Net Calories

shaleasymphony
shaleasymphony Posts: 172 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
so i was reading and everyone is saying the same thing---you have to burn more calories than you eat to lose weight. so if i want to lose 1 lb a week i must burn 3500 calories or 500 more than i eat a day. so that means my net calories should be -500? i thought that was basically starving yourself because it's like your body is running on empty if you do that. i'm so confused!!! someone please help! i've been at this for about 2 months and have only lost 5 lbs when i have my goal set at losing 2 pounds a week!!! any insight would be so helpful!

Replies

  • nadinab
    nadinab Posts: 124 Member
    The way I understand is -

    Your net calories
    - 500 calories from your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) - online calculators can help your work this out
    - MFP calculates it to be net 1200, which means after all your food and exercise it should be 1200 - no less then that.This is the bottom rock for your body to function properly.. i.e. heart, brain, liver, etc!

    read this: http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/harris-benedict-equation/calorie-intake-to-lose-weight.php.

    Hope this helps <3
  • magj0y
    magj0y Posts: 1,911 Member
    net calories = the amount of calories you've eaten today taking into consideration of how much you've worked out.

    ie; You ate 1500 cals for the day. You exercised 300 cals. You need cal is 1200.

    however, this is if you have your numbers as close to correct as possible. MFP weight calculators seem to be quite off.

    -500 isn't a lot to some people, but if you're on your last 10-20 lbs, it is! I can easily pull a 1200 cal day if I'm not exercising with out feeling starved, but most people can't.
  • kentmac
    kentmac Posts: 101 Member
    The net calories rhetoric is based on the law of conservation of energy. It states that energy cannot be created or destroyed. Therefore, in theory, if you have a deficit energy balance of 3500 kcal (or 1 lb of fat, approx,) per week, you must necessarily lose 1lb of body fat.

    Unfortunately, the body is far more complicated. Yes, to lose weight you need to expend more energy than you consume, but it never seems to work out quite how the math and science say it should.

    5 lbs in 2 months is great progress. That would be 60 lbs in a year! Keep eating right and exercising and give it time. Fitness isn't a sprint to the finish line, it's a marathon. Stay with it and you'll reach your goals!

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