"calories remaining" question

smpurely

I am still sort of confused by this process. When it says that I have _____ calories remaining, am i supposed to keep eating until I have eaten all the calories? Also, I looked at the "net calorie report" Do I want to have higher net calorie numbers or lower?

Thanks!

ziigmund

Yes the remaining calories means you have that many calories left that you can eat for that day. The total number of calories you have to eat per day is calculated based on your goals, your age, your sex etc

McKayMachina

Yup. The idea is to NET what MFP tells you to. You got it. That's the beauty of MFP. It factors in a deficit for you to lose weight! Then, when you burn more off with exercise, you eat those calories to properly fuel your body!

Blackthorne99

You want to be close to zero - give or take maybe 50 each way. When you're looking at the weekly net calorie report (only available through the mobile app), you want to be at or slight below zero for the week. So don't go over EVERY day, but 1 day over 1 day under will work itself out.

smpurely

Thanks for the input. I am having a hell of a time eating all the calories they tell me to eat. I usually end the day with several hundred calories remaining. I have never been anywhere near zero, and when it comes to the net calories, other than a couple days, they are usually around 1000. Which is why I am so confused! I thought I had a handle on things, but if my net is supposed to be zero, I am apparently way off!

McKayMachina

Thanks for the input. I am having a hell of a time eating all the calories they tell me to eat. I usually end the day with several hundred calories remaining. I have never been anywhere near zero, and when it comes to the net calories, other than a couple days, they are usually around 1000. Which is why I am so confused! I thought I had a handle on things, but if my net is supposed to be zero, I am apparently way off!

No no no. Your net is supposed to be AT LEAST 1200. Eat a little more. Peanut butter, cheese, chocolate and avocados are good, calorie-dense foods.

smpurely

Hence my confusion! One person is telling me my net should be zero, another is saying it should be 1200. The only constant I see, to a point, is that the general consensus is to eat all the calories that you are told to eat, and that is the one thing I have been hard pressed to do! *chuckle* Then there are people saying don't eat all the calories, to give some leeway in case your calorie count, or the amount you burn in exercise is off, which makes sense to me. Again thanks!

Raf702

I am still sort of confused by this process. When it says that I have _____ calories remaining, am i supposed to keep eating until I have eaten all the calories? Also, I looked at the "net calorie report" Do I want to have higher net calorie numbers or lower?

Thanks!

The XXX amount of calories remaining. Is how much calories left that you need to eat in order to reach the proper daily amount of nutrients.

The net calories is how much you've actually consumed. But if you exercise then those calories burned will be subtracted from your daily consumption of calories. Which will give you a new total of calories consumed.

smpurely

[/quote] The XXX amount of calories remaining. Is how much calories left that you need to eat in order to reach the proper daily amount of nutrients.

The net calories is how much you've actually consumed. But if you exercise then those calories burned will be subtracted from your daily consumption of calories. Which will give you a new total of calories consumed.
[/quote]

YAY!! Now I understand completely! Thank you! So when I was winding up with 300 net calories, that meant that I had only consumed 300 calories that day.

sleepytexan

best to be within 100 calories of the goal, either over (in the red) or under (in the green). A larger variance either way will negatively impact your results in the long run. Remember -- it's the long run that matters.

choconuts

You want to be close to zero - give or take maybe 50 each way. When you're looking at the weekly net calorie report (only available through the mobile app), you want to be at or slight below zero for the week. So don't go over EVERY day, but 1 day over 1 day under will work itself out.

I can run the 'weekly net calorie' report from the main website, not only on my mobile app.

ETA: Nevermind, I just realized you probably meant the weekly cumulative.

ahavoc

you need to eat to lose weight. God's little joke on us all. If you are a woman, you need to eat at least 1200 calories a day. If you work out you need to eat the workout calories plus the 1200. Although, you don't have to. You can eat 1/2 the workout calories back, but always, always, always, eat at least 1200.

Try eating every 3-4 hours utilitzing snacks. If you keep stoking your engine your metabolism will keep burning. I know how hard it is to eat so much when you're not used to, but make good choices, and eat! Read my blog, it might help you.

hrobinson416

Well now I understand the net calorie thing...but...theres no way I can eat that much food! Im still stuffed from a sandwich and a yogurt from lunch at 1!! I still have a pear to eat that I put on my list for food today - if I take in the net to be at 1200 that means I have almost 1000 more calories to eat before going to bed...every day...

Well...thanks for explaining that for her - now I understand it too..no idea how to get there but I will continue trying to up the food intake daily.