Confused by NET calories

emjohnston2014
emjohnston2014 Posts: 38
in Health and Weight Loss
So im really confused on how to gage how many calories i have remaining to eat in my day. I have eaten 690 calories today and burned 658 through excersize. Thus my NET cals are 32....but im not sure what that means or how many calories i have left ??????

Replies

  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    So im really confused on how to gage how many calories i have remaining to eat in my day. I have eaten 690 calories today and burned 658 through excersize. Thus my NET cals are 32....but im not sure what that means or how many calories i have left ??????

    MFP gives you a calorie deficit BEFORE exercise. That way people who can't/won't exercise still lose weight. MFP uses estimates for calorie burn.....be warned that most people eat back 50-75% to make up for this.

    Example.......eat 1800 .....exercise 400 .....= 1400 net calories. You are supposed to MEET calories MFP gives you, not stay under them.

    Keep in mind your body is using calories 24/7.....even comatose patients get a feeding tube. Very low calories will have your body using muscle mass for fuel. Most people just want to lose fat. This is why moderate weight loss is healthy weight loss.
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
    You should net more than that. Probably at least 1200 net.

    That being said, MFP will over estimate your calories burned thru exercise. So, for instance. Eat 1400. Exercise 400 (but only count 50% of this OR only log 1/2 of the time you do any particular activity). = Net 1200.
  • Janette3x4
    Janette3x4 Posts: 135
    So since I have a fitbit flex I should not make sure my net matches my daily calories set by MFP? If at the ends of the day, my net is 1137, should I leave it? Or eat more to match my 1380 set by MFP?
    Thanks.
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
    Is your fitbit account connected to your MFP account? If so, just eat what MFP says. Your fitbit will give you more calories, and MFP will display them, depending on your settings. And if you're using a FitBit, I think it's pretty safe to eat back those exercise calories. Basically, just eating what MFP tells you to, if they're connected. Maybe only eat 75% of the adjustment it gives you, if you find you're not losing fast enough.

    What deficit did you choose for your FitBit?
  • CA_Underdog
    CA_Underdog Posts: 733 Member
    So im really confused on how to gage how many calories i have remaining to eat in my day. I have eaten 690 calories today and burned 658 through excersize. Thus my NET cals are 32....but im not sure what that means or how many calories i have left ??????
    If you entered your info (height, weight, activity level) and logged your food and exercise, then when you click on "My Home" at the top it should display how many calories you have remaining to eat today.

    As another said, you probably began with 1200 calories. After eating 690, you had (1200-690=) 510 left. Then you exercised (510+658=) and so now have 1168 left to eat, assuming your exercise burns are accurate. This number (1168) should appear when you click on "My Home". No math required!

    Eating too little is one of the most common mistakes. :)
  • CA_Underdog
    CA_Underdog Posts: 733 Member
    Here is an example--

    330ws61.png

    It's the CALORIES REMAINING at the top you need to pay attention to (1742). If you eat that number, you should lose at the rate you told MyFitnessPal you wanted to, while remaining healthy. :)

    (Again, assuming accurate logging of food and exercise.)
  • Janette3x4
    Janette3x4 Posts: 135
    Thanks! I have MFP set to sedentary. Fitbit always says I have an extra 100-200 calories but I ignore that and only go by what MFP says. I have looked on fitbit website on where to set activity level and can't find it. When I hooked it up, I would have set it to sedentary as well.
    A typical day will be (at days end) 1380 set by MFP/ have consumed 1400/net calories 1080. Something like that.
    I guess my question was should I then eat to 1380 net, and you answered that. ????
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
    you dont set an activity on fitbit. it measures your activity for you.

    there is a setting on fitbit where you set your "goal" to eat 250 or 500 or whatever less than you use throughout your day. If you link your two accounts, it _SHOULD_ adjust your MFP setting. But if you only every get an extra 100 or 200, and you aren't hungry or tired all the time, then it's fine to not eat the extra, as long as you're eating what MFP is saying.

    If you DO link your accounts, in my experience, the MFP settings for "lose 1 lb per week" or whatever are overridden by whatever "goal" you set on FitBit
  • Janette3x4
    Janette3x4 Posts: 135
    you dont set an activity on fitbit. it measures your activity for you.

    there is a setting on fitbit where you set your "goal" to eat 250 or 500 or whatever less than you use throughout your day. If you link your two accounts, it _SHOULD_ adjust your MFP setting. But if you only every get an extra 100 or 200, and you aren't hungry or tired all the time, then it's fine to not eat the extra, as long as you're eating what MFP is saying.

    If you DO link your accounts, in my experience, the MFP settings for "lose 1 lb per week" or whatever are overridden by whatever "goal" you set on FitBit
    [/quot

    Yes, I do have them linked. . I have MFP set to sedentary with .5 loss weekly. Fitbit syncs and then it awards me my activity calories. Eat what MFP states in green on top of dashboard. (If hungry). I will double check my "goals" on fitbit.

    You have been a huge help.
  • Janette3x4
    Janette3x4 Posts: 135
    My Fitbit goals are set to steps. I have 10k steps set,.which I always exceed by 1-3k.

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