New, and what does net calories mean?

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LaurianRocks
LaurianRocks Posts: 54 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Hi, I'm new. :) I'm not really trying to loose weight as much as I'm trying to get toned. I'd like to shed a few pounds, and get rid of some fluff. Ha! I don't really understand the net calories.. I eat generally pretty healthy though so I'm not too worried about it. Would love some friends to keep me motivated!
Lauri

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  • TheDecision
    TheDecision Posts: 43
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    Hey friend... hahaha

    Basically your net calories is how much you've "eaten" during the day AFTER subtracting calories burned from exercise.

    So for instance, my daily caloric goal is 2,200 calories. If I had eaten 1,500 calories already, that would be my NET amount (giving me 700 remaining to stay under the goal of 2,200).

    However, once I subtracted the 626 calories burned from exercise today, that drops my NET amount to 874 (giving me 1326 remaining to stay under the goal of 2,200)

    Make sense?
  • MalGC
    MalGC Posts: 10 Member
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    Hey this confuses me also and I am trying to lose some weight lol...so right now it says I need to eat 1310 calories a day. So what number do I want my net to say? So for example today so far it says goal:1310 + Food: 1333 - Exercise 305 = Net 1028 and I have a green 282 for calories remaining.
  • LaurianRocks
    LaurianRocks Posts: 54 Member
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    Okay, so calories left is a good thing right? And I want my net calories to stay under my goal calories?
  • rockerbabyy
    rockerbabyy Posts: 2,258 Member
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    Okay, so calories left is a good thing right? And I want my net calories to stay under my goal calories?
    you want your net calories to be as close to your original calorie goal as possible.
    example: your daily intake is suppose to be 1500. you eat that much, but then exercise and burned 500. that makes your net 1000, you need to eat 500 to make your net 1500 to match your goal for the day
  • rockerbabyy
    rockerbabyy Posts: 2,258 Member
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    Hey this confuses me also and I am trying to lose some weight lol...so right now it says I need to eat 1310 calories a day. So what number do I want my net to say? So for example today so far it says goal:1310 + Food: 1333 - Exercise 305 = Net 1028 and I have a green 282 for calories remaining.
    so you should eat those 282 calories in order to bring your net to 1310
  • Pandorian
    Pandorian Posts: 2,055 MFP Moderator
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    Eat at your net calorie goal to use MFP as designed (they give you a caloric deficit to lose weight before lifting a finger in exercise). Exercise widens that gap so we're supposed to consume the calories we burn.

    My dietitian / nutritionist (had both, was a family clinic) "did" the same thing by giving me a higher calorie goal daily but expecting me to work out to "create" the deficit they wanted... having the goal before exercise works much better for me.
  • pedronimo
    pedronimo Posts: 2
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    yes you want you net to equal your goal...remember that Myfinesspal takes into consideration your average resting calories burned based on your weight and the lifestyle you inputted. if your not keeping up with your bodies caloric needs, your body will switch to starvation mode and slow your metabolism way down and start storing fat. You will feel tired and run down. You must eat, just make healthy choices.
  • LaurianRocks
    LaurianRocks Posts: 54 Member
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    Ok! Thanks guys! That makes sense!
  • Prozack1964
    Prozack1964 Posts: 318
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    hello and welcome here hope you have a great day
  • katrinam2012
    katrinam2012 Posts: 3 Member
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    Hi! okay, maybe you guys can help. I'm still confused (sorry). My goal is calculated by the app at 1200, food so far is 427, exercise is 1388, net is -961 and remaining is 2161. Does that mean I really need to consume 2161 more calories today?!? I generally consume about 1200 and work out (today is more intense - generally it's 500-800 cals/workout).
  • GordaNoMas94
    GordaNoMas94 Posts: 1
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    So....if my goal is 1410, my food is 1210, my exercise is 824, my net is 386 and my remaining is 1024....is that bad?
  • Rambo313
    Rambo313 Posts: 179 Member
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    Your net really should not go below 1200. If you are negative net thats really extreme and definitely should eat back calories. Having a net extremely low like less then 500 or even a negative number is not the best thing but if it happens on occasion its not alarming however it should be rarely done .
  • Tangerine302
    Tangerine302 Posts: 1,509 Member
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    You start out with a certain amount of calories. When you exercise and add the amount you burned, MFP will add that amount to what you have left. It does everything for you. Say you have 1400 calories to eat for the day. You burned 200 calories with exercise, MFP will automatically give you more calories (200) to eat for the day with 1600 now. As long as it's green, you can eat.
  • jfarnha
    jfarnha Posts: 3
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    I don't understand. I follow a 1200-1300 calorie diet, I exercise 3-4 times a week for 1 hr or more each time, yet I don't lose! Help!!!!

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