Net cal confusion

LiviLouLou

hi everyone
I only just got MFP so am a bit confused about the net cals. I set my daily cal intake at 1250. I workout 4-5 x a week for 1-2 hours. Today for example, I worked out and burnt 536cals.
'i wasn;t monitoring my food as closely as i should have been and at the end of the day saw I had consumed 1338 cals. (That is the number under where it says 'food') but it says i still have 398 to consume and a net of 852.. So should I be aiming for 1250cals NET exercise or not? or can i eat more the days i am not exercising? If on the days I exercise (say I burn off 500 cals) why am i allowed to eat those back? surely the point of exercise is to burn off more than what you eat?
I guess very simply my question is should I aim for 1250 cals under where it says "food" or under where it says "net"..hope this make sense. thanks for anyones help

Fozzi43

Eat your 1200 calories..then at LEAST half of your exercise calories and you'll be about right..you need to eat enough to fuel your workouts.