Getting my head around the deficit

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elledo
elledo Posts: 80
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everyone, I've been losing weight slowly for about 2 years and have just this week joined up here because i felt that what i was doing was just too slow and frustrating.
My trainer has my BMR at 1700 and suggests that i eat 1500 cals, combined with 300-400 cal burn in the gym. This should put me at a 500-600 deficit.
When i put in all my details on MFP i come up with a 1450 daily limit, When i add my exercise, usually around 300 cals(conservatively) i can consume 1700 cals. There is no deficit here.
Is this correct? Who is right? I am working out 6 days a week. 3 x heavy weights sessions and 3x 45 cardio.
I am going to be really p***** off if i gain weight.

Replies

  • cgrout78
    cgrout78 Posts: 1,679 Member
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    If you are working out that much, there is no way eating 1700 calories is going to make you gain weight.
  • MattieJean21
    MattieJean21 Posts: 41
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    I read on here from another persons post that when you eat your exercise calories that you will "maintain" the weight. When you exercise and either don't eat any or eat very few of them back then you will lose weight. I get so confused with it all!
  • cgrout78
    cgrout78 Posts: 1,679 Member
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    Long post short...when you enter your stats in here...and say how much you want to lose, MFP figures out how many calories you need to eat to lose the amount you want. If you exercise and burn more calories you need to eat those calories and you will still lose weight. If you dont' eat your exercise calories you could slow down your weight loss and one of the other people can explain how that all works better than me.

    So eat all the calories you're supposed to and you'll lose weight.
  • calicanttakeit
    calicanttakeit Posts: 4
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    The math: BMR = calories needed per day to maintain current weight with no physical activity
    1 pound of fat is 3500 calories

    If your BMR is 1700 and you consume 1450 you'll be eating 250 calories less than needed daily (1700-1450). At that rate you'll lose a half pound a week (250*14=3500). If you burn an extra 250 calories through daily exercise and don't increase your caloric intake you should lose an extra half pound per week.

    But it can get tricky and can be person dependent: Some people respond badly to extreme calorie reduction. If you don't eat more on days you exercise you may suffer a lack of energy or your body may go into starvation mode and your metabolism plummet. Try it out! I lose weight faster at a slightly higher calorie level, probably because I have more energy and more protein to build muscle with.

    Good luck!
  • rockerbabyy
    rockerbabyy Posts: 2,258 Member
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    I read on here from another persons post that when you eat your exercise calories that you will "maintain" the weight. When you exercise and either don't eat any or eat very few of them back then you will lose weight. I get so confused with it all!
    thats not true - mfp already calculates a deficit for you without exercise, so youll lose if you just sit around all day and eat the # mfp says.
    when you exercise youre creating a bigger deficit which, in the long run, can cause problems.
    the only time i would tell someone not to eat their exercise calories is if they factored their exercises into their daily activity, or their doctor has them on a strict diet.
  • pratod
    pratod Posts: 68 Member
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    MFP sets your calories limit to be at a deficit right off the bat, even if you don't workout. If you look in your goals it will tell you what your personal deficit is. When you exercise, you increase the deficit even more because you're burning calories. MFP then gives you calories back to eat so that your deficit stays the same. For example

    I am eating 1400 a day. In a day without exercise I burn about 1900 calories. Thats an immediate 500 cal deficit.

    Say I exercise and burn 400 calories. 1400 food cals - 400 exercise cals = 1000 total calorie intake (too low) and 900 cal deficit (high!)

    So MFP will tell me to eat 1800 calories that day, that way I get 1800 food cals - 400 exercise cals = 1400 total cals and a deficit of 500.

    Make sense?
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    Hi everyone, I've been losing weight slowly for about 2 years and have just this week joined up here because i felt that what i was doing was just too slow and frustrating.
    My trainer has my BMR at 1700 and suggests that i eat 1500 cals, combined with 300-400 cal burn in the gym. This should put me at a 500-600 deficit.
    When i put in all my details on MFP i come up with a 1450 daily limit, When i add my exercise, usually around 300 cals(conservatively) i can consume 1700 cals. There is no deficit here.
    Is this correct? Who is right? I am working out 6 days a week. 3 x heavy weights sessions and 3x 45 cardio.
    I am going to be really p***** off if i gain weight.

    I don't know who is "right" - but just give it a try for a few weeks and you will find out what works for you. If you are losing weight faster or slower than you expect then you can change things around but until you've given it a good try you won't know heat is right for your body.

    And to correct a few inaccuracies: there IS a deficit here - MFP has built a deficit into your daily calorie allowance, based on the amount you what to lose.

    And the previous comment re eating exercise calories means you will maintain your weight is also incorrect. If you have set realistic goals and are accurately recording your food and exercise, then eating your daily NET calorie allowance (that means eating the cals MFP suggess, including those burnt from exercise) should result in you losing weight.
    You can go to your goal page to see the amount that you can eat to maintain.
  • hybridscientist
    hybridscientist Posts: 93 Member
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    I read on here from another persons post that when you eat your exercise calories that you will "maintain" the weight. When you exercise and either don't eat any or eat very few of them back then you will lose weight. I get so confused with it all!
    thats not true - mfp already calculates a deficit for you without exercise, so youll lose if you just sit around all day and eat the # mfp says.
    when you exercise youre creating a bigger deficit which, in the long run, can cause problems.
    the only time i would tell someone not to eat their exercise calories is if they factored their exercises into their daily activity, or their doctor has them on a strict diet.

    ^^ This!
  • elledo
    elledo Posts: 80
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    When i signed up, I selected 2 pounds loss per week, so according to those calculations, MFP is not correct? ahh this is confusing!
  • rockerbabyy
    rockerbabyy Posts: 2,258 Member
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    When i signed up, I selected 2 pounds loss per week, so according to those calculations, MFP is not correct? ahh this is confusing!
    mfps calculations are fine. but with the amount of weight you have to lose, i would set your goals to maybe 1 pound per week. 2 pounds is ok for people who have 75+ pounds to lose, but the closer you get to your goal weight the smaller your deficit should be.
    change your goal, eat what mfp tells you to.it works :)
  • elledo
    elledo Posts: 80
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    Ok scratch that. I'm going to keep going with what i have been doing (lol...all 3 days of it) and eat back about 2/3 of my exercise cals cos it's pretty comfortable. Will see how i go :) Oh and thanks for the input everyone!
  • HonkyTonks
    HonkyTonks Posts: 1,193 Member
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    Hi everyone, I've been losing weight slowly for about 2 years and have just this week joined up here because i felt that what i was doing was just too slow and frustrating.
    My trainer has my BMR at 1700 and suggests that i eat 1500 cals, combined with 300-400 cal burn in the gym. This should put me at a 500-600 deficit.
    When i put in all my details on MFP i come up with a 1450 daily limit, When i add my exercise, usually around 300 cals(conservatively) i can consume 1700 cals. There is no deficit here.
    Is this correct? Who is right? I am working out 6 days a week. 3 x heavy weights sessions and 3x 45 cardio.
    I am going to be really p***** off if i gain weight.

    Hang on.. your BMR at 1700? Or your TDEE? They are two different things. Your BMR is what you burn by simply EXISTING, your TDEE is your BMR x your activity level so basically the number of calories you'd burn in an average day. If your BMR is 1700, and you are sedentary, your TDEE is about 2040 cals, so to get a deficit of 500 calories, you would need to eat 1540 calories a day.. If you exercise, you need to eat those calories to get the same 500 calorie deficit.
  • sherrirb
    sherrirb Posts: 1,714 Member
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    Ok scratch that. I'm going to keep going with what i have been doing (lol...all 3 days of it) and eat back about 2/3 of my exercise cals cos it's pretty comfortable. Will see how i go :) Oh and thanks for the input everyone!

    It is important to eat your exercise calories back. If your deficit is too high, your body will react by going into starvation mode and you will stop losing weight altogether.

    The last poster was correct when she said that you have to also factor in your activity level. BMR is ONLY what your body uses by itself, if you were laying in a coma doing absolutely nothing but breathing, heart beating, and other body functions. Add in the calories you need for energy just going about your daily routine; getting out of bed, showering, going to work, sitting and watching tv, typing on your computer. All of these burn calories as well.
    See here for more info on this: http://www.caloriesperhour.com/index_burn.php

    Please read through these links to understand how losing weight works with calorie deficits:
    http://www.caloriesperhour.com/tutorial_pound.php
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

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