"Net Cals" vs plain ol Cals

So, something's been slightly bugging me all week & Dawn touched on it yesterday in the accountability post.
"Yikes. Yeah, pizzaa and beer will do that to your numbers but seriously? You can handle it with how short your calories were."
hehe - i know its going to be a long weekend as it started yesterday & ends monday (YEAH BBY!!) nuff said lol

ANYWAYS - my thing is this....
i do my food & activity tracking on TDP (livestrong) & since im fairly new to working out like this - the  concept of net cals is new to me. Im use to taking in anywhere from 1100-1500 cals/day.
but w/ all the activity ive been doing this week (i adjusted my activity level on the site), it says i should be taking in like 1900+ cals. So, i try to eat more (but honestly im really afraid to) & then it subtracts the cals ive eaten b/c of the activity ive done - so i have to eat MORE CAL.

1) im 1/2 afraid 1/2 going with it that the amount of daily cals the site is telling me to intake is correct.
2) im 1/2 afraid 1/2 going with it that its calculating the net cals correctly
but i just dont know & could really use some guidance here.

I would listen to your body and see what it is telling you that you need.
I am not familiar with the program you are using however unless you had a metabolism test you do not know how many calories YOUR body needs or what calories you burn at the different heart rates... most sights are general and base their information on 'standards' or on an average of a group of people... so, yeah, it could be way off in either direction.

If you are doing a lot of weight training I would suggest adding in a protein shake/bar to give your body the protein/calorie boost it will need, same if you are doing a lot of cardio.

I also feel that getting the metabolism test was worth the money...I paid $110 and got the resting and exertion done, it really helped with my eating and exercising.

Thanks Jennifer. That is very good insight. I didnt know about the metabolism test. I'll look in to that.

I am doing lots of protein (shakes & bars) after i work out.
Im not sure about any of these sites & i for sure dont want to be doing something thats counter productive to my efforts - you know.

I used fitday.com to track my activity and food intake. It tells me that I need way more calories per day than I know to be correct. After almost 5 years banded I know what my calorie range is for losing, maintaining, and gaining. Yes, it's true that if you are in a maintenance phase and you exercise a lot you are going to need to eat a bit more to make up for the calories burned, but I agree with the other gal who said you should listen to your body. If you are feeling real hunger or physical weakness then definitely give yourself a couple hundred more calories, bu I'd say if you are feeling fine and the scale isn't giving you any trouble, don't rock the boat.

Thats the problem - i think my body is in a flux state & I dont know what to believe or listen to.
the sites or my body b/c i swear my body doesnt know right from wrong either.
i comprehend what you are saying about real hunger or physical weakness. i get that & havent experienced that (which is a good thing). but ont he other hand, the scale hasnt shown any decrease either. so im confused b/c i think i should be seeing SOMETHING by now.
SInce i am 6 yrs out & have gained back approx 59lbs - im in the maintenance phase - but im maintaining a higher weight than i'd like. I need ot get back on the downswing & then maintain that.

Watch out for those sites. They are giving you an estimate based on averages. If your metabolism is slower than average, it's going to tell you to eat too many calories. (TDP told me I should be losing 2 lb. a week when I was only losing 1 pre-op because of this.) If you are fitter than average, it might tell you to eat too few.

I use spreadsheets to figure my numbers out and then I just force the sites to calculate to my numbers by futzing with the activity levels, age, etc.

One thing is for sure - i think you are all correct in that these sites are grossly over estimating the cal count based on data for the general populous. Thats the part that really sucks b/c someone like myself comes along & uses these tools thinking im being steerred int he right direction when its all for not.
That is really discouraging...

What is the spreadsheet you use? how did you come up w/ the calculations & what are you calculating?

Thank you vuery much for your input. :)

Try checking out the GoWear Fit by Body Media. This has been an invaluable tool helping me get 26 lbs off after my thyroidectomy. It tracks how many calories you burn, how many steps you take, your activity time, how long and how efficient your sleep is and you can track your foods and weight. It has a 10% discrepancy rate compared to the 30% by most HRMs.