Calorie Deficits

MaeMae223
MaeMae223 Posts: 17
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi, I have a question about calorie deficits, and was wondering if anyone could help me out. I am doing Jillian Michael's Body Revolution, and the program states that I should be on a 1,200 calorie diet. Her workouts with BR are 30 minutes each of strength training and bursts of cardio. I do additional cardio and ab work with her Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism DVD and 6 Week 6 Pack, and am burning a little over 1,000 calories a day. I am supposed to have a 1,000 calorie deficit in order to lose 2 pounds a week, but my boyfriend says I am not consuming enough calories a day. And that confuses me. I guess when I think about it, if my goal is 1,200 calories per day, and I burn 1,000, am I only consuming 200 calories for the day? Please help me understand this! Thanks!

Replies

  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,423 Member
    I'd be agreeing with your boyfriend.

    If you are eating 1200 cals a day and burning 1000 through exercise, that only leaves 200 cals to support all the basic bodily functions and regular daily activity which probably require 1300 - 1500 cals (just an estimate, your numbers will vary).

    While you do need to create a calorie deficit to lose weight, that sound extreme, unhealthy and unsustainable to me.
  • MaeMae223
    MaeMae223 Posts: 17
    You're right. When you break it down like that, and my boyfriend did too, it seemed like way too much of a deficit. But according to My Fitness Pal, my calorie intake should be 1200 calories based on my weight loss goals, and Jillian Michaels' website claims the same thing a 1200 calorie diet with burning at least 1,000 calories in order to lose weight. So I just don't know what to do!
  • Sixel
    Sixel Posts: 57 Member
    Eat at least 1200 calories net. If that means you have to adjust your weight loss goal, so be it.
  • deadbeatsummer
    deadbeatsummer Posts: 537 Member
    If you only have 15lbs to lose I would set your weight loss at 1lb a week. 2lbs a week is for when you have a LOT to lose. Eating at that rate at your weght will be difficult to go back to maintanance once you have lost it.

    You are also supposed to eat back your exercise calories. At least half of them anyway.
  • WaterBunnie
    WaterBunnie Posts: 1,371 Member
    Sounds to me that you have applied your deficit twice. You either need to set yourself up here on maintenance calories and not eat back your exercise, or set your deficit here and eat back all your exercise. The average woman needs around 2000 calories to stay the same weight so you're only netting 1/10th of that!
  • kaajay
    kaajay Posts: 62 Member
    You're right. When you break it down like that, and my boyfriend did too, it seemed like way too much of a deficit. But according to My Fitness Pal, my calorie intake should be 1200 calories based on my weight loss goals, and Jillian Michaels' website claims the same thing a 1200 calorie diet with burning at least 1,000 calories in order to lose weight. So I just don't know what to do!

    MFP says 1200 if you weren't factoring into any additional exercises, so I would recommend that you factor in your workouts, and you would see the daily MFP calorie goal adjusting per your daily inputs.
  • MinMin97
    MinMin97 Posts: 2,674 Member
    Hi, I have a question about calorie deficits, and was wondering if anyone could help me out. I am doing Jillian Michael's Body Revolution, and the program states that I should be on a 1,200 calorie diet. Her workouts with BR are 30 minutes each of strength training and bursts of cardio. I do additional cardio and ab work with her Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism DVD and 6 Week 6 Pack, and am burning a little over 1,000 calories a day. I am supposed to have a 1,000 calorie deficit in order to lose 2 pounds a week, but my boyfriend says I am not consuming enough calories a day. And that confuses me. I guess when I think about it, if my goal is 1,200 calories per day, and I burn 1,000, am I only consuming 200 calories for the day? Please help me understand this! Thanks!
    Yes, if you eat 1200cals and burn 1000, you are going to get crazy hungry, and really whack yourself ( your body) out.

    Don't try to set your goals to lose more that 1lb/week. It is just too harsh. A 500 calorie/day deficit is enough. So enter your age, height,weight, etc into the goals and find your calorie goal. Eat back your exercise calories. You will have a 500 calorie deficit built in.

    Over time you will see what works and make adjustments. For example, I am 5'7" medium build. If I am sedentary, I have discovered I can eat 1450cal and lose 1lb/week. When I throw in some weigh lifting and some cardio, I need to eat more! So like today, I trained, and so I ate about 2000 calories. I log it!
  • stephvaile
    stephvaile Posts: 298
    You're right. When you break it down like that, and my boyfriend did too, it seemed like way too much of a deficit. But according to My Fitness Pal, my calorie intake should be 1200 calories based on my weight loss goals, and Jillian Michaels' website claims the same thing a 1200 calorie diet with burning at least 1,000 calories in order to lose weight. So I just don't know what to do!
    i think you have set it up wrong as mfp never goes below 1200 for a sedentary person and then as u exercise say you burnt 500 cals you could then eat 1700
  • MaeMae223
    MaeMae223 Posts: 17
    Thanks, everyone! It's all starting to make sense. :happy: I will make sure to eat back the calories I burn!
  • MarincicS
    MarincicS Posts: 265 Member
    One thing to keep in mind is that you are not burning only 1,000 calories per day. You are burning 1,000 calories per day via exercise, IN ADDITION TO whatever you burn just from being alive (BMR), plus your normal activity.

    So if your BMR is 1,500 calories per day, plus 750 for a sedentary lifestyle (check that 750 as MFP actually has an estimate for that and i may not have it correct, it might be 500), PLUS 1,000 in exercise calories, you are actually burning more than 3,000 calories per day.

    So i would suggest you start by entering your goals in MFP, and if you have only a little weight to lose, set it at 1 pound per week. Then MFP will calculate a calorie goal basaed on a 500 calorie deficit per day. Then you account for your exercise calories and eat at least some of them back.
  • sandrajune72
    sandrajune72 Posts: 492 Member
    You're right. When you break it down like that, and my boyfriend did too, it seemed like way too much of a deficit. But according to My Fitness Pal, my calorie intake should be 1200 calories based on my weight loss goals, and Jillian Michaels' website claims the same thing a 1200 calorie diet with burning at least 1,000 calories in order to lose weight. So I just don't know what to do!

    Are you logging all the exercise on MFP? If you are, it will re-calculate your calories to include eating those burned. Fuel your body, it'll thank you in the end!! :happy:
  • mikejacobs1958
    mikejacobs1958 Posts: 128
    Thanks, everyone! It's all starting to make sense. :happy: I will make sure to eat back the calories I burn!

    Try not eat back all the exercise Calories - I eat back only half !
  • Kara_xxx
    Kara_xxx Posts: 635 Member
    Eat at least 1200 calories net. If that means you have to adjust your weight loss goal, so be it.

    THAT.

    Your goal is probably too optimistic to allow you enough food to allow your BMR.

    You're better off losing only a pound a week and taking twice as long, yet giving your body enough nutrition to support its basic functions as it should.
  • MaeMae223
    MaeMae223 Posts: 17
    Mike, if my 1,000 calorie deficit is already factored into my goal of 1200, and I burn 1,000 calories, I will be under the 1,200 calorie limit each day, and from everything I've read, that is bad, bad, bad...especially when strength training 4 days a week. So I've decided I am just going to make sure I eat 1200 calories a day and see where it goes from there; I will also eat back the calories I burnt, and if I gain weight, I'll make adjustments. :)

    Thanks everyone for your input! I really appreciate it. I am making the necessary changes today. :)
  • ladyraven68
    ladyraven68 Posts: 2,003 Member
    But if my 1,000 calorie deficit is already factored into my goal of 1200, and I burn 1,000 calories, I will be under the 1,200 calorie limit each day, and from everything I've read, that is bad, bad, bad...especially when strength training 4 days a week. So I've decided I am just going to make sure I eat 1200 calories a day and see where it goes from there; I will also eat back the calories I burnt, and if I gain weight, I'll make adjustments. :)

    If you are set at a 1000 calorie deficit to lose 2lb a week, then you burn an additional 1000 you are creating a 2000 calorie deficit which according to the maths would get you 4lbs loss. Unfortunately our bodies din't do maths, or large deficits very well and I very much doubt you will achieve 4lbs loss

    Heavy exercise and large deficits don't work well together, you either need to eat a bit more, or reduce your exercise, as a 2000 calorie deficit is not healthy.
  • ladyraven68
    ladyraven68 Posts: 2,003 Member
    This may help you decide.

    http://davfitfitnessforum.forumotion.com/t56-muscle-retaining-factor-1-severity-of-calorie-deficit-by-tom-venuto-a-trusted-friend
  • kathyms13
    kathyms13 Posts: 497 Member
    im happy eating less, i eat healthy i have all the vitamins i need in my food so why should i stuff myself, thats how i got fat.
  • mcarter99
    mcarter99 Posts: 1,666 Member
    It depends on if you want to follow Jillian's plan or the MFP plan. Jillian's is more aggressive yet still nothing dangerous. MFP can be pretty conservative, to the point of weight gain for people who take the 'adding back' part overly literally and mis-estimate their exercise expenditure.

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