Why does everyone congratulate on not meeting net calories?

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Replies

  • ahealthy4u
    ahealthy4u Posts: 442 Member
    That is like asking why people are so nasty and mean on thread posts rather than giving a civil answer they are mean and cruel. Positive encouragement is better than being mean and rude in my book and when one comes right down to it if you don’t have anything good to say don’t say it at all. If my friends are doing good I will say something if they are not I will give them other type of encouragement.
  • EricNCSU
    EricNCSU Posts: 699 Member
    Everyone has a different threshold of what is a "good" under and what is "too low". for me, 100-200 under and even up to 100 over are all good within the target range. Once it gets to 300-400 under that's probably not as good. I usually won't say anything in this case.
  • reneepugh
    reneepugh Posts: 522 Member
    I try to only congratulate when they are under and close to their calorie goal. I wholeheartedly support meeting the calorie goals.
  • Dojjin
    Dojjin Posts: 9 Member
    I am almost always under, even when I "cheat" I still always seem to be under or right as my Net calorie intake.

    I don't really try, I don't have to, I eat so healthy now that it's easy to keep under and still be full and completely nourished with nutrition.

    For the comments on: "It's better to stay under OR go over." I say it's better to do what your body feels it needs, don't starve or gorge, listen to your body.
  • kristelpoole
    kristelpoole Posts: 440 Member
    Well, I burned 1000 calories today and eating 2500 feels impossible. I'm just not hungry. If I was hungry, I'd eat, though.
  • angel79202
    angel79202 Posts: 1,012 Member
    this is why my diary is password protected and only select people have the code, I got sick and tired of the negative drama..we don't know what someone has been thru, if they are under the care of a doctor, etc. I tend to offer advice when asked, or if I am legitimately worried..I'm not the food police..
  • SlimBBQ
    SlimBBQ Posts: 6 Member
    bump
  • I changed my setting so that whether I'm over/under my calorie goal doesn't show in my feed and therefore, my friends don't get daily announcements. Some days I'm right on, some under and some over. I'd rather be congratulated for exercising and progress toward my weight goal.
  • austindog2
    austindog2 Posts: 128
    Before I comment on a friend's diary completion, I check out what they ate for the day. Went over a little but still ate healthy? Congrats! Was under by a few hundred but earned a lot of calories from exercise? Congrats again! However, if they're significantly under and have been for a few days, I might offer some constructive feedback along with praising something that they did well that day, like hydration. I'm not an expert, but if I were doing something detrimental to my body (especially unintentionally if I didn't know any better), then I would like to have someone point it out nicely!
  • Who says you have to eat all of your exercise calories? If you burn a lot and want to eat more then have it! If you don't feeling like eating back any exercise calories then don't. Wow, that was simple.
  • Mzfoster0517
    Mzfoster0517 Posts: 83 Member
    mheh. i dont pay attention to my net calories. i dont see what the big deal is. it doesnt make a difference for me. some days i have some pretty tough workouts and can burn close to 1000 calories in an hour. if i'm not that hungry then there's no way i'm going to eat the 1800 calories i regularly eat AND an additional 1000 on op of that just to make the net calorie graph even out :laugh:

    RIGHT! When I workout and it's a tough one I burn lots and it's generally at the end of the day, so I'm not trying to eat like that before I go to bed or I wake up with a stomach ache. You gotta do what's best for you! If their food diary is open I often look and see that they have eaten pretty good most times.
  • ericgAU
    ericgAU Posts: 271
    I know I dont `congratulate' my MFP friends if they go over or above. Thats not what this is about. MFP is about the support and encouragement from others trying to achieve the same goal of being healthy & fit. That said, if you are wanting to lose weight (which I assume is the vast majority of people on MFP) then maintaining a sustained calorie deficit is the only way you will lose weight. BTW, maintaining a calorie deficit is DEFINITELY NOT at the expense of good nutrition or great tasting food I might add.

    Edit: The level of your calorie deficit is really a matter of how quickly you want to shed the weight. Health professionals (of which I'm not) recommend not anymore than 3500 calories per week (500 per day). This was what I was doing over a 15 month period to lose 83 lbs.
  • liftingheavy
    liftingheavy Posts: 551 Member
    mheh. i dont pay attention to my net calories. i dont see what the big deal is. it doesnt make a difference for me. some days i have some pretty tough workouts and can burn close to 1000 calories in an hour. if i'm not that hungry then there's no way i'm going to eat the 1800 calories i regularly eat AND an additional 1000 on op of that just to make the net calorie graph even out :laugh:
    agreed, and other days i DO eat all those additional calories!!!!

    Oh, there is no question that I'm eating those additional calories at some point... So I don't sweat it either.
  • JoolieW68
    JoolieW68 Posts: 1,879 Member
    I've given up on commenting on complete diary entries for the most part because I won't do it without looking at a freind's diary first - and at 230+ friends I'm not looking thru them all. I try to comment on exercise and other randome comments that they post, though.
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    I wonder that too... I also find it funny that when I am under my calorie goal it will say "hesn92 completed her food diary and was under her goal!" But if I go over it just says "Hesn92 completed her food diary" LOL. As if it's a bad thing to go over. I try to make the remaining calorie number AROUND zero, whether it's green or red makes no difference.

    I think it's better to be over than under. If I go over, who cares. I'm just giving my body more nutrients and fuel. If I go under, maybe I'm not giving my body enough. (I actually am though because my calorie goal is set well above my BMR, but you get the point.)


    Another thing to point out... I have friends who have very "scary" food diaries. Netting very small numbers. Consuming less than 1200 and exercising on top of that. I'm not going to give out unwanted advice to these people. They are responsible for their own bodies and if they want advice or help, they will ask for it. I'm not going to be a snob and comment saying "you need to eat more calories, you're starving yourself!"
  • Circa1964
    Circa1964 Posts: 225 Member
    I turned off the stupid auto-newsfeed post. I'm sure no one cares if I was under or over my calories, it's just pointless spam.

    I did this too a long time ago. I get tired of seeing it and don't comment on it.
  • izzydino
    izzydino Posts: 254 Member
    Totally agree!
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    How do you change your feed settings?
  • JNick77
    JNick77 Posts: 3,783 Member
    If you are suppose to be reaching your net calories for healthy weightloss, why does everyone congratulate and therefore promoting not eating your caloric needs? I mean I can understand if you are like 100 or less away, but 300, 400, 500.... that's not good!!!! So why do I see it so often?
    The problem in your question is the word "supposed." There is no "supposed." If someone is not legitimately starving themselves, then whatever calorie level they choose to eat is up to them. I would ask someone how many total calories they've eaten that day. If it's a reasonable amount, I'm not going to get all into their business.

    No one is promoting or congratulating anyone for anything. They are acknowledging an adult's ability to choose how to lose weight. REAL Starvation is one thing. Not being psycho over net calories or exercise calories is something else.

    Wow, nice **** comment. Your grammar isn't exactly perfect.

    If they're close to their calorie goal but under that's one thing but if they're several hundred calories under that's a different issue.
  • Anomalia
    Anomalia Posts: 506 Member
    I congratulate them on logging. I don't scrutinize my friends diaries, I simply encourage them to log what they eat so that they know what they are putting in their bodies.
  • nlehmann
    nlehmann Posts: 164 Member
    its better then going over
    Not really, the calorie goal is already set under to lose weight so if you go farther, that's not better
  • torshi
    torshi Posts: 107 Member
    I would just assume that people want to say 'congrats to being under than over', also some people might not look in to how close they are within their calories or what their actually eating since some people hide their food log for the day.
  • cbirdso
    cbirdso Posts: 465 Member
    its better then going over

    I disagree, I've learned it's better to go over than to stay under.

    I agree. After 20+ years losing and gaining weight, I agree that over is better than under.
    As long as the OVER is nutritious food in sensible portions that fit with your micros, I agree that going over (slightly) has been more helpful in my weight loss.
  • leadoff
    leadoff Posts: 136 Member
    If you are suppose to be reaching your net calories for healthy weightloss, why does everyone congratulate and therefore promoting not eating your caloric needs? I mean I can understand if you are like 100 or less away, but 300, 400, 500.... that's not good!!!! So why do I see it so often?

    Kind of like FB, in my opinion....

    POST: "Woke up this morning and took a shower!"
    REPLIES: "Way to go!" "Congrats on your shower!" "You go girl!" "You da man!"

    BTW....congrats on coming up with a new approach to stir the same pot! LOL!
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    mheh. i dont pay attention to my net calories. i dont see what the big deal is. it doesnt make a difference for me. some days i have some pretty tough workouts and can burn close to 1000 calories in an hour. if i'm not that hungry then there's no way i'm going to eat the 1800 calories i regularly eat AND an additional 1000 on op of that just to make the net calorie graph even out :laugh:
    agreed, and other days i DO eat all those additional calories!!!!

    Oh, there is no question that I'm eating those additional calories at some point... So I don't sweat it either.

    exactly! those extra calories are covered on days like i had a few weeks ago where I ate 8 pieces of chicken (thighs and breasts not wings :laugh: ), half a dozen eggs, a pound of fresh spinach, 2 cups of yogurt , a huge baking sheet filled with roasted brussel sprouts and mushrooms, etc :laugh:
  • SlvrLyssa
    SlvrLyssa Posts: 41 Member
    I changed my setting so that whether I'm over/under my calorie goal doesn't show in my feed and therefore, my friends don't get daily announcements. Some days I'm right on, some under and some over. I'd rather be congratulated for exercising and progress toward my weight goal.

    I didn't know you could do this. I'll have to look into it. I do like people being able to see what I eat because it makes me feel more accountable. But I have wondered why people, me included, say 'wtg' or whatever when MFP tells me I'm eating too little even when I'm close to goal, but under. I just want my friends to know I'm looking & supportive. When working out a lot, I can't imagine eating all those extra calories healthily.
  • MrsGoHard
    MrsGoHard Posts: 150 Member
    1. I don't look at Diaries unless my friends ask.
    2. If I do look at calories and they're under, I assume they exercised them away.
    3. Next time you see it on a post, just ask.
  • yeah, i turn those 'under calorie' notifications off - mentally. i just ignore mine.

    i also dont comment on other people being under....only for weight loss and exercise.
  • For those who wondered how to change news feed settings:

    Go to SETTINGS at the top of the page.
    Choose: Automatic News Feed update settings
    You will then get check boxes to choose what goes into your news feed. It does not affect the privacy setting on your food diary - that's a different setting. This just changes what announcements are made in your news feed.
  • Stephanie198907
    Stephanie198907 Posts: 163 Member
    for my group of friends, netting less than their daily calorie allotment usually means they hit the gym which in my book is reason to celebrate.