New to MFP - Don't understand the lingo!

smpurely

Hello folks!

I was told about this website and the associated mobile app by a friend in my water aerobics class. I do not understand the concept of net calories, and am extremely confused by the amount of calories it is telling me to eat and still be able to lose weight. After entering my information, it told me that i had a goal of 1250 calories a day, which sounds about right. I did 3 water fitness classes this morning, for a total of 3 hours, this is unusual, as I normally only do 2 classes, but had extra time today. I was credited with burning off 1377 calories. It then told me that I had eaten 1900 calories today, and had 721 calories remaining and a net of 529? I understand the concept of giving your body enough calories to work with, but is this website actually telling me that I should eat over 2000 calories today in order to meet my weight loss goals?

lunaephiliac

yup! do it!

Epinephrine

The site figures out how many net calories you should have per day to lose the amount of weight you specified each week. If you exercise, you are expected to eat back those calories. This is a big debate on this site about whether or not to eat your exercise calories, but at the very least I'd try to eat 1200+ calories net a day at a bare minimum. I personally eat 50% to 75% of my exercise calories back until I feel full. I don't eat 100% back just in case i overestimated on the amount of calories I actually burned.

lor007

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/23912-links-in-mfp-you-want-to-read-again-and-again


Read these! :flowerforyou:

JulieSD

Basically yes.

The more you work out the more you should eat, your body needs the fuel. I eat back half my exercise calories, unless I'm far below 1200 cals for the day....then I eat more.

cmriverside

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/23912-links-in-mfp-you-want-to-read-again-and-again


Read these! :flowerforyou:

I endorse this endorsement. Scroll through the thread........there are many jewels added on (lovingly by me) all the way through that thread.

surfrgrl1

Another thing you'll see is ----N S V.. That stands for Non Scale Victory. We love to talk about them, because they remind us that we are making progress even if the scale isn't moving. e.g. no more muffin top in a pair of jeans, noticing more endurance when exercising, face looks thinner, you name it, we celebrate it!! Welcome to MFP and enjoy your journey!!

mazza2marilyn

bump

olyrose

Just be cautious when recording the amount of calories you're burning. Some people record every single thing, like grocery shopping, vacuuming, etc, so it looks like they are burning thousands of calories, and then they try to eat that all back. Also, MFP can overestimate the calories burnt for each exercise. Generally though, yes, eat back (most) or all of the calories, and you can still lose weight. I typically make sure I net at least 1,000 most days, at the very least.

smpurely

Everyone, thank you so much for your responses. I read a few of the articles that were linked, and they were also very helpful. I joined this site because I was freaking out about My weight gain. I had lost 150 pounds with the assist of a lap band, and had been maintaining that loss for 6 years. I quit smoking this June, and have since gained 40 pounds! I was not eating any more than i had been, and I added my exercise routine of 2 classes a day, 5 days a week, which I had not been doing previously, and the weight was still pouring on.

Frankly, the idea of eating approximately 2000 calories a day terrifies me, but I will give it a shot, as nothing else I have been doing is getting any sort of results.

Thank you again for all of your input.