NET CALORIES?

cinderella29292
cinderella29292 Posts: 33 Member
edited October 2 in Food and Nutrition
Ok so i'm a bit confused is that 1200 calorie recommened for ­women is the net calories ­which means if you exercise more you are able to eat ur exercise calories? or it is the fixed calorie doesn't matter if you exercise or not? lets say if i do cardio and burn 300 calorie should my intake be 1200 or 1500 calories?
Bt­­w if you don't mind, could you please tell me how much calories you eat, ho­w much you exercise and your weight and height if possible :)

Replies

  • billsica
    billsica Posts: 4,741 Member
    Depends what kind of person you want to be, and what school of thought you are from.
    Are you loosing or maintaining?
    Are you in that group of ladies who are actually supposed to eat less than 1200 but its not recommended.

    I say, 1500.
  • Twins2007
    Twins2007 Posts: 236 Member
    JUST POSTED the same concerns!!!

    Shouldn't there be a deficit if we want to lose? But then again, eating less than 1200 calories a day is not healthy :(

    Keep me posted!!
  • Jacquibennett
    Jacquibennett Posts: 95 Member
    Definitely eat the calories you burn through exercise as well. If you log your exercise then it will add the calories burned to the number of calories you have remaining for the day. I eat the 1200 plus whatever I have burned for that day and I try to exercise for at least an hour 4 times a day. I'm 5' 7" and weigh 13 stone 4lbs. Only just started my proper new lifestyle regime so hopefully will see some big weightloss if I can stick to it!!
  • Jessicaruby
    Jessicaruby Posts: 881 Member
    i am 5''7 and weigh 130lbs my GW is 120lbs. i workout everyday doing cardio and weightlifting. i just recently increased my calories because i stopped losing weight. i eat between 1,600 and 2,000 calories depending on exercise. i eat most of my exercise calories back. i usually save some in case my calories burned was off or my measurments were off
  • tkb1985
    tkb1985 Posts: 146 Member
    Hi!

    If you burn 300 and your goal net set by MFP is 1200, you'll need to eat a total of 1500. I know it seems crazy, but if you eat less than 1200 calories Net, your body isn't getting the nutrition it needs, and you'll find it harder to lose weight.

    I'm 5 foot and (almost) 1 inch and my daily goal is 1260 Net
    I eat daily between 1200 and 1260 Net and when I exercise (which I don't do a huge amount, tends to be walking and maybe a couple of cardio DVD's a week), I eat back enough calories to get to at least 1200, as that's the minimum I should be eating.

    Hope that answers your questions and helps :)

    T
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    JUST POSTED the same concerns!!!

    Shouldn't there be a deficit if we want to lose? But then again, eating less than 1200 calories a day is not healthy :(

    Keep me posted!!

    MFP includes a deficit before exercise, so u can eat them back....
  • naomirog
    naomirog Posts: 45 Member
    If you input you exercise it takes the amount of calories you burn off of the calories you've eaten...so you get them on top of the 1200!..although i don't tend to eat the extra! :)
  • notebelow
    notebelow Posts: 18 Member
    I'm 5 ft 5, currently weighing in at 177lb, I'm set to loose lbs a week so my recommended calorie intake is 1200. If I walk to work and burn a little extra I don't eat the few that it gives back but if I've been to the gym and burnt quite a few I will eat a little more to balance it out.

    Whatever you do in a day eating too few calories is starving your body of what it needs so I try to get my remaining calories as close to 0 as I can - as long as I'm not stuffing or starving myself to do it!
  • ssilvers99
    ssilvers99 Posts: 1
    It is my understanding that you need to eat back your workout calories if it takes your net calories below the 1200. I am 5'8" and currently weigh 184. I am at the beginning of the Beachbody Turbofire program which burns around 400-450 calories in 30 minutes and FitnessPal has me set up to eat 1370 calories/day. So most days that really means around 1700 calories.
    Hope that helps..
    -Shan
  • Moonbeamlissie
    Moonbeamlissie Posts: 504 Member
    I am 5' 1 my current weight is 139. I eat between 900-1200 calories a day. Or at least that is where I aim for. Sometimes I go to about 1400. My thoughts on my exercise calories are that they are there to back me up. I have anywhere between 200-600 a day depending on what I do for exercise that day. I do not say that I have to eat them back. You will get lots off ppl that say DO NOT go under 1200 and eat back all your exercise calories. Which is good for some. I honestly think it depends on your height and how much you weigh. Right now I am overweight... my goal is to lose it... the less calories the more I lose. Now when I get to my goal and I want to maintain then yeah ill prob eat them back.
  • Qarol
    Qarol Posts: 6,171 Member
    umm, 1200 is not the recommended calorie amount for all women. It may be a floor to not go below, but a lot of women require more than 1200 calories to be healthy AND lose weight. For some women, 1200 might be even too large a deficit for their body. 1200 is not some magic number.
  • Tinks2007
    Tinks2007 Posts: 62 Member
    Hi,

    Think it all depends on the person, im trying to maintain but when I exercise I just cant eat the extra calories, on days I dont exercise its hit and miss sometimes I manage to eat them sometimes not, I usually only go over at weekend as I go out usually for food and drinks but dont go over loads, as long as your full with what your eating and are not starving yourself then should be fine.

    Im 5f 2"
    96 pounds
    Diary is open
    Exercise most days ease of a bit at weekend :)
  • simone_84
    simone_84 Posts: 22 Member
    Remember when you set your weight loss goals when you started here at MFP? When I set my goal to lose 2 lbs/wk it set my daily calorie allowance at 1200. That is where the deficit comes from. If you were to choose only to lose 1 lbs/wk it would allow you a few hundred more calories a day. That being said, 1200 cal/day is a deficit and eating less than that would absolutely be unhealthy! I routinely burn about 600+ calories a day at the gym and a net of 600 calories or less would be stupidly dangerous, at least in my opinion. Not to mention probably counter productive since it would likely send one's body into starvation mode. So eat back those exercise calories! You've earned them after all!
  • cinderella29292
    cinderella29292 Posts: 33 Member
    @naomirog: funny that i feel the same... :P
    like if i exercise my appetite's just naturally reduced and i tend to eat less but the opposite happens ­when i don't do any exercise, i ­want to eat everything in sight just out of boredom lol
    i guess its different from person to person but 4 me the key to lose weight is exercise because it helps me eat less naturally and burn calories at the same time :)
  • StarArly
    StarArly Posts: 56 Member
    I don't usually eat my exercise calories back. If I do though I'm okay with that. It's a safety net.
    MFP says I should eat 1200. Other sites say I should eat 1029. I had to manually lower my goal.

    The only way I've been able to lose weight is by not eating back my exercise calories. This is so different for everyone.


    I'm 410 and 105.5 lbs
  • stresco
    stresco Posts: 354 Member
    Very interesting thread. I was wondering about those calories I burn when exercising too. I am supposed to be at 1500-1600 cals a day, but there are days where I cant consume more than 1300 (just not hungry). And the days I exercise, the cal counter here tells me I need to be up around 2200 (Friday's especially). I cant eat that much healthy food. If I was allowed to hit the pizza shop daily, I am sure I can make those cal plus a whole lot more. Anyone else have this problem?

    Monday: 60 Min Tae-Bo type exercise (Kickboxing, plyometrics)
    Tuesday: Weight Training (If time allows)
    Wenesday: 60-90 Min Martial Arts Training
    Thursday: Weight Training (If time allows)
    Friday: 60 Min Tae-Bo type exercise (Kickboxing, plyometrics), + 60-90 Min Martial Arts Training
    Saturday: 60 Min Tae-Bo type exercise (Kickboxing, plyometrics)
    Sunday: Rest
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
    Yeah, 1200 NET is the absolute minimum. Most of us should eat more. And if you can eat more, why not? We didn't get here because we hate food?

    I eat a LOT. 1800-2500 calories. I've lost 12lbs since May, which is great for me. You should lose slower when you don't have much more to lose.
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