Net Calories

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afruitfulendeavor
afruitfulendeavor Posts: 7
in Health and Weight Loss
I was reviewing a topic about net calories from Livestrong.com. According to their article, if net calories are positive, you gain weight. If at zero, you maintain. If negative, you lose weight.
I understand this completely.
However, I don't understand how my net calories displayed in my food diary here are positive everyday and I'm losing weight.

Replies

  • JacksMom12
    JacksMom12 Posts: 1,044 Member
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    You probably misread it. No one should be eating less than they burn. You need calories just to breathe and keep your organs alive. Maybe the way that article calculates "net" calories as something different than here. You DO NOT want your net calories on here to be a negative number... Ever.
  • stuey39
    stuey39 Posts: 159
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    Ummmm... I've spent the last week since I joined MFP in a constant state of flux trying to work this out, but I lost 3lb in my first week
  • afruitfulendeavor
    afruitfulendeavor Posts: 7
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    Welllllll, I once was blind, but now I see. Thanks much!

    :D
  • rbwoodford
    rbwoodford Posts: 6 Member
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    Net calories on MFP are simply the total amount of calories you ate, minus what you burned through exercise. To be truly 'net' you have to subtract the amount you burned naturally though the day, which MFP doesn't do.

    So lets say you ate 1200 calories, and burned 300 running. Thats 900 net calories according to MFP. Now lets say your body burned 1500 just keeping you alive and moving that day. Thats a real 'net' calorie ammount of -400. Thats where the weight loss comes in.
  • ookpik8
    ookpik8 Posts: 1 Member
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    I believe when they reference net calories being in a negative they mean in relation to your BMR. So if my BMR indicates that I need to eat 1500 calories a day to maintain my body weight I want to end my day below that number, thus resulting in weight loss. Anything over that number will cause gain. So if I eat 1800 calories but burn 400 exercising my net calories are 1400 for the day and this should be enough for weight loss if maintained daily. Granted, at a 100 daily negative the weight loss would be SLOW - but I just grabbed those numbers as an example.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
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    You need to take in less calories than the total amount of calories you burn, but you have to keep in mind that your body is constantly burning calories - when you're sitting, when you're standing, when you're sleeping - not just when you're exercising.
  • stephenatl09
    stephenatl09 Posts: 186 Member
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    You need to understand that your BMR is what it takes to maintain your weight if you were to lay in bed all day.
    "Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), and the closely related resting metabolic rate (RMR), is the amount of daily energy expended by humans and other animals at REST ". So basically it is what your body needs just to support life while in idle. Any activity we do is above that in caloric expenditure. You can get a heart rate monitor to see about what your daily activities burn I think.
    I just now got my FITBIT Tracker in the mail. I've only had in one for a little while and have burned 980 calories just doing chores around the house (thanks to the stairs in the house).
  • JacksMom12
    JacksMom12 Posts: 1,044 Member
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    Net calories on MFP are simply the total amount of calories you ate, minus what you burned through exercise. To be truly 'net' you have to subtract the amount you burned naturally though the day, which MFP doesn't do.

    So lets say you ate 1200 calories, and burned 300 running. Thats 900 net calories according to MFP. Now lets say your body burned 1500 just keeping you alive and moving that day. Thats a real 'net' calorie ammount of -400. Thats where the weight loss comes in.

    Yes, exactly what I was TRYING to say but this poster did a much better job ;-)
  • invisibubble
    invisibubble Posts: 662 Member
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    It depends on what you set your weight goal for. I set a slow loss and therefore MFP sets my calorie goal at 250 less than it would have if I wanted to maintain. So, if I eat 100 more than my net suggests, I'm still gonna lose, just slower.
    Also bear in mind that these figures and estimates are rough at best, and your body is never at a textbook state of burn.

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