Could someone please explain the calculations

msbellzee

I’m a bit confused with the whole ‘nett' thing. I see people saying your should eat x amount net. So if my daily calorie intake should be 1250 and I work out and my nett = say 200 for example, what does that mean, should I be eating another 1000 calories to get my net to 1200. I have never paid attention to the nett amount until I saw people discussing it and it's confused me a bit.

Also, what is the deal with sodium, I notice people seem to concerned with the amount of sodium consumed and I don’t understand why?

Pebble321

Yes, you should eat until your NET calories = your goal calories. So, if your net calories are showing up as 200, you need to eat more in order to provide your body with enough nutrition and energy to stay healthy.

I think people mostly get concerned about sodium becuase it can make you retain fluid which can make the scales go up and down depending on fluid rather than weight. It's also not good for your general healthy to have a very high sodium intake, maybe check with your doctor next time you have a checkup to see is it needs to be a particular concern for you.

msbellzee

ok thanks Ruby. So if net =200, I should eat another 200 or do I need to eat another 1000 to bring it up to 1200?

2fit4fat

eat another 1000 to bring it up :-)

Pebble321

ok thanks Ruby. So if net =200, I should eat another 200 or do I need to eat another 1000 to bring it up to 1200?

You should eat another 1000 to bring it up to 1200 (at least, this is a very low calorie intake - depending on your height and weight, you probably should be eating more).
If this seems like "too much food" (I can't relate to this, but it's what lots of people say!) then cut back your exercise a bit. Exercise is good for you, but you don't need to be burning 1000s of cals a day to lose weight.

Just make sure you are logging your exercise and food accurately and don't let your calorie intake get too low - it really isn't doing you any favours.

Some good info on this page: www.shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com

msbellzee

Oh that seems so scary lol

I have about 737 calories left for today and I see that if I eat them all, I'll have a net of 1200, so I guess that's what I'm aiming for. It's so hard to get my head around this eating more thing.

msbellzee

thanks for the info, much appreciated. I'm not sure I trust the addition calories the site gives me for working out. I think I need to get something that will calculate it for me as I do it.

Pebble321

thanks for the info, much appreciated. I'm not sure I trust the addition calories the site gives me for working out. I think I need to get something that will calculate it for me as I do it.

Yes, lots of people find that MFP underestimates or overestimates exercise calories, so they often use a heart rate monitor which usually give you a more accurate estimate. I've always used either MFP or Runkeeper numbers and it's worked OK for me, but if you aren't confident about them them googling for alternatives is a good place to start.

I know it seems scary to "eat more to lose more".... but if you think about it, it is bound to be a whole lot less that you were eating in the past. I think we are just conditioned to believe that a diet means deprivation and if you aren't hungry and miserable you aren't doing it right. The good news is that with MFP you can learn to eat a moderate amount and balance out your exercise and food so your body is getting a healthy amount of nutrition.
I think this is a much more sustainable approach for the long term - I've "dieted" so many times before and have always give up because its just too hard. With MFP I've logged every day since I started (420 plus something days!) and although I've had some terribly unhealthy eating days, the outcome has been great - I'm thinner and healthier than I can ever remember.