please help. i'm a newbie and don't understand

higgins8283801
higgins8283801 Posts: 844 Member
in Food and Nutrition
My calorie goal is 1200.

today I ate 1400 but burned 600 and I have a net of 700.

Is that good? bad? I have read past posts about eating your calories but I still don't understand my numbers.

does the 700 mean I can go get a small bowl of vanilla ice cream? or something small?

Replies

  • PaytraB
    PaytraB Posts: 2,360 Member
    It depends on how you got your exercise calories from. MFP is usually quite high in their exercise calorie count.

    But, generally speaking, yes, you should net 1200 calories a day. You have room left for a 500 calorie bowl of ice cream. Enjoy! :smile:
  • higgins8283801
    higgins8283801 Posts: 844 Member
    today I did 30 minutes on the elliptical, 20 minutes of turbo jam and 20 minutes of pilates. I
  • EvaL01
    EvaL01 Posts: 8 Member
    I think this page will help explain what net means.

    http://myfitnesspal.desk.com/customer/portal/articles/410332-how-does-myfitnesspal-calculate-my-initial-goals-
  • Kevalicious99
    Kevalicious99 Posts: 1,131 Member
    I would say .. bad.

    That is just too few calories .. like the person above said, a net of 1200 Cals is a likely minimum. You are not doing yourself any favors by having a low net calorie count like that.

    I don't know your stats but even 1200 is pretty low.

    One day will not kill you .. but just do not make it a habit.

    Oh .. and you are fine to have the ice cream. I had mine today .. ;-)
  • higgins8283801
    higgins8283801 Posts: 844 Member
    I would say .. bad.

    That is just too few calories .. like the person above said, a net of 1200 Cals is a likely minimum. You are not doing yourself any favors by having a low net calorie count like that.

    I don't know your stats but even 1200 is pretty low.

    One day will not kill you .. but just do not make it a habit.

    ok. so I want the net to be 1200..gotcha..i will keep that in mind.
  • NuggetLovesEdie
    NuggetLovesEdie Posts: 477 Member
    Well, if you are an "average" person trying to lose 2# per week, 1200 per day is the goal MFP will set for you NOT including your exercise.
  • EvaL01
    EvaL01 Posts: 8 Member
    Well, if you are an "average" person trying to lose 2# per week, 1200 per day is the goal MFP will set for you NOT including your exercise.
    I agree with this post. I have mine set for 2 pounds per week. On days I do cardio exercises, I get extra calories added to my daily calorie goal so I can eat more than 1200 calories depending on how many calories I have earned that day.

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