Net Calorie Intake

ragan4bama
ragan4bama Posts: 58 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So I've been at a standstill with weight loss for about a week or 2 and I'm not sure I understand the Net Calories rule. If My dairy says I am to eat at 1340 net calories a day and I eat that but exercise should I eat more?

Replies

  • TheStephil
    TheStephil Posts: 858 Member
    Net Calories are how many calories you ate minus any exercise calories you burned. MFP is set up to give you a calorie goal that will allow you to lose the weight you set in your goal without any exercise. If you exercise then you burned more calories than MFP estimated and therefore you can/should (there is always a debate) eat those calories back.
  • leachjg
    leachjg Posts: 63 Member
    You have asked a very hot topic for MFP....don't get discouraged if this post produces some argument. I have PCOS and that is a metabolic condition not hormonal so that my metabolism is already slower than an average person. I try not to eat my exercise calories. You have to figure out what works for you and your body. I couldn't eat that much food I'd gain weight. After all the research I've done I believe that you have had to loose 50lbs or more your body chemistry is altered for life and I will never be able to eat at a normal calorie level anyway. Do your own research because you will get 100 different answers from 100 different people on this one. I believe exercise is a bonus burn and not to eat them, but if I am really hungry I will eat. I refuse to live life starving, but be satisfied.
  • scubasuenc
    scubasuenc Posts: 626 Member
    Eating back your exercise calories is a hot topic. When I started MFP I spoke to my doctor about it, and her recommendation was not to. However as I lost weight, MFP kept lowering my net calorie goal. When I was down to a net calorie goal of 1230 and I was exercising about 500 calories per day I started to feel tired and I could not recover from my workouts.

    I have PCOS and I'm a Type 2 diabetic. I thought my metabolism was slow and damaged from all of the years of yo-yo dieting. However I discovered my actual TDEE is in the range predicted by the TDEE calculators. Once I figured out my TDEE, I discovered that I was eating less than half my TDEE. That is not sustainable, so I decided to increase my daily calories to a more reasonable level. I have been increasing slowly each week.

    If you have a lot of weight to lose, then you can probably get away with not eating your exercise calories back to start with. However as you lose weight, you might find you will need to start eating some of your exercise calories. Ultimately you need to find something that works for you. This is not a diet, this is a lifestyle change, so you need to be comfortable that the changes you are making are things you can live with long term.
  • _lyndseybrooke_
    _lyndseybrooke_ Posts: 2,561 Member
    Gross calories are the total amount of calories you actually ate during the course of the day. Net calories is gross calories minus any calories burned during logged exercise. So, your net calories is what your body "thinks" it got that day. For example, if I eat 1400 calories worth of food (gross calories) and burned 400 during a workout, my actual intake was 1000 calories (net calories).

    So, the question is this: should you eat back your burned calories so that your net calories reach your caloric goal for the day? The answer is, it depends on how you got your goal. If you used MFP recommended settings, you absolutely should eat back your calories. However, many of us use custom goals and put in our own numbers. If you use TDEE with your accurate activity level, you shouldn't eat back your calories. If you used the TDEE method but put that you are "sedentary" and do not exercise, you should at least eat a portion of your burned calories (50% minimum).

    My guess is that, if your goal is 1340 calories per day, that's what MFP recommended. If that's the case, yes, eat back burned calories.
  • aribugg
    aribugg Posts: 164 Member
    You have asked a very hot topic for MFP....don't get discouraged if this post produces some argument. I have PCOS and that is a metabolic condition not hormonal so that my metabolism is already slower than an average person. I try not to eat my exercise calories. You have to figure out what works for you and your body. I couldn't eat that much food I'd gain weight. After all the research I've done I believe that you have had to loose 50lbs or more your body chemistry is altered for life and I will never be able to eat at a normal calorie level anyway. Do your own research because you will get 100 different answers from 100 different people on this one. I believe exercise is a bonus burn and not to eat them, but if I am really hungry I will eat. I refuse to live life starving, but be satisfied.

    I have to agree with this. i dont have any disorders that slow my metabolic rate, (but i am hypoglycemic and maybe that changes it for me more than i realize) but eating all of my exercise calories never worked for me. It varies day to day what i eat. if im hungry, i'll eat some back, if im not, i dont eat any.
  • ragan4bama
    ragan4bama Posts: 58 Member
    Thank you all:) I know its one of those things that just depends. I've been upping my excercise routine but not my food intake. Based on my heart rate mopnitor and food logged I'm eating less than I burn in a day. Just trying to get through the plateau nad make sure I do things the right way:)
  • Branstin
    Branstin Posts: 2,320 Member
    So I've been at a standstill with weight loss for about a week or 2 and I'm not sure I understand the Net Calories rule. If My dairy says I am to eat at 1340 net calories a day and I eat that but exercise should I eat more?

    1. Go to the “My Home” tab located at the top of the page.
    2. Select the “Goals” option located on the blue banner across the top of the page.
    3. You will see a breakdown of your fitness goals.
    4. There is a green button at the bottom of the page if you would like to change your goals.
  • _lyndseybrooke_
    _lyndseybrooke_ Posts: 2,561 Member
    Thank you all:) I know its one of those things that just depends. I've been upping my excercise routine but not my food intake. Based on my heart rate mopnitor and food logged I'm eating less than I burn in a day. Just trying to get through the plateau nad make sure I do things the right way:)

    What do you mean by "I'm eating less than I burn in a day"? Do you mean you're eating 1340 calories a day and burning more than that in your workouts according to your HRM? Or do you mean your body burns more calories throughout the day, both through exercise and just being alive (your TDEE) than you're taking in?

    Your net calories should never be below 0 at the end of the day. Hell, it should never be below your BMR at the end of the day. Eating below your BMR is not good and not necessary unless you're bedridden. You do need to eat at a deficit in order to lose weight (calories in, calories out), but your BMR should be the lowest you ever go.
  • ragan4bama
    ragan4bama Posts: 58 Member
    Meaning I eat around 1340 a day and my HRM says for both exercise and general lviing that I burn around 2000 (just from say 6 AM to about 7 PM). I don't wear it at night. I usually burn 600+ in my workouts plus around 200+ calories in walking laps around our building on break (2 miles).

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