Net calories help... CONFUSED!!!

alicat516
alicat516 Posts: 3
in Health and Weight Loss
I am so confused by this net calorie thing. I am 5'5, female and 139 lbs. I would like to lose about 15-20 lbs. My calorie intake goal calculated my MFP is 1320. I usually burn 500-600 cal at the gym 5x/week with 2 rest days. I guess I am just confused by the adding of burned exercise calories to my calorie intake goal each day. If I eat 1320, burn 500, and then eat an additional 500 calories.. won't my weight stay the same? I thought I needed to create a calorie deficit in order to lose weight. ???? Help please.

Replies

  • misscherie13
    misscherie13 Posts: 7
    That's a good point, I had been asking myself the same until I realized I should eat under my daily calorie target and if I do some workout and burn some calories it's even better. Sometimes I might eat a little more of what my daily goal is but when I keep myself "under control" with burning because I walk (I do not necessarly go at the gym like everyday because sometimes I don't have the time do to that) it's good because even though I ate a little more, I'm still under my target.

    I think you shouldn't eat the calories you burned...even though the counter says you still have more calories to eat because you burned some. I guess it's all about you and how you control yourself. Of course if you eat more one day but you did some workout and you are still under your goal, that's good anyways. It's important not to be over your limit.
  • tammyordiway
    tammyordiway Posts: 5 Member
    I am also confused about this ...just posted a question about it earlier and I am still confused. Some people say to eat back what you burn and others don't. I don't get the point of the net goal?!!?!?!
  • alicat516
    alicat516 Posts: 3
    It just doesn't make sense to me to eat back what you burn... then you are basically canceling out those calories. Seems to me your weight would stay the same.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
    What settings did you use when setting up your MFP profile?

    If you set it to 2 lbs/week, then you will not gain at 1320. It means the amount you'd need to eat to stay the same weight is 2320 calories per day -- plus whatever exercise you do, possibly, depending on what settings you picked. Anything less than that and you'll lose weight over time.
  • timeformetofly
    timeformetofly Posts: 64 Member
    I don't even count my work out toward more food. I just count it as good for my over all health.. I count is as a plus in my weight loss. Easier that way.
  • alicat516
    alicat516 Posts: 3
    I have it set at 1lb/week....
  • SMCLosesIt
    SMCLosesIt Posts: 45 Member
    Your net calories should end the day at your goal of calories. MFP calculates a deficit already into your daily calorie intake.

    My goal is 1800 (I am set to loose .5lb a week) So I eat 1800. But then I excercise 500 so really I have only eaten 1300. I need to eat back 500 to make up 1800. MFP has already put a deficit into my daily calorie goal so I will still loose even when I eat back the exercise calories.

    You should eat them back. It is healthy and you need the fuel to run the workouts. Otherwise you can make yourself ill.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I am so confused by this net calorie thing. I am 5'5, female and 139 lbs. I would like to lose about 15-20 lbs. My calorie intake goal calculated my MFP is 1320. I usually burn 500-600 cal at the gym 5x/week with 2 rest days. I guess I am just confused by the adding of burned exercise calories to my calorie intake goal each day. If I eat 1320, burn 500, and then eat an additional 500 calories.. won't my weight stay the same? I thought I needed to create a calorie deficit in order to lose weight. ???? Help please.

    Your MFP calorie goal already has a substantial deficit for weight loss built in. MFP does not assume exercise in calculations of daily activity...so exercise is extra. Therefore if you neglect to eat back exercise calories, you are not fueling that activity and creating a mammoth sized calorie deficit that is generally below your BMR requisite calories just to maintain proper organ function. When too large a deficit is created, the opposite of what you intend will eventually occur...your metabolism will stall and you will start storing fat. Your body will burn muscle instead of fat for energy.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    What you are forgetting is that MFP has you at a deficit already.

    If your daily goal is 1500, and you have selected 1 lb a week weight loss, you really burn 2000 calories a day between what your body needs to survive and your daily activity. Note that MFP does not account for exercise, so that 2000 doesn't include exercise. So if you eat 1500 calories per day, you will lose weight.
    Now, if you exercise and burn an additional 300 calories, MFP suggests that you eat them because it already has you at a deficit. So in total, your body would need 2300 calories per day to survive, plus your daily activity and exercise. If you follow MFP, it would tell you to eat 1500, plus the 300 exercise calories for a total of 1800, net of 1500 (1800-300 exercise). That still leaves you at a 500 calorie deficit. You aren't erasing your deficit, you are maintaining a modest one.
    There are a number of reasons why it is a good idea to maintain a modest deficit.
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
    If you don't like eating back your exercise calories, just adjust your activity level and don't enter exercises!

    MFP was designed like a budget. You want to break even at the end of the day. You have a starting pot that you use up by eating. You earn extra by exercising. Going over budget will slow your weightless. Going way over budget will result in a gain. Going under budget will have long term negative effects on your health. It puts stress on your body, which throws your hormones out of whack, which, at best, will make you cranky.

    For many of us, it is easiest to view this budget as a range. I eat between my daily goal and my net, usually closer to the net.
  • Muddy_Yogi
    Muddy_Yogi Posts: 1,459 Member
    Why would you stay the same? The MFP numbers are creating a deficit for you which is determined by what you selected when you set it up. If you don't eat back your exercise calories that you will most likely be going below your BMR. If you don't want to eat back your exercise calories, I suggest you figure out your TDEE and then subtract about 20% of that. Set MFP using that calorie amount.

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