Calorie deficit confusion!

inmyownskin
inmyownskin Posts: 17
edited November 12 in Health and Weight Loss
Someone help! What do they mean by calorie defecit? If I plan to eat 1300 cals per day... And I exercise 2
300 cals per day... And I'm not losing any weight... How do I make a calorie defecit??

Replies

  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,416 Member
    ^^ Eat 1900 calories. The site already figured in your calorie deficit. Eat until you have "0" at the bottom of your Food Diary.
  • Ok... So I need to add more calories? My other problem is I feel so bloated when I eat more... Is this normal?
  • Gt3ch
    Gt3ch Posts: 212 Member
    It's completely normal if you have a food allergy or intolerance or a GI disorder.

    Try logging when you feel most bloated and compare it to your food diary. Try selectively eliminating common problem foods like dairy & wheat for a minimum of 2-3 weeks each. It may also help to eat more fiber and less processed foods. Just be aware that any sudden changes to your diet including increasing fiber can give you gas for a few days to a week until your GI flora adjusts. If you're having more serious GI problems get checked out by your Dr.
  • Becky_Boodle
    Becky_Boodle Posts: 253 Member
    Try this:

    eat 1600 calories a day...
    1300 + 300 = 1600

    or this:

    eat just 1300 calories a day
    some people don't like to eat back their exercise calories...
    I disagree with this...

    or this:

    eat your 1300 calories + half your burned calories

    Conclusion: everybody is different
    personally I'm at 1200 cals a day and eat that plus half my burned calories to allow for discrepancies
    but on days I'm lifting I eat all of my calories back
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,416 Member
    Agree with Gt. Eat more protein and fats, not more bread and carbs if you are feeling bloated. That is usually a sign of some sort of minor intolerance.


    You can surely add nuts or avocado or eggs or starchy vegetables like beans and potatoes to fill those calories.
  • wahmx3
    wahmx3 Posts: 633 Member
    You definitely need to eat more, closer to 1900. I know it doesn't make sense to eat more to lose weight but it will work. Your body needs the fuel to keep going and not think it is starving.
  • sheryllamb72
    sheryllamb72 Posts: 163 Member
    If you're exercising and burning more calories than MFP is giving you to eat each day.........do less exercise if you cant eat the amount of calories you're ending up with. Thats why people dont lose weight.

    You should eat almost all of your calorie allowance for the day plus youe exercise calories that you've logged, and if you dont, thats why it says at the bottom of the screen when you "finish logging for the day"...."you are eating below your calorie allowance".

    simples......
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  • melissa221979
    melissa221979 Posts: 34 Member
    i'm sorry, but why should she need to eat any more than usual just because she exercises? that's completely counterproductive! if she burns more than she eats, it produces a DEFICIT, which is quite frankly, the way to lose weight. most people burn on average somewhere around 1200 or more calories just by performing normal bodily functions. the preset food goal given on this website provides for how many calories your body is burning per day. the deficit that results in weight loss, is created by the extra calories you burn but do not consume. those calories will be the body fat stored that you will burn off with the extra exercise. if you eat the equivalent to the calories you burn, you will not change your body weight.

    its basically a math problem:
    Food consumed: 1300 calories
    - natural calories burned: 1300 calories
    0 calories neither burned (-) or gained (+)
    - exercise calories burned: 600
    - 600 calories per day
    -600 X 7 days = -4200 calories burned extra per week

    OVER A POUND SHOULD BE LOST PER WEEK!

    There is already a deficit built in to MFP so if she follows what MFP says and stays at or slightly under the net calories she will lose weight.
    Your post didnt take that into account
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  • melissa221979
    melissa221979 Posts: 34 Member
    false. if your body burns 1300 calories per day and you consume 1300 calories per day. THERE IS NO DEFICIT GOODNESS THAT IS SIMPLE MATH.

    The 1300 figure you refer to is bodily functions like breathing and pumping blood to your heart etc. Most people generally do a bit more than that each day.
    With respect if you are such the expert, why are you posting threads asking others how to lose weight.

    Thats how MFP works and WHY it works.
  • HonkyTonks
    HonkyTonks Posts: 1,193 Member
    I'm not losing any weight

    Your ticker says you've lost 9lbs. What is the problem?
  • HonkyTonks
    HonkyTonks Posts: 1,193 Member
    i'm sorry, but why should she need to eat any more than usual just because she exercises? that's completely counterproductive! if she burns more than she eats, it produces a DEFICIT, which is quite frankly, the way to lose weight. most people burn on average somewhere around 1200 or more calories just by performing normal bodily functions. the preset food goal given on this website provides for how many calories your body is burning per day. the deficit that results in weight loss, is created by the extra calories you burn but do not consume. those calories will be the body fat stored that you will burn off with the extra exercise. if you eat the equivalent to the calories you burn, you will not change your body weight.

    its basically a math problem:
    Food consumed: 1300 calories
    - natural calories burned: 1300 calories
    0 calories neither burned (-) or gained (+)
    - exercise calories burned: 600
    - 600 calories per day
    -600 X 7 days = -4200 calories burned extra per week

    OVER A POUND SHOULD BE LOST PER WEEK!

    You are a bit daft aren't you.

    The figure MFP gives you is what you need to lose the pound WITHOUT EXERCISE. When you input your goals, MFP says "this is how many calorise you need to create a deficit that will result in the weight loss you have requested". When you exercise, you add more calories to this goal, and create a larger deficit. If you eat these calories back, you will still lose a pound per week.
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  • melissa221979
    melissa221979 Posts: 34 Member
    this is not a place for bullying, and i know what the 1300 calories are for. i'm impressed that you don't understand simple logic, that's elementary type of material. and i'm asking for weight loss considering time restraints and asking about unclear workouts, for your information.

    1300-1300 = 0 calories gained or burned (net)
    600 calories burned extra during exercise = deficit



    GOOD LORD.
    Apologies, i obviously didnt make myself clear, read the post above your last, it explains it a lot better. There is no bullying going on at all. if you arent quite sure what MFP does dont comment as you will confuse the OP who is only asking for advice
  • paigele
    paigele Posts: 123 Member
    I had a BCA done recently and the fitness expert reaffirmed a lot of things for me that I learned on this site. He determined that for me ( 5 ft 5 1/2 in 43 y.o. ) my body requires about 1350 cals for basic metabolism. He warned my total cals should never be below this number or I will force it to break down the muscle and could damage organs.

    What he also explained in a lengthy discussion is the affect toxins have on the body. I won't repeat it but as a medical professional it made perfect sense what he was saying. A regular systematic detox seems quite in order to help our bodies heal from the trauma of living in a toxic environment, but that is just a side note.

    Bottom line is stay close to the adjustments that the MFP calculator gives you. It also will help to know for you what your resting metabolism needs to stay healthy and make sure you seldom dip below that. There are sights that will give that to you.
  • lilojoke
    lilojoke Posts: 427 Member
    Ok... So I need to add more calories? My other problem is I feel so bloated when I eat more... Is this normal?

    Look at what your eating that causes the bloat! Or simply listen to your body and eat whats comfortable. There is no exact science in this so do some experimenting and figure out what works for you.
  • HonkyTonks
    HonkyTonks Posts: 1,193 Member
    this is not a place for bullying, and i know what the 1300 calories are for. i'm impressed that you don't understand simple logic, that's elementary type of material. and i'm asking for weight loss considering time restraints and asking about unclear workouts, for your information.

    1300-1300 = 0 calories gained or burned (net)
    600 calories burned extra during exercise = deficit



    GOOD LORD.

    Let's go through this bit by bit shall we?
    i'm sorry, but why should she need to eat any more than usual just because she exercises? that's completely counterproductive! if she burns more than she eats, it produces a DEFICIT, which is quite frankly, the way to lose weight

    Correct. A deficit IS how you lose weight. But by not eating your exercise calories, your deficit is much higher than the goals you have provided MFP. You should be NETTING 1300 calories, if that is the goal you have set up.
    most people burn on average somewhere around 1200 or more calories just by performing normal bodily functions.

    Yes, that is true, but far far more than 1200 calories. 1439 is my BMR, but the number of calories I burn in a day is about 1900 calories WITHOUT EXERCISE. If I ate 1200 calories, I would produce a deficit of 700 calories, which is well more than enough to lose more than a half pound a week.
    the preset food goal given on this website provides for how many calories your body is burning per day. the deficit that results in weight loss, is created by the extra calories you burn but do not consume. [

    No no no no no! This is where you are way off base. MFP doesn't give you the calories your body burns per day, MFP gives you the calories you need to create the deficit without exercise. When you exercise you get more calories to eat. Pretty nifty huh?

    In short, you can eat your exercise calories back and still lose weight. Enjoy! Have some icecream if you want, the world is your oyster.
  • JadeRabbit08
    JadeRabbit08 Posts: 551 Member
    this is not a place for bullying, and i know what the 1300 calories are for. i'm impressed that you don't understand simple logic, that's elementary type of material. and i'm asking for weight loss considering time restraints and asking about unclear workouts, for your information.

    1300-1300 = 0 calories gained or burned (net)
    600 calories burned extra during exercise = deficit



    GOOD LORD.

    LMAO
  • JadeRabbit08
    JadeRabbit08 Posts: 551 Member
    Someone help! What do they mean by calorie defecit? If I plan to eat 1300 cals per day... And I exercise 2
    300 cals per day... And I'm not losing any weight... How do I make a calorie defecit??

    Just existing, breathing, maintening healthy organ function, brain activity, sustaining the lean muscle mass takes energy that we measure in calories burnt.
    Thats refered to as our Basic Metabolic Rate. (BMR). Its the number of calories we burn up if we just lay in bed all day and didnt move.

    Then add on to our BMR calories burnt each day our normal daily activity of chasing children around, shopping, cleaning the house, walking the dog, sitting at a computer working. All this is burning calories too. Some people do little daily activity and some do alot.
    When you add the BMR calories burnt to the number of calories burnt during your normal day you have Total Daily Energy Expenditure. (TDEE) . That number of calories is how much you have to eat every day to stay the same weight.
    Thats your maintenance calories. Once you have reached your goal you will have to recalculate your TDEE so that you can manage your cal intake without gaining or losing more.


    If you eat below your TDEE you have created a calorie deficit and should lose weight.

    I would suggest that you calculate both your BMR and your TDEE and then make an informed choice about how many calories worth of deficit you want to create.
    There are a lot of calculators around that will help you do this.

    It is worth doing instead of guessing or just going with the lowest possible number. For me my weight loss stalled until I started eating above my BMR. Once I got to 1800 I felt better and the weight started coming off again. Each individual will respond slightly differently and your BMR and TDEE will be different from mine.

    Try reading this post explaining how to calculate both of these.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/512956-tdee-what-is-it-and-why-you-should-not-eat-below-your-bmr

    If you have trouble ask around the forums there are a lot of helpful people.


    Best of luck
  • Byky
    Byky Posts: 3 Member
    I don't understand why everyone makes this so complicated.

    Yes 1300-1300 = 0 but is 1300 the amount you need to maintain your weight or is it a pre-set deficit figured out by MyFitnessPal (MFP) for you? Since you haven't said (Some assume one way, some the other), it's really hard to give you specifics. So let's just empower you instead!

    Deficit just means less.

    To make a "Calorie Deficit" you eat (or burn) enough calories so that what you eat is LESS than what your body needs to maintain it's current weight.

    Assuming you are currently logged in to MFP
    Enter in your information here:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/change_goals_guided
    Remember to be honest as only you can see this information and if you want to lose weight and KEEP it off in a HEALTHY matter, being honest is the best choice!

    Then Go to:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/my_goals

    Here you can see all of the information other posters have mentioned.
    -In the box on the right you can see a "From Normal Daily Activity" with a number next to it. This number based on the information from the first link is your TDEE (See Jade Rabbit's Excellent post!)
    -Below the "From Normal Daily Activity" you can see "Your Daily Goal" with a number beside it. This number is your GOAL. which means that this is how many NET CALORIES* you want to consume every day.
    -Below the goal you can see "Daily Calorie Deficit" and this number is how many calories each day you are NOT consuming that your body needs... Which means that your body most "burn up" some of your stored energy just to function for the day. Which means you're losing weight! YAY!
    -At the bottom of that box you'll see "Projected Weight Loss" this shows how many lbs (or kg) you can expect to lose if you eat the amount of NET CALORIES* posted as your daily goal.

    *NET CALORIES: Take all the calories you eat in a day and subtract the number of calories you burn during exercise and the result will be your net calories. So from your initial post, if you plan to eat 1300 calories in a day and burn 600 exercising your NET calories are only 700.

    700 calories is way too low an amount for a person who is not on a diet plan prescribed by a doctor. IF your GOAL is 1300, and you want to burn 700 a day exercising, you need to eat 2000 calories. 2000 calories - 700=1300 net calories. This should result in weight loss. IF YOU ARE NOT EATING ENOUGH, your body will basically do everything it can NOT TO BURN RESERVES which means, you not only won't lose weight but you will feel tired, sluggish, you may have trouble thinking, feel dizzy or lightheaded and may end up starting to GAIN weight!

    Losing weight seems to be a very slow process. Everyone wants to "drop pounds quick" but the fact of the matter is 1-2lbs a week is SLOW. Weighing in every day (heck even every WEEK) can sometimes seem like you aren't making any progress. IF you haven't lost any weight in several weeks then it is time to reevaluate your goals.
  • First of all, thank you for all the responses, it makes sense to me now. I do realize I actually made a typo in my original post... " And I exercise 2 300 cals per day... " should read "And I exercise 300 call per day" so its not 600, but 300. And I had been eating 1300 cals. It seems there is some argument over the too little calories debate though... I find it really hard to eat more calories (I'm sure its all in my head) but I think that may be what my problem is.
  • I also enjoy my "cocktail hour" after work everyday. I usually have a Canadian Whisky and Diet Coke, and I know alcohol can deter fat-burning, but is one or two a day really going ot make that much of a difference?
  • HonkyTonks
    HonkyTonks Posts: 1,193 Member
    I also enjoy my "cocktail hour" after work everyday. I usually have a Canadian Whisky and Diet Coke, and I know alcohol can deter fat-burning, but is one or two a day really going ot make that much of a difference?

    Makes no difference if it fits into your calorie goal. Yes it TEMPORARILY deters fat burning, but you still create the same deficit you will still lose the same amount of weight.
  • 3laine75
    3laine75 Posts: 3,069 Member
    false. if your body burns 1300 calories per day and you consume 1300 calories per day. THERE IS NO DEFICIT GOODNESS THAT IS SIMPLE MATH.


    this is what your body would burn in a coma, as you are posting presumably you are not so therefor need to eat more.
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