Net Calories

nilimel

Hi everyone! So, I am having trouble understanding what net calories are. Im reading online and this is what im getting out of it. The calories you eat+the calories you burn through exercise= net calories. Okay, that I understand. However, this is where I am confused. Let's say I eat 1450 and burn 770. My net calories are 680. So does that mean my daily calorie intake at the end of the day is 680 instead of 1450??? Because I burned off the 770?

cwolfman13

nilimel wrote: »

Hi everyone! So, I am having trouble understanding what net calories are. Im reading online and this is what im getting out of it. The calories you eat+the calories you burn through exercise= net calories. Okay, that I understand. However, this is where I am confused. Let's say I eat 1450 and burn 770. My net calories are 680. So does that mean my daily calorie intake at the end of the day is 680 instead of 1450??? Because I burned off the 770?

Yes, it would be the same thing as just eating 680 calories which wouldn't be healthy...this is why MFP gives you additional calories to eat back with your exercise...your calorie target is you deficit without exercise...exercise is additional activity which shouldn't be included in your activity level if you're using MFP as designed.

cmriverside

Here's the official explanation from "Help" at the top of every page:

https://myfitnesspal.desk.com/customer/en/portal/articles/410332-how-does-myfitnesspal-calculate-my-initial-goals-

cmriverside

And to answer your question, yes.

So does that mean my daily calorie intake at the end of the day is 680 instead of 1450??? Because I burned off the 770?

Eat until you get to zero at the bottom on your FOOD page. Your Net calories should match your daily Goal.

janejellyroll

Yep, if your calorie goal is 1,450 and you burn 770 *more* than MFP estimated you would based on your activity level, then all your bodily functions and the activity included in your activity level have to be fueled with that 680 that is left. That's why when you're using MFP's calorie goals, it's designed for you to eat back your activity calories to bring your net up to your original goal (of 1,450, in your case). This is to ensure your body has everything it needs and you don't get too hungry.

Some people find that the calorie burn estimates are too high depending on how they're getting the information, so they may start with eating back just a portion of their exercise calories until they get a sense of how accurate it is based on their real life results.

toxikon

Yup, that's right. But keep in mind that determining the calories you've burned through exercise can be tricky. A treadmill might tell you that you burned 300 calories, when in reality, maybe you only burned 150. So if you eat back the full 300 calories, it may affect your progress. So most people only eat back 50-75% of the calories they think they're burning through exercise to be careful.

nilimel

Wow, thank you guys! I wished I asked this question yesterday when I was starving and didn't eat. This should make things more easier now that I know this ❤️❤️❤️❤️ thank you!!!

2snakeswoman

It's really not that simple. Calories burned through exercise are estimates at best. So be careful. At this point, I'm not eating them back, but I'm not killing it on the workouts, either.

Ready2Rock206

Just be careful eating every last one of those exercise calories when you're getting big numbers - unless you're spending hours in the gym, running a marathon, etc... If you're spending 20 minutes doing yoga for example and claiming 700 calories I'd be careful. If you're doing a strenuous 8 mile hike for example then yeah - eat them all up.

kshama2001

Ready2Rock206 wrote: »

Just be careful eating every last one of those exercise calories when you're getting big numbers - unless you're spending hours in the gym, running a marathon, etc... If you're spending 20 minutes doing yoga for example and claiming 700 calories I'd be careful. If you're doing a strenuous 8 mile hike for example then yeah - eat them all up.

I use the database entry "Stretching, hatha yoga" for mild/moderate yoga and find it to be as accurate as "Walking, 3.0 mph, mod. pace, walking dog."

For Power type yoga, I'd use "Calisthenics, home, light/moderate effort".