Net calories

jbm101

Hi,

Hoping someone can help as everywhere I look gives me a different answer.

MFP gives me a calorie intake of 1490 a day, I'm currently sitting between 1300 -1400 most days.

If started using a elliptical trainer, and with a polar heart rate monitor, am burning around 1000 calories a day (4-5 times a week) I've lost 10kgs with another 14 to go

So have a net calorie intake of 300 - 400 calories a day. I'm not feeling over tired, have enough energy to complete my work out, do I need to up my net intake to be over 1200 calories.

Thanks

Jay

chels1605

Hi Jay

People will say YES. That your net calories should be 1200....

To me it makes no sense because you're burning calories for a reason..... TO LOOSE WEIGHT - Why then eat that back?

I'd be interested to know the science behind it too!

rsmithy89

I do not eat them back. It is easy to over-estimate calories burned doing cardio. Even a HRM is not that accurate. There are so many other factors that need to be taken into account.

Just go with how you feel. If you feel fine, keep at it. If you start to feel down or weak, eat back some of the calories until you are content.

Nicola0000

I do not eat them back. It is easy to over-estimate calories burned doing cardio. Even a HRM is not that accurate. There are so many other factors that need to be taken into account.

Just go with how you feel. If you feel fine, keep at it. If you start to feel down or weak, eat back some of the calories until you are content.

agree with this. If you are going out, or feel really hungry one day, then eat back your exercise calories, it won't hurt. But otherwise, just go with what youve been doing!

kirstyg1980

on the other hand I wasn't eating back my calories and was stuck and couldn't loose weight for 6 months - started eating around half to 3/4 of my exercise calories back and I've lost 5.3lbs in 2 weeks

NicNac86

Hi Jay

People will say YES. That your net calories should be 1200....

To me it makes no sense because you're burning calories for a reason..... TO LOOSE WEIGHT - Why then eat that back?

I'd be interested to know the science behind it too!

Because MFP has already calculated your calorie goal for you to lose weight anyway?

Remember, if you've set up MFP to lose 1lb a week then if you eat at your calorie goal, you will lose weight even if you don't do any exercise at all!

OSC_ESD

Here is the Science ...

3500 Calories burned = 1 Pound lost

If you save 500 calories a day ... 7 days a week ... you will lose 1 pound per week. ( 7 x 500 = 3500 )

With that being said ... Yes, you should eat back " some " of your exercise calories. MFP does have your calculations setup based on what you initially entered. Example being ... you wanted to lose 1 pound per week it will calculate your activity and measurements to come up with a number for calorie intake that is based on one pound per week loss, anything additional is calories that need to be consumed as fuel.

HOWEVER ....

MFP is not accurate in the estimated calories burned ... therefore, if you are not using an HRM you will need to be extrememly careful in eating back exercise calories ... because MFP is usually way over in estimates. I would suggest eating a ¼ back or whatever works for you and you still see success.

I wear an HRM and I know my numbers as " exact " as possible ... an HRM is not 100%, but damn close ! I still don't eat ALL my calories back. I do a zigzag method and base my intake on my progress. But ... Do NOT ever drop below 1200 calories consumed a day ... that is not healthy and your body will start to find other ways to survive ... including slowing down your metabolism .. which in turn will slow down the weight loss. Most people don't believe it until they hit that plateau and can't understand why they are not losing anymore weight ! It's not easy to maintain what's needed to continue to be on track ... but once you understand the process, you will find it not only easy to follow ... but you will feel your BEST !

Always remember our bodies need fuel to continue to perform ,,, like anything else, when neglected or cheated ... it will eventually shutdown. Be wise ... Be successful !

I am NOT an expert nor a trainer ... Just proof that science is on your side !

Nicola0000

on the other hand I wasn't eating back my calories and was stuck and couldn't loose weight for 6 months - started eating around half to 3/4 of my exercise calories back and I've lost 5.3lbs in 2 weeks

Suppose its just working out whats right for you? I lost far more weight when I upped my cals from 1200 to 1400. 1200 must have been too low for my body as Im quite tall. Just experiment with it, and see how you go!.

What I do now, is set my weight loss goal at maintain, then use the weekly report to see what my deficit is (not sure where it is on the site, but easy to use on the app). Then aim to have a weekly deficit of 3500 cals to lose 1lb. This is a bit more time consuming, but at least I dont feel restricted so can have a high day one day, and low the next etc. (zig zagging calories)

RAFValentina

I am pretty similar to you., Goal calories 1630, usually burn in excess of 1200 each day (except saturdays-rest day!) and often have a net less than 500. Its never affected me and actually, even though I try to be as accurate as possible with calories in(weighing to the gram/measuring to the 5 ml) but calories out-I don't know how accurate the HRM is and with so many formulas out there...who knows... Its a decent HRM and takes into account all the relevant info, V02max, MHR, RHR, Height, Weight, Gender, General Activity level... but how accurate is that number!?!

So I wouldn't worry. So long as you're not losing weight dangerously fast or suffering any other effects.

One thing to look out for though, is iron depletion. So maybe think about making your food iron and vitamin c rich and trying to have your calcium products separate from your iron/vitc products to maximise absorption. Really essential if you're going to continue exercising vigorously. For your blood mostly. Especially important for women.

Val

Articeluvsmemphis

well let's get one thing right, let's help him LOSE weight, he wants LOOSE pants :grumble: (grammar police, you're welcome)

your net needs to be higher. you will probably lose weight quicker without eating them back but please do come back to the message boards and tell us when you start feeling weak and/or muscle start to deteriorate. the purpose of food is for fuel and to replenish, to build muscle, and to keep your energy going all day. netting that long for an EXTENDED period of time is no good. yes you can lose weight and eat your exercise calories.

OSC_ESD

well let's get one thing right, let's help him LOSE weight, he wants LOOSE pants :grumble: (grammar police, you're welcome)

your net needs to be higher. you will probably lose weight quicker without eating them back but please do come back to the message boards and tell us when you start feeling weak and/or muscle start to deteriorate. the purpose of food is for fuel and to replenish, to build muscle, and to keep your energy going all day. netting that long for an EXTENDED period of time is no good. yes you can lose weight and eat your exercise calories.

* Drops to her knees and worships the ground you walk on .... I ღ Grammar Police *

I try to look the other way ... but, the " Lose " ~ vs ~ " Loose " ... Makes me LOSE my mind !

:drinker:

erickirb

Hi Jay

People will say YES. That your net calories should be 1200....

To me it makes no sense because you're burning calories for a reason..... TO LOOSE WEIGHT - Why then eat that back?

I'd be interested to know the science behind it too!

The reason why is that you will already lose weight eating the 1200, so if your goal was 1lb/week your maintenance would be 1700, so if you burn 800 from exercise, your maintenance increases to 2500, so to keep you at your goal deficit you would have to eat 2000, which is a 500 cal deficit.

There are a few reasons why you should eat them back:
- slower weight loss is more likely to stay off
- too large of a deficit will lead to a loss of a large % of lean muscle
- will help prepare you for maintenance when you get there (not a huge jump in cals all at once)
- fuels your workouts so you can push harder and see more results (endurance, muscle strength etc)

MaximalLife

Hi Jay

People will say YES. That your net calories should be 1200....

To me it makes no sense because you're burning calories for a reason..... TO LOOSE WEIGHT - Why then eat that back?

I'd be interested to know the science behind it too!

MFP has calculated our total calories required each day WITHOUT exercise to lose 1lb per week.
And after we log in our exercises, our calorie limit goes up.
Why?
Because it's telling us to eat our exercise calories.
Large deficits are unhealthy, because while you will lose weight, what's the quality of the weight loss?
In many cases you'll lose lean body mass - MUSCLE - which LOWERS your metabolic rate, making weight loss harder.
Then you have to lower calories even more to compensate, and the cycle continues.
Be smart.
Exercise well both cardio and resistance, and eat back the calories.
The exercise will RAISE your metabolism and burn more fat at rest.

Kristinemomof3

Hi Jay

People will say YES. That your net calories should be 1200....

To me it makes no sense because you're burning calories for a reason..... TO LOOSE WEIGHT - Why then eat that back?

I'd be interested to know the science behind it too!

The reason why is that you will already lose weight eating the 1200, so if your goal was 1lb/week your maintenance would be 1700, so if you burn 800 from exercise, your maintenance increases to 2500, so to keep you at your goal deficit you would have to eat 2000, which is a 500 cal deficit.

There are a few reasons why you should eat them back:
- slower weight loss is more likely to stay off
- too large of a deficit will lead to a loss of a large % of lean muscle
- will help prepare you for maintenance when you get there (not a huge jump in cals all at once)
- fuels your workouts so you can push harder and see more results (endurance, muscle strength etc)

I agree!!

meerkat70

Hi Jay

People will say YES. That your net calories should be 1200....

To me it makes no sense because you're burning calories for a reason..... TO LOOSE WEIGHT - Why then eat that back?

I'd be interested to know the science behind it too!

I suspect you mean 'lose'.

The science behind it is really quite clear. For long term, sustainable loss you need to maintain a moderate deficit. When you exercise hard, and don't eat back a reasonable percentage of the calories you burn, you place your body into a too extreme deficit, which can make weightloss harder.

I don't eat all my exercise calories. I do certainly eat some. I've hit plateaus from just eating baseline calories, and not eating back enough. When this has happened, I've panicked, cut back harder, exercised more, and made the plateau worse. I don't suggest you repeat my experience. When I eat a decent percentage of my exercise cals back, I lose more efficiently. And I also know I'm training myself into a way of life I can maintain once I reach goal.

shevy216

bump till later

BellydanceBliss

on the other hand I wasn't eating back my calories and was stuck and couldn't loose weight for 6 months - started eating around half to 3/4 of my exercise calories back and I've lost 5.3lbs in 2 weeks

this seems to be what is working for me