i'm confused(as usual!) please don't laugh at me

wagsgirls
wagsgirls Posts: 144 Member
edited September 18 in Health and Weight Loss
i read in one of the posts that in order to lose 1 pound you need to burn 3500 cals? did i read that right? if so than that would mean since i want to lose 2 pounds a week i would have to burn 7000 cals a week? :huh: i think i have this messed up or something because that doesn't make any sense. so please help clear this up for me without laughing too much:laugh:

Replies

  • wagsgirls
    wagsgirls Posts: 144 Member
    i read in one of the posts that in order to lose 1 pound you need to burn 3500 cals? did i read that right? if so than that would mean since i want to lose 2 pounds a week i would have to burn 7000 cals a week? :huh: i think i have this messed up or something because that doesn't make any sense. so please help clear this up for me without laughing too much:laugh:
  • kimdommerc
    kimdommerc Posts: 63
    Ok, let's see if I can help. Yes 3500 calories equals 1 pound. But if you burn 1900 calories a day doing normal activity but you only eat 1200 calories per day that is a deficit of 700 cals a day times 7 days per week = 4900 calories per week. So that is over 1 pound already:smile: Now add some exercise and you will be burning even more calories. HOWEVER, if you are exercising alot you will need to eat more.
    Another thing that will help is to eat raw veggies. These are called negative calorie foods meaning your body will burn more calories digesting them than you will take in eating them.

    I hope this has helped you and not confused you even more. And just to let you know, I did not laugh. I know how confusing all of this can be. Good luck in your journey to fitness!
  • mkeithley
    mkeithley Posts: 399
    i read in one of the posts that in order to lose 1 pound you need to burn 3500 cals? did i read that right? if so than that would mean since i want to lose 2 pounds a week i would have to burn 7000 cals a week? :huh: i think i have this messed up or something because that doesn't make any sense. so please help clear this up for me without laughing too much:laugh:

    I'm horrible at numbers, so i have to constantly re figure these things:laugh:
    To lose one pound a week you need to create a deficit of 500 calories a day thru diet and or exercise
    500 deficit calories x 7 days a week=3500, 3500calories=1 pound, 3500 calories x 2(pounds)=7000
    7000 divided by 7 days a week=1000
    So in essence you would need to create a deficit of 1000 calories a day to lose 2 pounds a week
    However, you should not go below your certain amount of calories b/c of the "starvation mode" issue as mentioned in other posts. I think that is why MFP has the 1 pound a week as the "recommneded" when setting up your goals for weight loss.
    Hope this helps. Not sure if I was very clear, it made sense in my head:laugh:
  • banks1850
    banks1850 Posts: 3,475 Member
    yep, mkeithley and kimdommerc are absolutely correct. Sounds like a lot doesn't it? It is, 2 lbs a week is considered VERY aggressive weight loss and really only meant for people who are obese (truely, most doctors I have talked to don't feel all that good about saying ok to a 2 lb a week loss, most are much more comfortable with 1 lb a week). 1000 calories a week is difficult to keep up, almost impossible if you are at or near maintenance as you are almost certainly burning lean tissue at that point, which doesn't really help the healthy lifestyle cause.

    regards,
    Banks
  • wagsgirls
    wagsgirls Posts: 144 Member
    first of all thank you for your help!:flowerforyou: let me just bounce this back to make sure that i got it. so since mfp is telling me to eat 1200 cals a day then that means they already calculated what i would normally burn in a day? so how do i know how much i am burning during a normal day to equal my 3500? i don't want to go all crazy trying to figure this out, i'm aiming for 2 lbs a week, but i'll settle for anything! i just wasn't sure how it worked it does make some sense now to know that mfp has already calculated some.
  • mkeithley
    mkeithley Posts: 399
    first of all thank you for your help!:flowerforyou: let me just bounce this back to make sure that i got it. so since mfp is telling me to eat 1200 cals a day then that means they already calculated what i would normally burn in a day? so how do i know how much i am burning during a normal day to equal my 3500? i don't want to go all crazy trying to figure this out, i'm aiming for 2 lbs a week, but i'll settle for anything! i just wasn't sure how it worked it does make some sense now to know that mfp has already calculated some.
    I'll try to answer your question as best I can. The 1200 cals MFP is telling you to eat has already created a deficit for you in via diet. That is why when you work out you earn extra calories to eat b/c the MFP system is wanting to keep your body out of starvation mode. I hope I'm making sense so far. It you go into your goal and edit them and out in maintain weight it will show you how many calories you could eat to stay the same(it will be higher than he 1200) I put in I wanted to lose 10 pounds(or something like that maybe 12?) I also put in I wanted to lose 2 pounds a week, the system figured out my calculations automatically at 1 pound a week, I assume because eating less would be considered unsafe and unhealthy for me. Hard reality for me to accept, no quick fixes that is.
    Then I was like why am I even running my butt off everyday if I'm just going to eat those calories back???? Having lean muscle instead of fat boosts your metabolism and helps you burn, plus muscle looks better:laugh:
    That is my best unscientific, unprofessional answer to our question.:blushing:
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