Calories in vs. Calories out??

SleepMoveEatRepeat wrote: »

@NovusDies so you eat your exercised calories? Doesn't that show down weight loss?

it depends on which method you are using - if you are going by MFP's guided setup, choose an activity level that is accurate to your daily routine NOT INCLUDING purposeful exercise, then yes, you are expected to eat back your exercise calories. This is called the NEAT method.

If you are using the TDEE method, that is an all encompassing number that does include regular, purposeful exercise, so in this case, you'd set up 1 number and aim for it and would not include purposeful exercise because that's already built into the TDEE calculation.

I personally prefer to use the NEAT method because while I aim for purposeful exercise daily, it's not a rigid set routine and I get more some days than others, and some days I'm more active than others. So I prefer the NEAT method and add back any extra calories earned through deliberate exercise or activity outside my norm.

Look at it this way: if you are moving more, you are burning more calories to fuel that extra activity. If you want to maintain a certain weight loss rate that is safe and sensible for your stats, then if you increase calories out, you'll need to increase calories in to maintain the balance that you are shooting for, whether its to maintain or lose at a certain rate.


Calories In versus Calories Out is absolutely the only way to lose weight because this is not a diet but a mathematical formula based upon the physical mechanics of the human body. The thing that you need to get is that the human body is a dynamic system that is constantly changing throughout the day and no two humans are exactly the same in how their system operates - there is a range. Now there are limits on that range; two people with the exact same stats might differ some in their metabolic needs, but it's not going to be to the tune of thousands of calories, either. However, the formulas used to derive the numbers for CICO are based upon statistical averages for the average population; with the body constantly shifting in response to its environment, there is no way to get an exact precise number for any individual at all times because those needs are constantly changing - but those changes will be within a certain range, and that IS application to all people at all times; so you aren't really shooting for an exact number but an acceptable average that reflects the range that your body operates within.

Getting to a good average number that works for your body will result in success. The way to do that is have a starting point by using the generic formulas for TDEE or NEAT, then use the data gained over a few weeks to adjust that number up or down for your own unique system until you achieve the loss rate you desire.


I think where all this "a calorie isn't just a calorie" and "some calories have a different response from the body than others" is all being confused with what the body actually does with a calorie and what the body needs nutritionally. A calorie IS just a calorie - its a unit of energy, meanings its fuel and nothing more. However, what is ACCOMPANYING that calorie matters for satiation and performance, meaning that the quality of the medium that is providing that fuel is very important for efficient use of that calorie. If you aren't giving your body enough vitamins, minerals, etc that it needs to repair itself and function, its going to stimulate you to get those needs through hunger signals. That stimulus for more nutrition may result in you eating more calories because instead of eating foods rich in nutrients, you are eating foods that have less - thus you need more to meet the same nutrition.

It's not that a calorie isn't a calorie since a calorie is nothing more than a unit of energy, just like a gram is unit of mass measurement and it doesn't matter what you are weighing; 1g of grapes is 1g just like 1g of chocolate chips is 1g, but that there is a whole host of things that come into play in determining how much we eat, from our body's daily differentials to the nutritional content of our foods versus what our bodies need, to our own mental drives, desires, pleasures, etc. So while the formulation is sound science, like all things in the real world, its not easy to implement!

pridesabtch wrote: »

A little experiment I an working on for in June. I'm checking the math. I am comparing my actual weight loss to my projected weight loss. Measuring my TDEE on my Garmin, taking my intake from MFP. Calculating a deficit. Assuming 2000 cal per pound. Projected loss is 5.7 pounds, actual loss is 5.9 pounds.

Do you mean a deficit of 2000kcal is needed to lose a pound? I've always heard it's 3500 kcal per lb.

Thanks for the clarification.. Serves me right listening to others instead of doing the research. Anyway, it raised a red flag, and I found a huge discrepancy in the numbers.

heybales wrote: »

pridesabtch wrote: »

Thanks for the clarification.. Serves me right listening to others instead of doing the research. Anyway, it raised a red flag, and I found a huge discrepancy in the numbers.

You found Garmin's correct field for TDEE alright, since they don't use that term, and have several flakey figures starting with RMR?

What tracker do you prefer for getting your TDEE?

SleepMoveEatRepeat wrote: »

@NovusDies so you eat your exercised calories? Doesn't that show down weight loss?

@SleepMoveEatRepeat

It definitely slows down weight loss but it slows it back down to a manageable and healthy rate. There are days that if I didn't eat back exercise calories I would be netting zero calories which means I was basically fasting that day. Too many days of that or close to it and I would be extremely sick or my hunger would overwhelm me and I would binge.

pridesabtch wrote: »

heybales wrote: »

pridesabtch wrote: »

Thanks for the clarification.. Serves me right listening to others instead of doing the research. Anyway, it raised a red flag, and I found a huge discrepancy in the numbers.

You found Garmin's correct field for TDEE alright, since they don't use that term, and have several flakey figures starting with RMR?

What tracker do you prefer for getting your TDEE?

Garmin - since I have a FR310XT for workouts it makes the syncing of them easier into account with VF already handling the daily stuff.

I asked because another topic was touching on the GC app having some fields hidden by default and needing to enable them to get the desired TDEE figure, and online I'm not finding a nice report for that TDEE either. Have to visit each day to see it. Annoying for doing your own spreadsheet.