Calorie deficit?

Christi1421
Christi1421 Posts: 1 Member
in Getting Started
Can someone explain what calorie deficit is? The idea doesn't make sense to me.

I do not understand how I only eat 1300 a day and the Calories Burned / Week
1620 Calories?

Does this mean that I only have to burn 1620 calories a week or should I be burning this each day? Or is it just 202 calories per day?

It is very confusing and when I try to google it I only get app's to join no answers.

Help please...

Answers

  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,941 Member
    Hi Christi,

    welcome here.

    To answer your question properly we might need a bit more info from you. What are your current stats and what is your weekly weightloss goal? Where do those 1620 calories come from?

    Generally, on MFP you chose a weekly weightloss goal and based on your stats you get a number of calories to eat. If you eat this you'll lose weight. If you exercise a lot then you should log the exercise and eat the additional calories as well. The calorie deficit is the difference between the number of calories your body needs to neither gain nor lose weight, and the calorie number MFP has given you. With a deficit of 1620 calories per week you'll lose about half a pound per week (1lbs is 3500 calories less)
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    You require a certain number of calories (energy) to maintain the status quo. This is based on your stats (age, sex, weight, height) and your activity level. Most of the calories you burn are you just being alive (heart pumping, lungs working, digesting, brain activity, etc) and nothing more...this is your BMR calories. Assuming you do more than merely exist, you burn additional calories going about your daily stuff and additional calories through deliberate exercise.

    Using myself as an example...I burn somewhere around 1700-1800 calories just existing and nothing else. With my activity level and exercise as it stands right now, I burn an additional 800ish calories. So the calories I require to maintain are in the neighborhood of 2600 calories. Consuming fewer calories than I need to maintain is called being in a calorie deficit. So If I eat around 2100 calories per day, I'm in a 500 calorie per day deficit. This can change with increased or decreased activity...I'm being pretty lazy lately and my only real exercise is daily walks. Once the holidays are over I'll start working out more again and my maintenance calories will go up to around 3,000 calories so I'll be able to eat around 2500 calories for the same rate of loss target.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,416 Member
    For an even more in-depth explanation of how this site calculates your calories and your exercise, I'll post the link to their article. You'll find a nice explanation with all the back verification of sources:
    https://support.myfitnesspal.com/hc/en-us/articles/360032625391-How-does-MyFitnessPal-calculate-my-initial-goals-
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,982 Member
    Calorie deficit means you're consuming less calories than you burn in a day.

    So IF you're burning 2000 calories in a day and eating 1300 calories, then your calorie deficit (2000 - 1300) is 700 calories.

    If you find out what your TDEE is (total daily energy expenditure) and subtract 1300 calories from it, then you'll know what your calorie deficit is.

    You can estimate what your TDEE is online by answering questions on an app.

    https://fitnessvolt.com/tdee-calculator/?age=59&weight=195&unitstabs=imperial&gender=male&activity=1.55&height=67


    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,244 Member
    Each day you will be either in calorie deficit, calorie equilibrium, or calorie surplus.

    As explained above, your body requires fuel (calories) to go. You can get fuel from food, and you can also get some fuel from storage. If you eat fewer calories than you need for today, your body can access some fuel from storage. You are in calorie deficit. If you are in calorie deficit, you should lose fat mass.

    If you are trying to lose weight, you're actually trying to lose fat. There's many ways to set a daily target for your calories. You can use the one on MFP, but it does not include intentional exercise. You have to add that in. @ninerbuff shared a way to get an estimate of a daily calorie goal. Another is Sailrabbit. You can use this as your target and skip entering exercise if you find that easier and IF your activity is generally the same day-to-day. If you're trying to lose weight, your daily calorie goal will keep you in deficit.

    I prefer to focus more on a weekly average than any given day. If I were trying to lose a half pound a week, I'd try to be in a 250 calorie per day deficit or a 1750 calorie per week deficit. I could get to the 1750 calorie per week deficit even if I didn't keep a 250 calorie deficit every day. Some days you may eat more and some less - just track and make sure you pay attention.

    Over time, as long as you log accurately and completely, you can see if your results match your expectations. Then you can adjust your daily calorie goal. Then as you lose weight, you'll also need to reset your goal because you will need fewer calories to fuel the smaller you.

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