Net weight....calories remaining....? I'm soooo confused!

Right but I technically ate 1736... It only ended up at that 1094 due to the exercise I did today(642). The 1200 I was talking about was someone in earlier post said the net should be around 1200 thus I should of ate another 106 calories to reach that. Sounds like u are saying I should of re-ate all my exercise cals and then also the extra amount until my food intake including working out was the 1940.

Ok new here myself and am confused with this as well. Maybe someone could help? My goal with this program was 2 lb loss a week since I am over 300 lb and also have over 100+ to lose. NOw that I am back at working out I am in the lightly active stage as a stay at home mom and then the exercise I do at the gym. Anyway so I am confused as to what number to go by lol. Take today for example.
My goal intake: 1940
Food intake: 1736
Exercise: 642
Net: 1094
Remaining: 846

So reading some of what some said it sounds like I need to get the net to 1200 so another 106 cals for the day thus creating a 740 cal deficit. However then I read some that said I need to meet the goal so I would need to eat another 846 calories?? To lose 2 a week thats a 7000 deficit right so that would be about 1000 each day so am I okay with todays number?? Totally confused lol

Not everyone is 1200 so you have to adjust for what MFP says you should be doing. Based on what you picked your net should be closer to what your goal says.. 1940. You have eaten 1094, you are short 846. If your settings are not right then you need to adjust it but for what you picked 1200 has nothing to do with you.

Your net should be close to your goal, that's all you need to worry about.

1200 calories for women or 1500 for men is just what your body needs in any given day to function properly. Anything you eat over that net and up to your goal is ok. If you don't give your body that it can not do every thing it needs to, from keeping you breathing to breaking down fat. Your body will perform the most important functions first and unimportant things like breaking down fat will not get done unless there is enough energy to do it.

Imagine it's money.

You deposited $1577 in your calorie bank (by eating.)
You spent $421 (through exercise.)
So currently there is only $1156 in your account (your "net")
Your goal is to have $1290 in your account at the end of the day.
So to meet your goal, you would need to deposit $134.

Many folks will say you should really try not to end up with a "net" under 1200, although there is lots of debate about why that is the magic number.

My doctor broke it down to me this way....... nice explanation

Ok new here myself and am confused with this as well. Maybe someone could help? My goal with this program was 2 lb loss a week since I am over 300 lb and also have over 100+ to lose. NOw that I am back at working out I am in the lightly active stage as a stay at home mom and then the exercise I do at the gym. Anyway so I am confused as to what number to go by lol. Take today for example.
My goal intake: 1940
Food intake: 1736
Exercise: 642
Net: 1094
Remaining: 846

So reading some of what some said it sounds like I need to get the net to 1200 so another 106 cals for the day thus creating a 740 cal deficit. However then I read some that said I need to meet the goal so I would need to eat another 846 calories?? To lose 2 a week thats a 7000 deficit right so that would be about 1000 each day so am I okay with todays number?? Totally confused lol

What you summarized is correct. After your 'withdrawals' for exercise, you have 'deposited' 1094 calories in your body for it to use for regular functioning.

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In terms of thinking about the deficit, you're over-thinking it. Your goal calories already take the deficit into account. So if your net calories are less than or equal to your goal intake, you have succeeded in attaining the deficit that MFP says you need to lose two pounds a week.

Today, you not only hit the deficit you needed to lose 2 pounds a week (according to MFP), you ate 846 calories FEWER than that deficit.

People who believe that eating too little causes long term problems in weight loss - you plateau, you make yourself sick, you can't stick with it because it's not sustainable - will tell you should eat the full NET 1940 (an additional 846 calories) to optimize weight loss over the long haul.

However, remember that you're going to vary day to day. You just have to have an average net of 1940 for the week.

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I have two questions:

How on earth did you lose 642 calories in workout if you are just starting and that much to lose? You must have worked SO HARD!

Second, most people's activity level - especially exercise - varies a lot. You EITHER keep yourself listed as sedentary and log all your exercise OR you change your activity level to higher and don't log your exercise. You can't do both - that's double dipping. MFP uses your 'sedentary' or 'light active'. setting to calculate your goal calories.

IMO, f your activity level varies, you probably want to set yourself as sedentary and then record your exercise. It's more accurate and I am going to guess that is this is particularly true if you have a lot of weight to lose.

Go back to your profile and settings and change to sedentary. Then log your exercises and eat whatever part of those calories you're hungry for.

It's very simple: read the thing that tells you how many calories you have left for the day. Keep that number over 0. If it goes negative, you ate too much.

corrections:
Totally confused here too. So I used the tool and it said I need to set my goal to 1200 (Based on sedentary and 6 x45 minute work outs a week) to lose the 1-2lbs a week.

If my calorie food intake is 1300

Do I log my daily exercise calorie count for example -300

plus my sedentary estimate? -1500?

That would bring my net to -500.

Doesn't make sense that I need to eat additional 1700 to make net of 1200.00

Am I doing something wrong?

cbevan1229 you have no idea how much that helped me, ive been so confused about that, sometimes it was in the neg sometimes i had a huge number but now that i understand i can hopefully do this right lol

I think the confusion is the naming of each of the numbers. To me, GOAL means this is what i need to reach. Example as of this morning after workout and breakfast:

GOAL - 1740
Food - +565
Excercise +374
Net - 191

1549 CALORIES REMAINING

That is where i get confused. If my goal is 1740 and I ate +565, then I should have 1175 remaining? Or does it mean, with no exercise, you need 1740 to lose 2lbs per weak. With the exercise, you can have 1740+ exercise credits and still lose 2lbs?

Sorry... newbie. Thanks!

Ted

Yes, assuming you are not already accounting for exercise in your original goal. The exercise means you normally need to eat MORE to maintain the same deficit, ie the same rate of weight-loss. The way I have to make myself thing if it, since I am set to sedentary, is that if I add exercise to my day, I need to log and eat those calories back because I will be hitting a point where my body must eat my muscle in order to sustain itself since I am not fueling my exercise. That is way over simplistic, but it is the mindset that works for me.

ETA: Whoops, major zombie thread...

So if my goal is 1200 calories, I HAVE to eat all of my exercise calories back? I really need to get a HRM because I think MFP says I burn way more calories than I do. As long as I eat 1200 gross calories, I think I should be good.

Heart rate monitors are good, because yes MFP can overestimate. But unless something out of the primary us going on, if you exercise you need to way at least 1200 NET and not gross.

does this mean i will plateau? if so, its no wonder im not seeing results...

1268CALORIES REMAINING
Goal Food Exercise = Net
1220 652 - 700 -48