Net calories help?

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sdoherty1000
sdoherty1000 Posts: 146 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Can someone explain to me the net calories on this site. Here is my example;-

total goal calories allowed for today = 1410
exercise today = 824 calories
food consumed = 1470 calories
net cals = 647.

Pretend your explaining it to a monkey (laymans terms)

I assume that my net should be at "0" at the end of each day is this correct?

Replies

  • namrettik
    namrettik Posts: 127
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    Your net should be at your goal caloric number at the end of the day. It should *never* be zero. It should be within 100 calories of 1410 calories for you.

    This site gives you a caloric deficit for the activity level you said you had. Exercise added onto that "earns" you more calories, which you should eat to keep your body functioning properly.
  • darblij
    darblij Posts: 89
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    Ha....I'm just gonna tag myself on here coz I too would like to know. Hello there by the way!
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
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    Net calories = calories consumed - calories burned

    Your net calories should be your daily calorie goal. This means you should eat the calories you burn from exercise because MFP already gives you a caloric deficit.
  • abbigail_r
    abbigail_r Posts: 283 Member
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    From what I understand you should end up at you calorie goal everyday. Yours would be somewhere within the 1410 range.
  • taso42_DELETED
    taso42_DELETED Posts: 3,394 Member
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    Your net should be as close as possible to your total allowed for the day (doesn't matter if it's a little over or a little under). Your total calories allowed for the day represent how many calories your body burns minus whichever calorie deficit you entered into the program.

    But once you've exercised, you've burnt more calories, so you would eat that many more calories to stay at your targeted deficit.

    1410 + 824 = 2234 --- that's your new target calories for this day and still includes your calorie deficit
  • leslielove
    leslielove Posts: 251 Member
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    Ok.

    If you eat 1500 calories and then exercise to burn 500 of those off, you only have 1000 calories left for your body to run on. That number (what you eat - what you burn through exercise) is your net.

    1500 (food eaten)
    - 500 (burned via exercise)
    1000 net calories (left for your body to run on)

    Its basically there to make sure you don't eat too little and burn too much because that would leave your body nothing to run on. Generally you should either eat your exercise calories back (add in X number of calories to your food intake based on what you burned off) or eat X more calories during the day in anticipation of a workout that will burn X calories.
  • leslielove
    leslielove Posts: 251 Member
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    Your net should be as close as possible to your total allowed for the day (doesn't matter if it's a little over or a little under). Your total calories allowed for the day represent how many calories your body burns minus whichever calorie deficit you entered into the program.

    But once you've exercised, you've burnt more calories, so you would eat that many more calories to stay at your targeted deficit.

    1410 + 824 = 2234 --- that's your new target calories for this day and still includes your calorie deficit

    QFE!
  • ocsurfmama
    ocsurfmama Posts: 127
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    I think everyone explained it pretty well. As far as I understand it and stating it as plainly as I can...
    Net calories are the calories that you earned by your exercise for the day.

    For example:
    My daily calorie allowance is 1200
    I exercised and burned lets say 400 calories. Those would be my net calories.
    I now have a total of 1600 calories allowed to eat for today.

    Since Breakfast and lunch I have consumed say 250 calories. That means I still have 150 net calories to eat (from what I earned through my work out)
    I still haven't touched my 1200 daily calorie allowance yet so I can eat a great dinner, LOL

    I hope this explaination helps.
    ***if you didn't exercise then you don't earn net calories.
  • Lisa__Michelle
    Lisa__Michelle Posts: 845 Member
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    1410 is what your NET calories should be at the end of the day not your calories consumed! Calories consumed (eaten) - Exercise calories burned = NET calories. If you burn 400 calories one day exercising, you would want to eat 1810 to get your NET at the recommended 1410 calories a day. The NET is how many calories your body *thinks* you have that day. You want to make sure you are getting enough!
  • sdoherty1000
    sdoherty1000 Posts: 146 Member
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    I have been at this for 2 months and the penny has just dropped!!!!!! i havent been eating enough calories on the days i exercise, although the weight is coming off I completely understand now that i am a complete div!!!!!!

    I often has 600-1200 left to eat and thought i was helping my body out by leaving calories spare.

    How the hell do people exercise everyday and eat back 1200 calories? More reserach is needed by looking into peoples diaries



    thanks for all your comments

    steve
  • stucross1987
    stucross1987 Posts: 36 Member
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    Hmmmmm I think i may have just found where i been going wrong
  • stucross1987
    stucross1987 Posts: 36 Member
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    I have been at this for 2 months and the penny has just dropped!!!!!! i havent been eating enough calories on the days i exercise, although the weight is coming off I completely understand now that i am a complete div!!!!!!

    I often has 600-1200 left to eat and thought i was helping my body out by leaving calories spare.

    How the hell do people exercise everyday and eat back 1200 calories? More reserach is needed by looking into peoples diaries

    DITTO
  • sdoherty1000
    sdoherty1000 Posts: 146 Member
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    If you have a regular exercise routine and a public diary please add me as a friend so i can scan over it

    thanks

    steve
  • stucross1987
    stucross1987 Posts: 36 Member
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    at the minute i am doing
    5 mins upright bike, warm up

    20 mins elliptical trainer
    10 minutes treadmill
    10 minutes upright bike (higher intensity)
    5 minutes upper body aerobic machine

    Shoulder Press
    Chest Press
    Pectoral Fly
    Ab Crunches
    Lateral Pulldown

    5 Minutes upright bike warm down


    thats mine currently!
  • NotAllWhoWanderAreLost
    NotAllWhoWanderAreLost Posts: 615 Member
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    I think everyone explained it pretty well. As far as I understand it and stating it as plainly as I can...
    Net calories are the calories that you earned by your exercise for the day.

    For example:
    My daily calorie allowance is 1200
    I exercised and burned lets say 400 calories. Those would be my net calories.
    I now have a total of 1600 calories allowed to eat for today.

    Since Breakfast and lunch I have consumed say 250 calories. That means I still have 150 net calories to eat (from what I earned through my work out)
    I still haven't touched my 1200 daily calorie allowance yet so I can eat a great dinner, LOL

    I hope this explaination helps.
    ***if you didn't exercise then you don't earn net calories.

    No offense, but please disregard this post above ^^^ as its an inaccurate definition of Net calories.

    If her daily calorie allowance was 1200 and she did 400 calories worth of exercise, she now has a 1600 daily allowance for that day to cover the added caloric expenditure that her body made.

    The calories you eat in a day MINUS your exercise calories burned gives you your NET calories (which should be close to your original daily allotment.... in her case, it should be 1200.

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