Daily Calorie Deficit?

It is the difference between what you eat and what you burn in a day.

Yup.

You need to burn approximately 3,500 calories to lose 1 lb of fat, which means your calorie deficit needs to be about 500 calories per day to lose a pound a week.

So, say you eat 1,300 calories today, and your body burns 1,800 calories today through just being alive, plus exercise, that's your 500 calorie deficit for today.

There is a tool which tells you how what your BMR (basal metabolic rate) is, which is really just a wild guess on how many calories you burn before any work or exercise.

Have I muddied the water or made things more clear?

Best wishes on your health and wellness journey!

That's pretty good if you're looking to lose about 0.5lb-1lb per week. Actual figures vary quite dramtically, but the aim is a 500 calorie deficit per day for a 1lb loss.

aint' that the truth!

When you choose your weight loss goals MFP calculates the proper defict.

example: you choose 1lb per week goal. Your Maintenance calories is 1800 calories. so MFP would have you eat 1300 per day making a 500 calorie.

Something else to factor in with this process. This is a program that processes the numbers only. It doesn't take into account you BMR which is the calories you need for you body to function. This is the lowest you should eat!!!!!

go to http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/ and figure your BMR. If the calorie goal that MFP sets for you is lower than that number then you need to change it to that number.

for example: MFP has me set to 1600 at maintenance if I want to lost 1 lb per week then I would need to eat 1100 calories. MFP will not set me at that number because it is unhealthy to consume less than 1200 per day. MFP decides I need to eat 1200 calories per day

My BMR according to all the calculators available including http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/ is 1401. I set my calories per day to 1400 and eat back any exercise calories i earn and still lose weight.

See? The system has a good starting point, but you have to tweak it a bit to make sure you are not starving!!

mine is 1000 calorie deficit, what does that mean???

It means you need to eat/burn 1000 calories less than your maintenance, your maintenance being the amount of calories needed to maintain your current weight.

For example; if my maintenance was 3000 calories, a 1000 calorie deficit would mean, i have to intake 2000 calories (or eat 2500 calories and burn 500 calories during exercise)