Net number?

shakybabe

is the net number important? it keeps changing?

my BMR is 1398 according to this site.. I presume thats doing nothing like being in a coma... another site gives 1680 at sedentary level so if take about 500 off to get a deficit (without exercise).. it actually comes to under 1200, but this site sets my cals as 1200.. thats ok a 400 deficit isn't bad either.

It said I was 61 cals off my goal which makes sense.. then I added exercise at 327 now its giving me a net of 812.. and suddenly I have 388 cals remaining which there is no way I can eat before I go to bed as I've just had dinner.

I've eaten 1139, I may have a few biscuits before I go to bed I could possibly manage the extra 61 to get up to 1200... why have I suddenly got 388 cals at last minute and wheres the 812 coming from?.. no other site gives a NET number?

DoncasterPhotography

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/186814-some-mfp-basics


why why why doesnt MFP make this compulsary reading on joining??

taso42

This is kind of unique to MFP. Calories consumed - calories from exercise = net. Generally speaking, you want your net every day to come out to your target, which is 1200 in your case. Don't worry to much about today, but keep it in mind for the future. You can plan ahead for it so you don't have a bunch left over at the end of the day. While your calories consumed and calories burned may differ every day, your net should come out about the same.

erickirb

is the net number important? it keeps changing?

my BMR is 1398 according to this site.. I presume thats doing nothing like being in a coma... another site gives 1680 at sedentary level so if take about 500 off to get a deficit (without exercise).. it actually comes to under 1200, but this site sets my cals as 1200.. thats ok a 400 deficit isn't bad either.

It said I was 61 cals off my goal which makes sense.. then I added exercise at 327 now its giving me a net of 812.. and suddenly I have 388 cals remaining which there is no way I can eat before I go to bed as I've just had dinner.

I've eaten 1139, I may have a few biscuits before I go to bed I could possibly manage the extra 61 to get up to 1200... why have I suddenly got 388 cals at last minute and wheres the 812 coming from?.. no other site gives a NET number?

Other sites, or professionals, don't give you a net number but what they do is account for your planned exercise in your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) and will never put you as low as 1200 cals.

If you plan on working out, estimate your burn and eat those cals spread out throughout the day.

As an example say MFP gives you 1450 calories to lose 1 lb/week, and you plan on exercising 5x/week for an average of 400 cals per workout. well MFP will tell you to eat 1450 on the days you don't workout and 1850 on the days you do whereas a "professional" may tell you to eat 1750 everyday regardless if you workout.

So for the week MFP will have you eat 12,150 (1450*2+1850*5) whereas doing it the other way will have you eat 12,250 (1750*7) almost the same number of cals for the week. The issue in not following MFP is if you don't workout the full 5 days or burn more or less than planned. If that is the case you may lose more or less than your goal, whereas MFP will have you lose your goal amount regardless how much you actually workout.

What many MFP do is take the low 1450 and not eat back exercise calories which is wrong, if you are not eating them back then your daily activity level should reflect the higher burn with would be covered in the 1750/day above.

kennethmgreen

Other sites don't give you a net number but what they do is account for your planned exercise in your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) and will never put you as low as 1200 cals. If you plan on working out, estimate your burn and eat those cals spread out throughout the day.

This doesn't get said often enough. I think it's what causes so much confusion. It's all just math. MFP just does things a little differently.

shakybabe

ok I think I get it... with no exercise just 1200 as says on goal... but if exercise.. the Net number has to to come to 1200 too? cos it already included a deficit?

I'll try again tomorrow!... thanks,,, maths has never been my strong point!

My new calorie scales finally turned up today so hopefully me food cals will be more accurate too as I'm not even sure if I worked some meals out properly.

Lastly some people say setting smaller goal is sometimes better.. i choose 2 lb a week but I can't remember how to get back to the page where you select that info to change it to 1lb a week?

Thanks

shakybabe

ok.. so this morning i did 563 cals exercise and only eaten special K so far the numbers on the bar are:

1200 173 -563 -390

so I add 390 to the 1200 to eat 1590 cals today cos I exercised?

taso42

ok.. so this morning i did 563 cals exercise and only eaten special K so far the numbers on the bar are:

1200 173 -563 -390

so I add 390 to the 1200 to eat 1590 cals today cos I exercised?

sounds about right. you do realize that MFP does this math for you right? at any given point in time, it will say "____ calories remaining" Just eat that many calories. If you think your exercise burn might be exaggerated, then eat a bit less.

shakybabe

ok thanks.... I'm still a bit out but I ate more than I did yesterday.

Does it matter if you have a slight deficit.. say your 200 cals under but only manage to eat another 100 or 50 before bed.. will it be ok if its not too high a difference?

taso42

Probably fine. Generally if you're within 50-100 of the goal, over or under, that is excellent.