1400 cals/day, how many fitness cals vs. net?

taramcfarlan

I am 42 years old, 5'10 and "alot" overweight. I have been told to consume 1400 nutritional calories a day to lose weight, that 1800 would be to maintain. So, I was trying to change my goals to customize 1400 cals but I'm not sure what to put in the Fitness Calories burnt section? And what are net calories?

YorriaRaine

wait, what? I'm shorter than you and "alot" overweight too but my "maintain current weight" is 2200 calories and that's for sedentary activity (sitting on my butt all day). However I am only 23 so maybe that makes a difference. When you go into "my goals, under my home." They show you what you burn naturally burn everyday in that section, which is what the deficit is subtracted from to get your net calories.

Net calories, if your using the default method in my fitness pal is (calories in - exercise calories burned). In the default method of my fitness pal you can eat back the calories you burn off. MFP tends to overestimate the calories you burn so I would take off maybe between 33% to 50% just so you don't overestimate calories burned. Your food diary adjust in the default method of myfitnesspal so that as you exercise more they allot you more calories to eat. The reason you can do this is because the net calories includes a deficit already.

There is another method for using myfitnesspal that uses tdee (daily activity burn) -20%, then that's what you eat despite exercise, then you do not eat back the calories you burn off through exercise.

If in myfitnesspal your "net" goal is 1400 that makes way more sense. The 1800 may be your BMR because that is what mine is around and that's just your base metabolic rate on what your body uses to live. Meaning, that's what you would burn naturally if you were in a coma and not doing anything ever. You can eat below your metabolic rate if you are overweight or obese because your body will just tap into fat preserves and such.

taramcfarlan

Thank you, YoriaRaine (sp?) - I appreciate your response! I think I understand now, but it's still confusing..lol. So, I should basically let MFP calculate my goals? That may be the wise thing, huh?

YorriaRaine

sp? does that stand for spell check? The proper spelling of my name is Yorria Raine lol. Its an online persona I've used for years now in various video games because I do allot of podcast and tournaments and I don't really like people calling me by my real name. I just carried it over to mfp. :laugh:

Personally I let myfitnesspal calculate your goals. I find that its just easier and I have more motivation to exercise vs. the tdee-20% method because I'm basically rewarded for my hard work by being able to eat more that day.

Just a few things to keep in mind to make it all simple for you.

A cheapo scale (can get them for 10 bucks) and measuring cups will help ensure that you do not underestimate calories you have eaten as you input your serving sizes into mfp's food diary. The first few weeks as you learn exactly how many calories are in stuff is a learning experience, I know it has been for me.

Using online calculators for determining calories burned is fine, but to play it safe I would take off 33% to 50% of the calories it says you burned, then input that number into mfp. This is to help you make sure you do not overestimate your calories burned, this is important since you can eat your calories back if you want. Some people have invested in heart rate monitors (hrm) to assist them i knowing how many calories they have burned and which workouts get there heart rate up the quickest. If your on a budget just do online calc and take some calories off the numbers they give you.

You don't HAVE to eat your calories back, but I personally find it a good motivation to exercise. Always always always make sure your net is above 1200 because it is not physically safe to deny your body the fuel it needs. I would always try to meet the net calories it tells you to do.

In your food diary, the only macronutrients you REALLY need to worry about are (calories / carbs / fat / protein), you can change which macronutrients you want to show if you go under food -> settings. The other two slots you can allot to whatever you feel you need to. I personally do fiber because when I aim for my fiber intake for the day I find that I eat more wholefoods. I also do calcium because many women don't get the calcium they need everyday. However, if you have a medical condition that requires you track sugar (like if you have diabetes), or sodium (because your doctor tells you to) you can.

If you have anymore questions let me know, you can add me as a friend if you like.


edit:

My last piece of advice to you is this, don't overcomplicate things. The second you make this journey complicated is often times when most people just say screw it and stop. Myfitnesspal has made this journey so easy for me. I log my food intake (you dont have to log in after every meal if you dont' have time, just keep a note somewhere if you have to), log my exercises, it tells me if I'm on the right track. :flowerforyou: