Should I eat to net?

curlieelle
curlieelle Posts: 6
edited December 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi,

I'm confused as to how to determine how many calories to eat per day.

My BMR is 1373. I am sedentary (desk job) except for exercise.

Sedentary calculations make my RMR around 1640.

If I burn 500 calories through exercise, in order to create a 500 calorie per day deficit, am I right that I should eat right at my RMR (1640)?

Or should I go based on my BMR instead of RMR? Or am I doing some math wrong?

Replies

  • JohnB50
    JohnB50 Posts: 7 Member
    love to know the answer to this too lol
  • curlieelle
    curlieelle Posts: 6
    Specifically, what should my "goal" be?

    I set it at 1640 because that's what my RMR is, but then when I exercised 500 calories, my tracker started to tell me that I had to eat 500 more calories. Confusing!!
  • pastryari
    pastryari Posts: 8,646 Member
    You should be netting the 1640 number. If you set your activity level for sedentary, then just log your exercise and eat them back. Or if you prefer & know you will be working out frequently, you can always get your number for active or very active and not log/eat those exercise calories.
  • Molly_Maguire
    Molly_Maguire Posts: 1,103 Member
    I've learned that whenever I'm a few calories under my goal for the day, MFP will "yell" at me for eating too few calories. But on days I exercise, and don't eat the extra calories it earns me, MFP doesn't say anything. I take that to mean you "have" to eat the minimum, which I always try to, but you don't have to eat over what you started your day out with.

    Though sometimes I will eat the workout calories I earned, if I'm dying for a cheeseburger. :)
  • robin52077
    robin52077 Posts: 4,383 Member
    BMR is if you were literally in bed, like a coma...

    the sedentary multiplier is 1.2, so multiply that to get your maintenance, AKA TDEE. (1647 for you)

    Take a 500 calorie deficit off your TDEE in any one of 3 ways...

    1. setting your goal to 1147 and eating back ALL exercise calories (not recommended as on non-exercise days you would eat less than 1200)

    2. set your goal to 1647 (TDEE) and exercise to create your deficit, and DO NOT eat them back when they are added in because then you would maintain...

    3. Set your goal at some combination of the 2, like set for 1447 and burn 300 a day in exercise, or set it at 1337 and burn 200 a day in exercise. either way, you could eat back those exercise calories if your body needed them for fuel (you feel hungry), or not eat them back that day to maintain a total deficit of 500 for that day. If you were to exercise excessively that day (more then planned) you should eat some of them anyways.
    The goal is to have a 500 calorie deficit a day off your TDEE no matter if you get there through diet, exercise, or a combination of the 2 (best).
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
    I've learned that whenever I'm a few calories under my goal for the day, MFP will "yell" at me for eating too few calories. But on days I exercise, and don't eat the extra calories it earns me, MFP doesn't say anything. I take that to mean you "have" to eat the minimum, which I always try to, but you don't have to eat over what you started your day out with.

    Though sometimes I will eat the workout calories I earned, if I'm dying for a cheeseburger. :)
    It does not yell at you. What a peculiar thing to say. It simply gives you a warning message. Which, by the way, is triggered by a completed diary with under 1200 calories - it doesn't mean that what you're doing is healthy.
  • Shannota
    Shannota Posts: 308 Member
    I think it only "yells" at you if you are under 1200 calories for a day...at least that is the only time it's yelled at me. I think I was at 1197 or something.
  • kaervaak
    kaervaak Posts: 274 Member
    The general guideline I give to people for weight loss is:

    1. Calculate your BMR (basal metabolic rate - the amount of energy your body uses for basic processes like digestion and respiration)
    2. Calculate your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure - the total amount of energy your body uses in a day)
    3. Calculate your fat mass (body weight x fat%)
    4. Multiply fat mass by 22 to find your maximum daily calorie deficit (MDCD).
    5. Subtract your MDCD from your TDEE, if that is higher than BMR then eat that many calories per day. If it is lower than your BMR, eat at your BMR and add exercise to create the proper deficit.
    6. Redo this calculation after every 5 lbs of fat loss.
  • curlieelle
    curlieelle Posts: 6
    Do you trust the TDEE calculator here: http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html?

    I work out for about an hour, six days per week. That put my TDEE at 2371.

    Were I to create a 500 calorie deficit from that, I'd be at 1871 which sounds like a lot more fun than 1647 (which is my BMR).

    My max deficit is 856 according to your calculations but I've heard 500 is the way to go?
  • curlieelle
    curlieelle Posts: 6
    I like option 2, but it's super annoying that MFP tells me that I'm not at my "goal" just because I exercised. I wish you could tell MFP to acknowledge that I want to EAT 1640 but that I want to let the exercise create a deficit.

    (I do custom goals because I want to adjust the % of protein/fat/fiber/etc.)
  • pastryari
    pastryari Posts: 8,646 Member
    I like option 2, but it's super annoying that MFP tells me that I'm not at my "goal" just because I exercised. I wish you could tell MFP to acknowledge that I want to EAT 1640 but that I want to let the exercise create a deficit.

    (I do custom goals because I want to adjust the % of protein/fat/fiber/etc.)

    Yeah, MFP doesn't have that option right now. It would be nice if they did, I agree.
  • robin52077
    robin52077 Posts: 4,383 Member
    I like option 2, but it's super annoying that MFP tells me that I'm not at my "goal" just because I exercised. I wish you could tell MFP to acknowledge that I want to EAT 1640 but that I want to let the exercise create a deficit.

    (I do custom goals because I want to adjust the % of protein/fat/fiber/etc.)

    just don't add calories when you log exercise....or don't log the exercise at all....or plan to end your day at exactly 500 remaining of you DO log exercise......or set your goal to 1200 and eat all your exercise calories...there are a lot of "logging methods" that still end up with you eating at a 500 calorie deficit and working out...just pick one and give it a shot for a while...
  • curlieelle
    curlieelle Posts: 6
    I like option 2, but it's super annoying that MFP tells me that I'm not at my "goal" just because I exercised. I wish you could tell MFP to acknowledge that I want to EAT 1640 but that I want to let the exercise create a deficit.

    (I do custom goals because I want to adjust the % of protein/fat/fiber/etc.)

    just don't add calories when you log exercise....or don't log the exercise at all....or plan to end your day at exactly 500 remaining of you DO log exercise......or set your goal to 1200 and eat all your exercise calories...there are a lot of "logging methods" that still end up with you eating at a 500 calorie deficit and working out...just pick one and give it a shot for a while...

    It's important to me to have my goal at 1640 rather than 1200 because I want to make sure I hit my macro nutrient goals. I also would like to be able to log exercise so I can see how much I burn -- I just wish it didn't automatically feed into my "remaining calories" bin. Perhaps a fix for a future MFP update.

    Thanks to all for your help!
  • kaervaak
    kaervaak Posts: 274 Member
    Do you trust the TDEE calculator here: http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html?

    I work out for about an hour, six days per week. That put my TDEE at 2371.

    Were I to create a 500 calorie deficit from that, I'd be at 1871 which sounds like a lot more fun than 1647 (which is my BMR).

    My max deficit is 856 according to your calculations but I've heard 500 is the way to go?

    The calculator is a little on the high side based on my own calculations (and doesn't have enough fine tuning capabilities) but otherwise seems alright. The recommendation for a 500 cal deficit is to lose 1lb/week. The max deficit calc I gave you is the highest deficit you can run without causing a large hormonal response which will depress your metabolism and cause muscle catabolism in addition to fat oxidation. Using a lower deficit than that is perfectly fine.

    If I were you, I'd try eating at my BMR for a month and seeing how it works out. If you're happy with the results, stick with it until it stops working then adjust.
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