How to determine calorie deficit level

CMCM · 10-08-2008, 11:57 PM

So I did the Harris Benedict thing to determine what my base level of calories is....I came up with 1396.

If I cut some calories below that AND burn some thru exercise, you can see I would end up below 1,000. So what to do?

A few years ago I did that Balance Log test (where you breathe into a device, which analyzes and figures out your basal metabolism level. That one produced a calorie level of 1800 calories.

My observation has been that at this level of 1300 or so, AND with my periods of sometimes quite intense exercise, I still don't lose fat. This is what drives me batty....how could I not lose??? And where do I go from here in terms of figuring out how many calories to shoot for?

jenofthemountain · 10-09-2008, 12:53 AM

Sounds like 1300 is your BASE (BMR). Which is what you would burn if you did nothing but lay in bed all day. Did you add an activity mutipler to it? Based on what you have said , I'm taking a wild guess and saying your are fairly active so you probebly want to mutltipy at at least 1.5 to that which would be about 1950 calories a day (but probebly more).

Check this website out:

Harris Benedict Equation

As far as why you don't lose at the lower calorie levels.. could be many different reasons. I would highly recommend buying Leigh's books (both of them MRM and FLTS) and read them front to back - twice. A lot of your questions and frustrations will be answered.

Tiggy · 10-09-2008, 01:09 AM

I use Free Diet Plans and Weight Loss Programs which will give you multiple caloric equations that are plug 'n' play. Choose 'calculators' from the menu on the left.

It''s 'daily caloric needs' section splits your requirements into Extreme Fat loss calories, Fat Loss Calories, and Maintenance. It's very convenient...and it also does calorie cycling!

It also has a part that does macros for popular diets (VLCD, LCD, Zone, etc.).

Check it out so you can get it off yer mind.

maggieandmommy · 10-09-2008, 07:49 AM

You have to add in your activity level for Harris Benedict, like Jen said. Figure out what your activity level for the day is. Are you working out hard? Do you have tough/intense workouts but then work at a desk job or don't do much moving around the rest of the day? Do you have a high NEAT (general moving around activity) level? a low NEAT level? That would tell you what your multiplier should be, which would give you the daily caloric needs. You would figure out your deficit from that point.

I second Jen's recommendation to check out Leigh's books--FLTS and MRM. They answered so many questions for me.