What does' net calories consumed' mean on MFP

CJsf1t
CJsf1t Posts: 414 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Today I was checking the reports on my MFP profile. When checking for net calories consumed it showed the following numbers for past three days, 861, 962, 967! How does this happen when I have eaten between 1500-1700 cals for the said days?

Replies

  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
    Net calories is the # of calories you've eaten minus the # of calories you've burned. Your goal should be for this number to be as close to your daily goal as possible. The however to this is that if you're using MFP burn calculations, they do tend to overestimate, but you can edit them to show half of what they origianlly give you.

    For instance, if you enter walking for 30 miutes and it gives you 400 calories, click in the box, delete the 400 and enter 200. That way it will correctly edit your daily goal on your profile.
  • CJsf1t
    CJsf1t Posts: 414 Member
    edited October 2014
    My daily goal is 1590 cals, so my net calories should be that right? Is it bad if its this low i.e. 800-900 cals etc
  • joelschneider45066
    joelschneider45066 Posts: 76 Member
    Yea you really want to get as close to that "Goal" number as possible.
  • terbusha
    terbusha Posts: 1,483 Member
    I don't log my exercises. What I do and what I recommend to people is to eat at a calorie level that allows you to make good progress towards your goal. If you are trying to lose weight, eat so you drop 1-2 lbs/week. This assumes an average calorie burn from you getting in all of your workouts. This will be different for everyone, so you'll have to do some trial and error to figure it out. I'd start ~1800 cal/day. Hit this goal, along with your macros and getting in your workouts, for a week. If you lose 1-2 lbs, you're good to go. If you lose too much, increase your intake and repeat. If you don't lose enough, reduce your intake a bit and repeat. After a few weeks, you'll figure out what works for you in your situation.

    Allan
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    joelschneider45066 wrote: »
    Yea you really want to get as close to that "Goal" number as possible.

    This^

    MFP gave you a deficit before exercise. That way people who can't/won't exercise still lose weight. You need extra fuel for workouts. As Minnie pointed out, MFP gives generous estimates....so eat back a portion of your calories.

    861 is scary low....you want to lose fat & keep lean muscle. Too low for too long can lead to lean muscle loss.
  • CJsf1t
    CJsf1t Posts: 414 Member
    Thanks everyone. I think I get it now :). I too think that MFP overestimates exercise cals.
  • cstevenson86
    cstevenson86 Posts: 158 Member
    Just a suggestion, that I'm currently trying out. I agree MFP overestimates on how much we lose from exercise. I have decreased the time on my workouts. My main source of working out is Zumba. I do Zumba 60 minutes a day. It usually says I've burned over 1,000 calories...which I think is a little high. I decreased the time by 10-15 minutes and now it says I've burned around 800 calories. I think that's more plausible. Maybe this would work for you? Good luck!
  • engodwin
    engodwin Posts: 516 Member
    mrsmay1986 wrote: »
    I do Zumba 60 minutes a day. It usually says I've burned over 1,000 calories...which I think is a little high. I decreased the time by 10-15 minutes and now it says I've burned around 800 calories. I think that's more plausible. Maybe this would work for you? Good luck!


    I think 800 calories is still an over estimate.

    "Women in an average weight range, say roughly 120-170 for estimation purposes, are going to burn between 350 and 650 calories in an hour of Zumba, if they go at full intensity through the entire class." (http://www.fitnessblender.com/v/article-detail/Hype-about-Zumba-Calories-Burned-Does-Zumba-Burn-1000-Calories-an-Hour-/6p/) Bolding mine.

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