And THIS is why I'm tracking....

MamaBirdBoss

I am apparently naturally the most sedentary person in the world. I've done more than two hours at my treadmill desk today (11k steps) with my FitBit and BARELY nudged the adjustment to 150 cals over versus my default setting.

This is supposed to be a rest day, so no real exercise, but I want to earn enough calories for SOMETHING sweet and yummy. I'm all for IFFYM, but my M, they are verra small. lol. Even with a 1lb/wk loss setting.

Before I started tracking, I was averaging only 1 hour a day on the treadmill a day. With that and just vaguely "watching what I ate," I dropped more than 15lbs and found a new balance-point. But boy, does MFP slap you in the face with what you actually need, calorie-wise, to lose. :P

editorgrrl

Your Fitbit burn is TDEE—the number of calories necessary to maintain your current weight. If you eat a reasonable deficit from that, you will lose weight.

Set your goal to .5 lb. for every 25 lbs. you're overweight: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/change_goals_guided

Enable negative calorie adjustments: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings

You can learn more in the Fitbit Users group: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1290-fitbit-users

MamaBirdBoss

Yep, I know how it works.

I'm not overweight on paper anymore. But I don't fit in any but my fattest pants, and I'm sick of it. I'm getting back to my previous normal, which is the mid-to-lower end of the healthy range. Then I'm deciding when to recomp.

I'm going for a 1000-calorie deficit right now. That means I have to raise my TDEE a LOT. Why 1000 calories? I'm sick to death of being chubby. I have very small bones, and almost none of my clothes fit, and I was so out of shape it took me months and months to be able to exercise this much, so I'm going to use it.

I spent 6 months working up the endurance, while losing 15 pounds, to be able to burn so many calories in a day. It's just annoying that it takes THAT much walking.

MFP grossly overestimates the number of calories I burn by default--that's what I discovered with FitBit. I don't get close to 1699 without using my treadmill desk. I'm really, REALLY sedentary by default. So I need to get from about 1500 to 1700 just to meet a pound a week, then from 1700 to 2200 for a 1000-calorie deficit.

editorgrrl

MamaBirdBoss wrote: »

Yep, I know how it woks.

I'm going for a 1000-calorie deficit right now.

The smaller you are, the more slowly it comes off. That's just the way the human body works. A 1,000-calorie deficit is appropriate for someone who's 100 lbs. overweight.

Eating at too aggressive a deficit for your size will not get you to your goal any more quickly. In fact, it usually leads to bingeing.

If you follow the directions I posted above, you will be eating TDEE minus 250 calories for every 25 lbs. you're overweight.

MamaBirdBoss

...But, then I would eat to maintain. Why would I do that when I'm two sizes out of my clothes? I am 0 pounds overweight. 0*250=0. Plus the TDEE isn't SO accurate that anyone can be sure that 250 cals are 250 cals and not less.

A 1000-cal deficit is a 1000-cal deficit, no matter what your weight.

This is my third kid. I lost the weight with the other two in between and maintained for many years in a 10-lb window. I lost the weight at a rate of 1-2 lbs a week. That's what I'm doing now. (Well, not THIS week, but that was because I was really bloated when I started.)

Unfortunately, I spent six months of my last pregnancy in bed (which caused major strength and muscle mass loss) and then way too long working ridiculous hours while juggling the baby. But I know how to lose weight. I used to lose weight easily before because I did 10+ hours of moderate exercise a week through a hobby...and I wasn't as sedentary because I wasn't doing as much office work. Now I'm consciously creating the same level of weight loss through other means that I didn't have to think about before.

If you're really fit, you can burn a ton of calories with relative ease (in terms of your body recovery) and drop pounds pretty fast. It was when I lost all my fitness that it became a struggle. Fitness is finally coming back. Weight will be gone, too, soon enough.

I don't binge. I eat mindlessly. Or out of boredom. But I don't binge.

missomgitsica

MamaBirdBoss wrote: »

Yep, I know how it works.

I'm not overweight on paper anymore. But I don't fit in any but my fattest pants, and I'm sick of it. I'm getting back to my previous normal, which is the mid-to-lower end of the healthy range. Then I'm deciding when to recomp.

I'm going for a 1000-calorie deficit right now. That means I have to raise my TDEE a LOT. Why 1000 calories? I'm sick to death of being chubby. I have very small bones, and almost none of my clothes fit, and I was so out of shape it took me months and months to be able to exercise this much, so I'm going to use it.

I spent 6 months working up the endurance, while losing 15 pounds, to be able to burn so many calories in a day. It's just annoying that it takes THAT much walking.

MFP grossly overestimates the number of calories I burn by default--that's what I discovered with FitBit. I don't get close to 1699 without using my treadmill desk. I'm really, REALLY sedentary by default. So I need to get from about 1500 to 1700 just to meet a pound a week, then from 1700 to 2200 for a 1000-calorie deficit.

I wouldn't trust the FitBit any more than the MFP estimates because it doesn't have an HRM. Just saying.

editorgrrl

I lost the weight & have maintained for a year using Fitbit + MFP. The directions I gave are not for eating at maintaintenance—they're for eating at an appropriate deficit.

Eating at a 1,000-calorie deficit will not get you to goal any more quickly. In fact, you'll probably end up bingeing.