So confused about all of this!

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hailie08
hailie08 Posts: 87 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
How many calories should I be eating daily? Do I eat back my excerise calories? What about the whole net calorie thing? What does that even mean!?!?!?! I've been staying under calories and working out and gained 3.5lbs...HELP!!!!

I'm 23, 5'5, and now weigh 173.5

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  • audreygonzy
    audreygonzy Posts: 169
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    Bump! I'm still pretty fuzzy on all that!
  • Ladysheogorath
    Ladysheogorath Posts: 2 Member
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    I have been wondering the same thing. I've heard you are supposed to eat the callories you burn, but that seems like it defeats the purpose. Then I have heard if you aren't losing weight, try eating more callories....That one I really don't understand.
  • melsinct
    melsinct Posts: 3,512 Member
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    I've heard you are supposed to eat the callories you burn, but that seems like it defeats the purpose.

    Correct, you are not here to starve yourself in order to lose weight. Eating too little will screw up your weight loss in the long run, not to mention it isn't healthy- you won't be getting enough nutrients that you need.

    Look at the top of this forum and you will see a bunch of stickied posts for new people to MFP: read them! They have all of this info in there.
  • Superchikanthem
    Superchikanthem Posts: 362 Member
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    I found this very helpful :)

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/206951-asked-my-trainer-re-eating-back-calories?hl=eating+back+calories+personal+trainer&page=9#posts-6919019
  • faithstephenson
    faithstephenson Posts: 280 Member
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    MFP talks about "net calories" as your goal. That means you put in your info (height, weight, activity level, weight loss goal) and MFP calculates the number of calories you need to consume to create a calorie deficit (roughly 500 cals/day for 1 lb loss/week). So, if you need 2000 calories a day to maintain, MFP will tell you to eat 1500 per day to lose 1 lb/week. But that doesn't count any exercise you do above the activity level you chose when setting your goals. So, if you chose sedentary, or lightly active, but then do exercise, you will have burned more calories than MFP figured your goal with. Say you burn 500 calories. Now you have netted 1000 calories (1500 consumed-400 burned). That's a much bigger deficit, and could, if carried on regularly, make it more difficult to lose the weight you want.

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