -
@hansklamp2112 the first rule of holes is when you find yourself in one, stop digging.13
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or why don't you just read about how MFP calculates calorie recommendations and how it works, rather than telling others who have been around a long time that they are wrong?
MFP figures out your calorie requirements (without purposeful activity) based on activity level and then you factor in those calories - which works better for people who don't have a set workout plan each week, or a highly variable one
(and as a note, personally, I do use TDEE, but I'm not going to tell others they are wrong when they know what they are talking about, I just found what works for me, because my exercise is consistent)4 -
hansklamp2112 wrote: »NorthCascades wrote: »@hansklamp2112 the first rule of holes is when you find yourself in one, stop digging.
Oh look, another minimalist, no-content response. First rule of getting in a constructive discussion: actually have some basis and not just send a one sentence response that is completely ignoring the previous post. It shows your lack of knowledge on the subject.
Refer to my first post, when it was constructively put together to provide helpful advice. Look at your immediate post after, attacking me for providing OP advice without giving ANY constructive response.
Well done, you look like a clown.
no, he was saying what works for you, doesn't work for everyone...to which you basically said anyone who doesn't use TDEE isn't fit...4 -
deannalfisher wrote: »or why don't you just read about how MFP calculates calorie recommendations and how it works, rather than telling others who have been around a long time that they are wrong?
MFP figures out your calorie requirements (without purposeful activity) based on activity level and then you factor in those calories - which works better for people who don't have a set workout plan each week, or a highly variable one
(and as a note, personally, I do use TDEE, but I'm not going to tell others they are wrong when they know what they are talking about, I just found what works for me, because my exercise is consistent)
From OP's post, it sounds like her workouts are consistent too... thus solidifying, even further, that a TDEE calculator would likely benefit her. And the entire point was to push the idea of negating letting MFP tell you to eat more because you worked out that day. This literally could not be made any clearer. If people would re-read OP's first post, identify the questions, and see the response, they'd likely understand why this is very suitable advice. She is welcome to take or leave it. That's what we call free will, it's amazing.
P.S. I said whoever says it is terrible advice* there is a difference... I lost a lot of weight without a TDEE calculator at one point, and at a certain point I had to turn to other tools when I stalled and figure out more information on how/why. I wish I had known from the beginning, which is what I am offering here.. Additionally, what I am saying is, someone who actually has the audacity to say it is terrible advice, likely has never adequately tracked nutrition, thus, makes me question them and their statement when any other respectable forum on the internet will likely offer the same response of "try a BMR/TDEE calc, don't eat your workout cals unless you are really needing them to perform."
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most days and 600+ calories doesn't give you a lot of context - as compared to saying I do spin MWF, swim TTh etc - different workouts will have a huge variability in amount of calories and honestly 600+ seems really high for a good portion - since that would close to cycling 2hrs for me at 16mph, or swimming for 4000+yds - so I would guess overestimating at best
...plenty of us have given her guidance based on how MFP comes up with calorie recommendations3 -
@Charabz69
Are you still confused with how MFP works and how much you should be eating, or do you have more questions? Ignore the sidetrack, but if there is more you need help with, please ask.5 -
Little confused myself. I did the last 4 weeks at 1700-1800 mostly and work out 6 days a week for 1 hr+ Lost 2 pounds but assuming some fat was replaced with muscle. I sit on my butt all day at work so I reset mfp to non active and it has me at 1680 or something like that.
So if I'm nocking off 500+ calories a workout I should eat where I was at 1800 area to be safe?
Figure this out eventually haha0 -
have you actually read about how MFP determines calories - because unless you have done that, your advice is less than useful
https://myfitnesspal.desk.com/customer/en/portal/articles/410332-how-does-myfitnesspal-calculate-my-initial-goals-
TDEE is only as good as your estimations and work outs (i.e. If I say that I am moderately active and yet for one week am only lightly active, or vice versa, heavily active) - then my TDEE will change since my daily energy expenditure has changed - so its not a one size fits all equation2 -
hansklamp2112 wrote: »However, I couldn't stand by and let someone mindlessly shout "terrible advice" on something that is based on the formulas put together by people with actual educations and scientific backgrounds on the subject matter.
The formulae behind this stuff is fine, it's your terrible advice about how to misapply them that's a problem here. If you can't stand being called out for giving bad advice, then stop giving bad advice. And, when you can't do that, don't assume that anybody who disagrees with you is in poor physical condition. You were wrong, but that's ok, we're all wrong sometimes, it's how we deal with it.6 -
If you're doing your calculations correctly, the TDEE one and the MFP+Exercise will be the same.
I'm thinking if you are using a tool (THIS tool, MFP,) why not try it? All the calculators are in the end based on a generalized algorithm, and each user is going to have some variance. No way to get it absolutely 100% correct.
Unfortunately, this argument just confuses people.
Let it go, @hansklamp2112 - if you want to use TDEE then do it, but that is not the method MFP uses, and I prefer MFP's calculations (based on the Mifflin St Jeor calculator - look it up if you want to see the numbers in action.)
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In before the lock?2
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