Does anyone understand calorie deficit?

[Jenesis]

So it is winter, and this is when I work out to lose the weight I gain in the summer. Which is annoying because I try to eat a balanced diet in the summer but seem to over eat even if it is healthy foods. But that is a topic for another day.

During the winter - I use an app that suggests 1200 calories a day. And then I work out daily burning a minimum of 600 calories. Which means my daily calorie intake is only like 600-700 (1200 calories eaten and then 600 calories burned) . Which is fine, I can manage that but I think that is actually hindering weight lose and making it harder. From my understanding for my age I should be eating 1600-2200 calories a day and at 1200 calories that would give me about a 1-2lb weight lost per week. Which is great.

However - working out changes that so am I right to think I should be eating 1800 calories? 1200 daily plus the 600 I burn off and that will still give me a 1-2lb weight loss per week?

It is all so confusing. Someone here has to understand this shit. I don’t want to lose weight by starvation because the body holds on to more fat that way. I want to just be in a health deficit while working out daily.

 

[jalimon]

As far as I know, eating only 1200 calories a day would put you in a deficit on many other fronts. It's too low.

My exercise is walking. 1 hour walk, 5 times a week. I cover about 8km in 1 hour. So it's a fast pace walk. I never calculated how many calories I burn, probably around 500 to 700.

I eat a regular diet. Meaning no diet. Since I do not drink alcohol anymore, it makes me lose weight.

My advice is to keep a regular diet but just avoid alcohol and sugary desert and you will still lose weight. And gain tones, which is great when we get older.

 

[squeezer]

This WebMD article gives a solid explanation of how a calorie deficit works. But here’s the truth: most people who say it’s “not working” are actually underestimating how much they’re eating.

Also, remember that your body adapts over time. If you start too low on calories, you’ll hit a wall fast when your metabolism slows, energy tanks, and fat loss stalls. It’s smarter to begin at a slightly higher intake so you have room to gradually reduce calories later without feeling miserable or crashing your progress.

A little trick I use when I want to lean out is high-volume, low-calorie meals, foods like veggies, lean proteins, soups, and fibrous carbs. They help your stomach feel full while keeping calories low, so your body believes it’s satisfied even in a deficit.

P.S. ...don't fall for YouTube fad diets; none of them work long-term. A solid, balanced eating plan combined with regular exercise is the best approach year-round.

 

[bodyshot]

1200 calories is very low. Maintenance calorie calculators aren't too accurate.

What you need to do is weigh yourself every morning under the same conditions: naked and after you've used the bathroom. Use an app to track your weight. Also, pick a number that sounds like it may reasonably be what your maintenance is at. Eat that number of calories everyday. Track EVERYTHING. Weigh your food and use an app to track calories eaten.

By doing this for about 2 to 3 weeks, you will be able to tell if that number of calories eaten is your maintenance. If it is, your weight will remain the same. If your weight decreases, it means you're in a deficit. If you gain weight, you're in a surplus. You can adjust your calories from there to make sure you're in a deficit. Make sure to keep weighing yourself and tracking your calories.


Also, you're probably not burning 600 calories a day. Don't "eat back" what you think you've burned. Keep protein heigh and resistance training frequent so you minimize muscle lost.

Lastly: "I don’t want to lose weight by starvation because the body holds on to more fat that way."

That isn't true. Popular misconception, but not true. That said, losing weight too fast will cause unnecessary muscle loss, which you don't want.

 

[Jenesis]

I work out 90 minutes daily on my elliptical and track my calorie burn by my heart rate on my watch. So I know I am burning that amount. I don't take the calorie burn amount off the machine. My watch actually tells me more then that but I call it a minimum of 600

I track all my food.including cooking oils, sauces etc

50% of my daily diet is protien. About 35% carbs and 15% fat.

@squeezer. Thanks for the article. That helped. It says 1200-1500 calories for 1lb a week weight loss. So taking 1200 and adding what I burn off I need to be eating 1800 calories a day. Right now I was only taking in 600-700 total calories a day after my workout. I knew that wasn't right at all.

I have a slow metabolism based on age, and other medical conditions so losing without is already hard but I don't want to make it even more difficult by not eating enough.

 

[boobtoucher]

Very technical and dated, but accurate:

The Eat Watch

Consider yourself a trash bag. In that bag is bone, muscle, fat, poop and water. If you lose an lb of fat, but carry an extra lb of water or poop, your weight will be the same. So like bodyshot said: Consistency is everything when you track calories and weight.

You don't know your baseline calorie burn, and you don't know that your calorie count or burn during excersize is accurate, however if you track everything consistently, you can figure that out. If you are eating 2000 calories, but consistently gaining weight, your total burn is below 2000 calories. If you THINK you're eating 1500 calories, but gaining weight, cut something and see what changes.

Calories in = calories out. A pound of fat has 3500 calories in it. If you are deficient 500 calories a day, you will lose 1 lb of fat a week. Every other weightloss plan is just this with extra steps.

 

[Mrboobs]

A.I. is your friend

 

[squeezer]

Lastly: "I don’t want to lose weight by starvation because the body holds on to more fat that way."

That isn't true. Popular misconception, but not true. That said, losing weight too fast will cause unnecessary muscle loss, which you don't want.

I agree, just look at any season of Survivor. Compare the contestants on day 1 versus day 30. They’re practically unrecognizable. Despite being “starved” with only the occasional cheat meal from a challenge win, every single one of them drops a massive amount of weight.

 

[Giselle Montreal]

most people who say it’s “not working” are actually underestimating how much they’re eating.

And overestimating their energy expenditure!

Plus, there's always a margin of error in apps, nutrient labelling, tech and watches we use to calculate our expenses, etc.

You don't know your baseline calorie burn, and you don't know that your calorie count or burn during excersize is accurate, however if you track everything consistently, you can figure that out.

Very true.

Test and see what really works, listen to your body and see how you feel. But be consistent.

 

[Shaquille Oatmeal]

You want to find your total daily energy expenditure.
You can use this site - https://tdeecalculator.net/
Once you find that, then anything below your maintenance will help you lose weight.
Oh and also make sure to give room for hidden calories.
I always add extra olive oil on my eggs but I never calculate them, but am sure they add 100 to 200 calories on their own. lol.

 

[bodyshot]

I work out 90 minutes daily on my elliptical and track my calorie burn by my heart rate on my watch. So I know I am burning that amount.

Those aren't accurate. Don't worry about calories burned. It's just adding noise.

 

[Jenesis]

You want to find your total daily energy expenditure.
You can use this site - https://tdeecalculator.net/
Once you find that, then anything below your maintenance will help you lose weight.
Oh and also make sure to give room for hidden calories.
I always add extra olive oil on my eggs but I never calculate them, but am sure they add 100 to 200 calories on their own. lol.

80 calories for 2teaspoons. I know. I calculate LOL

 

[Giselle Montreal]

Those aren't accurate. Don't worry about calories burned. It's just adding noise.

This.

Plus during any 90 minutes of your day, your body uses energy (burns calories) by itself just by being alive and moving around. So in those 600 calories, there's the maintenance amount that is 'calculated', which shouldn't be. So it's not necessarily 600 EXTRA calories that is burned, there's a portion that would have been burned anyway. Add to that a margin of error, and maybe you've actually burned 300 extra calories during your day. Maybe.

 

[Giselle Montreal]

80 calories for 2teaspoons. I know. I calculate LOL

It's never that precised.

Food labels part 3: Nutrient counting and calorie math.

In Part 3 of this article series, we look at back-of-package labeling: nutritional information and ingredients. In particular, we look at how calorie counts don't accurately reflect how our bodies process food; and we challenge the classic “calorie math” of “energy in versus energy out”.

www.precisionnutrition.com

Although it helps to know the nutrient and energy content of foods, nutrition labeling isn’t a perfect system. Calorie counts may be inaccurate or misleading, for example.
Calories are a measure of heat. They don’t reflect what actually happens in our body. We don’t incinerate food; we digest it.
If you want to get fitter, healthier, and leaner, move beyond calorie counting.
Shrink your portion sizes, eat until “just satisfied” rather than “stuffed”, and try to get a little hungrier between meals. You might even find that you need fewer meals than you think.
Don’t worry about the numbers so much. They won’t help you as much as you expect.

 

[Jenesis]

Those aren't accurate. Don't worry about calories burned. It's just adding noise.

Sorry but it is important from everything I have learned online. How do I know what I’m burning and how much to eat if you don’t pay attention to it. I’m not saying it is exact science but according to my heart rate, I burn over 600 almost 650. I bring it down to 600. People wouldn’t count the calories burned if not important.

 

[Jenesis]

This.

Plus during any 90 minutes of your day, your body uses energy (burns calories) by itself just by being alive and moving around. So in those 600 calories, there's the maintenance amount that is 'calculated', which shouldn't be. So it's not necessarily 600 EXTRA calories that is burned, there's a portion that would have been burned anyway. Add to that a margin of error, and maybe you've actually burned 300 extra calories during your day. Maybe.

My watch calculator does both. My active and total calories. Total are naturally burned. Active are from exercise.

As I have said, it is not exact and I low ball it to 600 when it says closer to 650 but I need a rough estimate when trying to calculate food intake. You have to have a rough idea of calories out to know how much calories to bring in.

 

[bodyshot]

Sorry but it is important from everything I have learned online. How do I know what I’m burning and how much to eat if you don’t pay attention to it. I’m not saying it is exact science but according to my heart rate, I burn over 600 almost 650. I bring it down to 600. People wouldn’t count the calories burned if not important.

People do a lot of things in fitness that aren't important. The fitness industry loves to overcomplicate things (often times motivated by greed). Bodybuilders were dieting down to 6% bodyfat before these devices were invented.

You know how much to eat based on the strategy I mentioned in my first post. It's a fool proof way to get this done.

I'm a bodybuilder and I've been dieting down to low body fat percentages for a long time. I promise you the strategy I originally mentioned will work.

 

[Jenesis]

It's never that precised.

Food labels part 3: Nutrient counting and calorie math.

In Part 3 of this article series, we look at back-of-package labeling: nutritional information and ingredients. In particular, we look at how calorie counts don't accurately reflect how our bodies process food; and we challenge the classic “calorie math” of “energy in versus energy out”.

www.precisionnutrition.com

This makes no sense. How do you not calculate calories. The only way to lose weight is calories in vrs calories out.

I'm not looking for exact numbers. I looking for general. You have to measure them in some capacity.

 

[bodyshot]

This makes no sense. How do you not calculate calories. The only way to lose weight is calories in vrs calories out.

I'm not looking for exact numbers. I looking for general. You have to measure them in some capacity.

The idea is that working out typically doesn't burn that many calories. Again, those devices aren't accurate. Combine that with what I mention in my first post and the solution is much simpler.

 

[Jenesis]

People do a lot of things in fitness that aren't important. The fitness industry loves to overcomplicate things (often times motivated by greed). Bodybuilders were dieting down to 6% bodyfat before these devices were invented.

You know how much to eat based on the strategy I mentioned in my first post. It's a fool proof way to get this done.

I'm a bodybuilder and I've been dieting down to low body fat percentages for a long time. I promise you the strategy I originally mentioned will work.

I thank you for your suggestion but even you say to track calories in which means tracking calories is Important as well,

Also I'm not going guess what my maintenance may be to spend weeks if not months being wrong until I find it out. I will do that when I want to mainten my weight lost.

and I'm not going to get scale dependent. A weigh in weekly is fine.

Again, thank you for your suggestion. @squeezer suggested article for me is the answer I'm looking for. I'll come back in May and report how my winter went with my method. If I'm wrong, I will owe it then.