Can someone accurately explain net calories to me by any chance. It would be greatly appreciated!

JollyHodgers87

I understand how net calories are calculated. But how do I utilize my net calorie number. What is the purpose of the net calorie number. They say that's how much more you can eat. But I've read you have to burn more calories than you eat...That doesn't make sense. My goal every day is to eat less than 1200 calories and of course get all the right nutrients whilst doing so. Should I have a goal for how many "net" calories I have left? Should that number be high or low? I have to burn over 1200 calories with excercise per day or my healthy eating will cancel out? Surely I'm just not understanding clearly...It's taking a really long time for me to lose weight and I am wondering if it's taking so long because I am doing something wrong.

For instance, here is where I'm at today so far. I just finished lunch.

goal- 1200 calories
food- 517 (was all fruits/ veggies/ protein etc)
exercise- 174 (done today with jogging and calisthenics)
net- 343
calories remaining- 857

Should I eat 857 more calories or 343?

Please help? I am utterly confused and have been working very hard trying to figure it out.

TeaBea

1200 net is the bare minimum for any woman. MFP calculated 1200 with ZERO exercise based on "I want to lose XX pounds per week".

Eat 1374 - exercise 174 = 1200 net

So the short answer is eat 857.

Now, the long answer (sorry).....how did you come up with 174? If you used MFPs generic number.....take 174 with a grain of salt. Calorie burns are hard to estimate, some people log food more accurately than others.....whether you eat 100% of exercise calories....or 50% (or somewhere in between) is trial and error.

Fruits / veggies / protein / fats ....etc.

dubird

You eat the calories remaining. Net calories is how much of what you've eaten hasn't been burned off from exercise. It's like a net profit is how much you make on a job after you account for expenses. (holy crap, i just made what little something i learned about accounting relevant to real life! XD)

And if you are using MFP to get your calories burned, be aware that MFP vastly overestimates the calories burned, so you should only eat back about half of that. MFP uses a generic calculation to estimate the calories burned, which doesn't take into account your age, weight, heart rate, etc. If you want a more accurate track of what you burned, get a tracker with a heart rate monitor.

JollyHodgers87

@TeaBea thanks for the help. I got the 174 from what it tells me I get from 10 minutes of calisthetics (I may have misspelled that) plus 10 minutes of jogging in place. I exercise in increments throughout the day before work, after work, on lunch etc because I work full time and play music full time so it's hard to make time for exercise otherwise. @dubird Thanks. I've noticed that about the logging. you have definitely got to pick the ones that say they are verified. But I have mainly been using the qr code scanner on my food so I know it's accurate. I've really limited my intake of foods I can't log the best I can.

So I think I'm getting it guys..

Is it better for my net number to be lower or higher? (Trust me I appreciate the patience. I wasn't destined to be a mathmetician). I wonder if there is a way to calculate. For instance if I have 30 net calories at the end of the day and ate 1200 would that be 30/1200 to determine what percentage of a pound I've lost? Seems to make sense. Would be 0.025... Then I can get excited at the possibilities and plan more!

steelyjoe22

Your Goal calories are set based on your BMR minus weigh loss goals.

BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is an estimation of how many calories will require to stay alive today. MFP uses height, weight, gender, and age to approximate this . . . but it's not 100% accurate.

To lose weight, you need to consume less calories today than you will burn. To gain weight, you need to consume more calories than you will burn. 1 lb of fat is 3500 calories. MFP uses a weekly weight loss goal to figure out your goal calories.

My BMR is 2620 calories. I have a goal to lose 1.5 lbs this week . . . so I need to eat 1.5 lbs of fat less than I burn. Therefore, I will create a calorie deficit this week of 1.5*3500=5250 calories, or 750 per day. This means my "goal" calories would be 1870 per day.

As TeaBea says, for health reasons, MFP won't advise a goal of less than 1200, or more than 2 lbs per week (7,000 calories or 1,000/day). So if your BMR minus your weight loss goal leaves you below this number, it will raise your goal back up to 1200.

Now for net calories - BMR assumes that you are sedentary, or doing a minimum amount of exercise. If you do exercise, you will burn calories above and beyond your BMR, and this will add to the amount of food that MFP recommends you consume today. "Net" is Food minus the additional calories above your BMR that you have burned today. I wouldn't get too hung up on this metric. It's there to try to guide you with a number of calories that you've effectively consumed that day. In your case, if you burned 1200 calories in exercise, then ate your normal goal of 1200, your net would be zero. This means that you haven't eaten any of the BMR "maintenance" calories that your body needs to stay alive each day. This can be dangerous.

As dubird says, the exercise calories may not be accurate. They do account for height, weight, and age (I've seen mine change for the same exercise as I lose weight), but a HRM will be more accurate.

JollyHodgers87

@steelyjoe22 Oivay this is complicated! No wonder so many Americans are overweight! Anyway, I just did a calculator online..My bmr is 1373. Help! LOL I appreciate you all. Wow. You are all so helpful!

jaga13

I'm gonna try to "uncomplicate" this for ya .....

If you are personally aiming for 1200 each day, then that is your net goal after exercise. So if you log 200 calories of exercise in a day, your goal changes to eat 1400 calories that day. 1400 total eaten - 200 exercised = 1200 net. Which is what you want.

Here are more examples:

100 exercise calorie = you want to eat 1300:
1300 eaten - 100 exercised = 1200 net.

300 exercise calories = you want to eat 1500:
1500 eaten - 300 exercised = 1200 net.

500 exercise calories = you want to eat 1700:
1700 eaten - 500 exercised = 1200 net.


With all that in mind, 1200 may be a little too low for you, but that really isn't what you asked about in the net topic.

supersocks117

jaga13 wrote: »

I'm gonna try to "uncomplicate" this for ya .....

If you are personally aiming for 1200 each day, then that is your net goal after exercise. So if you log 200 calories of exercise in a day, your goal changes to eat 1400 calories that day. 1400 total eaten - 200 exercised = 1200 net. Which is what you want.

Here are more examples:

100 exercise calorie = you want to eat 1300:
1300 eaten - 100 exercised = 1200 net.

300 exercise calories = you want to eat 1500:
1500 eaten - 300 exercised = 1200 net.

500 exercise calories = you want to eat 1700:
1700 eaten - 500 exercised = 1200 net.


With all that in mind, 1200 may be a little too low for you, but that really isn't what you asked about in the net topic.

This. MFP builds your deficit into your food, so if you exercise you are either creating a bigger deficit (that you don't need unless you want to lose faster than you set MFP at) which you can eat back.

GauchoMark

I rarely look at my net calories unless I am just trending data or something. Calories remaining is much more useful in determining how much you can eat.

JollyHodgers87

@jaga13 On point. I'm going to try this. I'll leave my 1200 calorie goal mfp set for me for now. But if I have a goal of 1000 for my net, that seems healthy to me. I would have to burn 200 calories a day. If it doesn't work out I can always raise my calorie goal to 1400 and try to burn 200 still...Thanks.

cwolfman13

It's like money. If you make $50,000 per year, that's your gross...your after tax is your net.

The way MFP works is that you get your calorie targets as per your stats, activity level (WITHOUT EXERCISE), and your desired weight management goals. So if you eat 1500 calories (gross) and exercise 300 calories, your gross would be 1,500 - 300 = 1,200 calories...but MFP means for you to account for your exercise by logging it and getting those 300 calories to eat back...so your net would actually be 1,500 and your gross would be 1,800.

steelyjoe22

Sorry for making it complicated! I'm an engineer and like to overexplain sometimes haha. I agree, it takes some understanding that a lot of Americans don't have. I've been using MFP for 3 years, so it now seems like second nature. But it's a big lifestyle change at first.

If your BMR is only 1373 calories . . . that means if you consume 1200 calories a day and don't exercise, it'll take 20 days to form a deficit large enough to lose 1 lb. This could explain why your results are slower than expected.

1373 seems low - I'm 6'2" and weigh 230 lbs . . . you must be smaller than me!

I'm not a professional . . . but just based on my experience, I wouldn't eat much below your 1200 calories. It can have adverse health effects, and make you feel hungry and want to binge eat. If you want to lose faster, I would add in more exercise. Some people here use the strategy of eating back 1/2 of exercise calories. Exercise will make you hungrier, so this gives some allowance for that, while still letting you lose weight a little faster than without the exercise.

pmm3437

Net calories is the amount of your intake that can be applied to support your TDEE ( basic life functions for your general activity level ).

Your daily TDEE requirement is met from a combination of net intake and using stored energy.

Your daily goal = TDEE requirement + exercise expenditure - minus expected stored energy usage ( weight loss rate goal )

Because this whole process has built in inaccuracies and is all estimations, you typically want to land slightly less than your daily calorie goal, to account for anomalies. How much less needs interpretation, based on demonstrated accuracy.

And, as others have said, you need to get a net 1200 minimum a day, unless medically supervised and instructed.

PattiWalling

What if you set your calorie goal and ate to that and let the exercise calories just go towards helping you get your weight off? As others have suggested, a Heart Rate Monitor would be a much more accurate way for you to know how many calories you are burning. While I log my calories burned everyday, I don't eat them back as I am using that to fuel my weight loss. Also, be very careful setting your daily calorie goal too low (under 1200) as it could backfire on you and stall your weight loss attempts. Best of luck to you!

cwolfman13

steelyjoe22 wrote: »

Sorry for making it complicated! I'm an engineer and like to overexplain sometimes haha. I agree, it takes some understanding that a lot of Americans don't have. I've been using MFP for 3 years, so it now seems like second nature. But it's a big lifestyle change at first.

If your BMR is only 1373 calories . . . that means if you consume 1200 calories a day and don't exercise, it'll take 20 days to form a deficit large enough to lose 1 lb. This could explain why your results are slower than expected.

1373 seems low - I'm 6'2" and weigh 230 lbs . . . you must be smaller than me!

I'm not a professional . . . but just based on my experience, I wouldn't eat much below your 1200 calories. It can have adverse health effects, and make you feel hungry and want to binge eat. If you want to lose faster, I would add in more exercise. Some people here use the strategy of eating back 1/2 of exercise calories. Exercise will make you hungrier, so this gives some allowance for that, while still letting you lose weight a little faster than without the exercise.

Dude...

1 - BMR is just the calories you burn by merely existing...she may very well have a BMR of 1373...but obviously a higher TDEE. You don't need a cut of 3500 calories from BMR to lose about 1 Lb per week...you cut from TDEE.

2 - The OP is female...comparing yourself as a 6'2" 230 Lb male is meaningless....

3 - 1,300 - 1,400 calories BMR is pretty much the average female.

cwolfman13

wstephens87 wrote: »

@steelyjoe22 Oivay this is complicated! No wonder so many Americans are overweight! Anyway, I just did a calculator online..My bmr is 1373. Help! LOL I appreciate you all. Wow. You are all so helpful!

It's actually not that complicated...

a calorie is a unit of energy...think of your body as a machine...just like any machine, your body requires energy to operate. your BMR is just the energy that is required to have your power button on...you exist and therefore you burn energy...a lot of it...

but, it's highly likely that you do more than just exist right? you get out of bed...you brush your teeth...you go to work...you shop...you cook...you clean, etc. all of this general activity also burns energy...so now, on top of your 1,373 calorie BMR you have all of this general activity. Most women, without deliberate exercise will require roughly 1,800 - 2,000 calories to maintain weight...that is their BMR and their day to day, general activity.

so lets just say you maintain on 1,800....that means at 1,200 net (WITHOUT EXERCISE) you would lose right around 1 Lb per week...maybe slightly more as it is a 600 per day deficit from maintenance.

Now you exercise...lets say 200 calories worth....now you could eat 1,200 + 200 = 1,400 (gross) and you could lose at the same rate because your 1,800 calorie maintenance didn't include exercise...so it would increase as well from 1,800 to 2,000 and 2,000 - 1,400 = 600 calorie deficit still.

Don't over-complicate it...it's 5th grade math.

dubird

Heh, let the person bad at math try to explain!


To start with, you have your BMR (Base Metabolic Rate). This is the number of calories you burn by existing. Basically, if you were lying in a coma, this is what your body would need to keep functioning.

Second is your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure). This is the number of calories you burn in a normal day, WITHOUT exercise. If you want to maintain your current weight, this is the number of calories you need to consume. There are a number of online calculators out there that will figure this for you, but be aware they're more estimates than hard numbers. Your definition of light activity might not match theirs, so it might be worth using several and taking an average. That's what I did, and it seems to work better for me.

Third is your deficit number. To lose weight, you have to consume less calories than your TDEE number. If your TDEE was 1500, you would need to eat less than that to lose weight. I don't know how much equals a pound and all that, but that's the basic premise of MFP. The number MFP calculates for you is your TDEE minus an amount to give you that deficit and lose weight. So if your TDEE was 1500, MFP would tell you to eat less, maybe 1300. That is what you aim for.

This is JUST with diet. Adding exercise does change those numbers. When you exercise, you are burning more calories than a NORMAL day. You have to account for those, so when you log it, MFP will add that number in for you and give you a Calories Remaining number to shoot for. That's the best thing about MFP for me is that it does the calculations for me. I'm horrible at math, so having an app do that makes it a LOT easier for me!


In short, MFP gives you the amount of calories to shoot for on a NORMAL day, without exercise. If you exercise and log it, MFP will adjust your goal for that day to account for it. The number you need to account for in checking your calories for the day is the Calories Remaining.

I hope this makes sense! I'm not always clear in explaining what I'm trying to say. ><

JollyHodgers87

No worries @steelyjoe22! I gotcha.

JollyHodgers87

@cwolfman13 if it helps I just did a TDEE calculator and got 2118 So I guess that means I need to eat between 1200 and 2118 a day? And I'd have to burn 900 calories a day. That's basically impossible. Maybe I need to shoot for 1500 a day or so and then burn 300 in excercize.

JollyHodgers87

Thanks @dubird I think I am going to try to eat more calories so I can have a higher Net and work out more.

sherrynickel

If you go to this site and look at each category, including measuring fat, and BMR, and the rest this might help too http://www.bmi-calculator.net/

sherrynickel

It becomes more than one measurement to determine where you are at, and what you should do, to get to where you want to be

Kimo159

You don't have a lot of weight to lose so I think netting 1200 calories is aggressive in the first place..but that's off topic.

cswolfman13 explained it pretty well..I doubt I can explain it any better myself.

If MFP has you set to 1200 calories a day for your weight loss goal then that is what you want to eat without exercise, any exercise you do on top of that would be additional food you get to eat (yay!). So if you exercise and burn 300 calories you can now eat 1500 and still make the weight loss goal you set for yourself. If you don't exercise then you just eat the 1200. Forget TDEE for now, it's just another number to get confused with. At this point as another posted said just focus on your calories remaining. If you log your exercise MFP will take the math out of it for you, just log food, log exercise and make sure you aren't in the red at the end of the day.

JollyHodgers87

Definitely an epiphany! Thanks for helping me figure all this out everyone and for the patience. I'm not eating enough! Much appreciated.

LeslieB042812

Also, I just looked at your profile and you noted that you don't log your food on weekends. That will DEFINITELY slow your weight down. It looks like you've lost quite a bit, so if you're happy with your rate of loss, then that's great, stick with it. However, if you're feeling frustrated, start logging on the weekends (even if you have to guess at what you're eating) and I bet you'll find that will restart your loss (or at least show you why you're not losing). For me, if I log and stay at my weight loss goal 4 or 5 days a week and then don't log 2 or 3 days a week, I will maintain, I won't lose. It might be that way for you too.

As other posters have said, don't worry about the ins and outs, just look if you have a green number (great, you can eat more!) or a red number (you've gone over) for your total calories. Good luck!

lynn_glenmont

dubird wrote: »

Heh, let the person bad at math try to explain!


To start with, you have your BMR (Base Metabolic Rate). This is the number of calories you burn by existing. Basically, if you were lying in a coma, this is what your body would need to keep functioning.

Second is your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure). This is the number of calories you burn in a normal day, WITHOUT exercise. If you want to maintain your current weight, this is the number of calories you need to consume. There are a number of online calculators out there that will figure this for you, but be aware they're more estimates than hard numbers. Your definition of light activity might not match theirs, so it might be worth using several and taking an average. That's what I did, and it seems to work better for me.

Third is your deficit number. To lose weight, you have to consume less calories than your TDEE number. If your TDEE was 1500, you would need to eat less than that to lose weight. I don't know how much equals a pound and all that, but that's the basic premise of MFP. The number MFP calculates for you is your TDEE minus an amount to give you that deficit and lose weight. So if your TDEE was 1500, MFP would tell you to eat less, maybe 1300. That is what you aim for.

Not exactly. TDEE is, like the name says, the total energy (a.k.a. calories) you burn in a day. WITH exercise (assuming that you do in fact exercise).

Also, MFP does not base your goal calories on your TDEE. It bases it on your before-exercise energy expenditure -- essentially your BMR multiplied by a factor that is supposed to take account of your normal, non-exercise activity (e.g., running after toddlers, mowing the lawn, walking around stocking shelves at work, etc.). If you log exercise, MFP expects you to eat back the calories burned from exercise, so that maintain your goal deficit.

dubird

lynn_glenmont wrote: »

dubird wrote: »

Heh, let the person bad at math try to explain!


To start with, you have your BMR (Base Metabolic Rate). This is the number of calories you burn by existing. Basically, if you were lying in a coma, this is what your body would need to keep functioning.

Second is your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure). This is the number of calories you burn in a normal day, WITHOUT exercise. If you want to maintain your current weight, this is the number of calories you need to consume. There are a number of online calculators out there that will figure this for you, but be aware they're more estimates than hard numbers. Your definition of light activity might not match theirs, so it might be worth using several and taking an average. That's what I did, and it seems to work better for me.

Third is your deficit number. To lose weight, you have to consume less calories than your TDEE number. If your TDEE was 1500, you would need to eat less than that to lose weight. I don't know how much equals a pound and all that, but that's the basic premise of MFP. The number MFP calculates for you is your TDEE minus an amount to give you that deficit and lose weight. So if your TDEE was 1500, MFP would tell you to eat less, maybe 1300. That is what you aim for.

Not exactly. TDEE is, like the name says, the total energy (a.k.a. calories) you burn in a day. WITH exercise (assuming that you do in fact exercise).

Also, MFP does not base your goal calories on your TDEE. It bases it on your before-exercise energy expenditure -- essentially your BMR multiplied by a factor that is supposed to take account of your normal, non-exercise activity (e.g., running after toddlers, mowing the lawn, walking around stocking shelves at work, etc.). If you log exercise, MFP expects you to eat back the calories burned from exercise, so that maintain your goal deficit.

To my knowledge, your TDEE is what your normal energy expenditure is. So if someone exercises every day for the same amount of time, it would count as part of it since it's part of their daily routine. For me, TDEE is WITHOUT exercise. I don't exercise regularly. Granted I have started walking twice a week, but it's not always the same amount so I count it as extra. And in weeks like last week and this week, with medical last week and wedding stuff this week, there hasn't been exercise. So why would I add that in when it's not regular and not always the same?

JollyHodgers87

LeslieB042812 wrote: »

Also, I just looked at your profile and you noted that you don't log your food on weekends. That will DEFINITELY slow your weight down. It looks like you've lost quite a bit, so if you're happy with your rate of loss, then that's great, stick with it. However, if you're feeling frustrated, start logging on the weekends (even if you have to guess at what you're eating) and I bet you'll find that will restart your loss (or at least show you why you're not losing). For me, if I log and stay at my weight loss goal 4 or 5 days a week and then don't log 2 or 3 days a week, I will maintain, I won't lose. It might be that way for you too.

As other posters have said, don't worry about the ins and outs, just look if you have a green number (great, you can eat more!) or a red number (you've gone over) for your total calories. Good luck!

You have a point. It is very hard to do. But I see your point. No one said this would be easy! LOL

LeslieB042812

wstephens87 wrote: »

LeslieB042812 wrote: »

You have a point. It is very hard to do. But I see your point. No one said this would be easy! LOL

Yes, it is hard, but if you just take it one bite at time, you'll get there. That's what I'm trying for and some weeks it's harder than others.

dubird

LeslieB042812 wrote: »

wstephens87 wrote: »

You have a point. It is very hard to do. But I see your point. No one said this would be easy! LOL

Yes, it is hard, but if you just take it one bite at time, you'll get there. That's what I'm trying for and some weeks it's harder than others.

One bite at a time, I need to remember that phrase. ^_^

Just keep reminding yourself you're not on a diet, you're trying to change your eating habits for life. That's incredibly difficult and takes a while. You will screw up, that happens. When it does, log it and move on. One bad day won't derail you or make you a failure. Once I accepted this, it's become a lot easier to forgive my mistakes and keep on track.

lynn_glenmont

dubird wrote: »

lynn_glenmont wrote: »

dubird wrote: »

Heh, let the person bad at math try to explain!


To start with, you have your BMR (Base Metabolic Rate). This is the number of calories you burn by existing. Basically, if you were lying in a coma, this is what your body would need to keep functioning.

Second is your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure). This is the number of calories you burn in a normal day, WITHOUT exercise. If you want to maintain your current weight, this is the number of calories you need to consume. There are a number of online calculators out there that will figure this for you, but be aware they're more estimates than hard numbers. Your definition of light activity might not match theirs, so it might be worth using several and taking an average. That's what I did, and it seems to work better for me.

Third is your deficit number. To lose weight, you have to consume less calories than your TDEE number. If your TDEE was 1500, you would need to eat less than that to lose weight. I don't know how much equals a pound and all that, but that's the basic premise of MFP. The number MFP calculates for you is your TDEE minus an amount to give you that deficit and lose weight. So if your TDEE was 1500, MFP would tell you to eat less, maybe 1300. That is what you aim for.

Not exactly. TDEE is, like the name says, the total energy (a.k.a. calories) you burn in a day. WITH exercise (assuming that you do in fact exercise).

Also, MFP does not base your goal calories on your TDEE. It bases it on your before-exercise energy expenditure -- essentially your BMR multiplied by a factor that is supposed to take account of your normal, non-exercise activity (e.g., running after toddlers, mowing the lawn, walking around stocking shelves at work, etc.). If you log exercise, MFP expects you to eat back the calories burned from exercise, so that maintain your goal deficit.

To my knowledge, your TDEE is what your normal energy expenditure is. So if someone exercises every day for the same amount of time, it would count as part of it since it's part of their daily routine. For me, TDEE is WITHOUT exercise. I don't exercise regularly. Granted I have started walking twice a week, but it's not always the same amount so I count it as extra. And in weeks like last week and this week, with medical last week and wedding stuff this week, there hasn't been exercise. So why would I add that in when it's not regular and not always the same?

That's why the TDEE approach (i.e., setting your goal at TDEE less 10%, for example) works best for those with fairly regular workout routines. Like you, my exercise level varies greatly from week to week, so I use the MFP approach, which is not based on TDEE, and which is designed for you to log your exercise and gives you extra calories when you do.

The fact that some people's average daily TDEE varies significantly from week to week does not change the meaning of TDEE to calorie burned exclusive of exercise.

dubird wrote: »

Second is your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure). This is the number of calories you burn in a normal day, WITHOUT exercise.