Lowest Healthy NET Calories?

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  • herblackwings39
    herblackwings39 Posts: 3,930 Member
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    How long did you go netting 500 or 600 calories? It may take your body some time to realize that you're going to continue to feed it before it stops trying to hold on to everything it can.
  • _blizzard_
    _blizzard_ Posts: 40 Member
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    I personally don't like going off of net calories because the amount of calories burned is very negotiable. It is much easier to be sure of how much you are eating than actually burning since all our bodies are completely different, with different metabolisms.
  • smuckers722
    smuckers722 Posts: 11 Member
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    I'm very strict with how I count my calories and how I estimate my burned calories. I wear a HRM, so I get as close to an accurate burn count as I can (I know HRMs aren't perfect), and I am very careful about portions, weighing my food, etc. I measure out tablespoons of peanut butter or cups of oatmeal, etc. So when I was netting 1,200, I think I was pretty accurate, and I was gaining weight.

    Also, for the poster who asked about netting 600 calories, that would not be every day by any means. Some days I would net 1,200, some 1,000, maybe one or two days of the week I would net 600-800-- those would be on the days I did more cardio and didn't eat back all the calories. I was always putting in at least 1,200 calories, sometimes as much as 1,600, but then burning some so that my net would end up anywhere between 600-1,200 by the end of the day. Now I am trying what the dr. suggested and not having fewer than 1,200 calories NET, and I guess I'll see what the results will be.

    I just don't understand how we arrive at the 1,200 number as the "good" number. To lose weight they say to reduce your calorie intake by 500-1000, right? Well, 1,200 is only 300 calories less than the 1,500ish calories I could supposedly eat to maintain my weight. I thought I could eat 1,200 and burn at least 200 and then if I netted 1,000, that would be cutting out 500 cals a day.
  • smuckers722
    smuckers722 Posts: 11 Member
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    Thanks, SunnieRN3! My dog is a whoodle (wheaten-poodle) and he does look similar to some of the golden doodles we've met!

    Smuckers, your dog is SO cute!! We have a golden doodle, who could be your dogs twin!!
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    I just don't understand how we arrive at the 1,200 number as the "good" number. To lose weight they say to reduce your calorie intake by 500-1000, right? Well, 1,200 is only 300 calories less than the 1,500ish calories I could supposedly eat to maintain my weight. I thought I could eat 1,200 and burn at least 200 and then if I netted 1,000, that would be cutting out 500 cals a day.

    1200 is the minimum amount set by professionals whereby you can get all of the nutrients you need. And you have to choose your foods carefully at 1200 to get them.

    A better way to figure out your calorie reduction is a % off your TDEE. 20% is healthy for most people. You are right when your TDEE is low, subtracting 500 or 1000 is too much of a defecit. So, if your TDEE is truly 1500 (this includes all of your exercise), your 20% cut would be 300 calories.

    As you get closer to goal weight, the 20% deficit should drop to 15% and then 10% cut.
  • MeganLindsay24
    MeganLindsay24 Posts: 7
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    I'm a little late with this response but I found it through a google search. I was wondering how you're doing with upping your calories to NET 1200?
    I think when you were netting in very low ranges, that is the exact reason why you were not losing weight. Your body thinks it's starving (as someone else mentioned). I, too, am struggling with this. I've been lifting and doing HIIT thinking I can lose on eating 1200-1400 calories (not sure what I was netting, but I am probably burning at least 400 a day)....all it does is leave me tired with no results! At the beginning of the year, I was doing a lifting program and eating 1800-1900 and saw changes, why in the world did I fall back into this "low cal mode"?
    The problem with working your butt off AND eating low cal is you'll eventually plateau and you can't do much more to fix it cause...well, you're already working out a lot AND already eating low calories, there's nothing more to change! But trust me, I am in the same exact boat but I'm changing my thinking...finally!!!
    This week I'm upping my calories to 1800-2000....I know there is a chance that I will gain while my body adjusts, but I don't care...I know I'm working out and eating right, so I'm not going to beat myself up over some possible water weight gain. What I was doing (and what you are/were doing) isn't working, so why continue doing it?
    I decided to set my target calories to the maintenance level of my GOAL weight....so once I get there, I won't have to adjust much. Logically thinking, it should work, but we'll see. I'm just tired of being tired! Good Luck!
  • imagine977
    imagine977 Posts: 14 Member
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    Wow your story and stats are almost identical to mine! I actually made an appointment with my doctor because I don't understand why I can't lose these pounds! Unfortunately it's not till Dec...but please keep me posted on your results with netting at least 1200 a day. For the life of me I can't figure out what "the answer" is... I hear a lot about tdee minus 20% and while I did try that for a few weeks, the few pounds I gained scared me too much for me to continue with it. I work out 5-6 days a week to mostly Jillian michaels workouts, and while I understand that muscle is developing, I just really can't take these thighs getting much bigger lol... It's funny, I started MFP last year when I weighed 120, trying to get to 115. I'm now hovering around 126-130. What happened?!? Sorry for the long post it's just comforting to see that at least I'm not alone in this...
  • sourgrape_
    sourgrape_ Posts: 37
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    It seems that 1200 is just a set number on mfp.
    It's the same with me - my tdee would be only just above 1500 without exercise. Therefore there is no way mfp could "let" me lose more than 0,3kg per week as it still tells me to eat my exercise cals back when I up my calorie burn.
  • imagine977
    imagine977 Posts: 14 Member
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    Have you ever tried weight watchers? I did it once in college and honestly it was the only thing I can ever say "worked" for me. I lost 7 pounds over 7 weeks. Albeit I was very hungry all the time and obsessed over my next meal, but it did take the weight off. I downloaded a points app and am actually giving it a go this week to see what will happen. But yeah, it's not a lot of calories. Between 1200 and 1300 round about. Thoughts?

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