Fitbit TDEE

Sumiblue

i bought a Fitbit Flex 2 weeks ago and it gives me an average TDEE of 1899. I am female, 46, 5'2" & 132 lbs. I'd love to get back to under 120 because I am more comfortable at that weight. I'm short & weight settles in lower body. I do a heavy lifting program but have not been able to do it 3x/wk like I want to due to a current project.
So my activity has dropped off. My Fitbit seems accurate as it lines up with Scooby calculator at light exercise. I get about 8000 steps/day average. So, with a 15% cut I should eat around 1600 cal? I def don't need a reset. I've been over eating, if anything.

heybales

As long as you are correcting for the non-step based exercise it is badly underestimating.
Should log it on Fitbit's site.

Swimming should be obvious, but lifting, biking, rowing, elliptical, stair machine, climber, ect.

All non-step based, meaning the formula they use for walking or running to get calorie burn does not apply to those exercises.

If you are correct for those and the Fitbit TDEE is 1899 - then trust it. It's giving infinite levels based on your actual usage, compared to you guessing from between 4 rough levels.
You should expect it not to match up very often.

I'd say keep a rolling 2-3 week average Fitbit TDEE, and adjust the coming week eating goal to whatever 15% is.
That takes in to account changing workouts, seasonal changes, ect.

You'll have to unsync accounts of course.

Sumiblue

I have Fitbit sync'd with MFP & I log weight training with MFP. It shows up on Fitbit, though.

heybales

Well, you can't do TDEE method with Fitbit synced unless you just want to memorize your calories and macros never mind they get changed from syncing.

And the Fitbit database is better than MFP's for calorie burn based on your BMR, not weight only.

That's why I recommended what I did.

Sumiblue

I guess I don't know what I'm doing with my Fitbit Flex. I just look at the numbers it gives me for my daily burn, averaged them & took a cut and put that number as my goal in MFP. I use MFP to log my food & non step exercise. I'm not really tracking macros these days. I think I need to find some time & go back to reading how to use the Flex properly.

heybales

There's your problem - do you want to eat to a single number daily?

Then you cannot use your Fitbit account properly with MFP by syncing it.

If you can't sync your account - then you can't log exercise in MFP (which if taking a cut off estimated TDEE, you shouldn't do that anyway, because it adjusts your eating goal).

If you can't log it in MFP - then you need to log it in Fitbit to adjust the TDEE you are basing your deficit on.


Or.

Are you trying to eat to a changing number daily, and merely having a deficit that doesn't happen to be 250 or 500 but your own block of calories (not %, % changes).

Were you logging your exercise in MFP prior to Fitbit?

Were you using the average weekly TDEE method where you took estimated weekly exercise and then took a 15% deficit?

If so - you 've been doing this wrong.

SafioraLinnea

I use my fitbit more as an estimation of calories burned than telling me what I should and shouldn't eat. I set up my calories as a set number every day (because that works for me) and if I do something outside of my planned normal daily activity, I adjust as needed.

My account is synced, but I generally don't ever have it suggest more than a 10-25 calorie adjustment (+/-) so I don't care about it. Ten calories 1-2 times a week is not going to destroy me.

Sumiblue

Yup, I've been doing this wrong. Technology confounds me. Thanks for all the advice! I will try again.

heybales

Willing to help set it up - what method are you desiring to use?
Static daily value adjusted perhaps weekly.
Dynamic daily value based on what happens that day.

Sumiblue

Thank you, Heybales. I guess Dynamic daily is the way to go. My schedule fluctuates a lot. I thought using a weekly average would be easier but probably not as accurate.

LivingtheLeanDream

Sumiblue wrote: »

i bought a Fitbit Flex 2 weeks ago and it gives me an average TDEE of 1899. I am female, 46, 5'2" & 132 lbs. I'd love to get back to under 120 because I am more comfortable at that weight. I'm short & weight settles in lower body. I do a heavy lifting program but have not been able to do it 3x/wk like I want to due to a current project.
So my activity has dropped off. My Fitbit seems accurate as it lines up with Scooby calculator at light exercise. I get about 8000 steps/day average. So, with a 15% cut I should eat around 1600 cal? I def don't need a reset. I've been over eating, if anything.

Heybales has answered the techie stuff already....I just wanted to say I'm similar height/and I maintain your current weight happily (everyone is built differently, so 132lbs looks good on me)... I am more active (average 18k steps daily) and can lose on 1800 cals (maintain on 2100-2300), trust your Fitbit as its accurate for TDEE I've found and yes, eat around 1600 cals and you'll be on a losing streak in no time.

All the best

heybales

Sumiblue wrote: »

Thank you, Heybales. I guess Dynamic daily is the way to go. My schedule fluctuates a lot. I thought using a weekly average would be easier but probably not as accurate.

So set MFP to Sedentary activity level.
Set weight loss goal to Maintain.
Exercise goals to whatever you want, not involved in the math anyway.
Save out.

Go in to Goals manually and set the eating goal to 15% off average weekly Fitbit TDEE from last week (you'll do this weekly) - or about 1615 right now it sounds like.
When down to last 10 lbs left, then 10% off.
Change macros to what you want.
Save out.

Now, just log the non-step based workouts like lifting, biking, the list I gave already.
Recommend you do this on Fitbit's site as they handle the database and calorie burn better.
Manually make a wall post about your workouts to inform your FL.

Take your adjustments and meet your eating goal.

Well, depending on when you go to bed and when you are sitting around in the evening.
When that time starts until midnight, MFP is still estimating Sedentary level calorie burn, when it's actually closer to the BMR level burn that Fitbit will end up giving you.
So after a couple nights where you hit your eating goal exactly - on review you'll discover how far over you actually went the next morning.
Start leaving that much in green missing your goal, since you know it'll adjust off.

So your eating goal will change - but you'll have whatever that average 15% deficit is each day.

I suggest updating whatever that 15% deficit is weekly based on prior weeks TDEE, just so you get a block of calorie deficit that is about right on average.

Sumiblue

Thanks for all that info, Heybales. I went back through activity for yesterday on Fitbit & found an error. I entered an exercise duration wrong. When I fixed it my TDEE for yesterday jumped up to around 2000, which seems right. Active day yesterday. I will have to be careful when I input exercise!

Sumiblue

When I change my settings to sedentary & maintain do I put my current weight as my goal weight?

heybales

All settings correct, current and goal weight at whatever.

The only reason you set to maintain - is because you are about to go create your own deficit calories block, and therefore eating goal. But you need to see what MFP was going to say your non-exercise TDEE was in the first place.

RetiredAndLovingIt

I have been following this. Hay bales, when you described how to set up the daily changing goals, the only calories you eat
Back after exercise are the non-step based ones since you are doing the 15% off the Fitbit TDEE totals, am I right? If so, I totally misunderstood this!

heybales

Actually, you eat whatever goal MFP gives you after correcting itself with Fitbit data.
You do no additional changes or corrections to anything - you use as intended.
Don't even attempt to separate or figure out the difference between non-step based exercise and what is included already - that actually changes nothing.

Remember the 15% deficit block of calories is based on average TDEE already - so exercise included already.
This is nothing different than taking the standard 250 or 500 cal deficit - you are just making it a block of calorie that happens to match 15% deficit of normal daily burn.

So in essence, if your average TDEE that week ended up being less than you based the 15% on - you'll actually be getting bigger deficit.
If avg TDEE ends up being more - you'll be getting smaller deficit.

But even that will balance out week to week.

Sumiblue

My Fitbit numbers were higher last week so I raised my eating goal up a bit. Can't tell if I've lost anything as TOM, bloating and all. I feel good, though. I def move more everyday!

Sumiblue

Hmm, well, I went back down to previous eating goal. I looked at my Fitbit calorie adjustment midday and it was ridiculous! I'm going to have crazy high step count today. Hit 10,000 steps before lunch!

RetiredAndLovingIt

Thanks Hey Bales, guess I did understand it right. That is what I was trying & figured it had to be too much, lol.

heybales

I think what is confusing is I see some in other places talking about the TDEE method when combined with activity tracker - is take 20% off the MFP estimate first.

Then take 20% off any logged exercise.

And actually I give that advice too - but not with activity tracker, but if exercise is too different week to week it's better to do MFP style and manually log workouts.
Goal of getting TDEE - 20% = (MFP Non-exercise TDEE - 20%) + (Exercise - 20%) as actually done on MFP

But with activity tracker data being used to get better estimate than MFP upfront, might as well include the average exercise up front.

In fact, with method I mentioned, you could end up with an eating goal that is indeed 15% less than Fitbit's average daily TDEE - but it's higher than MFP maintenance with no exercise.

So if you finished a day with indeed sedentary level of activity - MFP could state you reaching your eating goal will cause weight gain, or worse, positive adjustment and still state that.

So I sometimes forget to mention that the MFP math regarding weight loss figures should be ignored.