MyFitnessPal Goal Calories versus Net Calories?

irisherin82

Hi Everyone,

I'm really curious is the Net calories for a day supposed to match the Goal calories for a day? Meaning if I burn calories exercising, am I supposed to make sure I eat those additional calories? Or is it fine if the Net and Goal don't match, and the calories you burn on a given day just help with the weight loss along the way?

Thanks so much!

Happy0326

I was told to NEVER go UNDER 1200 calories. If you earn more exercising you have the OPTION of eating them or not. I just keep them around if I go over my 1200 calories. I don't ever use them all.

Fochizzy

God you have asked the great debate. I eat my exercise calories back, and try to stay above 1200 NET

lockeduprestrictions

As long as your net calories are above 1200, you don't have to eat them back, but if it's lower it's a good idea.

Skye007

I would go for your goal. If you burn off all of those calories and then just eat them all again, it kind of defeats the purpose. When i work out i still try to stay between the 1200-1400 calorie mark so all my hard work doesn't go to waste

papastu

I would go for your goal. If you burn off all of those calories and then just eat them all again, it kind of defeats the purpose. When i work out i still try to stay between the 1200-1400 calorie mark so all my hard work doesn't go to waste

:happy:

irisherin82

So my calorie daily goal is 1580 (if I consumed this exact amount), and I exercised to the point of burning 500 calories my net would be 1,080..... so to make sure I stay above 1200 calories a day I should eat an additional 120 calories? Thanks!

chevy88grl

Aim to get your calorie goal for the day as close to zero as possible. That is how this website is designed to work. Having hundreds of calories leftover goes against the way you're supposed to use MFP.

Aim for zero.

Fochizzy

So my calorie daily goal is 1580 (if I consumed this exact amount), and I exercised to the point of burning 500 calories my net would be 1,080..... so to make sure I stay above 1200 calories a day I should eat an additional 120 calories? Thanks!

Yes I agree, though if you stall out try eating closer to the 1580, plateaus can be caused by not eating enough

msmightymouse

I dont think you should eat the calories you burn from exercise at all. I spoke with my personal trainer and she said the same thing. Even though the program already deducts calories per day that u need to meet ur goal I still don't think it's right to eat them back up....especially if you're just starting out and want to lose weight. Makes more sense re-consume the calories if you've been active for a long time or if your trying to stay at a specific weight. Last week I stopped logging my exercise and simply wrote them in the "notes" section. I stayed within the calorie goal given to me...I lost 3 pounds. This week I went back and logged them just so my fitness reports would be accurate. Some ideas for you to think of...I'm on my 5th week and body is already getting full faster and becoming stronger. Water really helps when I think I'm hungry...lol never thought that was true until now

philsy1

iT'S NOT AN ALL-OR-NOTHING THING. i BELIEVE THAT EVERYONE SHOULD CONSUME AT LEAST 1200 CALORIES PER DAY TO MAINTAIN NUTRITION AND HEALTH. OBVIOUSLY, IF YOU EAT BACK THE EXERCISE CALORIES, YOUR WEIGHT LOSS WILL BE SLOWER. HOWEVER, YOU'RE ALWAYS ABLE TO CHOOSE AN INTERMEDIATE VALUE, LIKE EATING BACK HALF THE EXERCISE CALORIES, OR SOME OTHER PERCENTAGE. LOSING WEIGHT QUICKLY SOUNDS GREAT, BUT THERE ARE SOME DISADVANTAGES TOO. LIKE RAPID MUSCLE LOSS, WEAKNESS, LOSING MOTIVATION AND POOR PREPARATION FOR MAINTAINING YOUR WEIGHT AFTER YOUR GOAL HAS BEEN MET. IT'S ALL UP TO YOU!

calialexandra

You should eat them!

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

"Now onto the question of "Eating your exercise calories"

As I have hinted to throughout this summary of metabolic process, the body has a "range" in which it feels it is receiving the right amount of fuel. The range (as most doctors and research scientists agree) is somewhere between 500 calories above your maintenance calories and 1000 calories below your maintenance calories. This means that the metabolism won't drastically change it's functionality in this range, with that said, this is not exact, it is a range based on averages, you may have a larger or smaller range based on the 3 factors of metabolism stated at the top.
On our website (MyFitnessPal), when you enter your goals, there is a prebuilt deficit designed to keep you in the "normal" metabolic functionality while still burning more calories then you take in. This goal DOES NOT INCLUDE exercise until you enter it. If you enter exercise into your daily plan, the site automatically adjusts your total caloric needs to stay within that normal range (in other words, just put your exercise in, don't worry about doing any additional calculations). Not eating exercise calories can bring you outside that range and (if done over an extended period of days or weeks) will gradually send your body into survival mode, making it harder (but not impossible) to continue to lose weight. The important thing to understand is (and this is REALLY important) the closer you are to your overall healthy weight (again, your metabolism views this a a range, not a specific number) the more prominant the survival mode becomes (remember, we talked about efficiency). This is because as fat becomes scarce, muscle is easier to break down and transport. And thus, the reason why it's harder to lose that "Last 10 pounds".

irisherin82

Great, thanks for all the information!