1200 calories NET or GROSS? Confused need advice

emily23dw
emily23dw Posts: 14 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all, I'm Emily and I need some help figuring out how much to eat.
Here are my stats:
19 years old
female
5'0
currently 124 pounds
goal is to lose about 20 pounds
I realize I am at a "healthy weight" but I do not feel healthy and feel my best when I am under 105. I have a polar m400 watch which I wear consistently and tells me how many calories I burn each day. If I sit around and do nothing all day it usually is about 1500-1600 calories. When I workout or have work ( I'm a server) I can get up to 2000-2300 calories burned. I am going to be working out 6x a week for an hour (3x running, 3x weight/circuit training). My question is to lose a pound a week I know I need a 500 cal deficit so should I just eat a diff. amount each day depending on how much my watch tells me I burned that day or should I stick to a consistent number. Also, for example, if I burned 500 cal in exercise do I need to eat at least 1700 cal to maintain a 1200 cal net. Because If I did this my deficit each day would be 350-400 caland not enough to lose a pound a week?? I'm confused.

Replies

  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    #1 - Your HRM is not reliable to estimate calories burned while you work. 2000 is a lot of calories to burn while serving. This should be accounted for in your daily activity level (if following MFP) not additional exercise.
    #2 - 1lb a week is too high of a goal for you with the amount of weight you want to lose and your current weight.
    #3 - if you are following MFP's suggestions, you should account for your additional exercise in some way by eating at least a portion of your exercise calories back. So you eat 1200, log exercise and eat some additional calories. As noted, your work should be included in your daily activity.
    If you prefer to eat a set amount, you can check out online calculators for TDEE.
  • emily23dw
    emily23dw Posts: 14 Member
    Thank you for your reply!
    Just wanted to clear the part up about the 2000 calories. I meant that on days I workout or work my total calories burned for the ENTIRE day can get up to 2000-2300 calories,not my workout or shift by itself.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    emily23dw wrote: »
    Thank you for your reply!
    Just wanted to clear the part up about the 2000 calories. I meant that on days I workout or work my total calories burned for the ENTIRE day can get up to 2000-2300 calories,not my workout or shift by itself.

    Ok. That makes sense. I misunderstood.
  • emily23dw
    emily23dw Posts: 14 Member
    So do you recommend eating my 1200 cal and then eating back only a portion of my exercise cals? For example today I burned 570 cals at the gym according to my HR monitor. Should I eat like half of those back or all or...how do you decide? Sorry for all the questions! Just wan to make sure I do this in a heathy way!
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    edited June 2016
    emily23dw wrote: »
    So do you recommend eating my 1200 cal and then eating back only a portion of my exercise cals? For example today I burned 570 cals at the gym according to my HR monitor. Should I eat like half of those back or all or...how do you decide? Sorry for all the questions! Just wan to make sure I do this in a heathy way!

    570 calories seems high for someone your height & weight doing what you described in your OP - how long were you at the gym and what did you do?

    But if it's accurate, yes, eat back half of those calories. You do want 1200 net rather than gross. If over a few weeks you are losing faster than expected, eat back a higher percentage.

    Also, when did you start this exercise program? I wanted to give you a headsup that often we retain water when starting a new exercise regimen, causing us to think we've gained fat when it's actually just water that will come off within a few weeks.
  • emily23dw
    emily23dw Posts: 14 Member
    It does seem like a lot doesn't it? I was at the gym for a little over an hour and I did 10 min on the stairs to warm up and then the rest of the time I was a doing a leg/cardio circuit that involved weights and plummet roc moves ( burped,jump squats). My heart rate was above 170 the whole time.

    If I only eat back half the exercise cals I'm gonna be under 1200 net. So should I eat eat them all back?

    And I've been on and off with exercise for the last 3 years. I've always been pretty active, the last 6 months though have been less than normal so I'm getting back into the groove :)
  • CooCooPuff
    CooCooPuff Posts: 4,374 Member
    emily23dw wrote: »
    If I only eat back half the exercise cals I'm gonna be under 1200 net. So should I eat eat them all back?
    It's up to you. Just make sure to adjust your intake if you're losing too much or too little weight too quickly.

  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    CooCooPuff wrote: »
    emily23dw wrote: »
    If I only eat back half the exercise cals I'm gonna be under 1200 net. So should I eat eat them all back?
    It's up to you. Just make sure to adjust your intake if you're losing too much or too little weight too quickly.

    I agree with this. Your weight loss and over all health, eg do you feel weak and tired and/or overly hungry all the time will let you know how you are going.
    Some people eat ALL their exercise calories back, others eat 50-70% back. I'm all over the place, sometimes I eat them all back, sometimes half or less.
  • emily23dw
    emily23dw Posts: 14 Member
    Oh okay that makes sense! Thank you for you help!

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