Net Calories Problem?

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telecoffeesaur
telecoffeesaur Posts: 12 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm allotted 1380 calories per day. On days that I exercise, I try not to eat back my exercise calories, or at least try not to eat ALL of them back. Most days like this end with a "Net Calories" number below 1200. Sometimes wayyyy below 1200.

I know I need to eat at least 1200 calories per day, so what should I do? Should I always eat back all of my exercise calories so I Net over 1200? That seems counterproductive to me. Especially when my daily allotment isn't too much above 1200 to begin with.

Thoughts?

Replies

  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
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    If you're eating at least the 1380 TOTAL (before you subtract out the exercise) then it probably isn't a big deal. It's very likely you're overestimating how many calories are burned thru the exercise.

    The important thing is to stick to it for a couple weeks, and see what happens. Not just what happens on the scale, but what happens to your mood, and whether you find yourself binging at night or something.

    Do you mind mentioning your height, weight, age and the kind of exercise you're logging and how often you do it?
  • telecoffeesaur
    telecoffeesaur Posts: 12 Member
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    I'm female, 25, 5'6 and 167 lbs. Most of my exercise is walking and jogging. I have my FitBit connected to MFP, so that also adds exercise calories as it adjusts, but I usually don't pay attention to it because I don't 100% trust it haha
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
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    I personally trust my FitBit, and have found great insight using it (though I did do some tweaking to get it more accurate).

    If you feel satisfied on 1380, then it's probably fine. But if you find yourself stressed out, and craving all the time, and binging at night, just know that you can probably eat up to 1600-1800 (that's TOTAL calories, not "net") and still lose 1 lb per week. You don't HAVE to eat only 1380.

    For comparison, I'm older than you, but we have very similar stats. My "maintenance" weight (as in, if I ate this every day, I'd neither gain nor lose weight) for just an average day of going to work and going grocery shopping or something, is 1950 calories or so. On the days I work out, my total calories used is anywhere from 2150-2850 (or more).
  • telecoffeesaur
    telecoffeesaur Posts: 12 Member
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    Great. Thank you so much!!

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