Calories

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gmreid8368
gmreid8368 Posts: 2 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Once I have determined my calories and I want to lose weight do I subtract 500 calories from my total calories

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  • gmreid8368
    gmreid8368 Posts: 2 Member
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    What does being promoted to premium mean
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    If by "determine your calories," you mean determining your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure), then yes. You will create a deficit based on that. If your body requires 2,000 calories a day to maintain your current weight, then consuming 1,500 calories a day will give you a deficit sufficient to lose one pound per week. It doesn't have to be 500 a day -- some people go lower and sometimes people even go higher if they have a lot of weight to lose.

    If you're using MFP to set your calorie goal and you tell MFP you want to lose weight, it will add the deficit for you based on your desired rate of weight loss.

    Premium just means that you're paying more for certain account features. MFP is free to use, but there are some features that are just for premium members.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    How are you "determining your calories"?

    If you are following the goal set up here then selecting the option to lose weight at a rate of 1lb / week will effectively take 500 cals / day off your calculated weight maintenance allowance (for a day with no exercise).

    Here's the Help text for more detail......
    https://support.myfitnesspal.com/hc/en-us/articles/360032625391-How-does-MyFitnessPal-calculate-my-initial-goals-
  • santini1975
    santini1975 Posts: 175 Member
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    It takes about 10 calories to sustain one pound of your body weight. So throw a zero at the end of your current weight to determine how many calories you need to eat just to stay the same.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    santini1975 wrote: »
    It takes about 10 calories to sustain one pound of your body weight. So throw a zero at the end of your current weight to determine how many calories you need to eat just to stay the same.

    This is way too generic to be useful. Old vs. young. Active vs. inactive.

    As a test I used 25 YO / 120 pounds / 5'5" / Active / I got 2,342 calories for maintenance.

    https://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
  • Jruzer
    Jruzer Posts: 3,501 Member
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    santini1975 wrote: »
    It takes about 10 calories to sustain one pound of your body weight. So throw a zero at the end of your current weight to determine how many calories you need to eat just to stay the same.

    I would starve myself doing this. I weigh ~155 lbs and eat ~2500 to maintain. 1500 kcal would be an unsustainable cut.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    santini1975 wrote: »
    It takes about 10 calories to sustain one pound of your body weight. So throw a zero at the end of your current weight to determine how many calories you need to eat just to stay the same.
    @santini1975

    At 168lbs I would be losing two to three pounds a week eating 1680cals, my maintenance for a non-exercise day is 2500 but as I do a lot of exercise my usual maintenance calories are commonly well over 3000 with many days well over 3500.

    Makes no sense at all to use such a vague and inaccurate method that completely ignores a person's activity and exercise when someone is using a site that gives a far more nuanced and personalised estimate.

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