I'm supposed to eat less than I burn for weight loss? I just read that and I am super confused?

Lechacon2016
Lechacon2016 Posts: 19 Member
in Getting Started
I was homeschooled and I was not raised in a healthy home. I was never taught how to properly exercise. I've been burning any where from 150-400 calories a day walking and doing 8fit exercises and eating 1400 calories a day. I'm so confused

Replies

  • Lechacon2016
    Lechacon2016 Posts: 19 Member
    Okay now I understand! That is a huge help thank you!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Lechacon2016 wrote: »
    I was homeschooled and I was not raised in a healthy home. I was never taught how to properly exercise. I've been burning any where from 150-400 calories a day walking and doing 8fit exercises and eating 1400 calories a day. I'm so confused

    You burn calories 24/7, not just through exercise...the vast majority of your calorie requirements are a result of you merely existing...for example, I "burn" 1700-1800 calories simply by existing...I "burn" more going about my day to day stuff...and then finally exercise. In total I "burn" around 2800-3000 calories per day...so if I eat 2300-2500 calories per day I am eating less than I burn...ie I'm in a calorie deficit.
  • Lechacon2016
    Lechacon2016 Posts: 19 Member
    So, now I'm wondering if perhaps I'm eating too many calories. I'm a stay at home mom and I do very basic activity. Light housework in a one bedroom apartment. I walk 30 minutes once a day every day and then 4 days out of the week I've been doing the 8fit Full Body workouts for 9-10 minutes. I may bump my calorie goal down to 1200 this coming week and see where that takes me. Thank you both for your insight!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Lechacon2016 wrote: »
    So, now I'm wondering if perhaps I'm eating too many calories. I'm a stay at home mom and I do very basic activity. Light housework in a one bedroom apartment. I walk 30 minutes once a day every day and then 4 days out of the week I've been doing the 8fit Full Body workouts for 9-10 minutes. I may bump my calorie goal down to 1200 this coming week and see where that takes me. Thank you both for your insight!

    I would say the vast majority of women can lose on 1400...personally I'd keep it there for now and make sure you're logging as accurate as possible and adjust from there...at 1200 you are on the floor with nowhere else to really go if/when you hit a plateau.

    My wife is 5'2" and she has a desk job and then comes home and chases 2 boys around the house (3 if you include me) and she loses on around 1800 with no problem...granted she's a runner and lifts once per week, but I'd say most women can lose on 1400 calories unless they're just completely sedentary or really short or old.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
    I'm 5'3. My base to lose 1 lb/week with no exercise is 1380.
  • 4legsRbetterthan2
    4legsRbetterthan2 Posts: 19,590 MFP Moderator
    When I was trying to learn all this I found this post very helpful

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

    I admit I had to read it a few times to fully digest it, but it is really worth the investment when you have time, in my opinion.

    Best wishes ~
  • lalepepper
    lalepepper Posts: 447 Member
    When they use the term burn, it includes both intentional calories like exercise AND the calories it takes to keep you alive, like your baseline activity, organ function, etc. Even laying in bed all day we will need a decent amount of calories. The heavier we are, the more calories it takes to meet our basic bodily functions. We call this amount our Baseline Metabolic Rate, or BMR. People also refer commonly to TDEE, or total daily energy expenditure. This refers to an average daily burn based on your typical activity level and is a better indicator of how much you can really expect to burn compared to BMR.
  • Garth1103
    Garth1103 Posts: 2 Member
    Look everyone said it all so now u must find out what your BMR is . You can google it cause there online calculators to help you with that. Try not to eat less calories than what your BMR is and rather be more active to burn calories. Its more healthier that way. Good luck and wish you all the best
  • trjjoy
    trjjoy Posts: 666 Member
    A woman of average size and height will take quite some time to lose weight on 1400 calories a day. I'm that woman. So 1200 calories for someone who is around 5" 3 and who weighs around 140lb is more than enough. Someone shorter and/or thinner than that will take forever to lose weight on 1200 calories.

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