To lose 1 lb a week question. Help!

Sj20fame
Sj20fame Posts: 205 Member
edited December 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
Hello all,

Can someone please help me understand? I took Nutrition class over spring semester, and my Nutrition teacher said, if you'd like to lose at least a 1lb a week, you have to subract 500 calories from what your Calorie intake per day is. My calorie intake per day on MFP is 1200, subtract 500, should I only be eating 700 calories on days that I don't work out? and then obviously if I do work out, I'd gain some calories, but then at the end of the day, I should have 500 calories left over in order to lose 1 lb a week. Correct? I just feel like 700 calories is nothing, and I also don't want to put my health at risk if this is not the way that it should be done....? I wish I would've asked her while I was still in class, but I wasn't on MFP too much, and completely forgot... Can anyone help?

Replies

  • Sj20fame
    Sj20fame Posts: 205 Member
    Hello all,

    Can someone please help me understand? I took Nutrition class over spring semester, and my Nutrition teacher said, if you'd like to lose at least a 1lb a week, you have to subract 500 calories from what your Calorie intake per day is. My calorie intake per day on MFP is 1200, subtract 500, should I only be eating 700 calories on days that I don't work out? and then obviously if I do work out, I'd gain some calories, but then at the end of the day, I should have 500 calories left over in order to lose 1 lb a week. Correct? I just feel like 700 calories is nothing, and I also don't want to put my health at risk if this is not the way that it should be done....? I wish I would've asked her while I was still in class, but I wasn't on MFP too much, and completely forgot... Can anyone help?

    :blushing: I really feel dumb asking this, because I feel like I should know this! AHHh!:embarassed:
  • Ilwrath
    Ilwrath Posts: 1
    If you mean the totals under daily in like the My Home tab; then that has already had the 500 subtracted. If you mean somewhere else then sorry Im no help there lol
  • Leslie85
    Leslie85 Posts: 265 Member
    You do need a 500 calorie deficit each day to loose 1lb/week. However, you're not calculating it right. You also have it add in the calories you're burning from working out- that also factors into your calorie deficit. And you wouldn't subtract 500 calories from what MFP is telling you to eat. You would subtract it from your normal calorie intake before trying to loose weight...which could be anywhere from 1500- 2000, depending on how much/what you eat.

    It is also likely, if you told MFP that you wanted to loose 1lb/week, that it is already factoring in the calorie deficit you need to loose weight. But whatever you do, don't just eat 700 calories a day!!!
  • kaned_ferret
    kaned_ferret Posts: 618 Member
    MFP figures the 500 calorie daily defecit into your number - it does all the maths for you, so stick to what it says! If you've been given 1200 (MFP won't encourage eating under 1200 as that's not necessarily healthy) then that's what you eat, and you eat more if you "earn" extra calories through exercise. Hth.
  • Sj20fame
    Sj20fame Posts: 205 Member
    GOT IT! Silly me, MFP did already calculate it! Great, it's been a while and had forgotten. OKay thanks all! :flowerforyou:
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