net calories?
lilteeraw
Posts: 261
I know I know.. so many posts on this. ive even posted recently about it
but ive been trying to research on it and people keep giving different answers.
should i worry about daily calories consumed or NET calories.
say i eat 1900 calories today but workout and burn 600.
1900-600=1300 calories.
is that number too low.
to lose weight what should your net calories be.
or should you just ignore you net and focus on total calls consumed?
but ive been trying to research on it and people keep giving different answers.
should i worry about daily calories consumed or NET calories.
say i eat 1900 calories today but workout and burn 600.
1900-600=1300 calories.
is that number too low.
to lose weight what should your net calories be.
or should you just ignore you net and focus on total calls consumed?
0
Replies
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Maybe just follow the advice we have provided you in your other threads. You are over complicating things.0
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this confuses me as well =\0
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This site is set up so that you are to eat back your calories so in the end, you're netting 1200-1500 depending on your settings.0
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yes, but i dont know if all that advice is correct.
because ive looked at other sites and they tell me somthing different.
i just need to know ALL about net calories and what number to focus on0 -
If you have mfp set for a certain number and you exercise and put that in too.
If your number is green, eat. If your number is red you are at your daily goal.0 -
for example.. live strong.com tells me that your net calories should be negative to lose weight..
while other people are saying to eat back half your exercise calls, and then other people say to eat all and dont net under 1200.
like why make it so confusing.
i just need to know that right answer.0 -
for example.. live strong.com tells me that your net calories should be negative to lose weight..
while other people are saying to eat back half your exercise calls, and then other people say to eat all and dont net under 1200.
like why make it so confusing.
i just need to know that right answer.
Read this:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/818082-exercise-calories-again-wtf0 -
Are your profile pics current? If so, I would definately say you do not need to be focusing on loss. I am not trying to be mean, snide, or snarky here...0
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Don't listen to that other stuff. mfp has already set you at a calorie deficit, its great. all the math is done for you ahead of time.
You can calculate BMR and TDEE and figure it out too. Just look at your numbers.
ok so you need 1900 a day, + 600 in exercise
1900 + 600 = 2500 for today. Don't make this more complex than it has to be, keep it simple.0 -
Your daily calorie allowance gives you your calorie deficit so you will loose weight if you exercise and burn for example a 100 calories you need to eat those as well as your daily MFP allowance otherwise your metabolism will slow down to much as your body will think you are starving it if you have to big a deficit each day, MFP has done the science bit for you so go with it.0
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Plain and simple log everything in (food) and out (exercise) and get to zero for the end of the day!
Math is Math- leave it simple you want your total at the end of the day to be zero or as close to zero as possible. So add all your food and subtract all of your exercise and get your end number to be really little. I don't eat back all of my exercise calories and I have consistantly lost 2 pounds a week for 4 months. Some days you are over and some you are under. Sometimes I exercise harder and sometimes easier, sometimes I eat really clean and other days I only eat kinda clean. I try to get to zero or close to is everyday and it is working.0 -
so should i focus on the green number? say i have more calories to eat... its ok to eat them if its green? i wont gain?0
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This is awesome. I only see three posts, total.0
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now mell is saying my net should be as close to zero as possible
see this confuses me0 -
Well looking at your photos I am a little concerned. You are already thin and are not overweight by any stretch of the imagination. That being said.....if you don't want to gain weight and are using this site to keep you on track, I would suggest set yourself on maintenance and eat back your exercise calories. Do not net below 1200. If you are looking for ONE right answer you are not going to get it. You have to take all the information you get and see what works best for you. It is all trial and error.
Good Luck!!0 -
so should i focus on the green number? say i have more calories to eat... its ok to eat them if its green? i wont gain?
YES if you set your goal to maintenance you should not gain. Excluding water weight that will come and go over time. Expect a 5 - 10 pound discrepancy per day.0 -
You remind me of myself. But that's not a good thing. Not this way... = /0
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Ok I get it
just wanted to make sure! MFP really does take all the work out of it.. love it! 0 -
Read this:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/383956-exercise-calories-explained?hl=exercise+calories+explained
There is no 1 right answer... it's personal preference. Figure out which method seems to suit you better, then do it.0 -
Um, different sites utilize different calculations. MFP and livestrong.org are both places that provide calorie counting applications but they do not total these calories in the same way. You cannot take the parameters for a program on one site and apply them to one on another site.
MFP is set to the average BMR for a person of your weight and height, and then adjusts that goal depending on what you said you wanted to do. When you exercise, you earn calories, because you are adding calorie burn on top of your BMR. BMR is what you would burn if you just laid in bed and didn't move for any reason... The burn in order to function.
If MFP sets your daily intake to 1900, that's what you should eat if you do not exercise at all, as it is already adjusted for your requested weight goal. If you work out, you should eat back the calories. The NET should not drop below 1200; that is a dietician standard, as the average person, regardless of size, needs approximately 1200 calories to provide energy for the living functions of their body.
Livestrong.org could very well be approximating a TDEE. If another site is basing the goals off of an estimated TDEE instead of a BMR, it makes sense that they would recommend a negative number, as that would mean that you would be burning over your eating.
It is the same concept approached from different directions, but you are going to be 100% confused if you don't read the details of the program they are utilizing.0 -
now mell is saying my net should be as close to zero as possible
see this confuses me
No - she is saying the amount at the bottom (the red/green number) should be zero - in other words you have eaten as close to possible the amount that you should be eating.
Edited - I just reread what mel said - ignore mel, she is not using the tool as it was meant to be used and is having a very very large deficit which is not a good idea at all, especially for you.0 -
for example.. live strong.com tells me that your net calories should be negative to lose weight..
while other people are saying to eat back half your exercise calls, and then other people say to eat all and dont net under 1200.
like why make it so confusing.
i just need to know that right answer.
1) You're not on livestrong... they use a different method... stop muddying things up by trying to blend different methods.
2) Don't listen to people... they don't understand the principle, they are only making recommendations based on what worked for them.
3) There are lots of right answers.0 -
yes, but i dont know if all that advice is correct.
because ive looked at other sites and they tell me somthing different.
i just need to know ALL about net calories and what number to focus on
If you use the MFP method, then you eat to net calories, it does the math for you. It sets your calorie goal low so you would lose weight without doing any exercise, then when you do exercise you need more food for fuel.
For example, if your MFP goal is 1500, then you exercise 500, you eat 1500 + 500 = 2000. The next day you only exercise 250, so you eat 1500 + 250 = 1750.
If you are not using the MFP method, a lot of people here set their own goal based on figuring out their own BMR and TDEE. People who do that do not eat more for exercise. Or if you are already at your goal weight, you are eating your maintenance or TDEE, you eat that same number of calories every day regardless of exercise.0 -
Plain and simple log everything in (food) and out (exercise) and get to zero for the end of the day!
Math is Math- leave it simple you want your total at the end of the day to be zero or as close to zero as possible. So add all your food and subtract all of your exercise and get your end number to be really little. I don't eat back all of my exercise calories and I have consistantly lost 2 pounds a week for 4 months. Some days you are over and some you are under. Sometimes I exercise harder and sometimes easier, sometimes I eat really clean and other days I only eat kinda clean. I try to get to zero or close to is everyday and it is working.
Huh?! Perhaps by "exercise" .... you mean ALL calories used during the day (?)
Your body needs a bare minimum calories everyday ..... to breathe, to pump blood, to digest food .... etc. This is why people who are in a coma get a feeding tube.
MFP will give you at least 1200 NET calories ...... Eat 1800 .... exercise 600 = 1200 NET
Those NET calories are your safety net. Eating too few calories consistantly ... will result in MUSCLE loss. I don't know about you ..... but I'm looking to get rid of FAT.0 -
You eat the calories it tells you to eat.if you ate 1200 calories and it give you more for working out you eat what it says.I keep going over in protein and fat on mine and not enough carbs.Everything needs to be balanced which is almost impossible but you do your best and you will get results.0
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now mell is saying my net should be as close to zero as possible
see this confuses me
No - she is saying the amount at the bottom (the red/green number) should be zero - in other words you have eaten as close to possible the amount that you should be eating.
OKAY .... now I see where the zero comes from0 -
If you've properly set your inputs into MFP, MFP takes all the work out of it. For example...my TDEE is 2,320 calories per day; I'm set up as sedentary because I have a desk job and don't do a lot of moving around during the day. I have a goal to lose 1 Lb per week on average so MFP set my net calorie goal at 1,820 (500 calorie deficit to lose weight). When I do exercise and log my exercise calories burned, MFP will automatically up my calorie goal to maintain a net 500 calorie deficit and I eat back those calories. You want the numbers on the very bottom to be as close to zero as possible. If they're negative and red that means you have exceeded you calorie goal...if they are positive and green it means you can eat more.
As I recall, you were actually trying to either gain or maintain correct? So you would do the opposite...if you want to maintain then set your goal to maintenance and eat to that, including eating back your exercise calories. Note, it is important to log your exercise calories in MFP as close as you can so that MFP can do the work for you.0 -
Plain and simple log everything in (food) and out (exercise) and get to zero for the end of the day!
Math is Math- leave it simple you want your total at the end of the day to be zero or as close to zero as possible. So add all your food and subtract all of your exercise and get your end number to be really little. I don't eat back all of my exercise calories and I have consistantly lost 2 pounds a week for 4 months. Some days you are over and some you are under. Sometimes I exercise harder and sometimes easier, sometimes I eat really clean and other days I only eat kinda clean. I try to get to zero or close to is everyday and it is working.
Very very bad advice, especially for someone as lean as the OP.0 -
My advice would be to pick a site and stick exclusively to that site and try following it exactly as it's intended and don't worry about what other permutations other members are doing unless it's not working for you over an extended period of time. If the calorie burns you are entering are realistic then this site intends you to eat all of those calories back so that your goal calories setting remains appropriate to your actual goal. I wouldn't mess with it if it works for you.0
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My advice would be to pick a site and stick exclusively to that site and try following it exactly as it's intended and don't worry about what other permutations other members are doing unless it's not working for you over an extended period of time. If the calorie burns you are entering are realistic then this site intends you to eat all of those calories back so that your goal calories setting remains appropriate to your actual goal. I wouldn't mess with it if it works for you.
Yaaayyyyy... someone gets it!!!!0
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