What should I be focusing on - Net or Total Calories?

Mbettich
Mbettich Posts: 9
edited December 2024 in Food and Nutrition
I a bit confused, what should I focus on - net or total calories? Am I SUPPOSED to eat my exercise calories, or am I supposed to stay within my 1200 per day?

Replies

  • paulaviki
    paulaviki Posts: 678 Member
    On MFP it's net calories, so if your goal is 1200it means you need to net 1200.
  • healthynotthin
    healthynotthin Posts: 223 Member
    On days I don't exercise I would love to get up to 1,200 calories. On days I do, my goal would be ~1,500. It's all about the net.
  • Mbettich
    Mbettich Posts: 9
    So when I set up my profile, my daily calories is 1200 - does that mean 1200 net? If I'm not eating 1200 net, am I not eating enough?
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    So when I set up my profile, my daily calories is 1200 - does that mean 1200 net? If I'm not eating 1200 net, am I not eating enough?

    Yep. You want your net to be as close to your goal as possible at the end of the day. And it's ok to go over, too.... it's silly how the software will seem to praise you if you go under your goal, but not if you hit it on the nose or go three calories over.
  • Pandorian
    Pandorian Posts: 2,055 Member
    Your daily calorie goal on MFP does not take into account your "planned" exercise. Test it, set 0 minutes for planned exercise, view your daily calorie goal. Now set 3600 minutes of exercise. Your daily calorie goal should be the same. When you exercise within MFP that is when you get credited for your calories and can eat them back maintaining your deficit.

    That is if you set your profile on MFP to lose weight at one of the 4 rate options (0.5, 1, 1.5 or 2lbs per week) if you set yourself to maintenance and are using your exercise calories to BUILD your deficit for weight loss then you wouldn't eat them back.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    MFP assumes you will not do exercise. It gives you a lower number of calories. Then when you DO exercise, you need to eat to fuel that extra activity. That is why you need to get to the net calories.
  • Mbettich
    Mbettich Posts: 9
    So what if I am under my net (with or without exercise) and I'm not losing?
  • PapaJ42
    PapaJ42 Posts: 4
    If you are under your net and not losing, there could be several reasons. 1. At least for me, no matter how strict i diet, if I don't do cardio, I don't lose weight. 2. If you are eating a lot of complex carbs, you won't lose weight solely by calorie counting. You MUST exercise. The point of all this is you have to exercise to maintain a healthy weight or lose weight.
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