So confused about this deficit stuff----It's making me angry!---Just venting!

Ok, so I just read a post saying that you can have a deficit over 1000 it just means that you might lose weight a lot faster & you might have trouble keeping it off ---right? So I have been trying to have a 500-700 deficit and i have not lost any weight--I'm eating 1900 to 2100 calories and still get about a 500 deficit...I'm just wondering if i had like a 1000 calorie or more deficit if I would lose more weight because I am not losing any! So if I went back down to 1600 to 1800 calories which I was satisfied with--now I feel full all the time! I'm just so confused...I know that no one really knows the magic thing that will work for one person. I just wanted to vent and I want to know that if I am full eating 1600 to 1800 calories and I have over 1000 calorie deficit that I could possibly lose weight--who would have ever thought that losing weight would be thus hard---and i have tried to lose weight a million times..This is just the first time that I am really focused--and I feel like it should be so easy but it's soo freakin hard & frustrating. I never want to yo'yo diet again in my life. This is a lifestyle change for me but I just had to vent for a second....Thanks! And I'm not going to lie I would love to be 170 pounds by June 1st, 2008 and the calorie target thing on here says I can do it if I eat 1577 calories, the thing is though that puts me in over a 1000 calorie deficit a day--so I just don't know anymore!!

What are your stats (Weight, Height, age, gender) and how long have you been "dieting" with calorie count?

Are you exercising?

I would not recommend going over a 1000 calorie deficit daily, the human body cannot lose more than 1-2lbs of pure fat a week. (an exception for people who are mega-obese). 

1000 calorie x 7 days a week = 7000 calories = 2lbs

216.4 pounds

5'2 

Female, This will be my 10th week with CC and I have lost 3.8 pounds. I exercise 6 days a week. 3 days I do 60 minutes of interval cardio, the other 3 days I lift weights & do 20 minutes of cardio 

"You burn 2100 calories during a typical day. Remember that this estimate is based on your body weight, height, age, gender, and your average level of activity."

So this is set to Sedentary, which means if you didn't exercise, you could eat: 1600 calories a day to lose 1lb a week.

It is not possible for you to safely hold a 1000 calorie deficit.  You would need to eat below 1200 calories to maintain that high of a deficit, which is less than your organs need to operate.  (women need at least 1200 net calories)

You can safely maintain a 900 calorie deficit:

2100 - 900 = 1200 calories. (Remember this is with no exercise)

When you add exercise into the equation, you definately need to eat more calories.

So if you burn 400 calories working out (just a guess) each time, you need to eat 1600 calories (1200 + 400) minimum to maintain the 900 calorie deficit.

I hope all of this makes sense, feel free to keep asking questions until it's clear for you.

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I also want to point out that muscle takes up less space, meaning it's more dense, you can lose fat and GAIN muscle, causing the scale to say you havn't lost much weight, when you have lost INCHES instead. 

Another thing to point out is that muscle retain extra water when they are healing from workouts.  Be patient, it's working, it's just slow =)

Ok, so still not clear. I just need to know how many calories do I need to eat when I exercise. So if when I don't exercise I eat 1600 calories and then I go and burn 400 calories at the gym so that means for that day I need to eat 2000 calories. If this is correct--then I am on track right now by eating 1900 to 2100 calories when I work out?

O' I am trying to be pt. I must admit that my frustration came after I read a post about a girl that is eating 1200 to 1300 calories and exercising 60 min 6 days a week and lost 10 pounds in a month when I can barely lose 1 pound in a month. I want to do this the healthy way....it just gets frustrating when I read post like that...I want to be healthy but yet part of my brain still wants to see results!!

Don't worry about other peoples progress so much.  To be honest we never really know if these people are lying or not.  Some people make posts like that for attention, and I can tell you personally that 1200 calories is not enough for someone who is that active, they are destroying their bodies and it will hurt them in the long run.

So, now to answer your question.  You can safely maintain as high as 900 calories for a deficit.

So if you want to do the max you can everyday, do 1200 calories on the days you are completely Sedentary. 

When you work out, do 1200 calories -------> PLUS <------- whatever you burn exercising.  So if you normally burn 600 calories exercising, it will be 1200 + 600 calories to eat, meaning 1800 calories you need to consume.   If you normally burn 400 calories, you will need to eat 1200 + 400 calories, 1600 calories total. ect ect.

I have never heard it put that way--thanks nocturne--about the 1200 plus if I burn 600 then to add it for 1800. I think I like that a lot better than eating 2100 calories. Um, and Yes I will try to ignore post like that and try to remember that they may not be real & I do want to do this safely for my body & the right way--Thanks so much for taking the time to reply. I mainly just needed to vent. But I think I definetly will lower my calories to 1800 to 1900 instead of 2000 to 2100--I think it will be better--Thanks!

I know how frustrating it is, most people on this site do.  It's definately more important to diet safe and smart, than fast and damaging.  =)

Your other alternative to "eating back" whatever you exercise is to change your activity level to 'lightly active' to get your calorie needs and not worry about day-to-day fluctuations in your exercise. This is what I do, because I don't think that what the machines tell me, or even what my heart rate monitor tells me for that matter, is all that accurate on the number of calories burned, and I'm don't want to take the chance on eating too much back.

For perspective I'm 5'4", 31 and have gone from 188-->155 since January eating, on average, 1700 calories per day and exercising, on average 30 minutes 5 days a week plus 2-3 days resistance training.  Slow, yes, but I gained weight slowly, too.

What kind of interval cardio are you doing for 60 minutes? 

Hey, I love interval training and I'm always looking for a new one. What one are you doing?

wow... this thread really scared me because twice a week i go to the gym and only do cardio for about 2 hours or so.. and i burn around 1100-1500 kcal... and i eat around 1600-1700 ...

 

okay, this doesn't seem too good... or am i just  over-reacting?

sooji, I'm not sure how to help you...Just make sure you eat alot. And for the rest of you all. Interval cardio this is what I'm doing, I don't feel like jogging yet because I don't feel like I can carry my weight although I know some people my size do jog , I just don't want to yet so for 60 minutes a day this is what I do

0-2minutes--walk at a 0 incline , 2 mph/speed

2-5  minutes- walk at a 5 incline, 3 pmh

5-7 minutes--walk at an 11 incline, 2 mph

7-9 min, walk at a 10 incline, 1.5 mph

9-11 min, walk at a 12 incline, 2.5 mph

11-13, walk at a 10 incline, 1.5 mph

13-15, walk at a 12 incline, 2.5 mph

15-16, walk at a 1 incline, 4 mph walking  fast for  me

16-17, walk at a 1 incline, 3.5 mph 

17-18, walk at a 1 incline, 4 mph

18-20, walk at a 1 incline, 3.5 mph

Then I start all over again! I"m really enjoying this ..I found it in a fitness magazine & I do it all the time now! I really feel like I'm getting in a good workout. This is about my 4th week doing it & I am bumping up my speeds... 

Maybe have your thyroid checked....

 

Best of luck...

Basically, I think all you need to focus on is this:

The TOP number on your burn meter MINUS the BOTTOM number on your eat meter EQUALS your deficit (as long as everything as been logged in properly).  The TOP number equals how many calories you have burned for that day including your exercise, when you log it in.

Once you calculate that number, you can make adjustments accordingly. 

i think for best results, keep your activity level in your account at sedentary and just log in your excercise per day.  This way the burn meter number for each day more accurately reflects what you have done on that day.