Just to clarify how I should set my mfp and fitbit
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Brusselsmama
Posts: 6 Member
I am looking for confirmation and clarification that I am setting my calories correctly.
I am 53 years old, weigh 88 kg, 160 cm tall. In Scooby under an option of 20% lose fat and lightly active I come out with BMR of 1538, TDEE of 2115 and eat 1692. In fat2fit, I comet with a BMR of 1545 or 1515 (with a guess as to my body fat using my bathroom scale). This site says I should be eating 1567 cal for sedentary and 1796 for lightly active. 1690 seems to be in the middle, so it seems like a good place to start.
I have overriden the calorie in MFP and put in 1690 per scooby even though mfp says for a .5kg (1lb) weight loss per week I should eat 1500 cal, which is under my BMR. I believe that using TDEE I should not eat back any exercise calories as they are already included via the activity level I selected.
I have a fitbit which shows that I can have some very sedentary days, so I think my activity level is between sedentary and lightly active, depending on if I have time to go work out. When I go to the gym I do a range of machines and some bike or treadmill. Several times a week I go for 30 min. brisk walks.
On my fitbit it says that to lose .5 kg a week (as I selected in MFP) I should have a 250 cal deficit. That doesn't make sense to me as 7 x 250 would only be a 1750 cal. deficit. Therefore I selected their 500 cal deficit option that says lose 1 kg a week. Maybe this is a miscalculation on their part? 1 kg is 2.2 pounds, not 1 pound which a 500 x7 cal deficit should produce.
Should I use this setting in Fitbit or should I do the option of manually setting how many calories I want to eat and put in 1690 just like in MFP? In the past when I have tried to use MFP and fitbit, the fitbit was always telling I was below my target at the end of the day even though I had eaten what MFP said I should eat, so I am trying to sort this out so that I know I can count on what the fitbit is telling me.
I have read a lot of the posts regarding fitbits and BMR/TDEE. I'm still not sure how to set my fitbit.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
I am 53 years old, weigh 88 kg, 160 cm tall. In Scooby under an option of 20% lose fat and lightly active I come out with BMR of 1538, TDEE of 2115 and eat 1692. In fat2fit, I comet with a BMR of 1545 or 1515 (with a guess as to my body fat using my bathroom scale). This site says I should be eating 1567 cal for sedentary and 1796 for lightly active. 1690 seems to be in the middle, so it seems like a good place to start.
I have overriden the calorie in MFP and put in 1690 per scooby even though mfp says for a .5kg (1lb) weight loss per week I should eat 1500 cal, which is under my BMR. I believe that using TDEE I should not eat back any exercise calories as they are already included via the activity level I selected.
I have a fitbit which shows that I can have some very sedentary days, so I think my activity level is between sedentary and lightly active, depending on if I have time to go work out. When I go to the gym I do a range of machines and some bike or treadmill. Several times a week I go for 30 min. brisk walks.
On my fitbit it says that to lose .5 kg a week (as I selected in MFP) I should have a 250 cal deficit. That doesn't make sense to me as 7 x 250 would only be a 1750 cal. deficit. Therefore I selected their 500 cal deficit option that says lose 1 kg a week. Maybe this is a miscalculation on their part? 1 kg is 2.2 pounds, not 1 pound which a 500 x7 cal deficit should produce.
Should I use this setting in Fitbit or should I do the option of manually setting how many calories I want to eat and put in 1690 just like in MFP? In the past when I have tried to use MFP and fitbit, the fitbit was always telling I was below my target at the end of the day even though I had eaten what MFP said I should eat, so I am trying to sort this out so that I know I can count on what the fitbit is telling me.
I have read a lot of the posts regarding fitbits and BMR/TDEE. I'm still not sure how to set my fitbit.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
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Replies
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First, if you have a Fitbit which you referenced, don't try to get a TDEE from guessing from 5 rought levels - get infinite levels from Fitbit. You could be guessing wrong, and you could be very between levels.
Only caveat there is confirming you correct Fitbit on exercise it is not as accurate as it could be with.
Depends if you have HR model or non-HR model.
Second, other than using Fitbit to get a handle on best estimate TDEE - forget it's eating goals, since using MFP you should be anyway.
Don't attempt to follow 2 roads to the same destination - you'll just get confused and aggravated.
You have the setup idea on MFP right, just not using best figures possibly.
What Fitbit model do you have, and what are your workouts?0 -
I have a Fitbit zip. I do have a polar heart rate monitor which I was using at the gym. Would it be worth using round the clock to get a more accurate Tdee? When I go to the gym I do 15-30 min cardio, sometimes as HIIT. . I also do a selection of the weight machines - 2 sets as heavy as I can 8-12 reps. No free weights.0
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Wow, you and I are very similar in weight & height. I am 47 and am interested in the advice! My 2 week average on fitbit (zip) reports say I burn roughly 2100. I have mfp set at 1500. If I am really active then I will eat the adjustments fitbit gives, but sometimes I don't. What is best??0
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I'm kind of confused too, i use my weekly Fitbit report to calculate my TDEE and put that number into FitBit then subtract the percentage (e.g. 5%-10%) from that number and put it into MFP, is that correct?0
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First, if you have a Fitbit which you referenced, don't try to get a TDEE from guessing from 5 rought levels - get infinite levels from Fitbit. You could be guessing wrong, and you could be very between levels.
Only caveat there is confirming you correct Fitbit on exercise it is not as accurate as it could be with.
Depends if you have HR model or non-HR model.
Second, other than using Fitbit to get a handle on best estimate TDEE - forget it's eating goals, since using MFP you should be anyway.
Don't attempt to follow 2 roads to the same destination - you'll just get confused and aggravated.
You have the setup idea on MFP right, just not using best figures possibly.
What Fitbit model do you have, and what are your workouts?
Another question if you say not to go by Fitbit for eating goals, then do I want to allow negative exercise tracking in mfp. If I've put in the right cal goal, tacking into account my activity level, then do I want cals taken away due to Fitbit tracking?0 -
Brusselsmama wrote: »I have a Fitbit zip. I do have a polar heart rate monitor which I was using at the gym. Would it be worth using round the clock to get a more accurate Tdee? When I go to the gym I do 15-30 min cardio, sometimes as HIIT. . I also do a selection of the weight machines - 2 sets as heavy as I can 8-12 reps. No free weights.
HRM calorie burn formula is ONLY valid for aerobic exercise range in steady-state, so same HR for 2-4 min.
Below exercise not valid, inflated burn.
Anaerobic like lifting and sprinting all out and opposite of steady-state is invalid also, inflated burn.
HIIT is usually not possible on machines, probably doing intervals, which is different than HIIT.
True HIIT is for those wanting as close to a lifting benefit as you can get doing cardio only.
If doing lifting, skip the HIIT, and get the better benefit.
So your HRM is only valid for the 20-30 min cardio.
Not the intervals which Zip would be good at if running, but needs manual entry if some non-step based cardio like elliptical or rowing or biking.
Lifting should be manually entered on Fitbit as Weights from database, their calorie burn will be better.
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rockstar53 wrote: »Wow, you and I are very similar in weight & height. I am 47 and am interested in the advice! My 2 week average on fitbit (zip) reports say I burn roughly 2100. I have mfp set at 1500. If I am really active then I will eat the adjustments fitbit gives, but sometimes I don't. What is best??
To keep a reasonable deficit, not make it bigger from exactly the workouts you want to transform your body - but then don't give your body what it needs to work with.
15% deficit now is tad over 250.0 -
leooftheyear wrote: »I'm kind of confused too, i use my weekly Fitbit report to calculate my TDEE and put that number into FitBit then subtract the percentage (e.g. 5%-10%) from that number and put it into MFP, is that correct?
Answered in other thread, because I'm not sure what steps you are doing exactly that mean putting TDEE into Fitbit?
MFP entry is correct. But you must unsync accounts.0 -
Brusselsmama wrote: »First, if you have a Fitbit which you referenced, don't try to get a TDEE from guessing from 5 rought levels - get infinite levels from Fitbit. You could be guessing wrong, and you could be very between levels.
Only caveat there is confirming you correct Fitbit on exercise it is not as accurate as it could be with.
Depends if you have HR model or non-HR model.
Second, other than using Fitbit to get a handle on best estimate TDEE - forget it's eating goals, since using MFP you should be anyway.
Don't attempt to follow 2 roads to the same destination - you'll just get confused and aggravated.
You have the setup idea on MFP right, just not using best figures possibly.
What Fitbit model do you have, and what are your workouts?
Another question if you say not to go by Fitbit for eating goals, then do I want to allow negative exercise tracking in mfp. If I've put in the right cal goal, tacking into account my activity level, then do I want cals taken away due to Fitbit tracking?
You must unsync accounts, so negative/positive adjustments won't happen, to use this method as described - daily eating goal.0
