What are "net" calories?

the_fat_monkey

Sorry for the repost but I didn't get any answers at all!

So what are net calories exactly? I understand goal is what I should eat without exercise, exercise is how many calories I lost/burned through exercise, and it gives me the option to eat my exercise calories, but what are net calories?

Is it, like, say I eat 1200 calories, burn 300 and my net becomes 900. Is that right?

And, anyone have any idea how many calories I should eat? I lift 3x a week for 35 minutes, and walk 5x a week for 60 minutes. Trying to lose 20 - 25 pounds! Thanks!

k8zor

By your description, it sounds like you already pretty much understand net calories.

The "net" is amount that remains after deductions which is just a different way of saying the total calories you ate (1200) minus what you burned (300), is your net (900). So when you are looking at your calorie count for the day, focus on your net calories.

This site should give you an idea of how many calories you need to eat in order to reach your goal weight healthily. Just look under the "Goals" tab in your home page. It all depends on your current weight and how many calories you burn while exercising. And it sounds like you are exercising plenty, so make sure you eat enough to make up for all those those calories burned. I think 1200 is the standard minimum for female calorie intake per day.

the_fat_monkey

Bump

foleyshirley

When I got started, this thread really helped me determine how many calories to eat. Usually, you should at minimum net 1200 (and your definition of net was correct). But I learned from this thread that most of us don't have to eat this few calories, and in fact, shouldn't. Hope it helps you. (And thanks to helloitsdan. All his posts have pretty much helped me .

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

foleyshirley

Oh, and good luck. It takes awhile to get used to all this, but it is really worth it.

kylerath

Just be careful... 1200 Calories is really on the low side. Especially if you are also exercising. Net of 900 is not good. Try get it up to 1500 (-300 exercise).

For extremely obese people, they are sometimes put on a Very Low Cal Diet of 800 cal but are then monitored constantly by doctors. So 900 is very close to this amount. Try get in a further 200 - 300 cal. Also, this should help you loose quicker believe it or not!

msdeedmw36

so the calories you burn from exercising does this give you that many calories to eat? I'm confused on the net calories too is it a benefit to have them left over and be under your caloie goal?

msdeedmw36

sorry I meant calorie

scottyg70

Msdee, I think you're asking can you eat your exercise calories back? If so, then the answer is definitely and I personally recommend it. You don't have to eat them all back, if you want to have a bigger deficit, but you want to keep your net calories above a certain level (depends on the individual) so your body will not go into starvation mode. When it does this your metabolism slows down and you will see no weight loss. You might even see weight gain.

cwolfman13

Is it, like, say I eat 1200 calories, burn 300 and my net becomes 900. Is that right?

And, anyone have any idea how many calories I should eat? I lift 3x a week for 35 minutes, and walk 5x a week for 60 minutes. Trying to lose 20 - 25 pounds! Thanks!

Correct...but you should net to 1200...which means you eat back exercise calories. If you're doing a 1200 calorie plan, it's not really "optional"...1200 calories is nothing...birds eat 1200 calories. Even if you're completely sedentary with no exercise, you should be getting at least 1200 calories.

If you need to lose 20-25 Lbs, set your goal to 1 lb per week. As you get closer...within 10 Lbs you'll have to go even slower if you want your body to respond...0.5 Lbs per week. Net to your calorie goal...i.e. eat your exercise calories back. When i was doing MFP method, I ate back about 70-80% of mine to account for estimation error. I'm not at goal weight with 35 Lbs lost.

cwolfman13

so the calories you burn from exercising does this give you that many calories to eat? I'm confused on the net calories too is it a benefit to have them left over and be under your caloie goal?

Yes...you eat them back. 1200 calories net is about 800-1000 calories less than your body needs to maintain weight already...no need to make the deficit bigger. With the NEAT method (MFP method) exercise is extra activity and not included when you set your activity level for your goals.

Too big a deficit results in metabolic stall as well as the loss of a lot of muscle rather than fat.

msdeedmw36

thank you so much scottyg70 & cwolfman13 I thought I had to eat just what it was recommending me to eat and if I had calories left over(net) that it was good a couple more questions ok I have to eat 1470 a day to lose 1 1/2 lbs a week I work out 5x a week and burn 500-560 calories when I work out now how much net calories is good to have left over after each week to still obtain my weight loss my starting weight was 238 I am 227 now and I have been doing this since march 31 but I think alot the weight I lost at first was water weight so I want to make sure the pounds still keep coming off any advice???

JanisJoplin99

What does "bump" mean? I see it a lot in these threads. I have been working with MFP for one week. Thanks!

yarwell

What does "bump" mean? I see it a lot in these threads. I have been working with MFP for one week. Thanks!

it means "promote this to the top of the list" or "make it so I can find it later"

incredibly irritating, FFS why not contribute to the discussion !