Nutrition glossary: the terms behind your calorie target
Calorie counting comes with a vocabulary: BMR, TDEE, deficit, net carbs, % Daily Value. Each page here defines one term in a sentence, explains it in plain language, and works through an example with real numbers, so you can see where a figure on a calculator or a food label comes from.
The examples are not typed in by hand. They run on the same functions as our calculators and read the same USDA data as the food pages, and the method is written out on how we calculate. 12 terms are open, and more arrive as they are written and checked.
Energy and weight
How much the body uses, and what a daily target is built from.
- Basal metabolic rate (BMR)BMR (basal metabolic rate) is an estimate of the calories your body uses in a day while at rest, covering only the work of staying alive and none of the movement.
- Calorie deficitA calorie deficit is eating fewer calories than your body uses in a day. The size of the gap, set against your TDEE, is what a weight-loss calorie target is built from.
- Calorie surplusA calorie surplus is eating more calories than your body uses in a day. It is the mirror image of a deficit: your TDEE plus a chosen amount.
- Total daily energy expenditure (TDEE)TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) is an estimate of all the calories you use in a day, resting and moving combined. Eating that amount is what 'maintenance' means.
Nutrients and labels
The nutrients a food is made of and the numbers printed on its label.
- Energy densityEnergy density is the number of calories in a gram of food. A low figure means a large weight of food for the calories; a high figure means a small one.
- USDA FoodData Central (FoodData Central)USDA FoodData Central (FDC) is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's public database of food composition. Every nutrient value on CalorTracker's food pages is read from it.
- Macronutrients (Macros)Macronutrients, or macros, are the three nutrients that supply calories in bulk: protein, carbohydrate and fat. Tracking macros means tracking grams of each, not only the calorie total.
- Net carbsNet carbs are the carbohydrate in a food after its fiber is subtracted. It is a calculation, not a nutrient that USDA measures, and we never let it fall below zero.
- Percent Daily Value (% Daily Value)% Daily Value (%DV) is the share of an FDA reference amount for a nutrient that one serving or amount of food provides. It is the amount divided by the Daily Value, as a percent.
- Protein intake per kilogram (Protein intake)Protein intake is the grams of protein you eat in a day, usually set as a range per kilogram of body weight. CalorTracker's ranges depend on your goal and are rules of thumb.
Body measures
Measures of the body that calculators and targets start from.
- Body fat percentageBody fat percentage is the share of your total body weight that is fat tissue. The calculator estimates it from tape measurements using the U.S. Navy method.
- Ideal body weightIdeal body weight (IBW) is a figure computed from height and sex alone by a simple formula. The four classic formulas give different answers, and none is a target for any individual.
This is general information, not medical advice. If you are pregnant, under 18 or managing a health condition, talk to a doctor or registered dietitian before changing how you eat.