I Know It's Been Asked Before, but NET CALORIES?

jenny4teach

I tried searching through a couple of Forums before I wrote this, but never got the basic answer to my question:

If I have 1200 calories a day and then burn 500 with exercise (so 1700 calories for the day) and then i splurge and eat 1600 calories instead of staying closer to 1200, its says I am under my NET calories, but my GROSS calories are higher than they should be...

WHATS THE DEAL!?!?! Should I be judging my days as "good" or "not as good as I could have been" (I dont like the term BAD) based on the net calories or gross calories? I have about 25-30 lbs to lose at minimum and have been doing great with this site, I just want to be more informed!

Thanks for taking the time to read this & respond..especially if you've done the same for a similar post

Happy Living Everyone!

jaxdiablo

Basically what's going to help you more a net 100 calorie day, or a net 500 calorie day? And how many more 100 calorie days will it take you to get to your goal instead of 500 calorie days?

morganadk2_deleted

Are you eating enough? Are you eating your exersise calories?

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

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficit

Go to the tools section and figure out your BMI:

Generally someone with a BMI over 32 can do a 1000 calorie a day (2 lbs a week) deficit
With a BMI of 30 to 32 a deficit of 750 calories is generally correct (about 1.5 lbs a week)
With a BMI of 28 to 30 a deficit of 500 calories is about right (about 1 lb a week)
With a BMI of 26 to 28 a deficit of about 300 calories is perfect (about 1/2 lb a week)
and below 26... well this is where we get fuzzy. See now you're no longer talking about being overweight, so while it's still ok to have a small deficit, you really should shift your focus more towards muscle building, and reducing fat. This means it is EXTRA important to eat your exercise calories as your body needs to KNOW it's ok to burn fat stores, and the only way it will know is if you keep giving it the calories it needs to not enter the famine response (starvation mode).

This is just a part of it! please read the link above

SergeantSunshine_reused

You are doing absolutely fantastic! I think it is important to hit your net calories :] I eat to make sure my body is getting proper nutrition and maintaining my muscle.

Good luck!

SergeantSunshine_reused

Basically what's going to help you more a net 100 calorie day, or a net 500 calorie day? And how many more 100 calorie days will it take you to get to your goal instead of 500 calorie days?

Um what?

TavistockToad

I tried searching through a couple of Forums before I wrote this, but never got the basic answer to my question:

If I have 1200 calories a day and then burn 500 with exercise (so 1700 calories for the day) and then i splurge and eat 1600 calories instead of staying closer to 1200, its says I am under my NET calories, but my GROSS calories are higher than they should be...

WHATS THE DEAL!?!?! Should I be judging my days as "good" or "not as good as I could have been" (I dont like the term BAD) based on the net calories or gross calories? I have about 25-30 lbs to lose at minimum and have been doing great with this site, I just want to be more informed!

Thanks for taking the time to read this & respond..especially if you've done the same for a similar post

Happy Living Everyone!

If your goal is1200 cals then that is the figure you should net. so your example of eating 1600 when your cals were 1200 + 500 for exercise is still a little low, as you can eat 1700 and still get the deficit that MFP suggests for your weight loss.

TavistockToad

Basically what's going to help you more a net 100 calorie day, or a net 500 calorie day? And how many more 100 calorie days will it take you to get to your goal instead of 500 calorie days?

Um what?

thats exactly what i was going to say!!!

ace175

Look at your net calories if you're working out. If you're given 1200 calories/day, and then you workout and burn 300, your net will be 900 because net is what you've eaten-what you burn (1200-300=900). When you eat back those 300 calories, your net will be brought up to 1200...which is what mfp calculated for you based on your activity level and how much you chose to lose/week when you first signed up. MFP already puts in a deficit when they give you the number of 1200 based on that info you gave them. If you don't eat back the 300 calories you burned, and are netting 900 calories, you are creating a bigger deficit from what mfp created. If you go under your "goals" it will tell you how much a deficit you have already.

MistrPeter

To lose weight, your net Calorie intake needs to average below your net Calorie output, which this site helps you estimate. You add to your daily output (which you burn by walking around and going about your day) by exercising. This increases how much you can intake in a day because you output more.

Whether you judge yourself as having had a "good" or "bad" day is up to your standards. Personally, I try to not eat more than I would on exercise days, because that speeds my progress. I feel that if I ran off 1000 calories, and then ate 1000 calories more, then it feels pointless to have done the exercise since I could have just not eaten those extra 1000 calories. However, I'm not so hard on myself when there is some special occasion like Thanksgiving or some celebration where many beers are consumed.

Long story short: Net Calories are what you should pay attention to. How you judge yourself is completely up to you.

TavistockToad

To lose weight, your net Calorie intake needs to average below your net Calorie output, which this site helps you estimate. You add to your daily output (which you burn by walking around and going about your day) by exercising. This increases how much you can intake in a day because you output more.

Whether you judge yourself as having had a "good" or "bad" day is up to your standards. Personally, I try to not eat more than I would on exercise days, because that speeds my progress. I feel that if I ran off 1000 calories, and then ate 1000 calories more, then it feels pointless to have done the exercise since I could have just not eaten those extra 1000 calories. However, I'm not so hard on myself when there is some special occasion like Thanksgiving or some celebration where many beers are consumed.

Long story short: Net Calories are what you should pay attention to. How you judge yourself is completely up to you.

would you suggest that a 500 calorie diet is healthy?

if your calorie goal is 1500, and you burn off 1000 through exercise and dont eat those calories back, then thats the same as just eating 500 calories with no exercise...

SergeantSunshine_reused

To lose weight, your net Calorie intake needs to average below your net Calorie output, which this site helps you estimate. You add to your daily output (which you burn by walking around and going about your day) by exercising. This increases how much you can intake in a day because you output more.

Whether you judge yourself as having had a "good" or "bad" day is up to your standards. Personally, I try to not eat more than I would on exercise days, because that speeds my progress. I feel that if I ran off 1000 calories, and then ate 1000 calories more, then it feels pointless to have done the exercise since I could have just not eaten those extra 1000 calories. However, I'm not so hard on myself when there is some special occasion like Thanksgiving or some celebration where many beers are consumed.

Long story short: Net Calories are what you should pay attention to. How you judge yourself is completely up to you.

would you suggest that a 500 calorie diet is healthy?

if your calorie goal is 1500, and you burn off 1000 through exercise and dont eat those calories back, then thats the same as just eating 500 calories with no exercise...

Yea exactly. Especially as a male. Good bye muscle, hello skinny fat!

This is not a race. You body composition will be much better if you eat those back, especially the leaner you get. Sure it takes longer but you look a lot better.

It is not pointless to exercise if you are eating those calories back either. Cardio has many cardiovascular benefits (duh lol) and weight training can help you retain muscle mass. Just as a small example

jenny4teach

Thanks everyone! I figured that eating back most of my exercise calories was a good idea, but I was just unsure about what I should be measuring my progress by. I feel fantastic and never starve myself! Some days I only net 900 calories (if i've worked out) but thats usually because I like to work out at night, and have eaten really healthy, filling foods during the day. Today I didnt make it to the gym b/c I went out to dinner with a friend so my net calories were way over my 1200 goal, but still under my BMR. This is all so tricky and complicated but....it does work!

MistrPeter

To lose weight, your net Calorie intake needs to average below your net Calorie output, which this site helps you estimate. You add to your daily output (which you burn by walking around and going about your day) by exercising. This increases how much you can intake in a day because you output more.

Whether you judge yourself as having had a "good" or "bad" day is up to your standards. Personally, I try to not eat more than I would on exercise days, because that speeds my progress. I feel that if I ran off 1000 calories, and then ate 1000 calories more, then it feels pointless to have done the exercise since I could have just not eaten those extra 1000 calories. However, I'm not so hard on myself when there is some special occasion like Thanksgiving or some celebration where many beers are consumed.

Long story short: Net Calories are what you should pay attention to. How you judge yourself is completely up to you.

would you suggest that a 500 calorie diet is healthy?

if your calorie goal is 1500, and you burn off 1000 through exercise and dont eat those calories back, then thats the same as just eating 500 calories with no exercise...

You do have a point, but you could have phrased it in a way that didn't put words in my mouth. Your numbers aren't the same as mine or the OP's, so I wasn't quick to assume anything. The 1000 calories I was talking about was just a number, not a recommendation.

My first post on this site gets attacked for saying something I didn't even say? Way to welcome new users :-/