Question about "net calories"

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bac1962
bac1962 Posts: 4 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Hi,

I've just started "seriously" tracking my daily calories. I need to lose about 20 pounds. MFP says I should end the day with 1200 net calories. I've been exercising a lot and eating 1200-1400 calories, which is leading to less than 900 "net calories" per day. I've lost 1 1/5 pounds in the past 4 days.

Although I'm excited to see the scale drop so quickly and feel OK (although hungry more often than I'm used to), should I be eating more / exercising less to raise the "net calores" to around 1200?

I don't want to overdo it and either 1. make myself unhealthy, or 2. gain the weight back.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Replies

  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    You'll find a lot of conflicting opinions on this. The risk of netting so low is that you may lose lean muscle and your metabolism may slow down, making it harder to lose no matter how little you eat and easier to gain when you switch to maintenance. In the end it's up to you to decide what your priorities are.
  • bac1962
    bac1962 Posts: 4 Member
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    Thanks for the input. I'm fortunate in that I like to both eat AND exercise - so I think I'll up the calories a bit to bring that net number up. I want a slow, steady, healthy, sustainable weight loss.
  • findusfaithful18
    findusfaithful18 Posts: 16 Member
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    I think the advantage of the idea of "net calories" is that it trains that it is okay to eat more when you've done a hard workout (because your body needs the protein and vitamins back, otherwise you'll lose muscle and metabolism), but it also trains you to eat less on days you don't work out so you don't gain it all back. I think it makes more sense that just a across-the-board calorie limit, because really your caloric needs change each day depending on how much energy you're expending. So if you're aiming for 1200-1400 net calories, only eat 12-1400 on the days you don't exercise, and give yourself more wiggle room on days you exercise if you're feeling hungrier.
  • kimlindsey
    kimlindsey Posts: 4 Member
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    I'm late to the thread, but I think "work hard, eat big" is a great solution to your net calorie issue.

    From personal experience, when I don't meet my net cal goal for extended periods of time, it affects my performance (and that eventually affects my motivation). My current method is to let the net calorie values fall where they may day-to-day, but ensure by eye on the 90 day chart that *on average* I'm at or near my target value.
  • althaluszombie
    althaluszombie Posts: 94 Member
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    My calorie goal sits at 1600 but on days that I exercise specifically to loose weight I will wait to add in later after my food entries so that I know where my protein level is at and fiber levels. On days you work out you should take a pack of multiple vitamins and eat some bananas or other high potassium, low fats, low carbohydrates food. I enjoy drinking coconut water when I workout, or every day. It is the most refreshing highest potassium you will find. Good luck with your choices, Keep your protein over and carbs under. Saturated fat is good for keeping your metabolism and hormone levels at an adequate level so keep it at its daily need.

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