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Learning Caloric Deficit

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irahoremore
irahoremore Posts: 10 Member
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Hi,I'm new here but I am a 23 year old female, 5'2 124lbs, I've been hearing about caloric deficit a lot to help with weight loss and I am not really educated to understand and I'm confused about it, I eat about 1400 cal a day and burn about 700 cal daily, should I consume 1400 cal or 2100 cal?... Thank you in advance!

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  • Grace_spaceship
    Grace_spaceship Posts: 80 Member
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    A calorie is a unit of energy. Calories are what the body uses to power itself. Calories come from food. If you consume more calories than you use the body will store it as fat, to save it for when you need it. If you consume fewer calories than you burn your body will convert stored fat into usable calories. Weight loss is basically using more calories than you consume (caloric deficit). Everyones needs are different. How active are you? How much do you want to lose and how quickly? How are you calculating the 700cal you burn? Is that included in you lifestyle or is it exercise? You should be eating back at least some exercise calories. The best way to tell is to track carefully and see if you lose or gain or stay the same, and adjust as necessary. Hopefully my explanation is helpful!
  • age_is_just_a_number
    age_is_just_a_number Posts: 630 Member
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    Welcome!!!
    Congratulations for taking your first steps toward a healthier you.

    You’ve found a great app and community to improve or maintain your health and fitness.

    The 700 calories spent seems low. You should do some reading on how to calculate your basal metabolic rate (BMR) and your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE).
    If you set up your MFP goals, the MFP will calculate your intake based on your goals

    I also like this calculator https://legionathletics.com/tdee-calculator/

    Weight loss should be slow and steady. Try this approach:
    - make a small sustainable change eg., if you like to drink pop, then switch that out for water or sparkling water with lemon or lime in it.
    - Once you’ve adjusted to that change then make another small sustainable change eg., if you like to eat rice, switch that out for brown rice
    - Track what you eat
    - Monitor your macros
    - Monitor your metrics (weight and measurements)
    - Then adjust as needed
    - As you lose weight, your body is going to change, not only in appearance, but also in how it reacts to different foods.

    You’ve made a fantastic first step by logging into MFP.

    We are all here to support each other.

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