Negative calories

JRSINAZ

I have my setting to sedentary since I am an office worker and couch potato by night. On my food diary it says "you have earned -257 calories" this morning. It makes me feel like I am starting out in the hole everyday. I don't worry about eating my exercise calories but I have always wondered why this negative calculation came into play or am I doing something wrong?

MatthewRuch

Which daily activity tracker are you using?

Basically your activity tracker will report your current TDEE to MFP. MFP then compares this value against its own calculation of your daily burn then adjust your calories accordingly to keep the two numbers in balance.

For example here is my current adjustment:

JRSINAZ

I sync my fitbit tracker to MFP. I used to time and enter my activity (walking) manually in MFP before I got my Fitbit. I figured since I am basically sedentary any activity over and above that is counted. Maybe that's where the adjustment comes into play to back out little trips to the other room etc?

JRSINAZ

I FOUND MY ANSWER - If you have linked your MyFitnessPal account to a device or app that measures your total calorie burn (Fitbit, Bodymedia, etc.), check this box to allow negative calorie adjustments from that partner to appear on your exercise diary. Otherwise, only positive adjustments will be allowed.
Changes to this setting will be in effect only for adjustments received from that point on (past adjustments will not be restated).

A negative adjustment means that your projected calorie burn for the day from the partner is below MyFitnessPal's initial estimate. If you are unable to sync your tracking device until late in the day, or if you don't consistently use your tracking device, you may prefer not to enable negative adjustments.