Talk to Me About Net Calories.

thejarviclan
thejarviclan Posts: 465 Member
edited September 19 in Food and Nutrition
I don't really understand about Net Calories. I mean - I understand it's the total of Calories Consumed less Exercise Calories Burned...but what should it tell me?

For the past 7 days my Net Calorie Report looks like this:

Sun: 1100 (Super Bowl Sunday)
Mon: 300
Tue: 500
Wed: 650
Thu: 590
Fri: 900
Sat: 1100 (Big date with dh)

In those same 7 days my calories consumed never went over 1770/day. I haven't lost any weight since January 27th. I think I'm doing something wrong here.

Does this look typical? Or could I be over-exercising during the week?

Replies

  • thejarviclan
    thejarviclan Posts: 465 Member
    I don't really understand about Net Calories. I mean - I understand it's the total of Calories Consumed less Exercise Calories Burned...but what should it tell me?

    For the past 7 days my Net Calorie Report looks like this:

    Sun: 1100 (Super Bowl Sunday)
    Mon: 300
    Tue: 500
    Wed: 650
    Thu: 590
    Fri: 900
    Sat: 1100 (Big date with dh)

    In those same 7 days my calories consumed never went over 1770/day. I haven't lost any weight since January 27th. I think I'm doing something wrong here.

    Does this look typical? Or could I be over-exercising during the week?
  • lotusfromthemud
    lotusfromthemud Posts: 5,335 Member
    Your Net calories are your goal calories! You are WAY under.

    In other words, if MFP tells you to aim for "1200 calories" that's 1200 NET.

    You're either over-exercising or undereating. Careful. . .:flowerforyou:
  • hmo4
    hmo4 Posts: 1,673 Member
    You only ate 300 calories on Mon.? OMG-you're gonna go into starvation mode for sure-probably are there. You're body is eating itself-literally! It's taking the fuel from your muscles, which you need to burn the fat. You HAVE to eat at least 1200/day and your exercise calories to lose. Preserve you're muscles and build them!:drinker:
  • thejarviclan
    thejarviclan Posts: 465 Member
    Well, I had 785 exercise calories that day. That's why my Net Calories were only 300.

    I am over-exercising here, aren't I?

    Oy.
  • hmo4
    hmo4 Posts: 1,673 Member
    How many do you eat daily? What does MFP tell you to eat in your goals column?
  • omid990
    omid990 Posts: 785 Member
    you can exercise as much as you want. just make sure you eat to make up for it.
  • LuckyLeprechaun
    LuckyLeprechaun Posts: 6,296 Member
    I don't really understand about Net Calories. I mean - I understand it's the total of Calories Consumed less Exercise Calories Burned...but what should it tell me?

    For the past 7 days my Net Calorie Report looks like this:

    Sun: 1100 (Super Bowl Sunday)
    Mon: 300
    Tue: 500
    Wed: 650
    Thu: 590
    Fri: 900
    Sat: 1100 (Big date with dh)

    In those same 7 days my calories consumed never went over 1770/day. I haven't lost any weight since January 27th. I think I'm doing something wrong here.

    Does this look typical? Or could I be over-exercising during the week?

    you are doing TWO things wrong here.
    1. you are not eating all of your calories.
    2. you are not eating all of your exercise calories.

    The column labeled calories, where it is in RED, marked "remaining" should be near zero when you go to bed. You're starving your body. the little nourishment that it is getting, it's holding on to for dear life because you are way undereating.

    when you exercise, you earn more calories to eat. you need to eat most of those so your body will see that it will be nourished for the work you are making it do.

    see this post:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo
  • dolce33
    dolce33 Posts: 4 Member
    Great link, Lucky! Should clear up any misunderstanding. I know its hard to change your way of thinking. I swear sometimes all I do is eat. I cant believe that I actually get tired of eating. haha! What a great feeling when I spent over half my life starving to be thin.
  • SteffCooley
    SteffCooley Posts: 111
    I second what everyone else has said! You are not eating NEAR enough.

    Say your normal calorie intake is 1200 for the day.
    You exercised for 1 hour and burnt 700 calories.

    THEN you need to consume 1900 calories TOTAL for the day. You never want to go below 1200 calories - whether you have exercised or not! If you exercise, you need to be eating your calories - your body needs that fuel.

    Seriously - give it a try. You will be surprised! I didn't "buy" the whole concept when I first joined MFP, but I finally decided to give it a try and the scale is moving again! It really does work!!!!
  • avr1321
    avr1321 Posts: 96
    I agree with everybody else, you are not eating enough calories!
    Even if you burn 700 calories one day you have to eat some of it back. and you have to eat at least the 1200 that they give you. You've probably slowly stopped losing weight because your body doesn't understand why it isn't getting any food and is therefore just "stopped". Starvation mode is the one thing you have to be careful about.
    If you workout every day that is great! and congratulations! But if you don't start eating up all of your allowed calories and some of your exercise calories then you will hit a devastating plateau that you can't beat.
    So be really careful.
  • thejarviclan
    thejarviclan Posts: 465 Member
    HotMomov4-

    First of all, thanks for helping me with this!

    I'm eating between 1100 and 1700 calories a day. Then I'm exercising away between 300-700 calories a day. I've overdone it, I can see that now.

    Here's an example from yesterday, which I felt was a "Gorge" but I'd exercised for 90 minutes and burned 645 calories:

    I ate 1,770 calories total (not net).
    My MFP Daily Goal was: 1,845
    I Left Remaining: 75 calories

    So I felt like I had eaten way too much, but I still left 75 calories on my plate.

    Typically through the week though I'm eating:
    1328 calories total
    My MFP Daily Goal was: 1,955
    I Left Remaining: 627 calories.
    I had earned 755 calories from exercise.

    I did this before and lost over 100 pounds...but I was exercising at home and apparently not burning as much that way. Now I'm at the gym at our Y, using the bike, treadmill and weight machines as opposed to running/walking at home, a bit of yoga and lifting 10 pound weights.

    Alright, I'm bucking it up and going to eat all my calories for a week - we'll see how that works!

    Thanks everyone...I think I'm with the program now! :laugh:
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