Net calories, what does that mean?

In calculating your calorie goal, we ask for your height, weight, age, activity level and weight goal. At the end of the day your NET calorie count should match the Calorie Goal that MyPlate calculated for you.

Here's an explanation about the difference between total calories consumed -- the number of calories you take in each day -- and net calories, which is that number minus any calories you burn through exercise: We know one pound is the equivalent of 3500 calories. Let's say you can eat 2200 calories a day and maintain your current weight. That's 15,400 calories/week. If you decide you want to lose a pound a week, then we know you have to "lose" a total of 3500 calories each week, to create the calorie deficit that will translate to losing that pound. To eat 3500 calories fewer each week, which is the same as 500 calories/day, your normal 2200/calories a day becomes 1700 (2200-500 = 1700).

So in this 2200-calorie-base-rate example, if you net 1700 calories a day, you'll be losing about a pound a week. If you eat 1600 calories today, and then ride your unicycle around for a while and burn an extra 200 calories, you've netted 1400 on the day, meaning you can consume an additional 300 calories today and still meet your daily calorie goal -- and your weight-loss goal, too!

You should not let your net calories DROP below the target number we calculate. We've already done the math based on our formula for calculating the number of calories your body burns on its own (BMR) each day.