Net (kcal)

What does the Net(kcal) mean that is on the Diet Calendar?

long story short...it's the same as a calorie

The net part means something has been subtracted - in this case it's the difference between your output and your intake. Green down arrow means you had a calorie deficit for the day (GOOD for weight loss), red up arrow means you had a calorie surplus for the day (not so good for weight loss).

Like your take-home pay is your NET pay after taxes, or the NET weight on a package of food means just the food, not counting the weight of the packaging itself.

The Net(kcal) is the difference between the number of calories you burned in a day and the number of calories you consumed. If you are trying to lose weight, this number should have a green arrow next to it. So if you burned 2000 calories in a day and ate 1500 calories, your net calorie was a deficit of 500 calories (with a green arrow down). If there is a red up arrow next to the number, it means you ate more calories than you burned that day.

Calories Burned - Calories Consumed = Net(kcal)


Having a deficit of 500 calories per day for 1 week will equal about a 1 pound weight loss a week.

1 Pound = 3,500 calories = 500 calories/day X 7 days

Ha, jinx umdterpsgirl!

Ha! Apparently you were faster on the draw with that one!

Thanks for all the feedback....makes perfect sense now!

For weight loss, ideally you want to keep that number between 500-1000 with a green arrow next to it. Go too low or too high, & you will have unpredictable results. So make sure you log your food the best you can, & log intentional exercise. Note that the exercise diary here has entries for mundane activities like Desk Work & Sitting. DON'T use these. The general consensus around here is that those numbers are overinflated. This is bad because it could lead you to believe you burned more calories in a day than you really did, so if you eat more to get in that target deficit range, you could eat your way out of good results.