My Net calories are really low do they count or just the normal calories

I just looked at a report for my net calories (Cool gadget) and they seem really low. Is the 1200 + rule go for net calories or just make sure I'm eating 2000 + calories a day and count that as my number? I think I eat a lot but I also do a lot of Cardio (eight to nine 50 min sessions a week) for stress relief and it works. The bike normally says I burned 700-750 calories I log it as 400 calories for MFP. I also am on my feet most days so my Iphone stepper is always above 20,000 steps everyday and then I do weights four days a week which I count as 200 calories on MFP

My typical cardio is 16-18 miles 50 min and average HR is 132-142

Will one of you guru's look at my net calories and diet and offer some advice? I have no problem drinking a higher calorie weight gainer if I'm being unhealthy with my numbers.. I have lost about a 1.2 lb a week over the course of my 40 days here and figured I would raise calories at 185lbs but then saw this NET calorie and don't know the answer if I'm not eating enough?

Thank you

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The results of what you've been doing are quite reasonable, in regards to weight loss. If you feel like you've got enough energy to keep going with all that cardio, I'd guess you're getting enough calories. If you always feel like you're starving, you could try allowing yourself more than 50% of your exercise calories. 1200 is generally the minimum net calories allotted for a short, sedentary, older woman. Men are generally considered to require at least 1500 - more if you're active. I'd guess you're eating more than you think you are, but since you're still getting good results, you could just keep doing what you're doing...

I don't use MFP totally as designed because I'm a fitness instructor and I work out a lot and I was essentially under eating some days by trying to stick to 1200 calories net when I didn't work out. I use the TDEE method so that I'm eating at a consistent calorie level every day and you will find many folks on here that do that as well. Remember rest days are when you body repairs and gets stronger and if you are barely eating on rest days, it cannot do that well! Using TDEE smooths that out. So a few thoughts...

1) It sounds like you are losing a reasonable amount of weight each week and may not need to change too much which = stick with what you know.
2) You could go to www.scoobysworkshop.com and calculate your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) to see what you need to maintain your current weight. Then you can back off either 20%, 15% or 10% of that number to figure out your total daily energy needs to lose at a certain rate.
3) Based on my TDEE number (calculated including weekly exercise habits), I can eat 1800 calories per day to lose about 1 lb a week and that's been true for me. So yeah, it works! Since exercise is already included in this number, I just go into MFP and add in the time I spent on an activity, but I override the calories burned to total 600, so that my daily allotment is 1800 calories to use up (1200 MFP gives me + 600 = 1800 which is my TDEE - 15%). On days I don't work out, I add in 1 minute worked out with 600 calories burned.
4) I find that using TDEE works really well if you are active and at a pretty healthy weight range already because it's easy to track and tweak that way. Scooby says you should recalculate TDEE with every 5 lbs lost.

You can search TDEE on the web and even on MFP and find more than you'd want to know on it!

Good luck.

Sorry I have to ask Michael. Do you walk 16-18 miles a day plus 50 minutes cardio?
If so, wow!

And I would now way be netting under 1500 calories, even this sounds low for a male with your high activity level.

My average steps for the month is just over 20,000 steps so I don't think so. I ride my bike twice on wed & sun and once the other days of the week pretty intense 16-18 miles in 50 minutes for stress relief I know its to much but it really really helps me!!

Oh I have tons of energy and feel like I'm eating lots and do log all my food intake look at my diary its a a lot of stuff!!

Oh I weigh 194.8 as of 5 am today and am 6"1 46 years old-

I will check out the TDEE Thank you for the info and time to write a comment!!

This mornings workout and I feel amazing!! 18.60 miles in 50 minutes my legs are PUMPED!!!

I went back through and erased the MFP calorie adjustments for the entire month which made my numbers better is there a way to turn that function off they can really screw a persons diet up as some of the adjustments were 700 calories??

Looking at your food diary, it doesn't look like you're weighing your food. That would seem to support the theory that you're actually eating more than you think. I'm not trying to pick on you - the fact that you're losing about a pound a week without tightening up the logging suggests that you're being fairly consistent even if you're not achieving accuracy. I'm only making a point of it because you seem to care about the numbers. If you were satisfied with just the results, you wouldn't care so much about the exercise calorie adjustments.

Are you logging your exercise manually (as opposed to automatically with a device, like a FitBit)? You don't have to accept MFP's estimates for calories burned. You could enter 1 calorie or 50% of MFP's estimate or even some other number that you pulled from thin air, or figured on another calculator somewhere online... Or you could even choose not to log your exercise.

Lots of people do the TDEE method and log 1 calorie.

If you are losing 1.2 lb/week, that's an average deficit of 600, which isn't terribly extreme (even though you are close to goal, you are also a man, so it's off of a total maintenance that's higher to start) and also wouldn't put you below 1200, I wouldn't think. So most likely you are eating more than you think or the exercise burn isn't as high as you are getting.

I like the TDEE method when one has set exercise as it eliminates the need to try and estimate exercise burn, which is going to be inaccurate anyway.

lemurcat12 wrote: »

Lots of people do the TDEE method and log 1 calorie.

If you are losing 1.2 lb/week, that's an average deficit of 600, which isn't terribly extreme (even though you are close to goal, you are also a man, so it's off of a total maintenance that's higher to start) and also wouldn't put you below 1200, I wouldn't think. So most likely you are eating more than you think or the exercise burn isn't as high as you are getting.

I like the TDEE method when one has set exercise as it eliminates the need to try and estimate exercise burn, which is going to be inaccurate anyway.

This^

First off thank you all!!!

My TDEE is 2908 calories so from here I don't log exercise subtract 15% (2471.8) and just eat this and keep working out? Just want to make sure I got this right..

Yes, if you're going by tdee then your exercise is included in your calories, so you do not eat your exercise calories back. And the minus 15% is correct. Some folks minus 20% 0r 5%, it's up to you.

If you added your exercise into mfp and ate some or all of those calories back, you would be double dipping and over eating.

I hope this makes sense, I'm hopeless at explaining things on 'paper'.

If you're riding 15-20 miles and have "tons" of energy, you're by definition not eating too little.

christinev297 wrote: »

Yes, if you're going by tdee then your exercise is included in your calories, so you do not eat your exercise calories back. And the minus 15% is correct. Some folks minus 20% 0r 5%, it's up to you.

If you added your exercise into mfp and ate some or all of those calories back, you would be double dipping and over eating.

I hope this makes sense, I'm hopeless at explaining things on 'paper'.

Yes and Thank you I think i have it all down now It motivates me to log my exercise but I will put in 1 calorie from here on out. Now I have to figure out away that my iphone steps won't show up and add calories to MFP

I use C4 pre workout for energy but today after my 18.60 miles in 50 min ride I had no energy at the gym

Michael190lbs wrote: »

christinev297 wrote: »

Yes, if you're going by tdee then your exercise is included in your calories, so you do not eat your exercise calories back. And the minus 15% is correct. Some folks minus 20% 0r 5%, it's up to you.

If you added your exercise into mfp and ate some or all of those calories back, you would be double dipping and over eating.

I hope this makes sense, I'm hopeless at explaining things on 'paper'.

Yes and Thank you I think i have it all down now It motivates me to log my exercise but I will put in 1 calorie from here on out. Now I have to figure out away that my iphone steps won't show up and add calories to MFP

I use C4 pre workout for energy but today after my 18.60 miles in 50 min ride I had no energy at the gym

Food equals energy. I know if I have a low calorie day, I don't get as many miles in. My energy and motivation plummet.
You may have to play around with your calories, and take a look at your macros until you find your perfect balance.

I really appreciate u taking the time on this I have been BRO SCIENCE my entire life and these past 40 days have really been enlightning.. My protein is way to high for my goals according to that TDEE thing you showed me (THANKYOU) so I have some playing around to do with my diet this sunday when I prep food for the week..

Thanks again

christinev297 wrote: »

Michael190lbs wrote: »

christinev297 wrote: »

Yes, if you're going by tdee then your exercise is included in your calories, so you do not eat your exercise calories back. And the minus 15% is correct. Some folks minus 20% 0r 5%, it's up to you.

If you added your exercise into mfp and ate some or all of those calories back, you would be double dipping and over eating.

I hope this makes sense, I'm hopeless at explaining things on 'paper'.

Yes and Thank you I think i have it all down now It motivates me to log my exercise but I will put in 1 calorie from here on out. Now I have to figure out away that my iphone steps won't show up and add calories to MFP

I use C4 pre workout for energy but today after my 18.60 miles in 50 min ride I had no energy at the gym

Food equals energy. I know if I have a low calorie day, I don't get as many miles in. My energy and motivation plummet.
You may have to play around with your calories, and take a look at your macros until you find your perfect balance.

Michael190lbs wrote: »

First off thank you all!!!

My TDEE is 2908 calories so from here I don't log exercise subtract 15% (2471.8) and just eat this and keep working out? Just want to make sure I got this right..

yes, but one pound per week loss would be 2908 - 500 = 2408 …that is if that is your goal …if it is .5 pound then subtract 250 calories from that number.

Just keep in mind that it is just an estimate so you may have to play around with the numbers, but one you have it pegged you pretty much know what range you gain/lose/maintain in

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