Net Calories

AndrelleJohnson
AndrelleJohnson Posts: 47 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Im just know learning about net calories. Don't judge, but in order for me to lose weight should my net calories be positive or negative? (Just a simple answer would do) And how can I add it to my dairy like the people who have open dairys?

Replies

  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,086 Member
    Your net calories should be below your TDEE (the total calories you burn in a day) for you to lose weight. Theoretically, that could be either a positive or negative number, but unless you are seriously obese AND a doctor is monitoring you, having a negative number on a regular basis is a very bad idea and could damage your health in any number of ways, and could even be life-threatening.

    Shorter answer: it should be a positive number that is close to the calorie goal that MFP set for you.


    As for getting it to show up in your diary, I don't know of any way to make that happen. It's not in mine. I wonder if the people whose diaries you are seeing it in are paying for premium service.

    You can see net calories if you click on reports.

    In your diary, you can accomplish the same thing (keeping your net calories close to the calorie goal that MFP set for you) by entering your exercise and shooting for the adjusted daily calorie goal that shows up. Do be aware, however, that many people believe that the exercise calories generated by MFP and by cardio machines is overblown, and consequently they only eat about half of the extra calories they are given when they enter exercise (or alternatively you could just enter only half the time you exercised when you log your exercise, and then eat all the calories back).
  • Seffell
    Seffell Posts: 2,244 Member
    If MFP sets you to eat, say, 1300 cals per day then your NET calories should be a bout 1300.

    Negative NET - very bad, starving!
  • kgirlhart
    kgirlhart Posts: 5,141 Member
    Theoretically your net calories should equal your mfp goal. But because the exercise calories can be inflated and lots of people only eat back half of their exercise calories is might be less than that. It shouldn't be negative.
  • abatonfan
    abatonfan Posts: 1,120 Member
    You should not be netting negative calories, but it is not the end of the world if your net calories isn't exactly at goal (especially if you use MFP's estimations of calories burned, since they tend to overestimate). For instance, if my calorie goal is 1600, and MFP says that I burned 400 calories through exercise, I might only eat 1900 calories (netting 1500 calories) because I know MFP likes to overestimate calories burned.
  • distinctlybeautiful
    distinctlybeautiful Posts: 1,041 Member
    I don't think you can get it to show in your diary, but you get the number by subtracting your exercise calories from the calories from food you've eaten. Both of those numbers are in your diary. Or you can take your goal and add or subtract the remaining calories to get your net calories.. both of those numbers in are in your diary. Or, finally, when you go to "nutrition," if you choose the weekly view under calories, you can set it to show your net calories. It will show a chart, but if you tap on the chart, numbers will show up!
  • AndrelleJohnson
    AndrelleJohnson Posts: 47 Member
    Okay so for example....Yesterday I ate 1487 and my net calorie was 473... is that good? My goal stated at the bottom was 1650.
  • ogtmama
    ogtmama Posts: 1,403 Member
    edited May 2016
    So you exercised 1014 calories and then didn't 're-eat them?

    The goal the mfp gives you is where you are trying to end up.

    So if you eat 1650 (your goal) then no exercise is necessary to reach it.

    If you ate 1850 calories, you'd need to burn 200 extra calories to reach your goal.

    If you ate 1450 calories, you should have a snack to reach your calorie goal.

    Your NET is simply the total number of calories you consume minus the number of calories you burn.
  • ConicalFern
    ConicalFern Posts: 121 Member
    AndrelleJohnson wrote: »
    Okay so for example....Yesterday I ate 1487 and my net calorie was 473... is that good? My goal stated at the bottom was 1650.

    Well according to MFP you should have eaten 2664, giving you a net of 1650, so no, 473 is not good, it is too few. That said, it depends on the accuracy of the value of 1014 exercise calories. What exercise did you do and for how long?
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
    ConicalFern wrote: »
    AndrelleJohnson wrote: »
    Okay so for example....Yesterday I ate 1487 and my net calorie was 473... is that good? My goal stated at the bottom was 1650.

    Well according to MFP you should have eaten 2664, giving you a net of 1650, so no, 473 is not good, it is too few. That said, it depends on the accuracy of the value of 1014 exercise calories. What exercise did you do and for how long?

    Quoting this to emphasize it.

    But also, I wanted to ask you what settings you used to set up your account? Did you say "lose 2 lbs per week" and what did you set your activity level at?

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