NET CALORIES - I DONT UNDERSTAND!
xxxTRISHAxxx
Posts: 26 Member
Hi all, Im really struggling to get my head around net calories and what calories I should be eating.
I have a daily target of 1200 calories (Im only 5ft 1/2 inch) in order to loose 1-2lb per week. I make sure I have 3 healthy meals a day and snacks and I never feel hungry. Im normally within 10-20 calories of my target, but do go over if I feel the need (like yesterday for pancake day!!).
Anyway, Im making an effort to get in exercise most days with a good walk and some swimming.....nothing too vigorous!.....and am burning between 500 - 1000 calories a day. Now my mind is telling me that this exercise may help me loose more weight, will help me tone as I loose, and will give me the calories if I feel I want to consume over my 1200 goal.
Yesterday on my diary a friend commented that Id eaten way to few calories, that my net calories was too low and that I should eat back the calories I burn. This upset me a little as I felt I had achieved a really good day with food and exercise.This was yesterdays figures:
Goal - 1200
Food - 1425 (slightly higher than normal)
Exercise - 1163 (slightly higher than normal)
Net - 262
Remaining - 938
Now what is confusing for me is that if I had not done that exercise then I would have in theory overeaten that day! Therefore as I normally stick to around 1200 then surely if I do not want to eat more food then I shouldnt exercise?? Or if I do exercise I need to eat more even if I dont want it and am not hungry?? I really struggle to see the point of just eating for the sake of it.
Sorry if this post is confusing.....but its probably because Im confused while writing it! Basically I want to watch what i eat...hence not watching was what put on the weight in the first place....but I want to keep healthy at the same time!
Can anyone shed some light on what I am doing right/wrong, what your suggestions for me are and mostly what NET calories actually means to my weight loss.
Thank you for reading
Trisha
I have a daily target of 1200 calories (Im only 5ft 1/2 inch) in order to loose 1-2lb per week. I make sure I have 3 healthy meals a day and snacks and I never feel hungry. Im normally within 10-20 calories of my target, but do go over if I feel the need (like yesterday for pancake day!!).
Anyway, Im making an effort to get in exercise most days with a good walk and some swimming.....nothing too vigorous!.....and am burning between 500 - 1000 calories a day. Now my mind is telling me that this exercise may help me loose more weight, will help me tone as I loose, and will give me the calories if I feel I want to consume over my 1200 goal.
Yesterday on my diary a friend commented that Id eaten way to few calories, that my net calories was too low and that I should eat back the calories I burn. This upset me a little as I felt I had achieved a really good day with food and exercise.This was yesterdays figures:
Goal - 1200
Food - 1425 (slightly higher than normal)
Exercise - 1163 (slightly higher than normal)
Net - 262
Remaining - 938
Now what is confusing for me is that if I had not done that exercise then I would have in theory overeaten that day! Therefore as I normally stick to around 1200 then surely if I do not want to eat more food then I shouldnt exercise?? Or if I do exercise I need to eat more even if I dont want it and am not hungry?? I really struggle to see the point of just eating for the sake of it.
Sorry if this post is confusing.....but its probably because Im confused while writing it! Basically I want to watch what i eat...hence not watching was what put on the weight in the first place....but I want to keep healthy at the same time!
Can anyone shed some light on what I am doing right/wrong, what your suggestions for me are and mostly what NET calories actually means to my weight loss.
Thank you for reading
Trisha
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Replies
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To put it simply, the aim of the day is to get that number as close to zero as possible.
HOWEVER, if you are using MFP to count cals burned, it can over-estimate. I would recommend getting yourself a HRM.
There are easy ways to get your calories up without adding too much food. Peanut butter, avocado and nuts are all calorific yet good for you, and you won't have to eat a lot of them.0 -
Your exercise is great & important - however, you have to get the energy from somewhere. If you are burning all the calories you are eating with exercise then you're living on little or nothing!0
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I struggle with the same concept. I know for sure that if I ate back all my exercise calories I would gain weight. I, too, struggle with the idea of eating when you are not hungry. However, I am no expert and my bodies metabolism is in a deep freeze. I really am struggling to get the scale to move. Good luck!0
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In your case, you have burned in a single day doing exercise almost all the calories you consumed. Therefore, even though you ate ~1400 calories, you burned most of it off working out. Therefore, it is as if you have only consumed ~200 calories. This is too little, MyFP is telling you to eat more.
ps. your net calories are the calories you ate after calculating how much you burned via exercise.
Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Nutrition Facts For Foods1 -
Hi...I have a heart rate monitor so all my exercise is accurate other than my swimming as my HRM cant be used in the water. Sorry what number do I need to get to zero?...is it the NET number? Sorry if I sound stupid but my exercise is having a leisurely walk or a slow swim, so im not feeling warn out etc so still struggle to understand that I need to eat more so thinking I just wont go for the swim...or if I do will drive rather than walk there. I totally understand my body needs calories but my food is my first focus and i really dont want to eat food that I dont want. Trisha x0
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its a simple mathematics.............to try to lose weight arnd 1.5-2 lbs or whateva u configured it, u hv 2 keep goal of say 1200 according 2 mfp......................then if u eat arnd 1200 and not working out entire week then also u will lose arnd 1.5-2 lbs according 2 mfp.................
if u do workout say 1000 or so then it acts as a bonus 4 u.........it means even if u eat 1200+1000=2200, still u will lose arnd 1.5-2 lbs according 2 mfp.........but if u don't eat back ur exercise cals then u will feel weak and/or will lose weight more than 1.5-2 lbs per week..........
hope this make sense..........
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Thank you for the advise0
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I really struggled with this as well. I didnt undertsand how i could eat more and still lose weight!But it is true, like everyone is saying you need to fuel your body for workouts.
So if your goal is 1200 cals a day but you excersize and burn 500 cals you should be eating 1700cals total.
x0 -
The way I look at it, is its like driving a car. You have 1200 cal a day to use and if you do exercise you are gaining more calories but burning calories and you need to fuel them otherwise you are running on empty.
I have found that when you put the exercise into MFP, the exercise calories can be too high. So I always say, eat your 1200 when exercising along with water and part of your calories you gain from exercise. Its all about eating the right things. And also eat after exercise as your metabolism is still working.
Hope that makes sense.
Good luck0 -
Hi notsolittlesi
You should aim to have your net as close to the Goal (1200) as possible. You get given 1200 calories a day to eat, and anything you burn in exercise can be considered bonus. The Remaining amount should be as close to zero as possible.
For your food dilemma, yes you can cut down on the exercise rather than having extra food.
Also a couple of observations:
1. You had a net of 262 calories for the sample day you provided - that is very low! And if you sustain that for a week, your body will start clinging on to whatever food it can get, and also reduce your metabolism.
2. You mention that your exercise is having a leisurely walk or slow swim, but your calories burned are 1100 cals or so. That would mean you had swum/walked for 3-4 hours, is that correct? I've found that the MFP calorie calculators aren't that great in estimating how much energy is burned.0 -
Basically, if calories are "remaining", eat them.
If you're truly FULL, don't stuff yourself for the sake of eating them.
The next day you may feel extra hungry, feel free to eat more, it's an average over time that matters.
If you have 200 remaining one day then go 200 "in the red" another, you're still perfect. In fact, a lot of people do that on purpose, called calorie cycling.0 -
Hi...I have a heart rate monitor so all my exercise is accurate other than my swimming as my HRM cant be used in the water. Sorry what number do I need to get to zero?...is it the NET number?
Remaining - should be zero.0 -
Hi notsolittlesi
You should aim to have your net as close to the Goal (1200) as possible. You get given 1200 calories a day to eat, and anything you burn in exercise can be considered bonus. The Remaining amount should be as close to zero as possible.
For your food dilemma, yes you can cut down on the exercise rather than having extra food.
Also a couple of observations:
1. You had a net of 262 calories for the sample day you provided - that is very low! And if you sustain that for a week, your body will start clinging on to whatever food it can get, and also reduce your metabolism.
2. You mention that your exercise is having a leisurely walk or slow swim, but your calories burned are 1100 cals or so. That would mean you had swum/walked for 3-4 hours, is that correct? I've found that the MFP calorie calculators aren't that great in estimating how much energy is burned.
I swam for 60 mins which was at a leisurely pass and used the calculation of 527 calories off MFP. The rest was walking and I wore a heart rate monitor.
Thanks for the advice 0 -
The net on your home page should be 1200
The remaining on your food diary should be zero.
But since HRM's, fitbits and MFP's calcs kind of overestimate give yourself some leeway.
Plus read Dan's road map, it did wonders for me, some people ***** and complain about it but it's worth a try.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-120 -
Your exercise is great & important - however, you have to get the energy from somewhere. If you are burning all the calories you are eating with exercise then you're living on little or nothing!
Actually, it's living off the stored energy in fat and muscle cells whenever there is a calorie deficit. Sort of the whole idea behind losing weight. Exercise is basically meant to conserve the lean muscle mass that would otherwise be lost when dieting. In any event, the "experts" - both on MFP and IRL - differ on whether to eat back some, all or none of your exercise calories. I've settled somewhere in the middle - i.e., if I'm hungry, I still eat. It's merely the choice of what I put in that has changed dramatically. Good luck to the OP with figuring out what works best for YOU!0 -
Your exercise is great & important - however, you have to get the energy from somewhere. If you are burning all the calories you are eating with exercise then you're living on little or nothing!
Actually, it's living off the stored energy in fat and muscle cells whenever there is a calorie deficit. Sort of the whole idea behind losing weight. Exercise is basically meant to conserve the lean muscle mass that would otherwise be lost when dieting. In any event, the "experts" - both on MFP and IRL - differ on whether to eat back some, all or none of your exercise calories. I've settled somewhere in the middle - i.e., if I'm hungry, I still eat. It's merely the choice of what I put in that has changed dramatically. Good luck to the OP with figuring out what works best for YOU!
This is sort of what I am doing. I am having more than 1200 if I want them but mostly I dont. I feel better than I have done in a long time! I understand the replys on here saying I should eat more and I will try to increase my daily intake. The post above made me feel better about things though so thank you 0 -
I was struggling with the same thing. I thought I was loosing weight but you are loosing the wrong type of weight,
if you DO NOT eat close to the calories your net needs to be. Your body will start burning the water and muscle loss will happen. The fat cells will stay because your body will go into starvation mode. Your body will fight to hold on to the fat cells last. It wants to keep the fat because it doesn't know when it will get the right amount of food and nutrition your body needs to get thru the day.
You want your body to burn energy correctly.
Even though the scale will go down, as soon as you eat what your normal intake should be (without exercise) your body will add weight fast. You want your body to learn how to burn food correctly, that is why your net should be close to 1200 even with exercise. You don't have to stuff yourself until you hit 1200, but eat healthy to come close to your calorie goal.
Hope that helps.0 -
I aim to eat back most of my exercise calories but leave myself about 100 a day (sometimes more sometimes less) so I can relax a bit at the weekend or if I go out. I'm not losing weight very fast but my shape is changing quite quickly (goodbye back boobs!) so i reckon that's the healthy way to go (only a couple of years off 50 so i don't want lots of saggy/wrinkly skin through losing too much too fast!)0
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Yes that makes sense, Thank you 0
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Your exercise is great & important - however, you have to get the energy from somewhere. If you are burning all the calories you are eating with exercise then you're living on little or nothing!
Actually, it's living off the stored energy in fat and muscle cells whenever there is a calorie deficit. Sort of the whole idea behind losing weight. Exercise is basically meant to conserve the lean muscle mass that would otherwise be lost when dieting. In any event, the "experts" - both on MFP and IRL - differ on whether to eat back some, all or none of your exercise calories. I've settled somewhere in the middle - i.e., if I'm hungry, I still eat. It's merely the choice of what I put in that has changed dramatically. Good luck to the OP with figuring out what works best for YOU!
This is sort of what I am doing. I am having more than 1200 if I want them but mostly I dont. I feel better than I have done in a long time! I understand the replys on here saying I should eat more and I will try to increase my daily intake. The post above made me feel better about things though so thank you
The problem is that MFP doesn't take into account exercise when setting calorie goals, and deficts.
So, you and I could be the same weight, height, job etc, and MFP would give us both the same calorie goal for 1lb a week loss, by deducting 500 from our estimated daily calorie burn excluding exercise.
Now, If I just went home every night and sat in front of the TV, and you did your 1000 calories of swimming, our daily energy output would be very different, and you wouldl be expending 1000 calories than me.
to still get the same 500 calorie defict for 1lb per week you would need to eat 1000 calories more than me.
This will also help - http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/818082-exercise-calories-again-wtf0 -
The problem is that MFP doesn't take into account exercise when setting calorie goals, and deficts.
So, you and I could be the same weight, height, job etc, and MFP would give us both the same calorie goal for 1lb a week loss, by deducting 500 from our estimated daily calorie burn excluding exercise.
Now, If I just went home every night and sat in front of the TV, and you did your 1000 calories of swimming, our daily energy output would be very different, and you wouldl be expending 1000 calories than me.
to still get the same 500 calorie defict for 1lb per week you would need to eat 1000 calories more than me.
This will also help - http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/818082-exercise-calories-again-wtf
This was part of where i get so confused as i think id probably rather not exercise than eat more than i want
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Simply, you have to NET 1200 cals a day to be healthy. If you eat 1200 cals, but burn 1000, you are netting 200 cals a day, so you have to eat back the 1000 calories you burned during exercise.
Imagine your body is a car. You fill your car with 1200 fuel and you need 1200 fuel to go from A - B. Now imagine you take a detour that uses 1000 fuel. In order to be able to still make it to B, you're going to have to refuel your car the 1000 fuel so you can still make it to B.
A is the start of the day. B is the end of the day. The detour is any exercise you do.
Hope this helps.2 -
Hi all, Im really struggling to get my head around net calories and what calories I should be eating.
I have a daily target of 1200 calories (Im only 5ft 1/2 inch) in order to loose 1-2lb per week. I make sure I have 3 healthy meals a day and snacks and I never feel hungry. Im normally within 10-20 calories of my target, but do go over if I feel the need (like yesterday for pancake day!!).
Anyway, Im making an effort to get in exercise most days with a good walk and some swimming.....nothing too vigorous!.....and am burning between 500 - 1000 calories a day. Now my mind is telling me that this exercise may help me loose more weight, will help me tone as I loose, and will give me the calories if I feel I want to consume over my 1200 goal.
Yesterday on my diary a friend commented that Id eaten way to few calories, that my net calories was too low and that I should eat back the calories I burn. This upset me a little as I felt I had achieved a really good day with food and exercise.This was yesterdays figures:
Goal - 1200
Food - 1425 (slightly higher than normal)
Exercise - 1163 (slightly higher than normal)
Net - 262
Remaining - 938
Now what is confusing for me is that if I had not done that exercise then I would have in theory overeaten that day! Therefore as I normally stick to around 1200 then surely if I do not want to eat more food then I shouldnt exercise?? Or if I do exercise I need to eat more even if I dont want it and am not hungry?? I really struggle to see the point of just eating for the sake of it.
Sorry if this post is confusing.....but its probably because Im confused while writing it! Basically I want to watch what i eat...hence not watching was what put on the weight in the first place....but I want to keep healthy at the same time!
Can anyone shed some light on what I am doing right/wrong, what your suggestions for me are and mostly what NET calories actually means to my weight loss.
Thank you for reading
Trisha
[/quote first thing, how on earth are you burning 1000 cals per day doing light activity, are you super obese at your height.? I dont mean this in a bad way, but i would have to spend about 4 hours working out to get to that level0 -
That's a really high calorie burn, are you doing that every day?
To answer your question, yes you should eat back your exercise calories. Do you know your BMR?0 -
My mom did the same thing in the 80s. She was netting 200 calories a day and after a couple months, she lost her hair. She has yo-yo diet every since. I set her up on this, she lost about 30 pounds and did great. But I had to talk her into eating.
MFP works because you do not starve yourself. I would suggest researching your BMR and TDEE and it will help you understand. Good luck. Eat more.0 -
That's a really high calorie burn, are you doing that every day?
To answer your question, yes you should eat back your exercise calories. Do you know your BMR?
No not everyday......sometimes only 500. I believe my BMR is 1485 0 -
That's a really high calorie burn, are you doing that every day?
To answer your question, yes you should eat back your exercise calories. Do you know your BMR?
No not everyday......sometimes only 500. I believe my BMR is 1485
Mine is 1460 and I never eat less than my BMR, I feel horrible and hit plateaus. 1485 is what you burn doing nothing. Your body needs fuel. Food is not the enemy.0
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