net calories + or -

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Briski1411
Briski1411 Posts: 296 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I need some explanation here if you can. I don't understand what to do with my net calories are they suppose to be positive or negative?

If I wanna loose weight I need for them to be negative right?

or gain weight they should be positive. that being said a zero balance would be a maintenance goal?

So Which one do I want? I want to loose weight! I really haven't lost any weight on the scale but I am loosing noticeable inches, and also toning up pretty good. I have MFP setting to loose 1.5 half pounds a week wich I have never done.

What am I missing here? Do I want negative net calories to loose weight or what?

Replies

  • dlwyatt82
    dlwyatt82 Posts: 1,077 Member
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    "Net Calories" is just an MFP term, it has to do with how it deals with things you log as exercise. You want the "Net" number to be as close to the "Goal" number as possible (and always positive).

    Edit: Even easier, just try to get the "Calories Remaining" number (the big one that's either in green or red) to be reasonably close to zero.
  • Arexxx
    Arexxx Posts: 486 Member
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    Um.. Your net calories shouldn't really dip below the calorie goal MFP assigns you. When you exercise, it means you get MORE calories to eat. If your net calories were in the negative every day, you'd probably starve or faint from exhaustion.
  • NeverGoingToQuit
    NeverGoingToQuit Posts: 49 Member
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    Based on what I have read and what everyone else has told me, you want your net calories to be equal or as close to your goal calories that MFP sets for you. I always thought I wanted them to be negative to lose weight as well but I guess thats not the case.
  • lmorse99
    lmorse99 Posts: 6
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    I tthink you are suppose to continue to eat you caloric goal, if you exercise then that is how you lose the weight.... Example: my calorie intake should be 1200. I burn 1100 calories with exercise, add a couple of healthy snacks and I am on track to lose weight.RIGHT??? this whole net MFP confuses me no matter how many times I read about it, I still dont get it, so I just do it this way. I just started with MFP so I have only lost 1 pound so far.....
  • LovingLisa2012
    LovingLisa2012 Posts: 802 Member
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    We set your nutritional target in Net Calories which we define as:

    Calories Consumed (Food) - Calories Burned (Exercise) = Net Calories

    What that means is that if you exercise, you will be able to eat more for that day. For example, if your Net Calorie goal is 2000 calories, one way to meet that goal is to eat 2,500 calories of food, but then burn 500 calories through exercise.

    Think of your Net Calories like a daily budget of calories to spend. You spend them by eating, and you earn more calories to eat by exercising.
  • Meraid
    Meraid Posts: 148 Member
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    I tthink you are suppose to continue to eat you caloric goal, if you exercise then that is how you lose the weight.... Example: my calorie intake should be 1200. I burn 1100 calories with exercise, add a couple of healthy snacks and I am on track to lose weight.RIGHT??? this whole net MFP confuses me no matter how many times I read about it, I still dont get it, so I just do it this way. I just started with MFP so I have only lost 1 pound so far.....

    Does that mean you're eating way below 1000 calories? You should eat the 1200 calories, and then the 1100 calories you burned. Total calories consumed= 2300.
    2300 - (exercise) 1100= 1200 net calories. Still losing weight. Exercise is only meant to tone. 1200 is already a large deficit from the calories your body already burns just by functioning. Look up BMR and TDEE.
  • Briski1411
    Briski1411 Posts: 296 Member
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    So that means this totally awesome exercise day I had today is completely wrong....I have eaten 1593 calories today. my goal was 3138 calories. I still have 1545 calories remaining. With -45 net calories....... What does this all mean? Am I starving myself by working out so much?
  • Briski1411
    Briski1411 Posts: 296 Member
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    Exercise is only meant to tone. 1200 is already a large deficit from the calories your body already burns just by functioning. Look up BMR and TDEE.

    yah I got this I need like 2999 calories to survive. MFP has me eating 1530 calories toi loose 1.5 pounds per week. This has never happened. I do better on my own to seriously loose weight, but I like the fan club I got going here so I stay for the ppl. I work out 6 days a week I burn mad calories when I work out. My muscle tone is becoming very noticeable. I have gone from a fat guy to an in shape guy in 3 months by doing what I know how to do.

    I'm just wondering that there has to be something I am missing here.......Some reason why my counting calories isn't working.
  • AmbitionStrong
    AmbitionStrong Posts: 46 Member
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    To be completely honest, you never want your Net Calories to be below your BMR (calories needed to lay in bed and breath all day).

    To find your TDEE and BMR http://www.scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    If you find your TDEE, do a 10-15% cut, and dont eat less than that!!
  • Briski1411
    Briski1411 Posts: 296 Member
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    To be completely honest, you never want your Net Calories to be below your BMR (calories needed to lay in bed and breath all day).

    To find your TDEE and BMR http://www.scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    If you find your TDEE, do a 10-15% cut, and dont eat less than that!!


    I might die tonight my net calories are negative............:o(
  • ErinRibbens
    ErinRibbens Posts: 370 Member
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    Looks like you don't have much weight to lose. or maybe you just want to lose fat and build muscle? Anyway, I think you've got your weight loss per week set way too high. Try changing it to .5 pounds per week. If you were really eating that few calories you'll have a tough time not losing muscle as well as fat and possibly setting yourself up for a plateau.
  • dlwyatt82
    dlwyatt82 Posts: 1,077 Member
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    To be completely honest, you never want your Net Calories to be below your BMR (calories needed to lay in bed and breath all day).

    This is said a lot on MFP, but is a complete mathematical screw-up. Comparing your Net Calories to anything other than your calorie goal for the day is wrong. You can compare your GROSS calories to your BMR if you like (though I'm not convinced this actually matters, it's certainly not a bad idea either), but not NET.
  • Briski1411
    Briski1411 Posts: 296 Member
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    Looks like you don't have much weight to lose. or maybe you just want to lose fat and build muscle? Anyway, I think you've got your weight loss per week set way too high. Try changing it to .5 pounds per week. If you were really eating that few calories you'll have a tough time not losing muscle as well as fat and possibly setting yourself up for a plateau.


    I never go over my calories! and I always seem to be stuck in a plateau. I wanted to loose 35lbs by Christmas I started beginning of May and have only lost 10lbs. I lost that 10lbs. when I went on vacation and skipped the gym for two weeks.
  • Briski1411
    Briski1411 Posts: 296 Member
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    I HATE skipping the Gym I like to work out more than I like to loose weight so that is not an option...
  • vanishonthebow
    vanishonthebow Posts: 5 Member
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    You probably lost muscle mass if you work out that much and then stopped working out for two weeks. That can account for a large weight loss in a short amount of time.

    I don't actually include my workouts into my calorie allowance because I don't work out enough. MFP tells me to eat 1600 calories after working out, but I would gain weight if I did that. So I eat the 1300 I'm assigned and work out for 45 minutes a day. I'm not starving but I'm losing weight slowly. I don't ever look at my "net" calories. Only at the calories MFP tells me I need to eat versus what I've actually eaten.

    If you lose weight better without a calorie counter then don't confuse yourself just to keep using it...? 1.5 pounds a week is a LOT of weight loss. I shoot for a pound or maybe slightly less, like .8, per week. It's more realistic.
  • AmbitionStrong
    AmbitionStrong Posts: 46 Member
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    I did not mean you would die. Just meant, if you want long term success, the best advice is what I just said. Sure anyone can lose weight, but the hard part is keeping it off. And it gets harder to lose the next time we try, so might as well do it right the first time! We need to fuel our lives, get our bodies running correctly, not starve ourselves.

    Basically what Im saying is, if you are running long term on that few calories and not losing globs of fat, your metabolism has been slowed down. (As well as it is hard to get proper nutrition on so few calories.) Don't get me started on the high sugar burning activities!

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