Net amount goal? Before or after exercise?

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Ili_g
Ili_g Posts: 15 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all! I have a simple question that might be dumb to most but I need help with lol. I am wondering if net amount at the end of the day should be your goal before or after exercise. I'm just trying to get my calories right while I begin my healthier journey and lose some lbs. A simple answer would be much appreciated! Not looking for judgment of any sort just some helpful answers! Thanks!

Replies

  • mymodernbabylon
    mymodernbabylon Posts: 1,038 Member
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    Eat back 1/2 of your exercise calories unless you have synched a heart rate monitor or something similar to MFP (then eat it all).
  • terbusha
    terbusha Posts: 1,483 Member
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    Personally, I ignore the calories burnt during exercise. 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 ~1600 cal/day. Hit this goal, along with your macros and getting in your workouts, for 2 weeks. 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.
  • wolfordwebsites
    wolfordwebsites Posts: 24 Member
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    I have my settings to lose 2 pounds a week, and I have done exactly that for the past eight weeks. And I eat back all my calories. I end the day maybe 50 calories into the green.
  • veganbaum
    veganbaum Posts: 1,865 Member
    edited March 2015
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    Since you're just starting out, it may be best to begin with using MFP as it is intended. Down the road you can always adjust.

    That means, you enter your activity level WITHOUT exercise. Enter your weekly goal. With 80 pounds, you can start of at two pounds a week, but may find it more reasonable to do one. Regardless, as you lose weight, you will need to decrease your weekly loss goal. The number of calories MFP then gives you includes a deficit for you to lose weight.

    Then, add in your exercise each day you do it. Eat 50-75% of your exercise calories to account for inaccuracies. (Most people find that MFP overestimates exercise calories, though there are some who can eat 100% of those cals just fine.)

    It's all just numbers. It is healthiest and more sustainable to lose weight at a reasonable deficit. Trying to get the biggest deficit you can is not necessarily the best way to go about things.

    Also, you should read the stickies in the Getting Started category.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/818082/exercise-calories-again-wtf/p1
  • amandastock
    amandastock Posts: 53 Member
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    After . If you log your exercise it adds those calories into your total for the day as extra calories that you can eat or not.
  • MysticRealm
    MysticRealm Posts: 1,264 Member
    edited March 2015
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    Net Calories means this

    If you eat 1200 cals, and burn 200 cals during exercise you will NET 1000 cals.
    So to NET the amount of calories you are supposed to you would have to eat 1400 cals to make up for the 200 cals you burned (1400-200 burned cals = NET 1200)
    Most people only use 1/2-3/4 of the cals that MFP exercise database tells them to eat as they are often overestimates of what you have actually burned. So if mfp tells you you burn 100 cals, most people eat 50-75 of them back.
    The way MFP is designed is that they take your calorie deficit out of your 'everyday life' calories, so if you were to do zero exercise at all you would still lose weight. They encourage you to exercise, so you can eat more calories. They want you to exercise because it's healthy for your body. Cardio is good for the heart, lifting is good for preserving muscle.
  • bio_fit
    bio_fit Posts: 307 Member
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    I set my calorie goal by saying I was sedentary. I then log my exercise each day, and eat my additional exercise calories. It gives me the motivation to actually go do something, if it means I can fit a slice of cake into my day! :)
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    MysticRealm wrote: »
    Net Calories means this

    If you eat 1200 cals, and burn 200 cals during exercise you will NET 1000 cals.
    So to NET the amount of calories you are supposed to you would have to eat 1400 cals to make up for the 200 cals you burned (1400-200 burned cals = NET 1200)
    Most people only use 1/2-3/4 of the cals that MFP exercise database tells them to eat as they are often overestimates of what you have actually burned. So if mfp tells you you burn 100 cals, most people eat 50-75 of them back.
    The way MFP is designed is that they take your calorie deficit out of your 'everyday life' calories, so if you were to do zero exercise at all you would still lose weight. They encourage you to exercise, so you can eat more calories. They want you to exercise because it's healthy for your body. Cardio is good for the heart, lifting is good for preserving muscle.

    ^^ she nailed it!
  • Ili_g
    Ili_g Posts: 15 Member
    edited March 2015
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    Thanks so much everyone! All this info is really helpful :D I have been cutting the calories MFP says I've lost while exercising in half because the #s seemed really high. Looking into getting a polar watch or something similar to accurately log workouts. So now I know how to balance that with calories eaten. I was stressing on eating too much or too little. Thanks again!
  • Ili_g
    Ili_g Posts: 15 Member
    edited March 2015
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    (*) (*)
  • mwebster01
    mwebster01 Posts: 111 Member
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    Ili_g wrote: »
    Hi all! I have a simple question that might be dumb to most but I need help with lol. I am wondering if net amount at the end of the day should be your goal before or after exercise. I'm just trying to get my calories right while I begin my healthier journey and lose some lbs. A simple answer would be much appreciated! Not looking for judgment of any sort just some helpful answers! Thanks!
    your net calories includes everything,calories plus exercise,so if your daily calories goal is 1200,then at the end of the day make make sure your your net calories are zero,that means you ate 1200 calories.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
    edited March 2015
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    MFP is just trying to trick you and keep everyone fat...that's why it gives you those extra calories to eat and calls it your goal...

    3553977-sarcasm.gif
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,627 Member
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    i started at 1200 cals/ day and ate back all my exercise calories cause i was starving.

    after about a month and a half, i adjusted to 1600 cals/day and *usually* do not eat back my calories (cause im not hungry - if i were hungry i would/do).

    my weight loss has remained the same 1.5-2 pounds per week

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