Net Calories.

I think that if you are not able to put in the planning to keep at a reasonable and healthy net, then you shouldn't exercise so much, as it is counterproductive. What is the point of honing a healthy body with a workout, when you are starving it of nutrition? I see no excuse to end up with nets that low, quite frankly. Your obviously not putting enough calories into your breakfast, lunch and snack, so maybe might look into better planning.

Also, not that hard to get close to 1000 calorie dinner, people doing intermittent fasting manage it well enough. A couple of salmon fillets, baked potato and some avocado and veggies would get you pretty close, with a snack of a handful of nuts.

Also when I did have a personal trainer she did tell me not to eat all of them back, half at most. I just don't know either!

I think if you eat the required calories(1200-1500) then its fine for weight loss.

I too am confused about the whole "net" thing. Even on days where I do less exercise, I do not "net" anywhere near 1200 calories. Just seems like a lot of food that I am really not that hungry for.

If you cannot meet a NET of around 1200 calories a day with exercise, it's time to cut back on exercise or start eating more calorie rich foods. Almonds are great for that! There's delicious 100 calorie snack packs in flavors like cocoa and cinnamon and brown sugar.

Eat up or cut the exercise down. it's just not healthy to continue like this. MFP already has your calorie goal set up so that you're eating to lose weight. As long as you're under TDEE, which is how many calories your body burns just laying there like a lump, you'll lose weight. You DO NOT have to burn every calorie you eat.

Your body needs fuel to survive. Don't deprive it, feed it.... and feed it well.

I too am confused about the whole "net" thing. Even on days where I do less exercise, I do not "net" anywhere near 1200 calories. Just seems like a lot of food that I am really not that hungry for.

If you have trouble netting 1200, then you may want to look into adding healthy snacks that are calorie dense like nuts, avocado, peanut butter, etc.

If you're making a sandwich maybe add a bit extra meat... if you have a salad with chicken add more chicken.
Small things can add up!

What exactly are you eating in the day? It would be helpful if your diary were open so that you could get the proper help.

I came across a forum a few days ago about people netting with dangerously low net calories.

Today, I ate breakfast, lunch and a snack before I went to work out. I also was at the mall for 3 hours and didn't eat during my time there. I went to work out and burned 600+ calories leaving me with a net of 5 calories before dinner. There's no possible way I am going to eat 1100-1400 calories for DINNER to get my net calories in a 'healthy' range.

Just wondering what YOU all think of the whole net calorie idea and what a healthy range would be. And the whole "burn more than you take in".

I wouldn't do it on a regular basis, but occasionally having a low net is OK. I actually cut my cardio in half several months ago because I was having issues eating enough to net a decent amount on a regular basis.

These threads make me laugh a bit to myself. None of us had any trouble netting a gazzillion calories before mfp. Now all of a sudden we can't eat????? Come on!

If you don't consume enough, then you will loose muscle mass, not fat. Starving yourself into loosing weight is NOT the way to do it. You're going to do more harm than good.

Please take advice on a public forum as opinions. If in doubt consult a REAL MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL.

My opinion for what its worth: Eat fresh non processed foods when your hungry, work out but dont kill your self and do NOT worry bout the calculations of all this stuff of BMR TDEE and Net calories.

Good luck to you.

I wish when I first got here I didnt listen to all the forum opinions. I wasted 2 months trying to recover from bad advice.

It is your body, you know when your hungry, when to stop exercise. Listen to your body.

~ I do " Intermittent Fasting " ... I have an 8 hour window every day to consume my calories and have no problem eating 1200 to 1600 calories a day. If you eat one ingredient foods such as Salmon, Chicken, Eggs, Edamame, Nuts, Seeds, Greens, Fruits, Colorful Veggies, Whole Grains ... Foods with considerable protein ... you will find that hitting the calories is never a problem.

But ... with that being said, everybody is different and some people whom eat back all their exercise calories find that they do not lose weight and sometimes even gain. This is because the calories and burn numbers are NOT a perfect science and a lot of people over estimate their burn and under estimate their food consumption.

If you wear an HRM ... this is the closest way to get accurate burn numbers, and even with an HRM ... I still never eat back all my calories from exercise ... there is always that " error " window.

It should also be considered that if you do eat back every calorie and are not losing weight .... then stop eating everything back ! You have to play with the numbers and fine tune your body to what works for you ... against all the times I was told I eat too little and burn way too much ... I have been quite successful at losing weight AND building muscle. I don't just sing to the choir ... my body is proof.

Bottom line ... eat when your hungry, find exercise that you love to do ... eat in moderation your favorite foods and load up on the veggies and H2O ! Never assume tomorrow is another day ... always start with today ! Just cause you blew it at breakfast does NOT mean the day is already a waste ... continue through it making wiser choices and finish strong !

I see so many people tell others do this, don't do that ... anything and everything has worked for somebody ! I can find one person to support an idea ... just as I can find one person to tear any regimen to pieces. If everybody could understand that what works for one person is not necessarily going to work for the next ... there would be a lot less failure and whole lot more success stories.

I can tell you that eating 1200 calories a day will never starve you .... that netting under your calories for the day won't kill you and eating back every calorie works for a lot of people .... just not everybody !

I sometimes net very low or even in the negative ... keyword being : sometimes.
I sometimes eat my TDEE / BMR and still feel hungry ... So I eat some nuts or peanut butter.
I sometimes eat a lot of my exercise calories back and see a gain the next day.
I sometimes eat just my set calories and burn a 1,000+ calories ... and see a gain the next day.

Our bodies are unique ... you have to play with the numbers and find what works for you ... as your body goes through changes, so will your numbers.

I lost the majority of my weight eating 1200 calories a day, working out 7 days a week and burning 1,000+ calories a day ... the weight came off easily ...

BUT ... when I got down to the last 25lbs to lose .... NONE of that worked ! I had to change everything ... and more than once ! I tried the eat more, weigh less approach ... nope, no go. I tried the TDEE - 500 cal, nope ... no go. Intermittent Fasting is what worked and still currently fits my lifestyle now ...

Again, it takes patience ... persistence and determination. Try whatever you find remotely appealing and see what happens. This is not a race to the end ... just a comfortable walk in the park.

Today ... I am comfortable. :flowerforyou: