Net in the equasion question

pattywedge

Is the Net suppose to be higher than the calories you consume? I am trying to figure out the equation, I am not sure what the Net represents. I am wanting to lose 1 pound a week so I want to make sure I am figuring my calories right.

malibu927

Net calories=total calories consumed-calories burned via exercise, so it'll be lower

pattywedge

Malibu if the Net is higher does it mean you will lose more weight?

Allelito

pattywedge wrote: »

Malibu if the Net is higher does it mean you will lose more weight?

No..
If you eat 2000 calories, and burn 500 calories doing exercise, your total calories consumed are 2000, but your net calories will be 1500 calories (2000-500).

malibu927

pattywedge wrote: »

Malibu if the Net is higher does it mean you will lose more weight?

The only way your net would be higher is if you have an activity tracker (i.e. Fitbit, Jawbone) with negative calories enabled and you aren't burning enough to meet what MFP says is your maintenance burn.

futuremanda

Think of it like this:

Your body needs energy to live. (Heartbeat, walking to the kitchen, etc)
Your body needs energy to train. (Go on a run, lift heavy things, etc)

You are trying to eat enough to fuel living and training (if you're training), but actually less than your body needs, so that it has to take some of that energy from your fat stores. (And other tissues, unfortunately.)

MFP doesn't know in advance if you'll do any exercise. So it tells you how much to eat, assuming you won't be. (That you'll just be sleeping, working, showering, etc.)

So for simple numbers:

Say the body needs 2000 calories to maintain its current weight, with the lifestyle being lead. Say MFP gives you a target of 1500 (for a loss of 1 lb per week, you get a 500 deficit per day).

If you eat 1500, and don't exercise, you've netted 1500. You gave yourself 1500 units of fuel, and you burned 2000 through living, and 0 through exercise. 2000-1500 = 500. Right on target!

If you eat 1500, then go and burn 500, you burned 2000 through living, and 500 through exercise. 2500-1500 = 1000. That's 500 more than target, double your target, twice as fast as you said you wanted to lose.

So MFP says this:

Eating 1500 but burning off 500 of it is sort of like eating 1000 only, because you used the 500 for exercise, leaving only 1000 for your body to live on. We agreed you'd give your body 1500 to live on, so, you've only net 1000. Please eat another 500 to net your target of 1500.

Calories Eaten - Calories Exercised Off = Net.

MFP wants you to NET your target, not eat it. If it knew you were going to exercise in advance, it would have given you a higher target to eat. Ex: If it knew you'd burn 250 a day, and that you wanted a deficit of 500 a day, it would have said to eat 1750 and burn 250 (for a net of 1500, and a deficit of 500).

pattywedge

Oh so we want our Net to equal the calories we are allotted for the day?

juggernaut1974

pattywedge wrote: »

Oh so we want our Net to equal the calories we are allotted for the day?

Yes.

I would only caution that is quite common to overestimate calories burned from exercise, so some will choose to only eat a portion of those back.

pattywedge

Yes I tend to get around 1,000 calories or more a day in exercise and I don't eat them all back every day but occasionally I will. I have around 17 pounds to lose and so it is getting harder for me to lose my weight.

juggernaut1974

pattywedge wrote: »

Yes I tend to get around 1,000 calories or more a day in exercise and I don't eat them all back every day but occasionally I will. I have around 17 pounds to lose and so it is getting harder for me to lose my weight.

What does a typical day of exercise look like for you? I am HIGHLY suspicious of sort of regular, daily exercise regimen that would approach 1,000 calories per day (as an example, that would be roughly equivalent to an average size person running approximately 10 miles every day at a pretty quick pace).

pattywedge

I walk 5 miles a day and do Aerobics 3 to 5 times a week.

daniwilford

pattywedge wrote: »

Yes I tend to get around 1,000 calories or more a day in exercise and I don't eat them all back every day but occasionally I will. I have around 17 pounds to lose and so it is getting harder for me to lose my weight.

How do you get anything else but exercise done? That's like 10 miles and a long hard strength train at the gym for me.

juggernaut1974

pattywedge wrote: »

I walk 5 miles a day and do Aerobics 3 to 5 times a week.

Yeah, that would not burn anywhere near 1000 calories per day. If you're adjusting your intake based on that, that is likely the issue.