What the heck are Net calories?

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flyinmomof3
flyinmomof3 Posts: 44 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have lost weight in the past just knowing that I need to burn more calories than I eat. Now everytime I log in I see my summary and it has the Net calories at the end. Are they supposed to be negative or positive, and would it be the end of the world if I just ignored that number because it is seriously bothering me. Mostly due to the lack of understanding what it is for. Any help would be appreciated!
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  • Neliel
    Neliel Posts: 507 Member
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    Net calories are the total calories you've consumed minus any exercise calories you've burned.
    So if you've eaten 1200 calories and you've burned 200, you'll only have really taken in 1000 calories that day.
  • emmerrs
    emmerrs Posts: 158 Member
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    "Net calories" is just accounting for your exercise and doing some math...

    Calories from food eaten - the calories burned from exercise = how many "true" calories you've consumed in a day.


    So, If I eat my exercise calories than my net calories would look like this

    1800 (eaten) - 500 (exercise = 1300 NET calories

    or if you don't eat your exercise calories

    1300 - 500 = 800 NET calories
  • theatr3geek
    theatr3geek Posts: 101
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    idk. i don't understand. mine are usually either negative or don't go much past 100-300. Idek what this means. LOL
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
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    Net calories = calories consumed - calories burned

    So if you've consumed 1400 calories and burned 500 you've consumed 900 net calories. Your net calories should equal your daily calorie goal. So, eat those exercise calories!
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
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    idk. i don't understand. mine are usually either negative or don't go much past 100-300. Idek what this means. LOL

    That means you are often burning more calories than you consume, which means your body isn't getting any nutrition or "fuel".
  • Neliel
    Neliel Posts: 507 Member
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    idk. i don't understand. mine are usually either negative or don't go much past 100-300. Idek what this means. LOL

    um yeah, that's really not good for you. It means you're starving your body. You should try to push your net calories at least up to 1000 - 1200.
  • MzBug
    MzBug Posts: 2,173 Member
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    Net calories are what you consume minus exercise. MFP adds your exercise calories back IN your daily goal because MFP already has a calorie deficit built in for the 1-2 pounds a week goal you entered. Using MFP's calorie goal you don't HAVE TO exercise and you will still lose weight. So, if MFP gives you 1300 calories a day, and you exercise away 300, your NET calories are 1000. (1300 - 300 = 1000). MFP adds back in the 300 to get you back to your 1300 goal for the day to get your net calories back to the preset deficit amount. You DON'T have to consume all of them, but it is strongly recommended that you at least have a NET of 1200 per day for a healthy female's body functions. So using the above example, (1300 - 300 = 1000) you would need to consume at least 200 of the exercise calories to get to the recommended 1200 calorie goal for a female.

    Good Luck!
  • JLeeAlton
    JLeeAlton Posts: 311
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    What I find interesting about this is that when you are on your food page and you have a 1200 calorie goal.. and only eat 1198 you will get that message that you might go into starvation mode. Net calories do not show up there... so if you eat 1200 and exercise and burn 300 you only had 900 net... but that food page won't give you that message cause on that page it says 1200 consumed. Make sense? I tried to explain it well.. but anyways.. yea net is what you get once you consume your calories the subtract your exercise cal burned.
  • flyinmomof3
    flyinmomof3 Posts: 44 Member
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    Thanks, that helps a lot! I've just never used the method and I saw that my net calories are negative now, but didn't know where they were supposed to be. I don't want to starve my body in any way so I was nervous.
  • meggonkgonk
    meggonkgonk Posts: 2,066 Member
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    idk. i don't understand. mine are usually either negative or don't go much past 100-300. Idek what this means. LOL

    Dude, you are not eating enough. This means that your body only has as much as 300 calories to function outside of your workouts- it could slow you down if you keep it up like that.
  • heathersmilez
    heathersmilez Posts: 2,579 Member
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    What I find interesting about this is that when you are on your food page and you have a 1200 calorie goal.. and only eat 1198 you will get that message that you might go into starvation mode. Net calories do not show up there...

    Yes, it should mention when starvation mode may occur based on net not on consumption alone since the point is to have a 1200+ net at the end of the day.

    I'm going to add that suggestion to that thread, be sure to visit and bump so that Mike sees.
  • lloydrt
    lloydrt Posts: 1,121 Member
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    hmm, now Im kinda confused here as well.......I thought I had this thing figured out....

    If you exercise 1440 a day , and MFP gives you a goal of 1560, you have to eat 3000 calories a day?

    I was more or less keeping about 50 % of my exercise calories reserved. I thought you were supposed to have some calories left over, either the net calories or the goal calories?

    Ill keep reading, hope I figure this out........thanks for the post, Lloyd
  • flyinmomof3
    flyinmomof3 Posts: 44 Member
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    OMG...MZBug, you just influenced me to look at my report for Net calories and I have been -800; 400 for two days in just the last week. I'm keeping really accurate accounts for everything, I think I just workout so much that I don't realize how much of a deficit I was burning. Thanks for all the help, I know know where I'm supposed to be now...
  • Neliel
    Neliel Posts: 507 Member
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    hmm, now Im kinda confused here as well.......I thought I had this thing figured out....

    If you exercise 1440 a day , and MFP gives you a goal of 1560, you have to eat 3000 calories a day?

    I was more or less keeping about 50 % of my exercise calories reserved. I thought you were supposed to have some calories left over, either the net calories or the goal calories?

    Ill keep reading, hope I figure this out........thanks for the post, Lloyd

    You don't have to eat ALL your exercise calories back but it would be in your best interest to keep an eye on the net calories and keep that number around the 1200 mark. If you exercise a lot you need more fuel for your body.
  • lloydrt
    lloydrt Posts: 1,121 Member
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    nelie, so youre saying to eat my exercise calories , but leave my goal calores issued by MFP alone?

    Sorry, I m kinda confused, lol.......which doesnt take much

    but I thought goal calories were the ones you are to eat, regardless if you exercise or not? Thanks, just wanted to make sure Im clear on this.....Lloyd
  • MzBug
    MzBug Posts: 2,173 Member
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    If you want the body to be healthy you have to put fuel in it! I read an article (I don't remember from where) about a medical school that tested foods and nutritional values, they found that it was difficult to get your RDA of vitamins and minerals in with less than 1300 calories a day, unless you were consuming foods that had been "enhanced". Many other articles use the 1200 amount for women and 1500 for men minimum for healthy body functions. Even the US food pyramid is based on 2000 a day.

    Yes I am here to lose weight, but I don't want to ruin my health to do it. I have done that enough in the past. Going to do it right this time and be done with it!:smile:
  • Neliel
    Neliel Posts: 507 Member
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    nelie, so youre saying to eat my exercise calories , but leave my goal calores issued by MFP alone?

    Sorry, I m kinda confused, lol.......which doesnt take much

    but I thought goal calories were the ones you are to eat, regardless if you exercise or not? Thanks, just wanted to make sure Im clear on this.....Lloyd

    Well the lowest recommended calories to eat in a day is 1200. When you exercise, your goal calories for the day will increase as you have basically eaten that fuel and used it up straight away. You need to bare in mind that your body burns roughly 1500 calories a day just by doing nothing so if you use the calories you eat on exercise, your body has nothing else left to burn for the day.
    Net calories are important - especially if you do THAT much exercise. I focus on net calories rather than goal calories now and make sure my net is between 1000 and 1200.
    Sorry, im probably not explaining it very well! I know it in my head!
  • LizardIsANerd
    LizardIsANerd Posts: 113
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    hmm, now Im kinda confused here as well.......I thought I had this thing figured out....

    If you exercise 1440 a day , and MFP gives you a goal of 1560, you have to eat 3000 calories a day?

    I was more or less keeping about 50 % of my exercise calories reserved. I thought you were supposed to have some calories left over, either the net calories or the goal calories?

    Ill keep reading, hope I figure this out........thanks for the post, Lloyd
    I am assuming you have a 1 lb per week goal in my math here...

    MFP took your starting weight and lifestyle and said "If you slept all day because of your build/body, you would burn about 2000 calories. If you eat 1560 calories and sleep the rest of your day, you are still burning 500 calories more than you eat. That means you are burning 3500 calories more than you eat weekly and will lose 1 lb per week JUST by staying at 1560."
    When you exercise, you are adding to the calories burned... by 1440. That means your body burns 1440+2000 daily = 3440. If you are only eating 1560 and your body is burning 3440, you have a deficit of 1880 daily - which means you should be dropping a pound every other day. - That may mean your body is underfueled and holding onto weight for later fuel...

    Net calories are essentially "calories that count" and should be in the range of your calorie deficit (1560 for you) otherwise you are burning way more than you take in.
  • lloydrt
    lloydrt Posts: 1,121 Member
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    lizard, lol thanks........duh, Im kinda out of it for the time being, lol, but I got it.......thanks, and you too Nellie

    I got your message, and I hope you make me your friend as well......


    Actaully Lizard, Ive lost 2.5 a week for 52 weeks now, I joined this site in Aug, but its a great site...........Thanks again, your posts are definitly appreciated and used..............Lloyd
  • MzBug
    MzBug Posts: 2,173 Member
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    I think we are using two different concepts at the same time here and it is getting confusing for some. MFP will give you a calorie goal that takes your wishes into consideration of losing 1-2 pounds a week. What ever that number is, is what you need to consume to cover the NUTRITIONAL needs of your body and to lose weight at the same time without doing anything else.

    Now when you get into the NET calories, you are adding in the exercise and the burning of calories. If you just consume the number that MFP gives you, AND do more exercise, you will lose weight faster. HOWEVER you are now in the area where your body needs more NUTRITION than you are giving it by using the original MFP number alone. Studies have suggested that for a healthy body to function they NEED 1200 net for women, 1500 net for men to cover the NUTRITIONAL needs alone. If you do not FEED your body, it will get the nutrition it needs from ITSELF. Meaning that your body will start to break down un-used lean muscle tissue inside itself to meet the current nutritional requirements. You burn off weight yes, but it is not the fat you wanted to burn off, it is the muscle tissue that you wanted to keep.

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