Confused about kcal tracking

KatiaLavett

Hi everyone!

I just started up with chronometer again for weight loss.
At this stage I have set a goal to loose 0,5kg a week but I wonder if I have to track this myself or if the app will tell me how many calories I am allowed to consume to keep my goal?
If I click on the "Remaining" circle it says "goal deficit" -499, I am currently on 263kcals.
Am I supposed to leave 499kcals every day or does the app automatically retract these -499 kcals from calculation?

I consumed 1822kcals today and burned off 2584 through exercise, is it not allowed to eat a bit more if you burn calories the same day?

Karen_Cronometer

Hi KatiaLavett,

To lose 0.5 kg/week you would need a calorie deficit of 499 each day. This means you need to burn 499 kcal more than you eat each day to reach this deficit.

Calories burned will take into account your BMR as well as your activity level and/or exercises that you add to your diary. If you add more exercises one day, you will be able to eat more kcals than on the days you have exercised less.

Cheers,

KatiaLavett

Thanks for the answer!
Though I don't really understand how to read my results, I did eat 1822kcals but then I burned 2584kcals so: 2584-1822= 762

Am I to understand that my BMR eats up 499kcal so that I am only left with 263kcal more to consume for the day?

KatiaLavett

does anyone know?

jefmcg

"Am I to understand that my BMR eats up 499kcal so that I am only left with 263kcal more to consume for the day?"

Yes, but no. You do have 263kcal left to eat that day, but it's nothing to do with your BMR. Your BMR makes up part of the 2584kcals.

To lose 1/2 kg you need a deficit of 499kcal/day. So if you have burned 2584kcals then you can eat 2584-499=2085kcal that day. If you have already eaten 1822kcal then indeed you do have 2085 (your daily calorie allowance) minus 1822 (how much you have eaten) left, which is 263kcal.

That's the theory. In practice, that hasn't worked for me. A daily calorie deficit > 300kcal gave me zero net weight change of 14 days. Estimating burn and intake is not as simple as it seems.

KatiaLavett

jefmcg: Thanks for your answer!
What helped you then? I failed now because I didn't eat enough kcal this week and ended up compensating. It doesn't help that I am really bad at understanding math too, lol!

jefmcg

https://forums.cronometer.com/discussion/comment/10334#Comment_10334

I'm on the beginning of my journey and haven't made much progress yet, but I will tell you what I am trying. Note I am not a doctor, or dietician; please do your own research or talk to your doctor - don't just rely on me.

BACKGROUND (you can skip this 👍)

I've been around the same weight at least 4 years, 30 BMI, plus or minus. So just above or below the threshold for obese. Recently I decided to do something about that, and I started tracking my food and activity. After generally "watching" what I ate for a few weeks, with no change, I noticed the option to set a goal for losing weight. I spent 2 weeks laboriously logging every mouthful of food, and letting Google Fit record my activity (ignoring anything I did without my phone in my hand) and found I didn't lose any weight despite an apparent average deficit of over 300kcal/day. That was hard work and involved some deprivation. I knew I couldn't keep it up for months, and certainly not with a bigger deficit. In the long term I can't count every calorie every day and I can't be hungry all the time for the rest of my life. I looked at 5:2, and then found the latest book by the guy who developed it, The Fast 800. I read the book and looked at some of the research behind it, and decided to give it a go. That was 6 days ago.

WHAT I AM DOING

Eating 800kcal/day, regardless of activity levels, mediterranean style: lots of veggies, olive oil, meat etc little to no starchy carbs or sugar. I'm making sure I get a variety of veggies each day and at least 60g of protein. Cronometer is a huge help there.

RESULTS:

Really encouraging! In 6 days I have lost 3.7kg and 4 cm (nearly 2 inches) around my waist. Two thoughts would have leapt to my mind a month ago if someone told me that. "That must be water weight" and "You'll put it on again as soon as you go off it". There would be some truth in the first one, as my calorie deficit only accounts for 1kg, but waist decrease is a good sign that a lot of it is fat. The second one is commonly believed, but according to recent research, losing weight faster means you are more likely to keep it off in the long term.

MY PLAN

The book says to keep doing this for 2-12 weeks, then switch to normal mediterranean diet with portion control with 2 days a week keeping to 800kcal, and then one day a week when you reach your target, going back to 2 if the weight starts creeping back.

I plan to keep on 800kcal for another week and then probably switch to the 5:2 pattern. When I am happy with the weight loss, I will switch to 6:1 and go back to my previous eating for the 6 days, and 800kcal low carb one day per week. Fingers crossed.

(sorry this is so long, but it was useful to me to put it in writing)

Susan_RD_101

Just a note with weight loss; whatever you do to lose weight you need to do to maintain weight loss. There's no such thing as a perfect diet... It's important to find an approach that is relatively simply and sustainable in the long run.

KatiaLavett

aight, cool!

I'm trying to lose weight slowly and not make any huge changes to my diet other than cutting back on sugar/caloric rich food. And also exercising every day (moderate exercise)

Susan_RD_101

@KatiaLavett

This is honestly probably the best approach. We make food and nutrition more complicated than it needs to be. The key is finding something that works for you in the long-term.

Best of luck!