Net calories

jamieses
jamieses Posts: 11
in Health and Weight Loss
Does mfp net calories take in to consideration calories burned by basic bodily functions like breathing etc? I'm a bit confused as it's lower than my bmr. I'm currently at a net if 1400 with eating back my exercise calories per day.

Thanks

Replies

  • DrJenO
    DrJenO Posts: 404 Member
    What did you put in as your activity level?

    What did you put in as pounds peer week to lose?

    MFP net calories includes everything that isn't exercise, but it will go below your BMR if you put in your activity level too low, or your desired rate of loss too high.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    To lose 12 lbs., set your goal to .5 lb. per week—which is way more than 1,400 calories for a guy.

    Please, read the Sexypants post: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-Sexypants
  • terbusha
    terbusha Posts: 1,483 Member
    How many calorie total are you eating? You need to fuel your body so it can function properly. I bet you are not eating enough. For setting calorie goals, I go by progress and performance. What I do and what I recommend to people is to eat at a calorie level that allows you to drop 1-2 lbs/week. This assumes an average calorie burn from you getting in all of your workouts. This will be different for everyone, so you'll have to do some trial and error to figure it out. I'd start ~2200 cal/day. Hit this goal, along with your macros and getting in your workouts, for a week. If you lose 1-2 lbs, you're good to go. If you lose too much, increase your intake and repeat. If you don't lose enough, reduce your intake a bit and repeat. After a few weeks, you'll figure out what works for you in your situation.

    Allan
  • jamieses
    jamieses Posts: 11
    Hi I put sedentary as I'm not working at the moment and the only exercise is like a 2 hour walk per day most days and every other day I'll try a 20 min jog as I have a back injury at the moment. Thanks
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
    Hi I put sedentary as I'm not working at the moment and the only exercise is like a 2 hour walk per day most days and every other day I'll try a 20 min jog as I have a back injury at the moment. Thanks

    If you have a back injury, get cleared to run first.

    What about upping calories? What are your stats to get a goal intake that low?

    As a 32 year old male with only 12 lbs to lose, with such an aggressive goal you may sacrifice that weight in lean body mass.
  • jamieses
    jamieses Posts: 11
    Yeah I'm just building the muscles back up gradually. I'm 5.9 174lbs around 21 bf. I was 196 lbs 26 bf in January but my weight loss grinded to a fault so thought I'd try a different approach. Thanks
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
    Yeah I'm just building the muscles back up gradually. I'm 5.9 174lbs around 21 bf. I was 196 lbs 26 bf in January but my weight loss grinded to a fault so thought I'd try a different approach. Thanks

    My point is, you won't build anything up without the blocks (calories).

    You're running such a deficit, you will sacrifice the muscles instead, if you are eating only 1400.

    At sedentary alone, your TDEE is almost 2200 calories.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    Yeah I'm just building the muscles back up gradually. I'm 5.9 174lbs around 21 bf. I was 196 lbs 26 bf in January but my weight loss grinded to a fault so thought I'd try a different approach. Thanks

    You aren't building muscle on that large of a deficit.
  • jamieses
    jamieses Posts: 11
    I'm eating 1400 plus exercise calories, which is usually around 1900-2000 per day. This is what mfp calculated for my goals. If I eat more I'll fain weight. Thanks
  • jamieses
    jamieses Posts: 11
    Yeah I'm just building the muscles back up gradually. I'm 5.9 174lbs around 21 bf. I was 196 lbs 26 bf in January but my weight loss grinded to a fault so thought I'd try a different approach. Thanks

    You aren't building muscle on that large of a deficit.
    I'll re phrase that then. I'm strengthening the muscle I have. Not looking to build masses amount of muscle. My goal is fat loss I understand I would need to eat over maintenance to build new tissue. Thanks
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,430 MFP Moderator
    To asnwer your original question, MFP does take into consideration your basal metabolic functions and your daily activities. These are calculated when you input your stats. Where it's dependent on the user, is that you determine your per week weight loss. Many members are too aggressive and choose 2 lbs a week, but below is a better guideline.


    If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal, and
    If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal.


    The problem with net calories, is how do you truly determine calories burned through exercise? HRM's aren't very good, especially once you get away from steady state intense cardio. IMO, its much better to include exercise in your activity level and not eat back exercise calories. If you do this and use a food scale, you can get a better understanding of your true maintenance calories.
  • jamieses
    jamieses Posts: 11
    I'm just totally confused at the moment there's a lot if conflicting statements on the internet as to what you should do. I was losing on 1800 to start with in January but as my weight loss slowed I lowered my calories but I was walking a lot as well. I've watched so many tv programmes where the personal trainer had automatically out there client on 1500 kcals a day with around 3 hours of cardio. My weight loss wasn't all muscle as I lost around 5% bf. I do believe however that my metabolism has came grinding to a halt as a result of too few calories hence the reason I'm trying mfp out but still I'm getting told I'm not eating enough. Thanks for the input guys it's a real help.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,430 MFP Moderator
    Do you use a food scale? And can you open your food diary?
  • jamieses
    jamieses Posts: 11
    Yeah I use kitchen scales and write everything down in a notepad just really use mfp to get the amount of calories I need. Thanks
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,430 MFP Moderator
    Yeah I use kitchen scales and write everything down in a notepad just really use mfp to get the amount of calories I need. Thanks

    i would suggest loggin on here so we can provide advice and evaluate where you can improve. If we can't see it, it's all speculation.
  • jamieses
    jamieses Posts: 11
    To asnwer your original question, MFP does take into consideration your basal metabolic functions and your daily activities. These are calculated when you input your stats. Where it's dependent on the user, is that you determine your per week weight loss. Many members are too aggressive and choose 2 lbs a week, but below is a better guideline.


    If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal, and
    If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal. To be honest most calculators and stuff tell me my maintenance is 2100 and I've actually maintained on this number.


    The problem with net calories, is how do you truly determine calories burned through exercise? HRM's aren't very good, especially once you get away from steady state intense cardio. IMO, its much better to include exercise in your activity level and not eat back exercise calories. If you do this and use a food scale, you can get a better understanding of your true maintenance calories.
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
    Yeah I'm just building the muscles back up gradually. I'm 5.9 174lbs around 21 bf. I was 196 lbs 26 bf in January but my weight loss grinded to a fault so thought I'd try a different approach. Thanks

    You aren't building muscle on that large of a deficit.
    I'll re phrase that then. I'm strengthening the muscle I have. Not looking to build masses amount of muscle. My goal is fat loss I understand I would need to eat over maintenance to build new tissue. Thanks

    My point is you won't build any new as your deficit, if accurate, would be really big.

    If your goal is fat loss, at your weight, you really don't need to lose weight. You shouldn't be running a 2lb per week deficit that sets you at 600-800 calories below TDEE.

    IMHO, you should be much closer to 1800-2000 Net, with strength training of some sort mixed in (talk to your doctor), and cardio if you like it. You're much closer to the boat of a recomp rather than weight loss.

    Again, IMHO.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    Yeah I use kitchen scales and write everything down in a notepad just really use mfp to get the amount of calories I need. Thanks
    i would suggest loggin on here so we can provide advice and evaluate where you can improve. If we can't see it, it's all speculation.
    ^^^This.

    If you're not logging everything you eat & drink accurately & honestly, then you have zero idea how many calories you're actually eating.

    Set your goal to .5 lb. per week, and work on your logging. If you eat 250 calories less than you burn, you will lose weight.

    Edited to add: please read the Sexypants post. It will clear up so much of your confusion: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-Sexypants
  • jamieses
    jamieses Posts: 11
    I do log everything accurately just not on her. My problem is knowing the right amount if calories to consume. If say mfp tells me to eat 1400 plus I burn 500 through exercise I will get bang on 1900 kcals per day. I would eat 250 less a day if I know what my total calories were to be. Thanks
    Yeah I use kitchen scales and write everything down in a notepad just really use mfp to get the amount of calories I need. Thanks
    i would suggest loggin on here so we can provide advice and evaluate where you can improve. If we can't see it, it's all speculation.
    ^^^This.

    If you're not logging everything you eat & drink accurately & honestly, then you have zero idea how many calories you're actually eating.

    Set your goal to .5 lb. per week, and work on your logging. If you eat 250 calories less than you burn, you will lose weight.

    Please, read the Sexypants post. It will clear up so much if your confusion: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-Sexypants
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    MFP is a NEAT calculator. Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) is the energy expended for everything we do that is not sleeping, eating or sports-like exercise.

    So this is why the calories that MFP gives seems a bit low compared to other calorie calculators. When you do exercise, it adds more calories for you to eat.

    Most other calculators are a TDEE - % (total daily energy expenditure which includes exercise minus a certain percent for weight loss).

    A properly set MFP + exercise calories goal should be somewhere in the same vicinity as a properly set TDEE-% goal. Operative words being "properly set".
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    I do log everything accurately just not on her. My problem is knowing the right amount if calories to consume. If say mfp tells me to eat 1400 plus I burn 500 through exercise I will get bang on 1900 kcals per day. I would eat 250 less a day if I know what my total calories were to be.
    Your TDEE (total day energy expenditure) is by definition the number of calories at which your weight will stabilize. So if you're not losing any weight, you are eating at TDEE.

    To lose weight at your size, you must eat TDEE minus 250 calories. The only way to do that is to log everything you eat & drink accurately & honestly for several weeks, then reevaluate.

    Weight loss takes a whole lot of trial & error to find what works for you. If what you're doing right now is not working, then follow the advice you've been given by all of us here in this thread. Logging is simple, but it ain't easy. Logging in MFP works.
  • jamieses
    jamieses Posts: 11
    If I followed all the advice I'd be eating different amounts of calories and also i'am logging my intake I'm just not sure the total calories in a day to shoot for? Hence the reason I started the thread. I was given the net number of 1400 per day plus excercise now I'm told this is wrong. Bearing in mind the only excercise I'm doing at the moment is mostly walking which according to mfp burns around 500 kcals. Maybe I should set my goals to lose 1lb per week and try that. Thanks for input much appreciated.
    I do log everything accurately just not on her. My problem is knowing the right amount if calories to consume. If say mfp tells me to eat 1400 plus I burn 500 through exercise I will get bang on 1900 kcals per day. I would eat 250 less a day if I know what my total calories were to be.
    Your TDEE (total day energy expenditure) is by definition the number of calories at which your weight will stabilize. So if you're not losing any weight, you are eating at TDEE.

    To lose weight at your size, you must eat TDEE minus 250 calories. The only way to do that is to log everything you eat & drink accurately & honestly for several weeks, then reevaluate.

    Weight loss takes a whole lot of trial & error to find what works for you. If what you're doing right now is not working, then follow the advice you've been given by all of us here in this thread. Logging is simple, but it ain't easy. Logging in MFP works.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,430 MFP Moderator
    I believe MFP's estimate is a bit high. No one is burning that many calories just by walking, especially since it's something people do on a daily basis. The issue with eating back exercise calories is that the estimates can be wrong. This is why many of us will suggest either following the TDEE - 20% method or just upping your activity level. If all you doing is walking, make sure your account is set at 1 lb per week and lightly active. That will increase your calories a bit. Eat that amount of calories for 4 to 6 weeks and see what your average per week loss is. Once you have that number, you can figure out your true maintenance or TDEE is based on your current exercise plan. Obviously as you exercise increases, so does your TDEE. Honestly, that is the most simple way of doing things and easiest to be quantitative with.

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