On this service Calorie Count, is there...

Something that tracks how many calories you save each day (so I can see how often I hit 3500, so I know I'm within range of losing a pound, even if I don't see it on a scale)

If not, I'll do the math on my own everyday, but just wondered, because it seems like something that belongs here. I'm thinking maybe I'm not seeing it.

Because body-weight is made up of fat, fluid, bone and muscle it's not always possible to make a direct correlation between a deficit of 3600 cals and a steady 1lb lost on the scales.  Body-weight rarely comes down in nice straight lines and if you expect that to happen you can end up disappointed and demoralised.   If you aim for a deficit of between 500 and 700 cals a day you can expect to lose an average of 1 or 2lbs a week.... work with that and you'll be fine.

I agree, I would like a deficit tracker.  But there isn't one, and likely for all the reasons that GI Jane stated.  Even though you may hit a 3500 calorie deficit, you may not lose 1 lb, our bodies rarely do exactly what we think they should.  It may make people more discouraged or confused than they already get.

There's also potentially an issue with a totaliser.... Someone that sees their deficit is only up to 2000 for the week could possibly do something silly like eat nothing at all for the last day so that they get their 3600 for the week.   Madder things happen.

Thank you everyone.

Personally, I do like to track it even if there isn't a direct correlation, because for me its more about seeing my progress in terms of the goals I set forth.

I'm more of a lifestyle-change person than anything else, and like to see my progress stack up, precisely because of the reason that I can't rely on the scale, but not everyone is like me. I might be an odd duck.

I really think it will help me with my portion control issues to celebrate my progress by those numbers, than that of the scale's.

I'll make a quick excel program and log my dailies there. Thanks!

hello, I'm like you. I must see my deficit each day. I have a calendar on my desktop that I input my toal calories and my calories burned. I do the math and log it in. I also put all my activities. I switch my routine daily(except for the yoga) so I won't get borded. I count down a .25 lb lose every day since I started logging the info in this way.  I also weigh all my foods.  I've lost 13 lbs so far and I really do eat all day.  Once I lose 10 more lbs I will realx the weighing of the food.

Good Luck On Your Journey Towards Health

Anne

I also kind of feel the need to track that. I'm a perfectionist by nature, I need to plan everything thoroughly and I have a to do list for every day, so I thought, why not do the same for weight loss. Like: To do: exercise 10 min longer to reach -3500 ... ;)

I made a simple Excel-sheet, in which I just have to enter my consumed and burned calories, and it calculates my daily deficit, weekly deficit and averages of all daily values. Took me a while to figure everything out, since I am really no expert at excel sheets, but once I had it up and running, it worked like a charm.

For some reason, I could actually see a correlation between weekly deficit and weight loss. I might be an exception, then ... :)

Sorry to sound like a total beginner, but could you help me understand what 3500 deficit is all about please?

I understand about the need for a clorie deficit, but could someone run me thorugh an idiots guide(not too simple mind...i do know a fair bit!!!)

About deficits and the ideal etc

Many thanks to anyone who can help me out!

Minnie_uk, 3500 cals is roughly the number of calories / energy in 1 lbs.   The idea is that if you have a deficit of 3500 calories, theoretically, one will lose one lbs. 

But as you can see from this discussion it is not a straight line. 

As for a deficit tracker - I like to see this number too.  I have noticed that I seem to have more efficient weight loss at around 750 cal deficit.  Less and I dont really budge the scale close to 1 lbs a week.  Over 750 cals I dont budge the scale either.  I have seen comments from others about this too.  Every one has a different magic number. This is purely anecdotal of course.  But when I stall I go back to the numbers and make the change needed I see an improvement.

As madamq pointed out, 750calories a day is what works for some people, other people may be different.  Just to clarify though, don't think that because a 750 calorie deficit works that a 1750 calorie deficit is ok.  You may lose, but having deficits of over 1000 calories a day is not good, and could lead to conservation mode (basically starving your body to the point that you metabolism slows down).  You can average you deficits out for the week or so, don't be worried if one day has a huge deficit as long as it isn't the norm.

A safe loss goal is about 1% a week of your current body weight, so if you were 150lbs than you can safely lose 1.5lbs a week, which is 5250 calorie deficit a week or 750 deficit a day.  If you were 200lbs, you would aim for about a 1000 calorie deficit a day.

ALWAYS keep in mind that your body will likely do whatever it wants anyway, so be prepared to see different results than what you may expect.