Calorie in vs calories out

Hi folks, I have been using the Fitbit Charge HR which tells me I roughly burn 1750-1900 calories on days that do not exercise. To lose weight I'd have to eat less that 1750 cals per day... Does that sound right? It doesn't seem much. With this in mind, how many calories should I aim to eat daily to make sure I lose weight? Thanks
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Replies

  • tomsarno
    tomsarno Posts: 105 Member
    To loose weight or loose fat? They are not the same thing.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    tomsarno wrote: »
    To loose weight or loose fat? They are not the same thing.

    wut? OP said lose weight...
  • mantium999
    mantium999 Posts: 1,490 Member
    Assuming the estimate of 1750 is accurate, then yes, if you eat less than 1750 per day you should progressively lose weight. How far below 1750 is ideal would be partly based on how much you wish to lose, and how quickly. Also, for days you do exercise, you'll want to adjust accordingly.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    how do you burn 1900 calories a day, or am I missing something...
  • Alyssa_Is_LosingIt
    Alyssa_Is_LosingIt Posts: 4,696 Member
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    tomsarno wrote: »
    To loose weight or loose fat? They are not the same thing.

    wut? OP said lose weight...

    I'd love to know about the magic behind losing fat only. Surely he will enlighten us.

    OP - what are your age/height/weight? Do you plan on exercising?
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    Dellz_B wrote: »
    Hi folks, I have been using the Fitbit Charge HR which tells me I roughly burn 1750-1900 calories on days that do not exercise. To lose weight I'd have to eat less that 1750 cals per day... Does that sound right? It doesn't seem much. With this in mind, how many calories should I aim to eat daily to make sure I lose weight? Thanks

    If you link your Fitbit to MFP and set your goals accordingly (with negative adjustments), it'll give you the number.
  • mantium999
    mantium999 Posts: 1,490 Member
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    how do you burn 1900 calories a day, or am I missing something...

    My understanding is the Fitbit attempts to estimate something close to TDEE based on the user's stats, and the motion it senses through the course of the day. Not sure how reliable it is though.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    how do you burn 1900 calories a day, or am I missing something...

    I burned almost 2600 calories yesterday just with work and no exercise...11,000+ steps.
  • whmscll
    whmscll Posts: 2,254 Member
    Hah! 1750 sounds like a LOT to me. I am at 1300 on non-workout days.
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    how do you burn 1900 calories a day, or am I missing something...
    maybe its what she burns with all day activity? since she said without exercise? I think she is talking what a person normally burns.

  • joelschneider45066
    joelschneider45066 Posts: 76 Member
    I have a Charge HR too - and yes, if Fitbit is saying your burning ~1900 calories per day, then consuming less calories than that would cause weight loss, the amount below that would determine how much/how quick. It's basically establishing your TDEE for you. However, I have found using MFP to establish my Net Calorie goal each day is the best way of doing it, and then let Fitbit sync with MFP to give you adjustments to your MFP daily goal. It's not a one to one thing. MFP estimates what your body should burn each day, and based on your level activity the Fitbit sync will adjust that number up or down (assuming you have negative adjustments enabled). For me, I always burn way more than my MFP assumed TDEE, and therefore I get a positive adjustment from Fitbit.
  • nishelby
    nishelby Posts: 16 Member
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    how do you burn 1900 calories a day, or am I missing something...

    I believe the 1900 is her BMR+any activity.
  • Dnarules
    Dnarules Posts: 2,081 Member
    whmscll wrote: »
    Hah! 1750 sounds like a LOT to me. I am at 1300 on non-workout days.

    Well, if OP wants to lose 1 pound a week, then they would subtract 500 from that, and pretty much be where you are.

  • joelschneider45066
    joelschneider45066 Posts: 76 Member
    Right - the Charge HR is constantly (almost) measuring your heart rate and then basing your calorie burn on that. So if all you do is sit on the couch all day, your HR should staying close to resting almost all the time. The more active you are, the higher your HR, the higher the calorie burn.
  • MamaBirdBoss
    MamaBirdBoss Posts: 1,516 Member
    whmscll wrote: »
    Hah! 1750 sounds like a LOT to me. I am at 1300 on non-workout days.

    MFP has me at 1200!
  • tomsarno
    tomsarno Posts: 105 Member
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    tomsarno wrote: »
    To loose weight or loose fat? They are not the same thing.

    wut? OP said lose weight...

    I'd love to know about the magic behind losing fat only. Surely he will enlighten us.

    Cut your calories drastically and do a lot of cardio. You will loose weight fast. but the loss will be both fat and muscle. Eat slightly under your TDEE and do resistance training and you will burn fat. The additional muscle will help with Leptin resistance and you will burn more fat. Fat loss is much better then weight loss.
  • ncfitbit
    ncfitbit Posts: 1,058 Member
    I have a similar burn for non-exercise days, but I don't focus on the numbers by day so I don't worry about what I burn this day or that day. Instead, I just set my eating goals that allows me to accumulate a 3500 cal deficit per week (to lose 1 lb./week). I don't always achieve it, LOL, but I'm finding that the Fitbit does a good job of predicting my losses (or lack thereof). :)
  • mantium999
    mantium999 Posts: 1,490 Member
    tomsarno wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    tomsarno wrote: »
    To loose weight or loose fat? They are not the same thing.

    wut? OP said lose weight...

    I'd love to know about the magic behind losing fat only. Surely he will enlighten us.

    Cut your calories drastically and do a lot of cardio. You will loose weight fast. but the loss will be both fat and muscle. Eat slightly under your TDEE and do resistance training and you will burn fat. The additional muscle will help with Leptin resistance and you will burn more fat. Fat loss is much better then weight loss.

    Both of your examples will cause both fat and muscle loss. Your second option will reduce, but not totally prevent muscle loss. Generally speaking, for most people, over time, there will not be additional muscle acquired while eating in a caloric deficit.
  • Kimegatron
    Kimegatron Posts: 772 Member
    I'm new to this... What is TDEE?
  • mantium999
    mantium999 Posts: 1,490 Member
    I'm new to this... What is TDEE?

    Total Daily Energy Expenditure. Essentially an estimate of the total number of calories your body uses on a daily basis.
  • Kimegatron
    Kimegatron Posts: 772 Member
    Thank you! I have seen it written in a lot of these conversations and always wondered...
  • tomsarno
    tomsarno Posts: 105 Member
    mantium999 wrote: »
    tomsarno wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    tomsarno wrote: »
    To loose weight or loose fat? They are not the same thing.

    wut? OP said lose weight...

    I'd love to know about the magic behind losing fat only. Surely he will enlighten us.

    Cut your calories drastically and do a lot of cardio. You will loose weight fast. but the loss will be both fat and muscle. Eat slightly under your TDEE and do resistance training and you will burn fat. The additional muscle will help with Leptin resistance and you will burn more fat. Fat loss is much better then weight loss.
    Generally speaking, for most people, over time, there will not be additional muscle acquired while eating in a caloric deficit.

    You are 100% correct. Addition of muscle will not occur in a deficit, especially in a female. What I should have said was resistance training will activate the existing muscles fibers which will burn fat at a faster rate.
  • syndeo
    syndeo Posts: 68 Member
    tomsarno wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    tomsarno wrote: »
    To loose weight or loose fat? They are not the same thing.

    wut? OP said lose weight...

    I'd love to know about the magic behind losing fat only. Surely he will enlighten us.

    Cut your calories drastically and do a lot of cardio. You will loose weight fast. but the loss will be both fat and muscle. Eat slightly under your TDEE and do resistance training and you will burn fat. The additional muscle will help with Leptin resistance and you will burn more fat. Fat loss is much better then weight loss.

    Sigh, not this again.

    When you lose weight, you will lose a mixture of fat, muscle, connective tissue, etc. You minimize muscle loss by eating adequate protein and adding resistance training to your workout schedule. You can do cardio, and maintain a 1-2 pounds per week loss. Losing muscle and other lean body mass isn't necessarily bad. Elite marathoners look very fit to me. Low bf%, great cardio, etc.

    Please cite the studies showing increasing muscle mass while in a deficit.

    At least you didn't say muscle increases your bmr.
  • tomsarno
    tomsarno Posts: 105 Member
    edited June 2015
    I'm new to this... What is TDEE?

    http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/
  • cleanbulk_hatersgfy
    cleanbulk_hatersgfy Posts: 31 Member
    I believe Fitbit (surge) measures estimated calories burned all day including TDEE based on user's profile (gender/age/height/CW). Not highly accurate of course but it gives users an idea on calories burned throughout the day.
  • branflakes1980
    branflakes1980 Posts: 2,516 Member
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    how do you burn 1900 calories a day, or am I missing something...

    TDEE + activity? I could be wrong though.

  • dubird
    dubird Posts: 1,849 Member
    What I did is set both MFP and Fitbit to sedentary, and let it adjust accordingly to my movement during the day. Now, it's not perfect, it can still overestimate my calories a little. But this way if I don't have an active day at work, I won't overeat because I have the base set too high.
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  • tomsarno
    tomsarno Posts: 105 Member
    syndeo wrote: »
    tomsarno wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    tomsarno wrote: »
    To loose weight or loose fat? They are not the same thing.

    wut? OP said lose weight...

    I'd love to know about the magic behind losing fat only. Surely he will enlighten us.

    Cut your calories drastically and do a lot of cardio. You will loose weight fast. but the loss will be both fat and muscle. Eat slightly under your TDEE and do resistance training and you will burn fat. The additional muscle will help with Leptin resistance and you will burn more fat. Fat loss is much better then weight loss.

    Sigh, not this again.



    Please cite the studies showing increasing muscle mass while in a deficit.

    At least you didn't say muscle increases your bmr.
    I guess you are right and I am wrong on how to loose weight and gain muscle. Lets compare profile pics on who has made better progress? Mine are in my profile, where are your?
  • Dnarules
    Dnarules Posts: 2,081 Member
    Holy h3ll bag! I need to get me something that will burn almost 2000 calories per day. That would be awesome!

    I'm sure you burn over 2000 in a day. Fitbit measures daily expenditure, not just for exercise.