net calories, exercise and weigh loss

Keviny1958
Keviny1958 Posts: 7 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Help,
I have been static between 17st 10lbs and 18st 1 lb, albeit I have lost over 7 stones since I started for a considerable time period now and my progress is slowing down.
I have increased my exercise to about 1hr a day but there is a vast difference between calories and net calories.
I have tried burning off the extra calories to get my net intake to either 0 or back to my daily allowance but now seems to have stopped working,.
Can someone please give me some hints or help.
At present I only do cardio vascular fitness on a static exercise bike

Replies

  • CassieReannan
    CassieReannan Posts: 1,479 Member
    Wait.. what? Are you trying to net below 0 or are you trying to get to your net value because you are over?
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    I'm not 100% certain what you mean, but on your home page, where it says "=Net", the number should not be 0, the number should equal the original goal MFP gave you. Where it says "xxxx calories remaining" in big letters, that is the number you should be aiming to get as close to 0 as possible by the end of the day. Does that makes sense? How many calories a day are you consuming, and how many are you burning off through exercise?

    Also, are you actually not losing any more, and if so, over what period of time? Or, is it just going slower than it did in the beginning? If so, that is to be expected; you will lose more slowly the closer you get to your goal.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    I'm a little confused as to what exactly you're doing, too. Open your diary so we can see what's going on.

    Or, if you are following MFP's guidance, then just do what it says... stop over-thinking it.
  • Keviny1958
    Keviny1958 Posts: 7 Member
    i aim to be at 1450 cals food eaten and then when I eat more i will either exercise more to either make the NET calories 1450 or less sometimes I will exercise to 0 net calories or minus net calories if that makes sense.
    i have been struggling now on or about 18 st since early Dec 2012
  • CassieReannan
    CassieReannan Posts: 1,479 Member
    :huh: So you are telling me you net below 0 most days....? So lets say you eat 1500 calories today and you burn 1600 calories in a big cardio session, that means you are -100 below net. Or are you eating 1800 and burning 300 at the gym to get your net to normal? Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa :huh: :huh:
  • beachlover317
    beachlover317 Posts: 2,848 Member
    I'm not sure if you are meaning what I am understanding. Your net calories should be the same as your calorie goal at the end of the day. The Calorie Goal has a deficit for weight loss built in by MFP already by you choosing the number of pounds you want to lose per week. Are you "netting" O calories? That is not the way MFP operates and you are not eating enough. If that's not what you mean - then I'm confused.
  • Keviny1958
    Keviny1958 Posts: 7 Member
    thats about it each day is different as you say correctly i may burn off more than I eat, others i will just go to my daily allowance it maybe the fact there is no consistency that causes me problems
  • bearwith
    bearwith Posts: 525 Member
    Try a different type of exercise that works a different group of muscles in your body.

    Interval training is good because your heart rate goes from resting through to panting really hard breathing - you ought to have 6-7 cycles of this in 30 mins.

    You also need to get your 10000 steps a day but in brisk walking that gets you out of breath and makes you sweaty.
  • CassieReannan
    CassieReannan Posts: 1,479 Member
    thats about it each day is different as you say correctly i may burn off more than I eat, others i will just go to my daily allowance it maybe the fact there is no consistency that causes me problems

    Eat your value everyday! Eat back your exercise, or at least try!
    Do you know your BMR and TDEE? It will give you a good number to go by to eat everyday
  • donna_glasgow
    donna_glasgow Posts: 869 Member
    if MFP says you eat 1500 ... thats how much you should eat ..... you should not exercise all of this off again, ... .. if you want to exercise some off then make it about 300 max ..... if you do more than this then eat a little more .....

    if you eat 1500 and exercise 300 that puts your net to 1200 ... and that (according to mfp) is as low as anyone should ever go for net cals .....


    well done on your loss so far, i hope the rest come off quickly :)
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    thats about it each day is different as you say correctly i may burn off more than I eat, others i will just go to my daily allowance it maybe the fact there is no consistency that causes me problems

    I think you're misunderstanding what is meant by "burn more than you eat." You burn a lot of calories just by existing. So when MFP gives you your goal, it's already going to be less than you burn. If you exercise you have to eat more so that your deficit isn't too large.

    You need to net your calorie goal.
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    thats about it each day is different as you say correctly i may burn off more than I eat, others i will just go to my daily allowance it maybe the fact there is no consistency that causes me problems
    You are not supposed to burn off (through exercise) more than you eat. The majority of your calorie burn should come form your normal daily activities, and just being alive. Burning off more than you eat through exercise will give you far too large of a calorie deficit. Someone may be able to get away with that for some time, if they are very obese, but it will cause problems in the end. If you have been doing that a lot, you have probably lost far more lean mass (eg muscle) than is necessary.

    I would recommending eating at least all the way up to your calorie goal, and eating back those exercise calories. Your goal may be too low, but it's hard to know without knowing your stats. Try and find out your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) - there are numerous calculators online for this. Also, your BMR (basal metabolic rate) which is the number of calories your body needs just to function without any activity at all. Ideally, your calorie goal should be somewhere between those numbers.

    I'd also recommend strength or resistance training if at all possible, to try and preserve the muscle mass you have now.
  • JillyCornwall
    JillyCornwall Posts: 376 Member
    So you have lost 7 stone, well done, thats an amazing achievement. BUT you have done it by netting 0 or negative balance, not so well done because a large percentage of that 7 stone will have been muscle and not the fat that you need to be losing. as you have reduced your weight & your muscle mass your daily calorie burn will have also been reducing..because less muscle less calories burnt. You need some serious dietary advice & revision. As a man of the weight you are you should be looking at eating a healthy 1700-1900 calories a day and then getting in a good mix of cardio exercise and weight training maybe 3-4 times a week. KEEP to this for a month & then see both how you feel & whether you restart losing..because you should!
  • Keviny1958
    Keviny1958 Posts: 7 Member
    many thanx to all replies so far,
    my start weight was 25 stones, now 18 stones,

    bmr = 2182
    bmi = 33.24 (obese) still
    tdee 2182
    height 6ft 1"
    age 54yrs

    i am aiming at 1450 cals a day, I think now that if I eat over 1450 then I should simply exercise back to a net of 1450 cals if I am understanding correctly and not go further back than my allowance.
  • CassieReannan
    CassieReannan Posts: 1,479 Member
    many thanx to all replies so far,
    my start weight was 25 stones, now 18 stones,

    bmr = 2182
    bmi = 33.24 (obese) still
    tdee 2182
    height 6ft 1"
    age 54yrs

    i am aiming at 1450 cals a day, I think now that if I eat over 1450 then I should simply exercise back to a net of 1450 cals if I am understanding correctly and not go further back than my allowance.

    If your BMR is 2182, then I suggest eating that or more. Your TDEE can't be the same figure unless you lay in bed all day and not move.
  • Keviny1958
    Keviny1958 Posts: 7 Member
    sorry tdee should be about 3018
  • CassieReannan
    CassieReannan Posts: 1,479 Member
    sorry tdee should be about 3018

    Then is safe to say 2500 calories a day would give you a loss of 1lb a week.. eating 2000 calories would give you 2lb a week. You are under eating by 1100 calories a day (for a 1lb loss)! Thats 7700 calories a week! Way too low, that's why you have stalled.
  • ladymember
    ladymember Posts: 9
    I noticed some people over-ride the exercise calories burned, and enter in for each exercise as only one calorie instead of the correct amount.
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    I noticed some people over-ride the exercise calories burned, and enter in for each exercise as only one calorie instead of the correct amount.
    Those people, at least the ones who know what they're doing, are not following the MFP method and have customised their own calorie goal based on their TDEE. This is a different method, and most people following it would end up with a higher goal than MFP would have given them. If you are following the goal MFP has given you, planned exercise is not factored into that, so you should be eating exercise calories back.
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    sorry tdee should be about 3018

    Then is safe to say 2500 calories a day would give you a loss of 1lb a week.. eating 2000 calories would give you 2lb a week. You are under eating by 1100 calories a day (for a 1lb loss)! Thats 7700 calories a week! Way too low, that's why you have stalled.

    I personally would recommend having a diet break for at least two weeks, and then making a more moderate cut from your TDEE, and trying to incorporate some strength/resistance training. Read this: http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html

    You have done really well to lose 7 stone so far. Don't be in a hurry to get the rest of it off. Faster is not better when it comes to weight loss. Aiming for 1-2 lbs a week would be very reasonable for you at this stage.
  • sass0720
    sass0720 Posts: 12
    Glad I found this one - for some reason I'm not losing weight like MFP says I should be.. I was almost thinking that maybe that Net calories should be 0... but alas.. it should not, I shall continue what i've been doing then.

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