yet another Net Calorie question! Whoops?

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Ok... I've been trying for over a month now to get a handle on all these equations! Let me be honest and say Math was never my strong suit *lol* so I've been looking at my Food Log and have been trying to keep it at around 1200 (little less, little more) most days. Even if I exercise. So now today I go look at my reports and see my Net Calories are often below 1000!

Whoops?

So, should I be eating back those exercise calories or not? If my net is below a 1000 then why is my food log showing that I'm around 1200? I wish MFP was able to take away the net calories on the food log *lol* Not sure if I'm making sense or what here, but I still can't stand the idea of eating back my calories. I'm working hard to gain muscle now, as well as Cardio and while my body is def. getting more toned the scale w.o.n.'.t. b.u.d.g.e. *lol*

Replies

  • summaryzn
    summaryzn Posts: 122 Member
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    from my interpretation of "net" its what you should be AT after exercise. So in order to stay above 1200 you should be eating back at least some if not all of your exercise calories. Word on the street is, the scale may not be budging because you are not eating enough.
  • kamazza
    kamazza Posts: 98 Member
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    from my interpretation of "net" its what you should be AT after exercise. So in order to stay above 1200 you should be eating back at least some if not all of your exercise calories. Word on the street is, the scale may not be budging because you are not eating enough.



    Ok, so by the end of the day, after I exercise, my "Net" should be around 1200? That's going to mean eating back those darn pesky little critters called Calories. Anything is worth a shot, right?
  • lizaboots
    lizaboots Posts: 43
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    That net number is a very important number to pay attention to, so it's good that it's there. You want to always net at least 1200 calories a day, whether you exercise or not because that's the number of calories that your body has to function on. Keep eating good foods and logging it until you get to that 1200. I have struggled with this too since I burn quite a bit in the gym 5 days a week so it's not always as easy as it sounds, but just try to aim for it every day- you may feel like you're eating a ton, but your body also needs that fuel for your workouts.
  • myfitnessnmhoy
    myfitnessnmhoy Posts: 2,105 Member
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    Log your exercise as accurately as you can and at the end of the day try to make "Calories Remaining" as close to zero without going over by too much.
  • Meaganandcheese
    Meaganandcheese Posts: 525 Member
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    Losing weight can be diffifult with too large a deficit, and gaining muscle will be impossible.

    Those calories are fuel for your workouts!