Negative net calories

Coltsman4ever

depends on what you mean by net. for most people on MFP when they say NET they mean the amount of calories MFP gives you without any exercise, PLUS the exercise calories.

I.E. Say you want to lose 1 lb per week, and MFP puts you at 1500 calories a day to do that (which would mean in order to maintain your weight you need 2000 calories), if you exercise for 500 calories, then your NET for the day is 2000 (1500 PLUS the 500 exercise), now in order to maintain that 1 lb per week you need to eat that 2000 calories.

Here's the thing, you can't just keep reducing and reducing the amount of calories you eat, the body will reject that notion. At a certain point your body won't be able to make up the difference and it will start messing with your metabolism and storing fat because it thinks you're starving and that's the body's response to starvation.

Of course this all depends on how much body fat you have, and all the other factors involved in the human metabolism. I.E. someone with 10 lbs to lose can't expect to lose 2 lbs a week, where as someone with 100 lbs to lose could easily do this.

After reading the post linked below, I now have a better understanding of how MFP is set up.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

Hellbent_Heidi

The real questions are...is this working for you? Do you feel like you have enough energy from the amount you are eating to get through the day? If you feel good and its working, keep doing what you are doing. As another person said - you will be pulled back and forth by other people's opinions on this site, but you need to listen to your own body and do what works for you. If you are starving yourself and feel fatigued and hungry all the time, this will not be a sustainable diet for you, but if you feel good and its working, then by all means...keep it up. As you go along in your weight loss journey, you might need to change things up..but as they say "if it ain't broke - don't fix it"

Gennawest

Ok, so I will probably get hammered for this, but I will say it anyways. I NEVER eat back my calories for a variety of reasons:

1) I dont have money for an HRM so I never know exactly what I burned, so I never know exactly what to eat back.
2) This to me, defies a simple concept of calories in vs. calories out.
3) Away from this site, I have NEVER heard about eating back what you have lost.
4) On a personal note, I have lost 93 lbs (i think thats where I am at, I stopped counting) in a little more than 6 and a half months, by doing it the good 'ole fashion way.
5) Starvation mode to someone that is at 200 lbs seems a little ridiculous to me. Obviously, they are not starving- they are probably (and at least) 30 lbs over weight.

Thats it, and thats all. I am no expert, but I do have common sense. If it works for you, then work it.

Gennawest

I'm not sure why people would sign up and commit to using a website, such as MFP, then just completely ignore the super simplistic tenants of said program.

Go ahead and continue to have negative calories. And let us know how it works out for you in a couple months.

As noted, I NEVER eat back my calories. I have been at it for over 6 months now, and I am still going strong. Even with having lost this amount of weight, I still continue to lose 2 lbs a week. Booyah!

TavistockToad

I'm not sure why people would sign up and commit to using a website, such as MFP, then just completely ignore the super simplistic tenants of said program.

Go ahead and continue to have negative calories. And let us know how it works out for you in a couple months.

i agree... its getting a bit boring when people say they cant possibly eat more than 5 calories per meal... really?!

celticmuse

With all due respect, Tavistocktoad, many people on this board, including Gennawest and myself have been quite successful not eating their exercise calories. I have lost 28 lbs, my body fat % has decreased by 12% and my muscle weight has increased. I feel 10 years younger, have plenty of energy, eat healthy food and do not feel as though I am starving myself. I eat approximately 1,400 calories per day, whether or not I exercise, and rarely eat my exercise calories. So I say, chacun ses goûts..

Maggie_Pie1

Alot of people swear that you absolutely have to eat back every single exercise calorie, and are very adamant about it.

But I say do what feels right.

First of all, if you are not hungry, then you are not hungry. Alot of us are on here because in the past, we had a habit of eating when we weren't hungry, so why would I let some random number in my tracker allow me to continue that habit? I listen to my body now. After I tracked everything (calories, workout) and at the end of the day, I feel good and I'm not hungry, then I don't worry if my net calories are low. I do always eat more than 1200 calories per day - usually it's between 1300 and 1400, as a rule. But I don't pay attention to my 'net calories' and let it dictate my behavior. I listen to my body instead. There are some days, where I am hungry after I eat my base 1200 calories, and I want to eat more, and I do. But there are others when I'm completely satisfied and I leave it at that, because for me - this journey has been more about not letting food rule my behavior or use it as a comfort, and instead see it as what it is - fuel. I don't want to use 'net calories' as an excuse to eat more than I should. And I'm not saying that other people do that, but for me - that's what it would be - an excuse to eat more even when I'm not hungry.


Second of all, I don't have a heart rate monitor, and while I'm thinking about getting one, in the meantime, I don't know how accurate the calorie expended estimates are. I don't want to eat back all of the calories and then end up gaining weight because the estimates were too high.

Third, if you have a lot of weight to lose, from what I've read, your body will still burn the excess fat for energy even if you are low on 'net calories'.

And last, if anyone is really concerned about whether or not they are in 'starvation mode' by not eating back their exercise calories, here is a way to check: Track how many calories you've eaten over a period of time (say 2 weeks) and compare it to the number of calories you SHOULD have burned (exercise plus your BMR). This will give you a total deficit over that two week period. Divide that total deficit by 3500 to get the total number of pounds you should have lost, mathematically. How does that compare to the amount of weight you actually did lose over that period of time? If it's close, then chances are your BMR hasn't decreased and you are burning calories at the rate that is expected, so you likely aren't in starvation mode. If the amount you lost is a lot lower than what you expected based on the calorie deficit, then chances are your metabolism has decreased and you should probably be concerned about being in 'starvation mode'. Of course, all of this assumes that daily fluctuations in water weight do not come into play.

With all that said, I've lost 90 lbs so far without being concerned about eating back 'exercise calories'.

Maggie_Pie1

I'm not sure why people would sign up and commit to using a website, such as MFP, then just completely ignore the super simplistic tenants of said program.

Well, when I signed up on MFP, I didn't realize I was signing an official doctrine on how I would choose to lose weight. I simply saw it as a tool to track the amount of calories I was eating and how much exercise I was doing, Period - and tracking measurements and weight so I could make pretty graphs that look like 'progress', because I'm a little geeky like that.

Prior to signing up to MFP, I was using "Sparkpeople" for that. The only reason I switched to MFP was because the iphone app was more user friendly and seemed to have more foods already input. And before sparkpeople, I was using an excel spreadsheet.

sgrinavi

.....The amount of calories you net per day must be no lower than 1200 to allow your body to carry out all of its functions properly......

Ya? So a 305 lb college linebacker has the same caloric requirement as a 98 lb office worker?

No.... Your minimum caloric requirement is based on your weight, activity level, age and lean mass.

I wish people would stop the mis-information

Maggie_Pie1

Ya? So a 305 lb college linebacker has the same caloric requirement as a 98 lb office worker?

No.... Your minimum caloric requirement is based on your weight, activity level, age and lean mass.

I wish people would stop the mis-information

I was thinking about that - the BMR that MFP assigns to each individal is only based on height, weight, age and gender. It doesn't take into account body composition. So, even if you have two people who weigh the same, are the same height, age, and gender, the one with the lower body fat percentage is going to have a higher BMR. But MFP doesn't take that into account.

taso42_DELETED

I happen to think that 2500 - 300 - 500 = 2000. But hey, every body is different. For some people, as we know, 2 + 2 = 90

erickirb

Loads of info here for you in a better way than I could ever explain http://www.shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com/

Imagine you've eaten 1000 calories but you've burned 500 at the gym, this means your body is running on just 500 calories to perform all of it's functions. This is not enough and as a result your body will start to burn muscle before fat as energy is more readily available from your muscle. Burning away lean muscle means that although your weight will decrease, so will your metabolism (as muscle is an active tissue actively burning calories through the day) If you continue with this pattern your metabolism will eventually slow down so much to reserve energy and you will stop losing weight. The amount of calories you net per day must be no lower than 1200 to allow your body to carry out all of its functions properly. I probably haven't explained this very well, I'm sure others will do a better job.

Good luck!

great response

erickirb

I'm not sure why people would sign up and commit to using a website, such as MFP, then just completely ignore the super simplistic tenants of said program.

Go ahead and continue to have negative calories. And let us know how it works out for you in a couple months.

As noted, I NEVER eat back my calories. I have been at it for over 6 months now, and I am still going strong. Even with having lost this amount of weight, I still continue to lose 2 lbs a week. Booyah!

Much of which now is probably muscle as you don't have much more fat to lose. Is your goal to lose weight or lose fat? If it is to lose fat stick with MFP's calc, having a large deficit when you don't have much to lose causes your body to use muscle not fat as fuel.

Twasney

MFP sets you up to lose weight without exercise by limiting calories, Thats why your calorie limit is ridiculously lower than your proper BMR!!

if you do not eat back those exercise calories you will be putting your self into starvation mode. This may be a good way to drop weight in the short run but will only harm you in the long run!

http://www.livestrong.com/article/497388-is-eating-too-little-bad-for-women/

Hirundo

I agree with all the posts that say eat more...


Being Healthy is a lot more than juste loosing weight ...
You might loose weight right now... but you are certainly not on a healthy way to do it ...
If you do it healthy, its may take a bit longer, but it will become your natural and you have more chances to never regain the weight you have lost....

Please take care of you
Good luck !

sgrinavi

I was thinking about that - the BMR that MFP assigns to each individal is only based on height, weight, age and gender. It doesn't take into account body composition. So, even if you have two people who weigh the same, are the same height, age, and gender, the one with the lower body fat percentage is going to have a higher BMR. But MFP doesn't take that into account.

Same thing with your HRM , body fat tables, etc..... I have a friend that is fairly lean who just had a v02 max test - he was 500 cals a day below what "the tables" were telling him to eat. When he added a meal he instantly started reaching his goals. I guess it's trial and error or some real tests

rachmaree

Loads of info here for you in a better way than I could ever explain http://www.shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com/

Imagine you've eaten 1000 calories but you've burned 500 at the gym, this means your body is running on just 500 calories to perform all of it's functions. This is not enough and as a result your body will start to burn muscle before fat as energy is more readily available from your muscle. Burning away lean muscle means that although your weight will decrease, so will your metabolism (as muscle is an active tissue actively burning calories through the day) If you continue with this pattern your metabolism will eventually slow down so much to reserve energy and you will stop losing weight. The amount of calories you net per day must be no lower than 1200 to allow your body to carry out all of its functions properly. I probably haven't explained this very well, I'm sure others will do a better job.
Good luck!

great response

Agree!

tigersword

I'm on 1650 caleries per day as suggested by MFP. I never eat my exercise calories and I've done fine losing weight.
The way I see this whole thing... we don't exercise so we can eat more calories every day. We exercise to build muscle and burn calories to lose more weight, or at least maintain our current weight. It doesn't make any sense to eat your exercise calories. It's counter productive.
I can do 45 minutes on the ellptical machine and burn over 1000 calories at my current weight and with the resistance at 100%. I'm certainly not going to eat an extra 1000 calories that day, but I will burn off approximately a 1/4 pound.

Exercise has nothing to do with losing weight. Losing weight is 100% diet. Exercise is to keep your body in healthy physical shape. You need to properly fuel your workouts. If you're exercising to create a deficit to lose weight, than you should be eating your maintenance calories instead of the calories MFP gives you. Otherwise, you are creating too large of a calorie deficit and your body burns off muscle instead of fat to compensate, Since muscle is dense, you lose weight rather quickly according to the scale, but you also lose muscle tone and not fat.

Fat is more important to the body than muscle, as fat insulates and protects organs, as well as creates hormones. If you severely restrict calories like that, then your body will choose to burn muscle instead of fat, every time.

Twasney

Ya? So a 305 lb college linebacker has the same caloric requirement as a 98 lb office worker?

No.... Your minimum caloric requirement is based on your weight, activity level, age and lean mass.

I wish people would stop the mis-information

I was thinking about that - the BMR that MFP assigns to each individal is only based on height, weight, age and gender. It doesn't take into account body composition. So, even if you have two people who weigh the same, are the same height, age, and gender, the one with the lower body fat percentage is going to have a higher BMR. But MFP doesn't take that into account.

Yes but you can easily figure out your personal BMR, then subtract your deficit needed to drop the weight your looking to see each week and then go into settings and change your caloric goal from 1500 to say 1680 or 1800 to say 1540.

This is how my nutritionist did it for me

figure out your BMR - http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

Then use the Harris Benedict Formulat BMR X activity level - http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/harris-benedict-equation/

This will give you a daily calorie limit, now create the deficit by taking the HBF X7 - weekly deficit / by 7 = daily limit to stay at your current activity level (IE TOTALLY SEDENTARY) and lose the amount of weight you want. http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/harris-benedict-equation/calorie-intake-to-lose-weight.php

Mine is actually 1160 which is unhealthy so it is rounded up to 1200 if I do absolutley nothing all day but work my job etc. Now when I add exercise I have to eat those calories to keep giving my body fuel to build muscle and continue to lose 2 pounds per week!

I hit a nasty plateau and she told me to eat more!! I didn't want to...so I didn't!! I did not break the plateau until I gave in and did what she said and I lost 4 pounds and some inches in a week!

Hope that helps!!

killagb