Net vs Total Calories

itali614 · November 2012

Please tell me....I am hitting a wall and wonder if I doing something wrong. Am I supposed to net my goal calories? And how does it work when I exersize? I burn 400 and some calories doing Insanity and then I net much less than I am supposed to. But I am aware that calorie calculators aren't always accurate. So, I don't want to eat back all those caloreis. But if I dont I am afraid that is why I have stopped loosing. I am not netting enough, even though my intake is what my goal says its supposed to be.

mgobluetx12 · November 2012

Everyone on here says your net should be at least 1200 cals, so on days you exercise - just eat more. Maybe eat half of those calories back and see how you do.

kawagner09 · November 2012

Yes, you should eat at least 1200 calories. But it's my understanding that the 1200 should come from what you eat, and you don't need to eat more than that because you've exercised. My guess is that your metabolism has stalled, which is why you have plateaued. Have you tried varying what you eat? Focusing on one major food group one day and a different one the next?

itali614 · November 2012

My goal calories is much more than 1200. To loose 1 pound a week I am to eat 1840. To loose 1 1/2 pounds I am to eat 1500. To loose 2 pounds 1310. I was setting my goals at 2 pounds and that is when I stalled. I believe it is because I netted below 1200. When I was nursing I netted 1500 plus the nursing calories that don't get added in so that I stayed at 1800. I did this cuz you are supposed to eat 1800 calories a day when you nurse (this is the lower of the range). I was consistently loosing 1 pound per week. So, now that I am not nursing I am trying to figure out what my goal needs to be at. I am thinking I need more calories to loose but was hoping some people who have lost alot on here would be able to tell me what has worked for them.

kimcalica · November 2012

I worry about later meals, most of us have our workouts in the morning and need to eat back at dinner.. What about the 600 Plus calories we obtain at dinner? Is that going to stagnate us? Sorry about not answering the question but your post made me think about a concern I had.

kellicci · November 2012

In most cases the goal for 2 pounds a week is below your BMR. If this is he case for you, then I suggest you change your goal to net your BMR. If you're just using the calculators for calories burned only eat back half if you want to know for sure get a HRM (or add it to your Holiday wish list) that wasy you can eat them all back with no worries.

kellicci · November 2012

Clarification:

BMR is your Basal Metabolic Rate. This is the amount of calories you burn just being alive...breathing, and other basic organ functions. So this is what they would feed you if you were in a coma. There are several BMR calculators and they ask basic age, weight, height and gender questions.

So for example I'm a 35 year old female. I'm 5'1 and weigh 130 pounds. On the MFP calculator (on the Apps tab down the right hand side) my BMR is 1222. Now I'm short, and not overweight plus I'm over 30 so mine is lower but for example my sister is younger and taller but skinnier and her's is 1321. Usually the more you weight the higher it is so it's always more for men, but I fine average or taller women and young women have higher numbers than me as well. So I would say most people have a BMR over 1200 and most substantially higher.

When I started here my BMR was more like 1365 but MFP gave me a gaol of 1200 calories a day I tried it for a while but was just tired and cranky then I realized 1200 a day wasn't even enough to keep me alive! So I upped it to 1300 (rounding covered the last 50ish calories), felt better and lost easier.

Net means what you end up wiith after subtracting your exercise calories. Some people think they are given 1200 and if they exercise off 500 that's just a bonus and they will lose faster (this might work at first) but what they are really doing is forcing their body to live on almost half of what a much smaller person needs to eevn live. Long term this is not going to be good for them.

So figure out your BMR...if it's say 1500 then reset your calorie goal to be close to that then go a ahead and exercise away but eat back those calories so you aren't below your BMR. So if you exercise 500 calories off (using a HRM or fitbit type thing not what gym machines or calculators on line say) you will actually eat 2000 that day. But don't worry you're burinign calories all day long and even if you have an office job on an average day you are burning 1800 calories so there's a 300 calorie deficit right there!

If you have a lot of weight to lose you can go below your BMR at first and if you tried that and it worked for a while then stopped try upping your calories a little closer to your BMR.

itali614 · November 2012

Thanks I appreciate that information. I will check into finding out what mine is and then try this.

mrclark09 · November 2012

I did the first month of INSANITY twice (I get bored with dvds). My first round of INSANITY didn't go so well. I deprived my body of nutrition and I nearly ended up in the hospital, so making sure you get the proper amount of nutrition AND WATER is very important. An active body needs more calories than say someone who isn't active. My BMR is 1425 resting. I can burn up to 500-600 calories during my routine workout so that mean in order to maintain the weight I'm at now, I would need to consume about 1900 calories a day. If you are trying to loose weight then you want to create a deficient. So, I cut about 400-500 a day and having a food journal really helps to see where you can cut calories or adjust meals. 500 to some people may seem like a lot but taking a step back and realizing everything you put in your body adds up quick. I hope this helps you out along with all the other great suggestions. <feelfreetoaddme>

Net vs Total Calories

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