Total vs net calories

Let's say you eat 1600 calories today.

And you use an exercise machine for a half hour, and it tells you your calories burned was 300.

Your "net calories" are 1300. In theory, eating 1600 and burning off 300 should be equivalent to eating 1300 and not exercising. So the 1300, the net calories, is the "real" number.

MFP's goals tool will give you a target calorie level, such as 1600, but that is a target "net calories" number. You can either eat the 1600, or work out and eat the 1600 plus however many calories you burned working out. What you're not supposed to do is eat the 1600, work out, and not eat any of the exercise calories back. Because then, you're not at the "net 1600" MFP recommended, but more like 1200 or 1300, which is too extreme.

AZTeri2016 wrote: »

So why are net calories different than calories remaining? I usually exercise, but I'm fighting a virus so won't be able to until tomorrow or Wednesday. I'm sure one or two days won't stall my progress, but I'm trying to understand which number I should aim for - the 750 remaining calories or 650 net calories?

You should aim for the remaining calories but really if you are sick you should be eating your entire maintenance calories. It is not a good idea to be in a calorie deficit while sick.

Do you know how to calculate your maintenance calories?

NovusDies wrote: »

AZTeri2016 wrote: »

So why are net calories different than calories remaining? I usually exercise, but I'm fighting a virus so won't be able to until tomorrow or Wednesday. I'm sure one or two days won't stall my progress, but I'm trying to understand which number I should aim for - the 750 remaining calories or 650 net calories?

You should aim for the remaining calories but really if you are sick you should be eating your entire maintenance calories. It is not a good idea to be in a calorie deficit while sick.

Do you know how to calculate your maintenance calories?

I ate most of the calories while sick, and made sure it was nutrition-rich foods. I"m pretty much over it now, and actually just got back from the gym where I burned 312 calories on the treadmill, less than I probably would have if I were 100% but better than nothing. My maintenance calories were set by a nutritionist that I'm working with at 1438.

If I'm reading this correctly then I should be aiming for the net calories on a normal, workout intense day, correct? I generally have 200-250 calories left over at the end of the day, counting in my exercise calories since I am set at sedentary. It's working because I'm losing at roughly 1.5 pounds a week now and have more energy than ever before (except for this stupid virus, which is going around here and which I hope I'm on the very tail end of!) I know I've got this.