Net Calories - - Help!!!

amgchick
amgchick Posts: 32 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm confused. Should my Net calories be equal to my goal calories of 1300? On most days my net is under my goal (by a lot). Should I be eating the earned extra calories? My weight loss has completely stalled and I've even gained (even after working out 5-6 days per week). Can someone explain? Have I been undereating?

Replies

  • Kiki829
    Kiki829 Posts: 60 Member
    I'm new here, but yes, you should be eating back the calories you burn exercising. Otherwise, you are not getting enough to eat.
  • LPollard1978
    LPollard1978 Posts: 2
    This confuses me too! I've "googled" net calories and i understand it in theory, but this website seems to have it backward.

    Net Calories = Intake - Burn

    I exercise after work so it's hard to make up that many calories all for dinner / right before bed, averaging at least 425 calories burned. I never make up that number in food intake.

    I also know in theory that if you consume too little your metabolism shuts down. So I wonder if that's what's happened because I haven't lost ANY weight.

    Kiki829 - are you steadily losing by consuming the extra calories?
  • heatherAnnXOX
    heatherAnnXOX Posts: 56 Member
    I'm new here, but yes, you should be eating back the calories you burn exercising. Otherwise, you are not getting enough to eat.

    but if i am not hungry, why do i HAVE to eat them? if i am full from my meals, and i have calories left over...whyyyy..it seems stupid to me that everyone on here says EAT THEM. i have read so many posts. i guess i will just never get it.
  • sneckerdoodle
    sneckerdoodle Posts: 69 Member
    find out your BMR, once that is done. you need to try and eat enough calories to net close to your bmr
    but not over if possible. i was plateauing and not eating enough, so i upped my calories from 1200 to
    1500 with my bmr at 1494 and the weight has been coming off steadily. good luck, hope this helped.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    I'm confused. Should my Net calories be equal to my goal calories of 1300? On most days my net is under my goal (by a lot). Should I be eating the earned extra calories? My weight loss has completely stalled and I've even gained (even after working out 5-6 days per week). Can someone explain? Have I been undereating?
    If it were me? Yes. I'd eat them back. At the very least? 1200 NET. NO LESS.
  • DianeinCA
    DianeinCA Posts: 307 Member
    Okay, I am also trying to figure out what these numbers mean.

    I have a Goal in MFP of 1250. (Which is slightly strange because MFP calculates my BMR to be 1378 per day...but maybe because I have MFP linked to a Fitbit the numbers change during the day? I dunno.) So, first thing in the morning, MFP says, "1250 calories."

    Today I have eaten 678 calories. I went running and have an exercise subtraction of 627, leaving me with a Net of 51 calories.

    Does this mean I should eat 1200 calories for the rest of the day? I know I need to eat more because I exercised, but wow does 1200 more seem like a lot given that I've already had breakfast and lunch.
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    be aware, when MFP says net calories, that's a term specific to MFP and googling it won't help.


    MFP sets a goal deficit for you based on what you want to lose per week (with a 1200 calorie floor), then adds calories on to what you should eat for the day based on how many calories you burned exercising. this means that you STAY at your goal deficit, so you keep loosing the same amount even while eating the exercise calories.

    the equation is this:

    Your daily calories (from MFP) + exercise calories for that day = what you should eat today.

    If you DON'T eat those exercise calories, you're increasing your deficit amount, which may or may not be ok depending on what you set your goal at, and how much weight you have to lose (and of course whether you accurately put in your initial numbers).

    Essentially, MFP is the safe method, you might not lose as fast as you could theoretically lose, but you're doing it in a more sustainable method which means no yo-yoing and no returning to your former weight when you reach your goal.
  • ladyace2078
    ladyace2078 Posts: 460 Member
    I highly dislike MFP net calories...it's confusing to me. If you have your activity set to sedentary and you log both food and exercise in MFP, then you will likely want to eat your calories back. If you have your activity set to active, don't log the exercise, just what you eat and hit your calorie goal everyday.

    For me personally I ignore the net calories thing in MFP and do the following:

    Calculate my TDEE based on my life (work/family/etc) and exercise amount per week. Mine is around 2600.
    Calculate my BMR. Mine is around 1600.
    Consume calories at least BMR but less than TDEE. Most people recommend 15-20% less than TDEE. I usually target about 2200-2300 calories a day because I'm weight training hard, I enjoy eating, and I'm on the last 10 lbs, so I expect to lose much slower.

    This method has me losing 0.5-1 lb per week at a steady pace. It's also less confusing for me.
  • amgchick
    amgchick Posts: 32 Member
    Uh oh. Here are my stats for today:

    Daily Goal: 1300
    Food: 1133
    Exercise: - 463
    Net: 670
    Extra calories earned: 630

    I have not been eating back exercise calories and the net number is usually around between 600-900. Does this basically mean that I have thrown my body into starvation mode? I'm petite, 5'3" and only have about 10-15 pounds to lose. I've seen the scale only go up a pound or down a pound in the last few months...but have been following a pretty rigorous exercise program and watching what I eat. :(

Categories