Goal vs Net Calorie Intake: WTF?!?!

losinit_4_good

Ok, I've been on MFP for about 2ish months and it just occured to me this morning that I'm confused about how the calorie counting thing works. (feel free to laugh at my prolonged confusion - I won't take offence! :laugh: )

My goal calorie intake is set to 1300. I usually eat about 1200-1250 calories in a day so I am generally below my calorie goal. Plus I work out everyday, burning an average of 500 calories. So my Net calorie intake on an average day is about 750 calories.

Am I eating enough? Is it a bad thing to run a calorie deficit? Or is this a succesful strategy for losing weight and maintaining it longterm? I should mention I currently weight 232lbs (started at 261lbs) and my goal is to eventually hit and stay at 140lbs.

Thoughts?

ThierMummy3

Im no expert myself ive only been doing this properly for 2 weeks but from what ive read on here your suppose to eat back some of the calories you burn or you risk hitting a stopping point were you don't lose weight.

Mookz0r

as far as I understand it, you should be eating the majority of your exercise calories... hence why MFP adds them to your daily calorie goal. 1200 seems to be the golden Never Go Under number for various reasons that people debate over (starvation mode, etc...)

Anyhow, what on earth are you (not) eating to only get to 1200-1250 a day?! I can't seem to get under 1500 with 3 normal meals a day and my goal (without exercise) is 1390!

erickirb

Ok, I've been on MFP for about 2ish months and it just occured to me this morning that I'm confused about how the calorie counting thing works. (feel free to laugh at my prolonged confusion - I won't take offence! :laugh: )

My goal calorie intake is set to 1300. I usually eat about 1200-1250 calories in a day so I am generally below my calorie goal. Plus I work out everyday, burning an average of 500 calories. So my Net calorie intake on an average day is about 750 calories.

Am I eating enough? Is it a bad thing to run a calorie deficit? Or is this a succesful strategy for losing weight and maintaining it longterm? I should mention I currently weight 232lbs (started at 261lbs) and my goal is to eventually hit and stay at 140lbs.

Thoughts?

Your goal should be your net goal. So if your goal is 1300 and you burn 500 your should eat 1800, in order to hit your weekly weight loss goal. That being said as long as you get 1200ish net you should be okay, so if you burn 500 your should eat at least 1700 (1200+500).

hails62

From other posts and what other people tend to say is that you should even eat some of the gained calories from exercise as your body needs these for fuel after exercise or you may burn out. But it's all down to how you feel, if your hungry and maybe fatigued I would eat more calories within your Net intake, if your not hungry or feel you need more food don't eat more, its all down to how your body feels. With myself some days I do eat more when do exercise and sometimes I don't, I find that some extra protein and carbs during dinner helps.

JJMcCreary

My trainer does not have me log my exercise in because of the additional calories it gives back. Losing weight is burning more calories than what you ingest. Here is the article he wrote that may help:

Weight loss isn't about fancy gizmos, fad diets or miracle pills. The truth is that losing weight is all about math. The most important equation is calories in vs. calories out. If you are eating more calories than you are burning then you will gain weight. Only 100 extra calories a day will result in a 10 pound gain by the end of the year! If you are burning more calories than you are taking in then you will lose weight.

Adding/Subtracting Pounds

There are 3,500 calories in 1 pound of body fat. To lose 1 pound you need to burn 3,500 more calories than you take in. If you were to burn 500 calories above what you eat each day you would lose 1 pound by the end of the week (500 x 7 = 3500).

The goal is to stay on the positive side each day. This means that your daily goal should be to burn more calories than you eat. It is important to reach this calorie deficit though exercise and moderate calorie restriction. Reducing your caloric intake too quickly can force your body into starvation mode. Once this happens your body will "protect" itself by holding onto body fat. Staying in starvation mode for too long can force your body to burn off muscle as an energy source.

The x-factors

There are several factors that can derail your math equation. Gender, age, hormones and genetics are the most common x-factors. Any one of these can play a role in how easy/hard it is to reach your fitness goals. For example, men tend to lose weight easier than women because of their higher levels of testosterone. Men also find it easier to add a few pounds of muscle because of the added testosterone. Added muscle helps speed up your metabolism. Body type also plays a role but we will go into that another day...

William (Will Power Health and Fitness/Orlando, FL)

deisha

I think if it is working for you then carry on. When it doesn't work you can then play around with your calories.
Do what works for you!

rml_16

If I'm hungry, I will eat my exercise calories. If I'm not, I don't.

Some people will tell you it's stupid to eat them at all. Some people will tell you that you need to eat them or you'll ruin your metabolism.

I will tell you that everyone is different and you need to do what works for you. If what you're doing works with your life and you're not starving all the time -- and you're losing weight like you want -- then keep doing it. Otherwise, make a change.

jlc1243

Looks like you are losing successfully, so you must be doing something right!

lbeasey

bump

ilookthetype

Net Calories shoud def be above 750. That's not enough to sustain long term.

Also, my personal opinion: http://shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com/

thebunnies

if you're netting way under 1200cals a day, you would EVENTUALLY slow down your metabolism to a point where it would be difficult to burn fat at a high rate. you may see quick weightloss now, and not so much later on. when you're looking to lose a lot of weight, your body WILL hit plateaus. that is normal!

if you're feeling very tired, eat more. the idea of 'eating back' calories is to fuel your body for extensive work-outs.. like gas to a car.

BeautyFromPain

I generally just eat them if I'm hungry, if not I don't

sophjakesmom

If I'm hungry, I will eat my exercise calories. If I'm not, I don't.

Excellent suggestion. Getting in touch with true hunger is a huge part of long term weight loss. And this is a great way to start.

TavistockToad

My trainer does not have me log my exercise in because of the additional calories it gives back. Losing weight is burning more calories than what you ingest. Here is the article he wrote that may help:

Weight loss isn't about fancy gizmos, fad diets or miracle pills. The truth is that losing weight is all about math. The most important equation is calories in vs. calories out. If you are eating more calories than you are burning then you will gain weight. Only 100 extra calories a day will result in a 10 pound gain by the end of the year! If you are burning more calories than you are taking in then you will lose weight.

Adding/Subtracting Pounds

There are 3,500 calories in 1 pound of body fat. To lose 1 pound you need to burn 3,500 more calories than you take in. If you were to burn 500 calories above what you eat each day you would lose 1 pound by the end of the week (500 x 7 = 3500).

The goal is to stay on the positive side each day. This means that your daily goal should be to burn more calories than you eat. It is important to reach this calorie deficit though exercise and moderate calorie restriction. Reducing your caloric intake too quickly can force your body into starvation mode. Once this happens your body will "protect" itself by holding onto body fat. Staying in starvation mode for too long can force your body to burn off muscle as an energy source.

The x-factors

There are several factors that can derail your math equation. Gender, age, hormones and genetics are the most common x-factors. Any one of these can play a role in how easy/hard it is to reach your fitness goals. For example, men tend to lose weight easier than women because of their higher levels of testosterone. Men also find it easier to add a few pounds of muscle because of the added testosterone. Added muscle helps speed up your metabolism. Body type also plays a role but we will go into that another day...

William (Will Power Health and Fitness/Orlando, FL)

This is true, but MFP puts you at a calorie deificit BEFORE you exercise.

rml_16

If I'm hungry, I will eat my exercise calories. If I'm not, I don't.

Excellent suggestion. Getting in touch with true hunger is a huge part of long term weight loss. And this is a great way to start.

Agree re the true hunger: http://tinyurl.com/3cw4cc2

Is this an attempt at levity? ;-)

Mookz0r

My trainer does not have me log my exercise in because of the additional calories it gives back. Losing weight is burning more calories than what you ingest. Here is the article he wrote that may help:

Weight loss isn't about fancy gizmos, fad diets or miracle pills. The truth is that losing weight is all about math. The most important equation is calories in vs. calories out. If you are eating more calories than you are burning then you will gain weight. Only 100 extra calories a day will result in a 10 pound gain by the end of the year! If you are burning more calories than you are taking in then you will lose weight.

Adding/Subtracting Pounds

There are 3,500 calories in 1 pound of body fat. To lose 1 pound you need to burn 3,500 more calories than you take in. If you were to burn 500 calories above what you eat each day you would lose 1 pound by the end of the week (500 x 7 = 3500).

The goal is to stay on the positive side each day. This means that your daily goal should be to burn more calories than you eat. It is important to reach this calorie deficit though exercise and moderate calorie restriction. Reducing your caloric intake too quickly can force your body into starvation mode. Once this happens your body will "protect" itself by holding onto body fat. Staying in starvation mode for too long can force your body to burn off muscle as an energy source.

The x-factors

There are several factors that can derail your math equation. Gender, age, hormones and genetics are the most common x-factors. Any one of these can play a role in how easy/hard it is to reach your fitness goals. For example, men tend to lose weight easier than women because of their higher levels of testosterone. Men also find it easier to add a few pounds of muscle because of the added testosterone. Added muscle helps speed up your metabolism. Body type also plays a role but we will go into that another day...

William (Will Power Health and Fitness/Orlando, FL)

Yes, absolutely, but MFP already deducts that deficit from whatever it calculates your maintenance calorie goal to be... so my maintenance level is say 1900, but because I want to lose 1lb a week, MFP tells me my daily goal is 1400, which, if I stick to it, will give me my 500calorie deficit without even exercising. Any unlogged exercise will burn over and above that deficit, probably pushing you below the 1200 mark.

Alternatively, if you didn't want to log your exercise, but knew that on average you burned 500cals a day, you would achieve the same weight loss of 1lb a week by setting your MFP food calorie goal to your maintenance level - that way, all your weight loss would be through exercise.

losinit_4_good

as far as I understand it, you should be eating the majority of your exercise calories... hence why MFP adds them to your daily calorie goal. 1200 seems to be the golden Never Go Under number for various reasons that people debate over (starvation mode, etc...)

Anyhow, what on earth are you (not) eating to only get to 1200-1250 a day?! I can't seem to get under 1500 with 3 normal meals a day and my goal (without exercise) is 1390!

I've been slowly reducing my calorie intake for the last 4 months. Prior to starting my healthy eating journey I probably ate an average of 2500 calories a day. Cuz I are a LOT of bad stuff before!! The first few weeks I was super cranky and obsessed with food: how much am I eating, what size is my portion, how many calories re in this, etc. I was goign crazy. But I peeled it back to 1800 pretty easily. Then 1500. And now 1200ish. For awhile there I even went too far and cut down to 800 but I stopped lossing and gave my head a good shake and decided to do this the healthy way.

In an average a day I eat a yogurt and some fruit for breakfast (weekends I splurge and have a scrambled egg, 2 slices of either back bacono or turkey bacon and a piece of toast no butter). I have some type of snack in and around 100 calories mid morning. I try to keep lunch interesting by swtiching it up between homemade chicken wraps, salads stuffed with fresh fruit and veggies (minimal dressing), Smart Choice microwaveable meals (no more than twice a week since I genrelaly try to avoid processed food). For dinners my hubby and I meal plan a week in advance but generally have things that are no more than 500 calories/serving (I usually have one serving, he has 2). I get a lot of great dinner recipes from www.kraftcanada.com and some healthy living magazine that my mother inlaw subsribes to and passes on to me when she is done. lol! I find the key is to mix it up so it doesn't get to boring, but always have one to two "standby" dinner options that are fast, easy amd healthy. And then if I'm a little low I induldge in a big bowl of fruit for dessert.

Eating this way, I can honestly say I am not going hungry in the least. I feel great, I have a lot of energy and I am seeing results. the biggest thing for me was learnign portion control. Once I got that in hand I was good to go

losinit_4_good

Thanks all for the advice! It helped to clear a few things up for me!

daisyelaine

Hey-- you should definately be eating back your stuff, and I would guess that 12-1300 is still pretty low. You're getting in to a scary area.. and once you stop feeding your body properly, then you stop feeling hungry in order for your body to continue functioning. I've done A LOT of research on this lately, and here's 2 posts that I STRONGLY recommend. They're also in the "read this" section of the forums.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/6556-the-answers-to-the-questions

Hope this helps!