I GET IT!!!! And I am disgusted:(

i never have net calories even close to 1200. My net calories are always 500-600. I don't eat back my exercise calories though.

I just figured that out the other day to. I lost everytime I weighed in and then bam I had gained +07. I was really confused on why. Then I was sitting there looking at my food diary and realized that I was taking in way less than I thought I had eaten. I felt like such a dork that I hadn't noticed before. Oh well, now that I know what I was doing wrong I can remedy it.

Oh love.. Don't be disgusted. Many many many pople make the same mistake. I did WW years ago and consistently lost weight and couldn't for thelife of me figure it out until I tallied up my food diary from back then and saw that I was eating about 1800 cal's per day!!! Like I've nevereven gotten close to that on here! It's crazy right???

So just go with it. Take it on board as new information and carry that with you. You'll do well!!!

Well, it's a journey. We all have to go through the trial and error stage.

don't feel bad about it. lots of people make the same mistake. Some don't have the sense to ask why it isn't working. hope the adivce you were given works for you.

Ok, Now I need some one to explainthis to me too. I want make sure i'm doing this right. My current calorie goal is 1790. I am eatting between 1500 -1800 every day. I also exercise at lease 4 days a week to burn 1770 calories a week. I try not to eat the calories I earn during exercise off. Am I doing everythign right?

I am glad you figured it out, too Dannie. It took me a couple weeks, but luckily one of my family members explained to me what I needed to do, and it was up to me "how" to do it.

The key to weight loss is to eat, although in moderation & make good choices (hi protein/hi fiber work for me, but everyone is different, so you have to find your niche). I exercise at least 6days p/wk & I almost ALWAYS eat back every little bit and then some. On most days I'm over, however I don't just eat, eat, eat nonstop or eat HUGE meals in 1 sitting. I eat about 5-6 (sometimes 7 if I really worked out hard :happy: ) small meals per day: averaging about every 2-3hours. When I don't eat enough, I plateau or start gaining back. When I eat more, I feel better, look healthier and lose: plus I'm working on toning/firming & building muscle a little so I'm tightening and while the scale doesn't always "show" the loss, my tape measure & the way my clothes fit display it better than the silly scale And yes, I eat back my exercise calories, there is no way I can live on 1200 calories and feel good So, if I want to eat more, I workout a little more. If we're doing something special or I know I'll be going someplace where I will be eating more than usual, I workout harder & longer to "earn" my calories

I have asked for an HRM for the Holidays since I'm ball-parking my exercising, but since I add extra resistance with wrist & ankle weights, I may be burning more which is why I get more hungry and eat "over" my calories most days.

Anyways: good luck to all of you on your Journey: I'm travelling right along side and while there is a lot of trial and error, remember that this is 4-Life :flowerforyou:

Am I reading this right? My net should be close to my goal? I thought I was supposed to eat the 1200 per day not including extra exercise calories earned?

Net calories should be close to your goal. People disagree about how important it is to eat exercise calories back, but if you're only eating 1200 calories before exercise, it's definitely important to eat *some* back - you need to keep your body properly fueled, and you can't do that if you're consistently netting low calorie totals (ex. 400, 600, even 1000 is "low"). The only exception to this might be if you're VERY short/petite and don't have much to lose - you won't need to eat as many calories as most people to keep your body going.

MFP builds your weight loss goal into your recommended daily calories, so anything you burn in exercise pushes your deficit beyond what you need to lose your goal. Generally, a deficit over 1000 calories/day isn't considered safe unless you're under strict doctor's supervision.

In case there's any confusion, NET calories is what you eat minus what you burn in exercise. If i eat 1600 but burn 900 in exercise, my net is only 700 - I need to eat more to properly fuel my body.

On days you know you'll be exercising, try to eat a good higher calorie breakfast and/or lunch so you're not stuck with a ton of calories at the end of the day to eat.

Am I reading this right? My net should be close to my goal? I thought I was supposed to eat the 1200 per day not including extra exercise calories earned?

Net calories should be close to your goal. People disagree about how important it is to eat exercise calories back, but if you're only eating 1200 calories before exercise, it's definitely important to eat *some* back - you need to keep your body properly fueled, and you can't do that if you're consistently netting low calorie totals (ex. 400, 600, even 1000 is "low"). The only exception to this might be if you're VERY short/petite and don't have much to lose - you won't need to eat as many calories as most people to keep your body going.

MFP builds your weight loss goal into your recommended daily calories, so anything you burn in exercise pushes your deficit beyond what you need to lose your goal. Generally, a deficit over 1000 calories/day isn't considered safe unless you're under strict doctor's supervision.

In case there's any confusion, NET calories is what you eat minus what you burn in exercise. If i eat 1600 but burn 900 in exercise, my net is only 700 - I need to eat more to properly fuel my body.

On days you know you'll be exercising, try to eat a good higher calorie breakfast and/or lunch so you're not stuck with a ton of calories at the end of the day to eat.

Thanks so much for explination. I thought this was built in to MFP. I think I'm doing pretty well. I uasually eat close to my goal and if I work out big I eat some back. When I just get in a short walk I try not to eat those calories. I have almost 100lbs to lose. I'm sure the net will be even more importatn as I get closer to my goal.

Oh boy! Well I guess I can eat a bit more on Christmas day. I have tried to log my exercise at the end of the day to make sure I got my 1200.

Sorry to be a pain but I just read this thread and guess I am a little slow. I do not understand! Can someome break it down for me so that I get it. Right now on my home page it say 850 calories remaining Goal 1200 Food 525 Exercise -175 Net 350 but at the bottom of my food diary it says my goal is 1375 (my 1200 + my excercise) and I have 850 calories remaining. I thought I was supposed to eat my excerise calories so that means that I still have 850 calories for dinner and snacks. What am I missing???

Thank you! I guess I was reading more into it than I should have. I always try to eat all of my exercise calories so I'm good to go!

This just through me way off.I thought i was doing good and now i am all LOST!!!

Don't let a thread confuse you - basic idea is that you should be eating back some/most of your exercise calories. If you've been logging your exercise calories and trying to get close to your goal every day, then you're fine. MFP automatically adds those to your goal. The problem is that some people don't eat back any - they'll stick to 1200 calories/day no matter what (don't eat ANY of their exercise calories). If they workout and burn 600, they're really only getting 600 calories that day (1200 eaten - 600 burned) - not enough to fuel their body! They should be eating some of that 600 they burned. In the long run, this will slow the metabolism and hinder weightloss.