Will a fitness/activity tracker help with maintaining?

swift13b

Hello! I've been in maintenance mode since late March/early April but I'm concerned that I'm still losing a bit of weight. I'm set to sedentary, do light exercise a few times a week (usually 15 minutes on the elliptical with some strength exercises or a 5km walk/run) and I don't eat back all my exercise calories. I'm wondering if perhaps it's time to invest in some sort of fitness/activity tracker (ie. FitBit or similar) to help get a better understanding of how many calories I'm really burning. If so, what are your recommendations? I've been reading reviews all day and now I'm just confused really! I'd like something that's fairly accurate with sleep tracking also because I have bouts of insomnia. Also, I have an S4 if that matters (some reviews mention certain trackers only having apps for iPhones).

20yearsyounger

If you are really in maintenance then its time to eat back your calories.

It sounds like you want a tracker more than you need one. Which isn't a bad thing. Just don't think about them as being fairly accurate with regard to sleep tracking. Use them more as a tool. I cant recommend because its based on your individual likes. For me, I forget stuff all the time so I needed something with a long battery life that I don't have to charge, take off, and can go swimming in. I do have a garmin vivofit but I use fitbit mobiletracker on my phone to encourage my family and friends to keep up with their fitbit tracking.

AsISmile

Well, are you losing weight? Is the scale showing weightloss?
If so you don't need a tracker to know you are not eating enough.
If you know how much you lose over a certain time it is quite easy to calculate how much more calories you need.
1 lbs fat is 3500 calories. If you lose 1 lbs a month, you have a deficit of 3500/30 = 117 calories a day.

You could also just figure out by adding an extra 50 or 100 calories to your daily goal for a month or so and see what that does.
But it could also be that you need to set your activity level to lightly active.

But if you want a tracker because you like having the gadget, go for it. What I am trying to show is that it is possible to find your maintenance calories without one.

swift13b

I usually either go up or down half a kilo. This Sunday's weigh in is 1.8kg less than last week's. I'm hoping it's just some freak occurrence (I did wait a while and then re-weigh, as well as move the scales to another room and still got the same result). It's put me under my goal weight range.

I honestly thought activity trackers were just glorified pedometers until I started reading about them today. I saw a post earlier about how activity level can be determined by daily steps and thought maybe I need to re-*kitten* whether I really am sedentary or not.

Unrelated to the activity conversation really, I find it hard to add more calories in because I am a vegetarian (by choice, 6+ years now) trying to eat low carb for medical reasons. I often hit or go over my carb goal as I near my calorie goal while I'm always way under on protein. There are only so many eggs I can eat in a day.

20yearsyounger

I too am set to sedentary and an activity tracker made me realize how little I moved if I wasnt using some type of exercise machine. I really doesnt sound like you need one for tracking your calories. If you want to use it to stay active (without having to hit the elliptical, or other machine), compete with friends, etc, and get some insight into your sleep patterns (without a major focus on accurate) then go for it.

editorgrrl

20yearsyounger wrote: »

If you are [gaining weight] in maintenance then its time to eat back your calories.

This. Your weight will fluctuate, so it takes a whole lot of trial & error to find your maintenance calories.

If you want an activity tracker, get a Fitbit and sync it with Trendweight.com (it's free) to see your trend without the "noise" of water weight. I've maintained for more than a year thanks to MFP + Fitbit + TW.

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

AsISmile

Seitan would be a good protein source.
Also, add in some nuts or peanut butter for some extra calories.

Also, don't underestimate how much weight can fluctuate. If you ate like you normally do you can't suddenly lose 1.8 kg in a week. That is about a 4 lbs loss. To lose that in fat you'd have a total defecit of 3500x4=14000 calories. That's a 2000 calorie a day defecit. Not very likely.
It is most likely water...

Just keep tracking your weight for about another month before making drastic changes.

MeanderingMammal

swift13b wrote: »

... and I don't eat back all my exercise calories...

So what do you expect to happen if you burn off energy but don't replenish it...

TavistockToad

If you're still losing weight just eat a bit more... You don't need an activity tracker

BasicGreatGuy

In my opinion, getting fit is not just about losing excess weight. It is also about making your physical body more productive and healthy to not only carry out day to day activities, but also to increase your quality and length of life. Being sedentary most of the time and losing some weight does not really address the core issue.

An activity tracker will help motivate you to get more active in your day to day life. It will also help you see the quality (or lack thereof) of your daily movement.

Buying a new car and then placing it in the garage to look at does more harm to the car, than using it on a daily basis. Same thing applies to our body.

myfitnesspale3

If you are not losing weight, shown by measuring weight at least every week, then there is Nothing to "eat back". Activity trackers don't count calories.

editorgrrl

20yearsyounger wrote: »

If you are [losing weight] in maintenance then its time to eat back your calories.

All the calorie counts & burns are nothing but estimates, so it takes a whole lot of trial & error to find the number of calories at which your weight will stabilize, which is your TDEE. And your weight will fluctuate, so it's important to choose a goal range rather than a goal weight. For example, +/- 3 lbs.

As you're losing, set your goal to .5 lb. for every 25 lbs. you're overweight. When you stop eating at a deficit you'll regain all that water & glycogen you lost so quickly when you started. Don't panic! Some people lose a few extra lbs. to compensate before they switch to maintenance.

In maintenance, eat back your exercise calories just as you did when losing for at least two weeks, then reevaluate your progress. If you're still losing, increase your calorie goal or eat back more of your exercise calories. If you're steadily gaining above your "window" (not just fluctuating), lower your calorie goal by 100.

Make changes no more than once a week, or you won't be able to tell what's working.

nxd10

I use a fitbit zip. It usually tells me I haven't eaten enough. So I eat a bit more. I find it helpful.

FitPhillygirl

I use the Vivofit 2 as a tool to see about how many miles I'm walking each day and for the Garmin Connect site to track my workouts each day. I don't really use it to maintain, though, since I eat at my TDEE.

editorgrrl

Eileen_S wrote: »

I use the Vivofit 2 as a tool to see about how many miles I'm walking each day and for the Garmin Connect site to track my workouts each day. I don't really use it to maintain, though, since I eat at my TDEE.

Activity trackers (like Fitbit) calculate your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure). When you connect one to your account, MFP adjusts your calorie goal every day to TDEE minus deficit—if (and only if) you enable negative calorie adjustments in your diary serttings.

patrikc333

eat the cals back, you used that energy so if you don't replenish them you are going to lose weight

it can be scary (it was for me) at the beginning, as you are prob thinking you are going to gain again, but you won't.

fitbit is a nice device but it won't help if you don't eat your exercise cal back

annette_15

I have the Fitbit HR which measures your heart rate 24/7, as well as tracks your sleep. I've had it for a week now and it seems extremely accurate for my daily calorie burn. I would absolutely look into getting one if you can afford it,

swift13b

Isn't it that the exercise calories here on MFP aren't entirely accurate? That's why I don't eat all of them back, only some.

I think I'm going to try a few different models on in-store, I like the features of the FitBit HR best but I have pretty small wrists and don't normally wear watches so I'm also considering the One and the MisFit Shine or Flash.

cwolfman13

swift13b wrote: »

Hello! I've been in maintenance mode since late March/early April but I'm concerned that I'm still losing a bit of weight. I'm set to sedentary, do light exercise a few times a week (usually 15 minutes on the elliptical with some strength exercises or a 5km walk/run) and I don't eat back all my exercise calories. I'm wondering if perhaps it's time to invest in some sort of fitness/activity tracker (ie. FitBit or similar) to help get a better understanding of how many calories I'm really burning. If so, what are your recommendations? I've been reading reviews all day and now I'm just confused really! I'd like something that's fairly accurate with sleep tracking also because I have bouts of insomnia. Also, I have an S4 if that matters (some reviews mention certain trackers only having apps for iPhones).

if you're still losing, just do the math and adjust your intake as per your actual results...you have actual data to work with here...you don't need a calculator or fitness tracker to tell you how much to eat...real world results trump all.

calculators and fitness trackers are great for getting started with learning your calorie requirements...but ultimately, they are just estimates...it's ok to make changes as per your true results.

example...if you're losing about 1/2 Lb per week on average, you simply need to eat 1,750 calories more during the week than you currently are...you don't need a fitness tracker to tell you that.