Negative Net - Should I be concerned ?

donyellemoniquex3
donyellemoniquex3 Posts: 2,384 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Lately since joining my local studio and going 2-3x a week (Zumba and Turbo Kick) I've been doing massive burns ! 1100 for 75 minutes of Zumba and 1200 for 75 Minutes of Turbo Kick. But today I was performing with some of the members to advert the studio. 10 minutes of Zumba and 10 minutes if Turbo Kick. 3 songs for Zumba and 2 for Turbo Kick.

I'm full and satisfied in terms of food (my diary is public) but as you can see, I'm in the negative for net. Also if you take a look back, some days my net is low, and other times just blow or above the 1200 minimum threshold.

Replies

  • Faye_Anderson
    Faye_Anderson Posts: 1,495 Member
    How are you calculating your burns? Are you using a heart rate monitor or MFP estimate?
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
    It's very likely that your caloric burns are not as high as you think.
  • melindafritz1976
    melindafritz1976 Posts: 329 Member
    Yes you should be concerned
  • norcal_yogi
    norcal_yogi Posts: 675 Member
    It's very likely that your caloric burns are not as high as you think.

    yes, def likely.
  • honeysprinkles
    honeysprinkles Posts: 1,757 Member
    It's very likely that your caloric burns are not as high as you think.
    That was my first thought too. Are you using a heart rate monitor with a chest strap?
    You could burn maybe 600-800 in 75 minutes, but 1200 seems unrealistic.

    But to answer your question, you don't want to make it a regular thing. It's better to be near your suggested calorie goal!
  • melindafritz1976
    melindafritz1976 Posts: 329 Member
    that's
    ya you s hould be concerned
    like not eating at all
    stop exercising so much
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
    Yes, negative net calories is an extremely bad idea. Having said that, I'm guessing you're not burning anywhere near what you think you are. Burning 1200 calories in 75 minutes, that would be like running approximately 12 miles in the same time frame. That's a 6:15/mile pace for 12 miles! I could see that burning up to 1200, MAYBE. Not zumba or whatever random class you're doing. Maybe half that at best.
  • Polly758
    Polly758 Posts: 623 Member
    MFP uses estimates for calorie burns, so I'd recommend going with it for a few weeks and seeing what the results are. If you seem to stop losing weight, you'll probably want to eat a bit more. If you lose weight at a healthy rate (1-2 lbs /week) then you're fine.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    As the above folk have said the cal burn seems wayyy over estimated... being in negative isn't a good idea, as a one off perhaps but your body needs the fuel so eat back some exercise cals ok :)
  • honeysprinkles
    honeysprinkles Posts: 1,757 Member
    If you are using an online calorie burn estimate, I would suggest logging no more than 10cals burned/minute. I can't burn that much anymore but I could get close to that at my highest weight, working out as hard as I could. Now, I am much closer to 7-8 calories a minute. You could possibly burn a little more, but it's very unlikely that you're burning 16 calories/minute, and if you are off by 5 or so calories per minute for 75 minutes of exercise, that can really add up!

    The best way to know for sure is to get a heart rate monitor, I have a polar ft4 and you can find them online reasonably priced! Just something to consider!

    And I want to add- 75 minutes of zumba or turbo kick is a fantastic workout, and burning 600-800 calories is really great! So if you do find out that you've been overestimating, still appreciate how hard your working and know that you're really doing your body a favor with these challenging exercises!
  • violetlattice
    violetlattice Posts: 15
    Honestly, i think that MFP waaaay overestimates caloric burn when it comes to exercises like Zumba. I rollerskate once a week for 90 mins and it suggests an 800 cal burn? That's crazy. Usually I try to temper their overestimations by only plugging in 2/3 of the amount of time I exercise - e.g. 60 mins rollerskating. I figure that when it comes to exercise, unlike food, you don't necessarily have to be exact, so long as you are eating at a decent deficit. If you are actually burning a few more calories, that's not exactly a bad thing :)
  • RoadsterGirlie
    RoadsterGirlie Posts: 1,195 Member
    It is very, very difficult to have negative net calories on any day, unless you are eating very little, and exercising for hours.

    Going by my own experience, I exercised for two hours a day most days of the week with very little weight loss results for years. It wasn't until I changed my diet, started tracking my intake and putting a cap on my calories that the weight came off.

    I think you are probably burning less than you think. A good starting point would be 1500 gross calories per day with exercise 3 to 5x a week with combined strength and cardio for no more than an hour, and go from there.
  • healthygreek
    healthygreek Posts: 2,137 Member
    You say in your profile that you want to get skinny the "right" way and be healthy and yet you drink so many purely sugary drinks and barely any green veggies or many fruits and veggies at all.
    I believe in eating back a good portion of your exercise calories but I'm not sure you're burning as many as you think you are but great that you're working out so consistently.
  • Iron_Feline
    Iron_Feline Posts: 10,750 Member
    While the cal burns are probably over - you should defo be eating more.

    MPF is set up so that you DO eat your exercises cals back - I'd try eating 1/2 back and see how that works.

    Eating so little will mean you burn muscles as well as fat which means you probably won't look as good as you could if you took it slower. :flowerforyou:
  • MaryJane_8810002
    MaryJane_8810002 Posts: 2,082 Member
    I get negative calories in the morning if I have breakfast and then go for an hour long walk. I do eat them back by lunch but if you are negative throughout the day then there may be a problem.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    I'd say your exercise calories are way over inflated, not sure why you log all the little bits of 2 mph walking. Your food intake is mostly junk to start with, not sure again about the logging of all the various pills. If you seriously want to lose weight in a healthy way then find a way to accurately monitor exercise calories, forget the 10 minute 2 mph walks and start eating something more nutritious than Snickers, ice cream and other junk foods.
  • donyellemoniquex3
    donyellemoniquex3 Posts: 2,384 Member
    I'd say your exercise calories are way over inflated, not sure why you log all the little bits of 2 mph walking. Your food intake is mostly junk to start with, not sure again about the logging of all the various pills. If you seriously want to lose weight in a healthy way then find a way to accurately monitor exercise calories, forget the 10 minute 2 mph walks and start eating something more nutritious than Snickers, ice cream and other junk foods.


    I use something called a pedometer on a little thing called an iPod and I don't want to kill myself, so therefore I don't drive and everything is in walking distance.
  • bluelena
    bluelena Posts: 304 Member
    I agree with the above responses regarding your calorie burns. I'd look into a heart rate monitor so that you know exactly what you're burning. In my experience, the MFP calculations are very much inflated. For that reason, I don't think that your net calories are truly negative.

    A good rule of thumb is to calculate your BMR (check out Scooby's Workshop or Fat2FitRadio for calculators), and then make sure you net AT LEAST that number every day. You need to be fueling your body for your badass workouts.

    I'd also suggest giving this a read, to help explain BMR, TDEE, etc.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/975025-in-place-of-a-road-map-short-n-sweet

    As for walking everywhere, why not change your daily activity level so you don't have to worry about logging every walk to the store, or wherever it is that you go? If it's a part of your daily activity, then why not consider it as such? For example, if you have it set at lightly active, why not bump it up to active and only log "on purpose" exercise?
  • EniBee
    EniBee Posts: 274 Member
    I had the same problem when I started Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. I read an article on how to approximately calculate the calories you burn during excercise, without a heart monitor.

    On average, 3.267 calories are burnt per pound every hour.
    Multiply this by your weight in pounds (not kilograms) and you will get how many calories you burn (on average) per hour.
    If you are doing a 30 minute workout, then divide the results by 2 to get the amount of calories.

    So, if you weigh 200 lb and exercise for 30 minute, the equation will be:

    (3.267*200)/2 = 326.7 calories!

    If you exercise for 50 mins, it will be: (3.267*200)*(5/6)= 544.5 calories!

    In MFP, log the excercise under Circuit Training General, and compare with how many calories MFP says that you have burnt. If it is wildly different, I just override MFP's number.

    I hope this helps.
  • qtgonewild
    qtgonewild Posts: 1,930 Member
    Sorry but you aren't eating hardly enough food that would be considered healthy. And your goal weight is 104? Wow. Seems low. Yeah maybe cut the ben & jerrys.
  • CrisAlex
    CrisAlex Posts: 236 Member
    Yes, negative net calories is an extremely bad idea. Having said that, I'm guessing you're not burning anywhere near what you think you are. Burning 1200 calories in 75 minutes, that would be like running approximately 12 miles in the same time frame. That's a 6:15/mile pace for 12 miles! I could see that burning up to 1200, MAYBE. Not zumba or whatever random class you're doing. Maybe half that at best.

    I completely agree with the above. You would need to have a heart rate monitor to more accurately determine your calorie burn. There's no way that Zumba would burn 1200 calories in 75 minutes.

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