calories vs. net calories

Your BMR is the number of calories you need to eat just to maintain basic body functions (heart beating, brain working, etc.), so you *should* make sure that your NET calories at the end of the day are higher than your BMR...otherwise you might start to feel tired and dragging and not have enough energy to exercise or be productive during the day.

*THAT SAID*... If you have a lot of weight to lose (and a high body fat %), you will probably be just fine if your NET calories are a bit under your BMR at the end of the day. This is because your body already has extra stores of energy (fat) that can be burned to help fuel those basic body functions I mentioned. As your weight loss progresses, you can shift towards eating more to fuel your exercise....but if you start out eating a bit less because you're not hungry, that's OK too. Just keep in mind that you may need to change up how much you're eating and what you're eating a few times before you hit your groove and really start making progress - or somewhere along the way if you hit a plateau - just be patient, good things will happen.

Regarding recovery shakes: MFP automatically sets your protein goal really really low, but a protein-rich diet will usually help you feel full longer, and it will help you maintain muscle mass as you lose weight (on a reduced calorie diet, a lot of people lose muscle along with fat, then have to work really really hard to rebuild that muscle; if you can keep more muscle from the get-go, it *should* actually help you lose fat faster, and you'll likely be happier with the end results). Bottom line - post-workout protein shakes are (in my opinion) a really good idea. Just shoot for something that has a lot of protein (at least 20-25g protein), without a lot of other stuff you don't need. I use whey protein powder (vanilla flavored, from Target, if you're in the US - I think it tastes pretty good, and with 1% milk it's a total of 32g protein and 240 calories).

with 44% body fat eat at your BMR and you will be fine. Don't eat back exercise calories, don't eat under your BMR, just eat at your BMR and you will be just fine. Try to get your body weight in grams of protein and you shouldn't lose any muscle mass. Basically everything elstein said.

In general, MFP will probably set your calorie allowances lower than they need to be (it puts me at 1200, but my BMR is like 1410; with only 15-20lb to lose I can't eat that low and not feel like gnawing my own leg off, lol). If your BMR is 1830 and you're working out, I imagine you should probably shoot to EAT at least 1700-1900 calories (though exercise will bring your NET calories lower than that). Just remember that the calorie goal MFP is giving you is *already* a deficit, and it's designed to help you lose 2lb/week (according to the goal you set) even if you never step foot in the gym. Because of that, any strength training or cardio you do is bonus, so MFP allows you to "eat back" those calories. If you *don't* eat those extra calories, you are essentially resetting your goal for that day to >2lb/week weight loss. This isn't necessarily "bad"...but you need to make sure that your net calories don't get *so* low that you no longer have enough fuel for your body.

Have you calculated your TDEE as well? That's basically your BMR *plus* whatever calories you burn during the day from working out or even just walking around [you can calculate it here: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ ]. Others may disagree, but my general rule (for me) is that my NET should never be below my BMR, but my total food calories (what I ate during the day) should never be above my TDEE (unless I hiked or something for hours and hours and I have to eat above TDEE in order to net above my BMR...if that makes sense). Basically, this *should* guarantee that I'm always eating less than I burn during the day, but enough to keep my body energized. Since you have a little more to lose, you can probably afford to net below your BMR for a while, but make sure you readjust your goals, NET calories, etc, every so often. You WILL eventually need to net above your BMR every single day, so just be aware that that's coming and maybe plan to gradually increase your calorie goal as you go...that will be a lot easier than increasing your goal by 200-300 calories/day all at once down the road.

Oh, one more thing about TDEE: if you know your TDEE, then you can set an "upper limit" for what you're allowed on a day that is hard to control food-wise (like a kid's birthday party or a family picnic), and EVEN THOUGH MFP will "yell" at you with it's big red numbers and say you blew it big time that day, you can rest assured that really you're alright - you may not lose that day, but at least you'll break even


Bottom line: netting 1480 is probably just fine for right now - I definitely wouldn't recommend netting BELOW that if you can help it, since you're already below your BMR - but if you have a hungry day or a "bad food day," don't feel guilty about about eating more - you can afford to net more than 1480 and not derail your efforts.

Also, what clee369 said: trying to get your body weight in grams of protein each day is a good goal, especially if you're strength training. I've heard that you should shoot for that, or at least 1g protein per pound of LEAN body mass every day (multiply your weight by your body fat % to get lbs of fat, then subtract from total weight to get lbs of lean). I find it nearly impossible to get that much protein without drinking protein shakes or eating protein bars...sometimes I have 2 or 3 a day.

Best of luck to you, it sounds like you're getting off to an awesome start! :flowerforyou:

Edited to add: sorry for the super-long post...I get a little carried away when I write :blushing: