Just can't grasp NET calories! Please help!!

healthyhot_happy
healthyhot_happy Posts: 6
in Getting Started
Hey everyone :) I'm an off and on user of the MFP diary, and a long time lurker :) I know there are a lot of 'NET calories' posts on this forum, and I always thought I understood it... But now that I've been trying to calculate I'm so confused, I'd love it if someone could explain it to me using my situation as an example.
I'm a 5'6" tall and 24 year old female. I weigh 68kgs (150lbs) and want to lose 6kgs (13lbs) to start with (I've been that weight and it was good! ALMOST ideal).
Anyway... My BMR is about 1400, and my sedentary MR is about 1750. I run everyday and I think I burn about 500-600 Calories depending on how long I run (45-60mins at 9kms/hr which is a 10ish min mile).
My goal is to create a deficit of 700 or so Calories per day. Now is the question...
I've set my NET calories on MFP to 1350, which means burning 2050 Cals a day would give me a 700 deficit. My Sedentary MR + exercise Calories is about 2250. But that's not how it works, right? I think what I'm doing wrong here is I'm eating back my exercise Calories twice. (Am I making sense?)
Can someone walk me through the process please?

Replies

  • healthyhot_happy
    healthyhot_happy Posts: 6
    Anyone? :(
  • leslie4713
    leslie4713 Posts: 3
    HI,
    Try this website - http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/ - it might help. I am not good at figuring all that out, but that website has helped me understand in the past. :-) Good luck
  • bodiva88
    bodiva88 Posts: 308 Member
    With only 13 pounds to lose, you may do better trying to lose 1/2 lb a week. Setting yourself up for 700 cals deficit is pretty low. And I'm so confused with what you are describing I have no idea. But someone will give you the link to the roadmap. I'd just say go to settings, be honest about each answer. And let it tell you how many cals to net a day. Then keep track of what you eat and your runs here and let the app figure it out.
  • fivethreeone
    fivethreeone Posts: 8,196 Member
    If your sedentary TDEE is 1750, that is the number of calories required for your to maintain weight at the activity level of doing absolutely nothing.

    If you burn 500 cals a day, your actual TDEE is 2250, again meaning you maintain weight at your current activity level.

    Net calories are total calories consumed minus exercise calories. So if you eat 1750 calories in a day, but burn 500, your NET intake is 1250, which is dangerously low at that activity level.

    Eating at the recommended 15-20% deficit for you would mean eating 1700-1800 total calories a day to lose a pound a week.
  • tami101
    tami101 Posts: 617 Member
    I am confused by your numbers as well. I can tell you what works for me though. Keep it simple, let mfp do the work for you. Put in your stats, let it set your calorie goal. Eat as close to that calorie goal as possible. Ad your exercise in and eat at least half of the exercise calories back. Try this for a few weeks, if you do not get results try tweaking your numbers a bit. Best of luck to you! =)
  • j6o4
    j6o4 Posts: 871 Member
    If you're eating 1350 calories and burning 2050 calories, you are netting -700 calories. Your goal should to be netting 1350 calories Meaning if you burn 300 calories from working out, you have to eat 1650 calories to net 1350 calories. The number MFP gives you already has a deficit in it before exercise. If you put your goal to lose 1lb a week and MFP gave you 1350 calories, that number already has a 500 calorie deficit. Unless you are working out all day, I dont think you are burning 2050 calories from your workout. An HRM will be good to get an more accurate estimation of how many calories you are burning through exercise.

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