SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP!

inufan4evar
inufan4evar Posts: 73 Member
edited October 4 in Health and Weight Loss
Ok so im very confused about what calorie deficit is and what it means? I have NO IDEA how much i am supposed to actually be eating and how much i should actually be burning in a day to help me lose weight. Can somebody please explain this to me and help me figure out how much i should be eating a day and what i should be burning a day. Thank you :D

Replies

  • Robyn_T
    Robyn_T Posts: 540 Member
    MFP already calculates the deficit based on your current weight and what you indicated you wanted to lose per week (1-2 lbs. per week? Half pound per week?). Whatever calories that they say you can eat is what you can eat, already calculating out the deficit. You don't have to worry about it. They did for you.

    The deficit is simply how many calories you should cut from your calorie intake to lose weight based on your weekly loss goal. I think 3500 calories equal one pound of body fat.
  • txcraftr
    txcraftr Posts: 133 Member
    Go to tools and find out what you BMI and BMR are. It tells you how to do it. Then set your goals for how many pounds you want to lose in a week, only goes to 2, and then it will tell you how many to eat to lose X number of pounds. Hope this helps. I'm pretty new here too.
  • karinaes
    karinaes Posts: 570 Member
    and remember ...it's not just about cutting calories but knowing which ones to cut. high sodium/saturated & trans fats/ high sugar ...etc, won't help you lose too much weight
  • riccoismydog
    riccoismydog Posts: 319 Member
    ^^^^
    Do all that stuff. And realize, that if you are little, I don't know how little, but in my case I can only set to lose 0.8 lbs per week. Thats because it will not let you go below 1200 calories per day. Some people will say thats to keep you from entering starvation mode. Being 5'2, I think I could eat less before I hit starvation mode. It is however really hard to get proper nutrition unless you eat 1200 a day. Your exercise calories can either give you extra calories to eat, or if you choose, you may eat only some of them. It depends on your goal. I am pretty sedentary when I don't exercise, so I don't always eat mine back. If your goal is to improve strength or really increase fitness, you want to eat some or all of them back. Thats a personal decision. You won't die if you don't, if your hungry, eat them up!

    If your a bigger person, either in weight or height, it may even give you more than 1200. If thats the case eat them all. You can stilll decide what to do with your workout calories.

    As you log your weight loss it may change your amounts. You can go in and manually change things if you have a dietician or a friend or someone who is telling you what to eat....

    I hope this helps. It's pretty much pre programmed. It should tell you how much weight you are going to lose when you hit submit your diary at the end of the day. If you didn't eat enough it will give you a lecture in tiny letters that I never noticed until yesterday......
  • nedbun
    nedbun Posts: 36 Member
    As others have mentioned, MyFitnessPal automatically calculates how much you can eat per day based on the information you've put into your profile.

    The important thing to realize is that your body is always burning calories. Whether you're sleeping, walking, standing still, blinking, or sitting, you're burning calories. Think of it like a car. Your car needs gas to stay on even if you're sitting at a red light idling. Similarly, your body needs calories to stay alive on a daily basis, which is why you need to intake calories as "fuel."

    In order to lose weight your total intake of calories needs to be less than what your body is burning off (including the calories your body needs just for you to get out of bed in the morning). This creates a deficit in calories, which in turn leads to weight loss. This doesn't mean that you need to starve yourself. Eating too few calories actually causes loss of weight to be more difficult because your body has a natural tendency to hold on to nutrition when it is sparse for survival. The best thing to do is find the best balance for your body based on how much you are exercising and how your body feels day to day. MyFitnessPal provides that intake limit (both minimum and maximum) for you so that you are getting as much intake as you need daily without causing your body to react negatively.

    It's important to pay close attention to the types of foods you're eating, but I have found that small steps in the right direction are best to help stick to your plan. Use your first few days/weeks to monitor your eating habits and use the data from this site to see where you can make improvements. Keep in mind that your body doesn't like drastic changes, so take it one step at a time, be patient with yourself and I guarantee you'll see results.

    I hope that makes sense!
  • Pudgmuffin
    Pudgmuffin Posts: 3 Member
    Calorie deficit means that you are not consuming the recommended amount of calories below your basic metabolic needs. The problem with consuming too few calories is that your body goes into starvation mode. When this occurs everything you eat is stored as fat. Essentially, what occurs is that your body becomes "afraid" that there will not be a sufficient amount of calories to survive to it stores everything as fat so that there will be enought in case that there will be "no calories tomorrow." It is a defense mechanism against starvation. Obviously, this can be overcome because people can and do starve. However, it is also why eating only once a day causes people to gain weight while people who eat 4-5 small meals a day, and consume the same amount of calories as the once-per-day eaters, will lose weight. You have to eat to lose weight. The trick is to eat the correct amount of calories in the correct proportion.

    A quick way to be in the "ball park" of how many calories you should be eating, calculate your ideal body weight and multiply by 10. Ideal body weight is calculated by different methods, but again, to be in the ball park:

    For men: 50 + (2.3 x [height in inches - 60]) = wt in kg
    For women 45.5 + (2.3 x [height in inches - 60]) = wt. in kg

    To convert from kg to lbs: Multiply wt in kg by 2.2

    An example:

    A 5 ft 10 inch male should weigh: 50 + (2.3 x [70-60]) = 73 kg x 2.2 = 160.6 lbs. This person should consume approximately 1600 calories per day.

    Another trick to get the right balance of carbohydrates, fats and proteins. The automatic tool for this application is pretty good. Even if you put in your current weight and your weight loss goal (how much you want to lose), you will probably be consuming fewer calories than you are currently. You should aim to lose around one pound per week. Any more than this you begin to lose muscle instead of fat, which is not healthy.

    As far as exercise, that will depend upon your age, physical ability, and any underlying medical conditions.

    Before beginning any diet and exercise program, you should have a check up with your physician and a frank discussion about your weight, weight loss goals and planned diet.

    I hope that you have found this helpful and wish you best of luck!
  • inufan4evar
    inufan4evar Posts: 73 Member
    Ok i just checked it and it said tht My daily goal is 1200 and my calorie deficit is 850. And my calories burned/ week is 830 calories/ week. So does that mean that i eat 1200 calories in a day or only 850????
  • inufan4evar
    inufan4evar Posts: 73 Member
    Ok i just checked it and it said tht My daily goal is 1200 and my calorie deficit is 850. And my calories burned/ week is 830 calories/ week. So does that mean that i eat 1200 calories in a day or only 850????
  • MelDarni
    MelDarni Posts: 14
    You eat 1200 calories a day.
  • brandiuntz
    brandiuntz Posts: 2,717 Member
    Read this thread. Explains how MFP works very well.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/6556-the-answers-to-the-questions
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