Net Calories/BMR/etc....

Hi Everyone!
Can anyone please help me to understand net calories first and foremost. Am I supposed to be meeting my net calories or total in order to lose weight. MFP says "Your estimated BMR is: 1,487 calories/day" so is 1,487 the net calorie goal I set for myself? I hope I'm making sense...um...If you eat a total of 1400 calories and then exercise and burn 550, then your net is 850. So do you end your day adding to the 850 or is the total number (1400) the set number? All of this "basic math" confuses me. lol I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I do know that it has been WAY over 5 weeks and I am nowhere near the weight that MFP projects I'll be in 5 weeks "If every day were like this"

Thank you for any helpful explanations!!

Replies

  • Spanaval
    Spanaval Posts: 1,200 Member
    Your BMR is the absolute minimum you should be eating. So yes, you have to eat back your exercise calories.
  • Hi, I'm new to the site! I understand that you need to eat the minimum amount of calories per day, but how do you lose weight if you eat say another 1000 calories on top that you have earned from exercise?
  • ATLsMommy76
    ATLsMommy76 Posts: 16 Member
    Your BMR is the absolute minimum you should be eating. So yes, you have to eat back your exercise calories.

    So I should be having the net calories total 1487, not the total?