Net calorie Help Please?!?!? :(

Options
brentsgurl
brentsgurl Posts: 40 Member
in Getting Started
Okay i think i have read every single post on this subject on the message boards and i'm totally confused.
My situation.
MFP tells me to eat 1,200 calories a day!
I have my activity level set to sedentary!
I have the pacer app which logs my steps and gives me credit for it as exercise on MFP

I have read that your net calories should be as close to zero as possible. Mine is currently showing this
1,200-Food of 1295-Exercise of 309=a Net of 983.

is this bad? I am thinking i should eat more but after reading the posts about net calories i'm even more confused.

can anyone help me? please make it barney style :)

Replies

  • ElizabethOakes2
    ElizabethOakes2 Posts: 1,038 Member
    edited January 2016
    Options
    I think you're doing fine. As long as your actual intake is 1200, and you aren't doing hard work-outs, you're okay.
    General rule of thumb is don't eat less than 1200 calories, and if you exercise, eat back half of your 'calories earned from exercise'. So, on a day like today, eat your 1200 (baseline) + 150 (calories earned from exercise). If you start feeling sick, tired, or weak, up your intake a bit.

    Does that make sense?
  • blankiefinder
    blankiefinder Posts: 3,599 Member
    Options
    ElizabethOakes2 wrote: »
    I think you're doing fine. As long as your actual intake is 1200, and you aren't doing hard work-outs, you're okay.
    General rule of thumb is don't eat less than 1200 calories, and if you exercise, eat back half of your 'calories earned from exercise'. So, on a day like today, eat your 1200 (baseline) + 150 (calories earned from exercise). If you start feeling sick, tired, or weak, up your intake a bit.

    Does that make sense?

    Actually the 'general rule' is to NET 1200 calories. If you're using a food scale and logging accurately, you should be eating most of those calories back. Over time, calculate your rate of loss and adjust accordingly, keeping in mind that if you selected a 2 lb loss, 1200 calories is the minimum MFP will allow, even if that does NOT achieve 2 lbs. You can figure that out by daily maintenance calories - deficit allowance x 7, would be the projected weekly deficit. 3500 calories would be a pound.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    edited January 2016
    Options
    No - you didn't read enough actually. Not if you think NET calories should be 0.

    Because no - MFP tells you to eat 1200 on non-exercise days that match the activity level you selected (Sedentary perhaps? are you honestly for non-exercise time whatever level you selected?)

    But as soon as you are more active than that activity level - you log it, reflecting the fact you burned more, you get the same deficit, and therefore you eat more.

    Meaning - if MFP thought you'd burn 2200 daily as sedentary, and you said 2 lb weekly loss or 1000 cal deficit, then your daily goal is set to 2200 - 1000 = 1200.

    But now you burn 500 in a workout.
    2200 + 500 exercise = 2700 - 1000 deficit = 1700 eating goal.
    Same 1000 deficit.

    Just look at your Food diary - eat what it says the goal is.

    Careful logging exercise.
    Did you really do spin class for 60 min, or there was slow 5 min warm-up and 10 min cool-down and stretching - so actual spin time is 45 min.
    Did you really run on the treadmill at 6 mph, or rather worked your way up to that for 15 min and then back slower again - so miles in 1 hour done was actually 5.
    Just be honest.
    And on exercise that has no intensity level (like walking 4 mph is specific, light or hard is not but better than nothing) - look at the calorie value given, and re-enter it as only 75% of suggested.
    Then meet your daily goal.
  • Samstan101
    Samstan101 Posts: 699 Member
    Options
    I'd also query the 1200 that MFP set unless you are fairly short and don't have much to lose. When I started MFP suggested 1350 which was actually about 200 below my BMR (not healthy and for me not sustainable either). I did some reading around and used http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ to work out what I should/ could be eating and still lose weight. Fast forward 2-3 years and I'm about 130lbs down and losing about 1lb a week.
  • brentsgurl
    brentsgurl Posts: 40 Member
    Options
    I am 5'2" 160ish and i'd like to get to 125 so i have about 35 pounds to lose. Thanks everyone for all the suggestions and help it makes alot more sense now :) I have myself set as sedentary because many days i don't walk much. So if I am having a very active walking day I will get added calories for doing so. Or shouldn't I be doing that? on average i walk about 6,000 steps but i don't exercise other then that.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Options
    brentsgurl wrote: »
    I am 5'2" 160ish and i'd like to get to 125 so i have about 35 pounds to lose. Thanks everyone for all the suggestions and help it makes alot more sense now :) I have myself set as sedentary because many days i don't walk much. So if I am having a very active walking day I will get added calories for doing so. Or shouldn't I be doing that? on average i walk about 6,000 steps but i don't exercise other then that.

    Then you'll want to confirm you absolutely are taking reasonable deficit as you are doing nothing to help retain muscle mass.

    1 lb weekly is reasonable now, at 20 lbs make it 1/2 lb.

    What are you using that is telling you steps?

    And Sedentary or Lightly Active isn't about exercise - it's the day as a whole outside of exercise, which walking is obviously a part of.

    You won't get added calories unless you are using an activity tracker synced to MFP, like Fitbit.
    MFP is guessing at daily burn calories based on your selection of activity level - right or wrong.
    It has no idea if you do more than it's assuming.
    And Sedentary is desk job and bump on a log rest of the day including weekends. No kids and the extra activity that goes along with them.
    If that is true - then that is you.

    And 6000 steps isn't that sedentary, I get 5000 on non-exercise days - that and below is sedentary - you are heading on up to Lightly Active.

Categories