Can someone tell me what Net Kcal means?

When I click the Diet Calendar tab there is a number in the far right column of the chart listed under Net Kcal. I am not sure I understand what this column is suppose to indicate. Does this number indicate your daily calorie deficit after you factor in exercise?

It compares your calories eaten vs. your calories burned in exercise and activities. If it's positive, you are eating more calories than you burn. If it's negative, you are burning more calories than you eat. That's assuming you keep up your food diary and activities/exercise accurately.

Hey thanks for the responses.

What is the goal on the Net (kcal)? I'm showing green on all my days which should be good, but I'm only maintaining my weight...lost .2 this week.

@srwjones-the bigger the negative number the better your weight loss should be provided that you are accurate with your calories eaten and your exercise log. -3500 kcal = 1 lb. (approx)

Thanks, guys. I guess my question now is if I eat my RDI am I maintaining or am I supposed to lose?

as long as your net Kcal is negative 500 or more then you should lose weight. Just remember that as matt said it happens on its own schedule. My calorie accountant is very unpredictable I can go for a fair amount of time and show no movement then all of a sudden BAM!! 2-3 lbs are gone.

From what I've seen, the general consensus is that FatSecret's automatic RDI calculation isn't the most accurate one in the world. WebMD has a good one. For instance in my case, FS says my RDI is 2,700 calories a day, which is pretty high even though I'm heavy. After checking out WebMD, 2,100 seems more appropriate.

FS also calculates how many calories I supposedly burn doing various activities, but that seems high to me too. WebMDs calculator suggested I probably burn quite a bit less in reality, & judging by the rate of my weight loss, I trust WebMD more than FS.

Whatever you go by, keep in mind that these are all just tools to assist with tracking. None of them will be 100% accurate so don't stress too much about the actual numbers. Track your food, exercise & weight changes for a solid couple of weeks & that should give you an idea of how your deficits translate into true weight loss.

Good luck!!!

Kat

I believe so