net calories?

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Replies

  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    now mell is saying my net should be as close to zero as possible
    see this confuses me

    No - she is saying the amount at the bottom (the red/green number) should be zero - in other words you have eaten as close to possible the amount that you should be eating.

    OKAY .... now I see where the zero comes from

    I just reread it and I think I misinterpreted it, not you - I think she was advising to net to zero - which is a bad idea to say the least.
  • lilteeraw
    lilteeraw Posts: 261
    so basically.. i should always net 1200 calories.
    so if i eat 1900 calories today but exercise and burn say 700.. id NET 1200. and that is the bare minimum.
    so id be losing weight.
    so to maintain... i should net like what 1500? so if i ate 2000 today but burnt 500 id net 1500 and i would maintain.
    these are just examples.
    im just seeing if i understand and if this is correct.
    today i really actually ate about 1600 calories and burnt 600 so im netting around 1000 calories.
    at this rate im still at a deficit.
    i dont want to be.. but i am?
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    so basically.. i should always net 1200 calories.
    so if i eat 1900 calories today but exercise and burn say 700.. id NET 1200. and that is the bare minimum.
    so id be losing weight.
    so to maintain... i should net like what 1500? so if i ate 2000 today but burnt 500 id net 1500 and i would maintain.
    these are just examples.
    im just seeing if i understand and if this is correct.
    today i really actually ate about 1600 calories and burnt 600 so im netting around 1000 calories.
    at this rate im still at a deficit.
    i dont want to be.. but i am?

    You've got the idea, now you just need to do it for a while to figure out what your numbers actually are. MFP's suggestions are usually a good start (assuming you setup your profile correctly), but often times you'll need to tweak things a bit over time.

    Go into your goals... tell MFP you want to maintain your current weight (not lose or gain), and make a reasonable estimate for your normal daily activity level (and be sure to include your workouts in this estimate, not just your regular day to day stuff). The number it spits back to you is an estimate of your TDEE - that's the number you need to NET to maintain your current weight. Net slightly below that to lose, slightly above it to gain.
  • lilteeraw
    lilteeraw Posts: 261
    okay thankyou!
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    so basically.. i should always net 1200 calories.
    so if i eat 1900 calories today but exercise and burn say 700.. id NET 1200. and that is the bare minimum.
    so id be losing weight.
    so to maintain... i should net like what 1500? so if i ate 2000 today but burnt 500 id net 1500 and i would maintain.
    these are just examples.
    im just seeing if i understand and if this is correct.
    today i really actually ate about 1600 calories and burnt 600 so im netting around 1000 calories.
    at this rate im still at a deficit.
    i dont want to be.. but i am?

    What is your age, height, weight? You can estimate what your amount for maintenance is.
  • lilteeraw
    lilteeraw Posts: 261
    approx 110-112 lbs.
    5'3 and im 18. and i hike everyday. but when im not hiking im pretty sedentary
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    If set to "lightly active" - 1-3 hours of light exercise per week, your amount of calories to stay the same weight is 1852. This includes all your exercise. Eat a total of 1852 every day and don't pay attention to calorie burns. If you consider yourself more active, 3-5 hours of moderate exercise per week, your maintenance would be 2087 calories.

    So if you eat around 1800 to 2000 calories a day, you would stay the same weight.
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    Sheesh, how many replies are needed for such a straightforward question.

    Here, read this:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

    You either want the TDEE way of the MFP way. Pick one.

    Can this thread be over now?
  • mell6355
    mell6355 Posts: 171 Member
    Plain and simple log everything in (food) and out (exercise) and get to zero for the end of the day!
    Math is Math- leave it simple you want your total at the end of the day to be zero or as close to zero as possible. So add all your food and subtract all of your exercise and get your end number to be really little. I don't eat back all of my exercise calories and I have consistantly lost 2 pounds a week for 4 months. Some days you are over and some you are under. Sometimes I exercise harder and sometimes easier, sometimes I eat really clean and other days I only eat kinda clean. I try to get to zero or close to is everyday and it is working.


    Very very bad advice, especially for someone as lean as the OP.

    You are not reading it correctly. You want your total at the end of the day to be zero, you eat back what you burn and you eat what MFP tells you to eat. If that is wrong then I would probably be dead instead of losing 2 pounds a week!

    *add- you have to be honest with your set up- I entered that I am Sedentary because I sit all day at work. So I log all of my exercise including a 15 minute walk. If I don't sit on my butt all day like went to the mall and walked for 3 hours I would log that I walked 3 hours. Then I would eat back the calories burned for the 3 hours of exercise. I need 2200 calories if I want to maintain and sit on my butt all day, so to lose 2 pounds a week I need to be a deficit of 1000 a day not 1000 plus all the workout calories, just 1000 total. My diary is open please look at how the math works. I have some green days and some red days but I try to get as close to zero as possible.

    Yes the OP doesn't need to be a deficit because she isn't trying to lose weight but it doesn't change that her settings need to be true to her activity and profile. If she puts in active she needs to eat what MFP tells her to eat plus what she does above and beyond her normal active activities.
  • lilteeraw
    lilteeraw Posts: 261
    ok
  • theryan244
    theryan244 Posts: 65 Member
    so basically.. i should always net 1200 calories.
    so if i eat 1900 calories today but exercise and burn say 700.. id NET 1200. and that is the bare minimum.
    so id be losing weight.
    so to maintain... i should net like what 1500? so if i ate 2000 today but burnt 500 id net 1500 and i would maintain.
    these are just examples.
    im just seeing if i understand and if this is correct.
    today i really actually ate about 1600 calories and burnt 600 so im netting around 1000 calories.
    at this rate im still at a deficit.
    i dont want to be.. but i am?

    You've got the idea, now you just need to do it for a while to figure out what your numbers actually are. MFP's suggestions are usually a good start (assuming you setup your profile correctly), but often times you'll need to tweak things a bit over time.

    Go into your goals... tell MFP you want to maintain your current weight (not lose or gain), and make a reasonable estimate for your normal daily activity level (and be sure to include your workouts in this estimate, not just your regular day to day stuff). The number it spits back to you is an estimate of your TDEE - that's the number you need to NET to maintain your current weight. Net slightly below that to lose, slightly above it to gain.

    ^This if you want to let MFP determine your caloric goals. I pay little attention to MFP and other website recommendations regarding my TDEE and what my "NET" calories should be. They are never going to be completely accurate and just give you rough estimations, sometimes being drastically faulty. This guy hinted at this. In this circumstance, self-evaluation is likely a superior option.
  • mell6355
    mell6355 Posts: 171 Member
    now mell is saying my net should be as close to zero as possible
    see this confuses me

    No - she is saying the amount at the bottom (the red/green number) should be zero - in other words you have eaten as close to possible the amount that you should be eating.

    OKAY .... now I see where the zero comes from

    Exactly!
  • UncleRiotous
    UncleRiotous Posts: 69
    I've lost 48lb since July and I've done it without ever (maybe once or twice) having a negative net calorie value.
  • lilteeraw
    lilteeraw Posts: 261
    so if i hike everyday i shouldnt really worry.
    just stay active and eat healthy and when my tummy tells me im hungry and never net below your goal unless your not hungry?
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    so if i hike everyday i shouldnt really worry.
    just stay active and eat healthy and when my tummy tells me im hungry and never net below your goal unless your not hungry?
    once again, set your goals to maintenance on MFP and eat back your exercise calories.

    This! If you're hiking every day, you should probably set yourself to moderately active and goal to maintain current weight...and eat those calories. If you do that, don't log the exercise...see how that goes for a few weeks. If you're not maintaining, just manually tweak your goals 100 calories (up or down depending of whether you're gaining or losing) at a time.

    Now, go have a bacon cheeseburger and enjoy yourself.
  • lilteeraw
    lilteeraw Posts: 261
    i just had kettle baked potato chips if that helps:O
    lol
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    Plain and simple log everything in (food) and out (exercise) and get to zero for the end of the day!
    Math is Math- leave it simple you want your total at the end of the day to be zero or as close to zero as possible. So add all your food and subtract all of your exercise and get your end number to be really little. I don't eat back all of my exercise calories and I have consistantly lost 2 pounds a week for 4 months. Some days you are over and some you are under. Sometimes I exercise harder and sometimes easier, sometimes I eat really clean and other days I only eat kinda clean. I try to get to zero or close to is everyday and it is working.


    Very very bad advice, especially for someone as lean as the OP.

    You are not reading it correctly. You want your total at the end of the day to be zero, you eat back what you burn and you eat what MFP tells you to eat. If that is wrong then I would probably be dead instead of losing 2 pounds a week!

    *add- you have to be honest with your set up- I entered that I am Sedentary because I sit all day at work. So I log all of my exercise including a 15 minute walk. If I don't sit on my butt all day like went to the mall and walked for 3 hours I would log that I walked 3 hours. Then I would eat back the calories burned for the 3 hours of exercise. I need 2200 calories if I want to maintain and sit on my butt all day, so to lose 2 pounds a week I need to be a deficit of 1000 a day not 1000 plus all the workout calories, just 1000 total. My diary is open please look at how the math works. I have some green days and some red days but I try to get as close to zero as possible.

    Yes the OP doesn't need to be a deficit because she isn't trying to lose weight but it doesn't change that her settings need to be true to her activity and profile. If she puts in active she needs to eat what MFP tells her to eat plus what she does above and beyond her normal active activities.

    Thank you for clarifying - I should have stayed with my first interpretation of what you were saying. :flowerforyou:

    Very good advice (now I get what you are saying about the zero)
  • meetmyalterego
    meetmyalterego Posts: 9
    My only main confusion is when you set goals. Does your exercise goal count against your net calories? I have mine set to lose 1 1/2 pounds per week, doing 20 minutes of circuit training 7 days a week (I'm on 30 Day Shred). I'm currently at 165 lbs. Mine tells me to eat 1210 calories a day. Now if I burn 200 calories, it obviously tells me I have an extra 200 calories to eat.

    Being that I entered the exercise goal, is MFP calculating that into my net calories and therefore I should stay at 1210 calories consumed? Or should I be eating back those net calories?

    My BMR is 1600 calories, by the way.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member


    Being that I entered the exercise goal, is MFP calculating that into my net calories and therefore I should stay at 1210 calories consumed? Or should I be eating back those net calories?

    My BMR is 1600 calories, by the way.

    You eat back the calories. You put in an exercise goal, but it doesn't actually calculate anything until you actually do the exercise and log it as exercise you did that day, at which point it changes your daily eating goal.
  • meetmyalterego
    meetmyalterego Posts: 9
    Wonderful, thank you so much. I thought that was probably it.
  • lilteeraw
    lilteeraw Posts: 261
    (:
  • honkytonks85
    honkytonks85 Posts: 669 Member
    My only main confusion is when you set goals. Does your exercise goal count against your net calories? I have mine set to lose 1 1/2 pounds per week, doing 20 minutes of circuit training 7 days a week (I'm on 30 Day Shred). I'm currently at 165 lbs. Mine tells me to eat 1210 calories a day. Now if I burn 200 calories, it obviously tells me I have an extra 200 calories to eat.

    Being that I entered the exercise goal, is MFP calculating that into my net calories and therefore I should stay at 1210 calories consumed? Or should I be eating back those net calories?

    My BMR is 1600 calories, by the way.

    Your exercise goal (as in, how many minutes do you plan to exercise) doesn't get factored in, it's just a goal. Your activity level when you set up your calories at the start does (eg. sedentary)

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