What Are Net Calories? Simple Definition, Formula and MFP Explained
MyFitnessCoach
March 5, 2025
Net calories are the calories left after subtracting the calories you burn through exercise from the total calories you eat.
Net Calories = Calories Eaten − Calories Burned Through Exercise
Example: you eat 2,000 calories and burn 500 through a workout. Your net calories are 1,500.
Key takeaways
- Net calories = food calories minus exercise calories only. They don't subtract calories your body burns at rest.
- On MyFitnessPal, your net calories should equal your daily goal at the end of the day.
- For 1 lb of fat loss per week, most guidelines suggest a 500-calorie daily deficit.
- Negative net calories (burned more than you ate) means a calorie deficit not a goal to chase aggressively.
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Net Calories vs Total Calories
| Total calories | Net calories | |
| What it counts | Everything you eat | Food minus exercise |
| What it ignores | Exercise | Resting metabolism |
| Used for | Seeing your full intake | Tracking your deficit |
Your body also burns calories at rest (your basal metabolic rate). Net calories as used in fitness apps don't subtract those they only subtract exercise. So net calories are not the same as your overall energy balance, but they're a useful daily tracking number.
How Many Net Calories Should You Eat?
These are general guidelines, not medical advice. Your actual number depends on your weight, height, age, sex and activity level.
| Goal | Net calorie approach |
| Lose ~1 lb/week | Eat ~500 fewer net calories than your maintenance level |
| Lose ~0.5 lb/week | Eat ~250 fewer net calories than maintenance |
| Maintain weight | Net calories equal your maintenance level |
| Build muscle | Eat ~250–500 more net calories than maintenance |
Most nutrition guidelines link a 3,500-calorie weekly deficit to roughly 1 lb of fat loss. That comes from older research and individual results vary but a 500-calorie daily deficit remains the standard starting point used by major health organizations.
To find your personal maintenance level, use our TDEE calculator.
What Does Net Calories Mean on MyFitnessPal?
MFP defines net calories as: Calories Consumed (Food) − Calories Burned (Exercise) = Net Calories.
MFP sets your daily goal as a net calorie number. When you log exercise, MFP adds those calories to your budget meaning you can eat more that day and still hit your net goal. According to MFP's own support page, your net calorie goal already includes your chosen deficit, so your net at the end of the day should equal your goal.
Example: your MFP goal is 1,500 net calories. You eat 2,000 and burn 500 through exercise. Net = 1,500. Goal met.
One thing to note: MFP often overestimates calories burned during exercise, which can make it easy to eat back more than you actually burned. Many users choose to eat back only half of logged exercise calories as a buffer.
The Bottom Line
Net calories = what you eat minus what you burn through exercise. Aim for a number that matches your goal: a deficit to lose, a surplus to gain, maintenance to stay the same.
Track your food and exercise together inMyFitnessCoach to see your net calories automatically.
This article is for general information and isn't medical advice. For personalized calorie guidance, talk to a registered dietitian.
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