Net Calories vs. Calories. I'm still confused.

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RomulanWarbird
RomulanWarbird Posts: 230
in Health and Weight Loss
Okay, so this is my issue. I work out 5-6 days a week, I put in 45-60 minutes of cardio per workout.

If my calorie goal is 1200, and I burn off 450. Can I actually eat 450 extra calories?

If, like right now, my net total of calories is 210 after my workout and a little shake, does that mean I have 1000 still to go? Or should I be measuring by my total calories, around 700, so that I have only 500 to go?

I've been doing this for 3 weeks and have barely noticed a change. Eating 1200 - 1400 calories a day and working out. I just want to make sure I'm eating enough, or that I'm not eating too much.

Thank you.

:)

Replies

  • TheSlorax
    TheSlorax Posts: 2,401 Member
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    YES, MFP intends that you eat back everything you burn. if you burned 450 calories through exercise, your total intake today should be 1650 calories.

    as for not seeing a change, are you weighing and measuring all of your food with a scale? do you log consistently and accurately?

    while I'm at it, I highly recommend you read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
  • KateK8LoseW8
    KateK8LoseW8 Posts: 824 Member
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    Well. That depends. Are you using a heart rate monitor, or relying on what the machine/myfitnesspal tells you as far as how many calories you burned? If the former, you can feel confident eating all of them back. I use a heart rate monitor, eat every last bit, and lose weight just fine. But if you're using machine/MFP estimates, I suggest only eating 1/2-3/4 of them back because I've found those estimates to be very very generous. Exercise calories are there to eat, so eat them! Just be aware that you may not be burning quite as much as you think you are and should adjust accordingly.

    As far as not seeing much change yet, are you weighing your portion sizes, logging everything including beverages, and using your own recipes and not generic database entries?
  • RllyGudTweetr
    RllyGudTweetr Posts: 2,019 Member
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    For a baseline of 1200, you can almost certainly eat back your exercise calories.

    I'm guessing you got 1200 because you told MFP you were female, sedentary, and wanted to lose 2lb/week, right? When MFP spits out its calorie recommendations, it doesn't consider the exercise you do other than the 'sedentary/lightly active/very active' setting you tell it. This means it expects you to eat back your exercise calories.

    As a further note, depending on the amount of walking around campus you're doing between classes, you're quite possibly more active than 'sedentary.'
  • lrose50
    lrose50 Posts: 58 Member
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    I don't eat back all my calories burned because I believe MFP overestimates calories burned. I tend to eat back about 75%.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    Okay, so this is my issue. I work out 5-6 days a week, I put in 45-60 minutes of cardio per workout.

    If my calorie goal is 1200, and I burn off 450. Can I actually eat 450 extra calories?

    If, like right now, my net total of calories is 210 after my workout and a little shake, does that mean I have 1000 still to go? Or should I be measuring by my total calories, around 700, so that I have only 500 to go?

    I've been doing this for 3 weeks and have barely noticed a change. Eating 1200 - 1400 calories a day and working out. I just want to make sure I'm eating enough, or that I'm not eating too much.

    Thank you.

    :)

    Yes. Eat back your exercise calories. You want your "net calories" to be equal to the goal you set. So if your goal is 1200, you want to finish your day with 1200 net calories.

    This is assuming you didn't include exercise calories in your goal calculation, which, at 1200, you pretty much certainly did not.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    BTW, your profile indicates you only have 30 lbs to lose, and the 1200 calorie goal suggests that you set MFP to "lose 2 lbs per week." If that's the case, you might want to scale that back a bit. Also, it was a good point that you probably burn a fair number of calories walking between classes if you're in college. You might want to invest in a device like a Fitbit that can help quantify how many calories you burn just doing your normal daily stuff like walking around.
  • RomulanWarbird
    RomulanWarbird Posts: 230
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    As far as weighing and measuring I do these things, and unless it's something pre-packaged, I input the calories for my meals correctly and then overestimate my calories by just a little bit, giving me room for error. As far as calorie logging goes, I know I'm doing fine. For exercise I always underestimate calories burned by at least 50, sometimes more.

    I will invest in a heart rate monitor, though. It seems like everyone has one :)
  • RomulanWarbird
    RomulanWarbird Posts: 230
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    I do a small amount of walking between classes. Maybe a mile a day, sometimes more depending on parking. But I don't log that because I don't know how!

    I'm going to get one of these "fitbits" or heart rate monitors or something. It will probably help me out.
  • TheSlorax
    TheSlorax Posts: 2,401 Member
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    I personally would readjust your goals. Given that you do not have much weight to lose, I would recommend using MFP's settings for "lightly active" in order to lose 1 lb a week. Your calorie deficit is far more aggressive than it needs to be. Basically... you can and should eat more while still losing weight!
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
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    I've been doing this for 3 weeks and have barely noticed a change. Eating 1200 - 1400 calories a day and working out.
    What is barely a change? Also, are the workouts new? And how tall are you and how much do you weight? I only ask because if you're small and the exercise isn't new to you and you are seeing no change from 3 weeks at 1200-1400, odds are not good that eating more will be the fix.
  • RomulanWarbird
    RomulanWarbird Posts: 230
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    I've been doing this for 3 weeks and have barely noticed a change. Eating 1200 - 1400 calories a day and working out.
    What is barely a change? Also, are the workouts new? And how tall are you and how much do you weight? I only ask because if you're small and the exercise isn't new to you and you are seeing no change from 3 weeks at 1200-1400, odds are not good that eating more will be the fix.

    Oh, I guess I figured everyone could see my information. I'm 5'6" and 175. I lost 3 lbs in the first week but I'm fairly sure it was just water weight or holiday weight. Exercise is not new to me, no. I lost 80 lbs by working out and eating right several years ago, and then just kind of stopped caring for a year and just maintained at 175.

    This first few weeks has just been getting myself used to all this working out again. I'm not terribly worried at only 3 weeks that I haven't seen a change in the last 2, but I think some of it might be that I only have 30 lbs to lose and I'm going really hard. I may have put on muscle, but I'm always worried that my efforts are for naught. 175 was my biggest plateau in the past when I finally just gave up and maintained. I don't want to give up this time.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    3 weeks isn't much, especially if you've recently changed or increased your exercise. Give it some time.
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
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    I think you're right that your body is getting used to the exercise again. It's water retention and will come off. Good luck!
  • nikkihk
    nikkihk Posts: 487 Member
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    I've been doing this for 3 weeks and have barely noticed a change. Eating 1200 - 1400 calories a day and working out.
    What is barely a change? Also, are the workouts new? And how tall are you and how much do you weight? I only ask because if you're small and the exercise isn't new to you and you are seeing no change from 3 weeks at 1200-1400, odds are not good that eating more will be the fix.

    Oh, I guess I figured everyone could see my information. I'm 5'6" and 175. I lost 3 lbs in the first week but I'm fairly sure it was just water weight or holiday weight. Exercise is not new to me, no. I lost 80 lbs by working out and eating right several years ago, and then just kind of stopped caring for a year and just maintained at 175.

    This first few weeks has just been getting myself used to all this working out again. I'm not terribly worried at only 3 weeks that I haven't seen a change in the last 2, but I think some of it might be that I only have 30 lbs to lose and I'm going really hard. I may have put on muscle, but I'm always worried that my efforts are for naught. 175 was my biggest plateau in the past when I finally just gave up and maintained. I don't want to give up this time.

    This is no medical advice by any degree and I'm NOT a qualified anything... but you have a body type (height and weight) similar to mine... and from the last two months of research I've found this to be true..

    1. 1200 calories isn't enough if you are exercising at all. The only reason you should be at that calorie count is if you sincerely sit at a desk all day and barely move. Try staying between 1400 and 1500 calories so you aren't sending your body into starvation mode.. it's counter production to your goals.

    2. Make sure to add some weight training to your regimen. Building your muscles will help burn fat... you won't get all bulky I promise.

    3. IGNORE THE SCALE!!! Use your measurements as a guide to your progress.. the scale can't tell the difference between fat, water weight, or muscle.

    4. I'm not sure how important macros are? But it wouldn't hurt to adjust them to meet your goals. IE.. 40/30/30 with emphasis on protein to help repair and build muscles is what I'm focused on.

    And YES, eat back what you burn in exercise... even at 1400-1500 your at a 300-600 calorie deficit for your body weight/height. You should be losing about 1pd a week (however if your gaining muscle you won't know by only checking the scale)

    Anyway, that's all I can offer... if I'm wrong in anyway I welcome anyone to correct me.
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
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    I think you got a lot right for two months of research. I'd say forget the starvation mode, gaining muscle and muscle burning fat stuff, though. And macros matter to health and satiety but not so much to weight loss.

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