I need help estimating my activity level

bonniejo

I decided I should up my calories, eating at 1600 just isn't enough, but I'm not sure what to up them to. My fitbit says I'm burning about 2200-2300 calories per day, but I wonder if it's right.

I do a very intense step and weights class 3 days per week, and a pure step 1 time a week. HR is often between 160-200 during step portions and we lift light weights or do body weight exercises for about half the class. I walk my dog every day between 30 and 80 minutes, and I lift 3 days per week, about 60 minutes per session, with a tabata drill before to warm up. I try to lift heavy but I just started I have been averaging about 13k steps a day, less when it rains and more when it doesn't. I also am trying to hike or take a longer walk once a week. I weigh 132 and am 5' 4", 24 years old.

If you could help me out with this, I'd greatly appreciate it! I know I'm pretty active, but I'm not sure what that number comes out to be.

bonniejo

Note: Heybales, I know you read most of these. Using your spreadsheet and the fitbit activity levels (lightly, fairly, and very active) to fill in the minutes I get between 2300-2500kcal for activity level depending on the week. Does that sound about right?

mymodernbabylon

Yes. I'm 46, 5'6", 145lb, lift 3x40 min and run 3x30 min plus just being active and my TDEE is 2130. Yours should be much higher.

williams969

Given the very high level of activity, I'd err on the higher side. Some of those activities are underestimated by Fitbit for most people (esp. the weight training and possibly the HIIT/tabata stuff and step class), so it's no wonder that heybales' worksheet is suggesting higher.

I'd go with the higher estimate (probably in the 2400-2500 range). If you've been eating at the 1600 mark for a while, a metabolic reset would be very beneficial for your body to adapt to a higher, more appropriate intake.

bonniejo

williams969 wrote: »

Given the very high level of activity, I'd err on the higher side. Some of those activities are underestimated by Fitbit for most people (esp. the weight training and possibly the HIIT/tabata stuff and step class), so it's no wonder that heybales' worksheet is suggesting higher.

I'd go with the higher estimate (probably in the 2400-2500 range). If you've been eating at the 1600 mark for a while, a metabolic reset would be very beneficial for your body to adapt to a higher, more appropriate intake.

I was wondering that, but over Christmas for 2 weeks I didn't worry about calories, and some of this activity is new within the last few weeks (the weight training, tabata, and walking more outside), and I was still losing fat at 1600, I wasn't stalled. I also was taking diet breaks of about 2100 calories one or two days per week. So I might not need one? Whether or not I need a metabolic reset was going to be my next question, so I would love advice on that too!

heybales

You should log the Weights in Fitbit so the TDEE is corrected.
The body weight stuff is calisthenics in the database.
If step based, the HIIT (if running and/or walking) will be good with step based workouts.
By HR it would be inflated burn.
If some other activity that isn't really HIIT and not step based, log it as whatever it really is.
HIIT label been thrown on a bunch of non-HIIT stuff lately.

I don't think it's really possible to take Fitbit activity level time and put in to spreadsheet, because it's based on sedentary, which does actually include some level of walking daily already, and therefore steps.

The Progress tab will be most useful when you go in to weight loss mode, as well as the Fitbit tab for changing the height if needed right now.
On Progress tab after a month, far right side is a TDEE calculator, input what you really ate in calories, what the weight loss was. It'll say what to change in the Activity calculator to make the TDEE match what it must have been.

bonniejo

heybales wrote: »

The Progress tab will be most useful when you go in to weight loss mode, as well as the Fitbit tab for changing the height if needed right now.
On Progress tab after a month, far right side is a TDEE calculator, input what you really ate in calories, what the weight loss was. It'll say what to change in the Activity calculator to make the TDEE match what it must have been.

I'm guessing I should do this after I boost my calories up? I've lost about .5 lbs a week at 1600 calories, but with this much activity I should be losing more, I'm sure my deficit is bigger than 300 calories? I think I'm going to work on the assumption that my TDEE is somewhere around 2300 and go from there, with a 15% deficit at 1950 and see what happens. I'll try to get up near to my guessed at TDEE before I cut, since I'm going to see my family for a week anyway for Easter so that will line up nicely.

Does that sound right?

heybales

Very correct, you never want to attempt calculated TDEE when undereating, or you'll just drive it to max suppression. You also don't want to include the first week going in to a deficit from true maintenance eating, because there is extra water weight lost.

Because if losing 1/2 lb weekly, your deficit right now is about 250 calories a day. Your TDEE is 1850 if that eating level is correct.

And that suppressed TDEE sounds like a far cry from your potential TDEE.

So ya, your body sounds a tad stressed out, it's willing to allow some deficit.
But you'll find when you eat more and unstress it, you'll likely move more and that will increase the real TDEE up to estimated level.