The Energy Summary section is found below your diary and shows your:
Displaying the Energy Summary in your Diary is optional. To remove or show the Energy Summary and Macronutrient Targets section, go to More > Display > Toggle on/off Calories Summary in Diary.
Energy Consumed
The circle labelled Consumed displays total energy in the foods you have logged in your Diary. The number in the middle of the circle is the total energy consumed. Hovering your mouse over the circle displays the number of kcal or kJ for each macronutrient consumed, and the percent of total energy coming from each macronutrient.
Energy Burned
The circle labelled Burned shows your energy burned (in calories or kilojoules) for the day. Hover your mouse over the circle to see what has contributed to your energy burned.
At the beginning of the day, this will include your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) your chosen Baseline Activity Level.
Throughout the day, your Energy Burned will increase as you log Exercise and Food in your Diary (if you have decided to include the Thermic Effect of Food in your settings) and if you are synced to a device that tracks general activity (= Tracker Activity).
If you are synced with a device that tracks general activity, as the general activity from your device (= Tracker Activity) increases throughout the day, the Baseline Activity will be replaced by this imported activity to ensure that you are not overestimating your burned calories. This will now appear as Adjusted Baseline Activity in your Burned circle.
Exercise (either logged or imported from a device) will also replace your Baseline Activity based on the time spent exercising. For example: Baseline Activity is divided into 16 hours as that's an estimate of how long the average person is awake. If your Baseline Activity = 400 kcals, you're burning approximately 25 kcal/hour from general activity.
If you exercise for 1 hour, your Adjusted Baseline Activity = 400 - 25 = 375 kcal.
Once your Tracker Activity and Exercise have fully replaced the calories from the Adjusted Baseline Activity, the Adjusted Baseline Activity section will disappear from the Burned circle.
Note that total daily BMR and general activity are automatically logged at the beginning of each day by Cronometer. If you are wondering why your diary says you have burned energy already today even when you haven’t logged any exercise yet, these values are why!
Third Circle (Energy Target or Balance)
We have two distinct modes for the third circle in your Energy Summary: Energy Target and Energy Balance.
Energy Target
Target Mode is meant to show you, in reference to your target, how much you have remaining or how over your target you are.
If you have set a Weight Goal, the calculation is:
Energy Target = Baseline Target (+/- Weight Goal if you have set this) + Exercise Above Baseline (if you have set this) - Consumed
If you have set a Custom Energy Target, the calculation is:
Energy Target = Custom Energy Target + Exercise Above Baseline (if you have set this) - Consumed
Energy Balance
Balance Mode is simply meant to show you the basic energy balance of Burned - Consumed.
It will tell you if you are in a deficit or a surplus based on Consumed vs Burned, regardless of if you've set a Custom Energy Target or Weight Goal.
To set your Target or Balance mode:
- Go to More > Profile + Targets
- Scroll down to Energy Target
- Beside Energy Summary Displays, Toggle on Balance or Target mode
You can also click directly on the Balance or Target circle in your Diary to switch between modes.
Learn about the Energy Summary on the Mobile App