I don't understand the calories info
 

I don't know if I am overthinking this, but I don't get the way the program displays calories. I understand the calories consumed part where I add in my foods, but I'm not sure I understand the final number it gives. For instance the two days I have been logging it would say -880 or so calories as a net total. Does that mean my diet was deficient by 880 calories meaning I took in less than I needed? Now on day 3 suddenly it is saying I need 2664 calories today though yesterday just for my lifestyle it said 2300 and I swear the day before it said 2000. Why is that changing daily? I do exercise a lot between going to gym and hobbies, but I can't see how it could be ok for me to consumer 2664 calories today especially since this is my 1 day off from the gym. :) What number of calories should I be consuming to lose weight? I weigh 232 and want to get down to at least 145. Around 1500 to 1800 calories I have been told elsewhere?? But this software doesn't seem to say that. Why isn't there a help section for this software?!

Yes, I do believe that you took in 880 fewer calories than you burned that day.

The only reason I can think of for calorie needs changing daily is if you are adding in activities. If you add in an activity, it burns more calories than just your base rate, so the number goes up.

The number of calories you "should" consume (based on what you burn) is set by FD based on the difference between your goal and current weight and your goal date (how long in between now and then). Basically, though, a good rule of thumb is to lose a pound a week, burn 500 more than you eat every day; for two pounds a week, burn 1000 more than you eat every day.

If you are explicitly adding exercises then you can see what that impact is on calorie expenditure. Body weight and activity levels changes (sedentary, mostly seated, and so on) also affect it but if you haven't changed any of those it should be pretty leveled out. The calorie deficit is tracked per day, not cumulative. If without entering exercises you are seeing lots of variability in burned calories I'd be interested to see what is going on.

I know its not cumulative. I have at least a 800 calorie deficit each day. Last night I went to bed with a 1100 calorie deficit. This morning I weigh 3 lbs more than yesterday evening. Yesterday I burned over 1500 calories from working out at gym, then going fishing, household chores and sleeping 7 hrs. I only took in 1800 and FD says just for a sedentary lifestyle I need over 2300 calories just to live before I add in my exercise. I can't stand to eat more and honestly can't afford that much groceries.

Calorie deficit IS cumulative in real life, but is tracked daily on the computer. If you have a deficit of approx. 3,500 calories over the course of a week, you should, on average, lose one pound. A 7,000 calorie deficit should result in a two pound loss, and so on (within reason).

Now, the human body does NOT always follow along with the "math", but on average, over time, it should be fairly close if you are accurate in your calorie intake and expenditure (garbage in, garbage out).

I highly suggest only weighing once a week, preferably at the same time and under the same conditions (first thing in the morning is best, IMHO). The body can have natural swings of several pounds due to fluid retention, etc. but the overall trend over time should be downward if you are truly maintaining a decent calorie deficit.

Regards,
Michael

What does the Net Calories at the top of the calorie report actually mean. Is that how many I actually burned that day or how many I have to go?

The Net Calories is too an extent how many calories left you can eat before you are at the estimated required amount for your age/size/gender. However, if you are trying to lose weight you want to keep the Net Calories at a minus number. Everyone is different depending on their needs & goals, but I think many keep it at -500 to -800 calories as theoretically you need to have that much deficit per day in order to lose an average of 2 lbs per week which is supposedly the safe level.

500 per day will get you, on average, a pound loss per week. For two pounds, you need a deficit of 1000 per day, or average of that.

i have the same question...is it supposed to be a negative?

If you are trying to lose weight it should be negative. If you are trying to maintain you need to pretty much equal the net number and go over to a positive number if you are trying to gain.