What are Net Calories?

amandapye78

What are net calories? I am not understanding this. Thanks!

katevarner

Net calories are the calories you eat minus the calories you burn from exercise. MFP wants you to NET the calories it tells you to eat every day, thus you have to eat back your exercise calories. You will see a lot of people here who do not eat back exercise calories and think it's stupid to do so. But if you use MFP's numbers, you should.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

So let's say your goal is 1400 calories. But then you go burn 300 at the gym. You've only gotten 1100 NET calories. You'd need to eat back the exercise calories because you want to net your goal.

amandapye78

Net calories are the calories you eat minus the calories you burn from exercise. MFP wants you to NET the calories it tells you to eat every day, thus you have to eat back your exercise calories. You will see a lot of people here who do not eat back exercise calories and think it's stupid to do so. But if you use MFP's numbers, you should.

Ah, that makes sense. Thanks!

lewis350

Gross = before exercise calories are taken off
Net = after exercise

barbaratrollman

I don't. If I'm not hungry, I don't eat just to bring the net calories up to 1,200. This happens so much of the time, because I work out so much, I almost never can eat enough to offset what I've burned. I'm not going hungry. I eat when I want to eat. I am feeling high-energy and strong, so I'm fairly certain it is doing me no harm to keep on this way.

I guess you should address whether you meet the MFP net suggestion or not, as you see fit. If you are feeling hungry and haven't met the net calorie goal, eat.

benol1

Didn't we have exactly the same question and answer session regarding net calories yesterday?

nehushtan

What are net calories?

A waste of time. A computer programmer's OCD problem. A number that is computed for no good reason. I've always ignored it.

The really useful number is found at the bottom of your food diary: Remaining calories.

IMHO