Fitness tracker calories burned

Jdkbs

Hello,

I posted this question earlier...it went to cyberspace...I don't see it on the board. If it shows up, sorry for the repetition.

When calculating TDEE, should I factor in calories burned according to my fitness tracker?

My daily activity include errands, house work, taking care of my kids. I have not begun formal workouts yet.

TerezaToledo

When you calculate your TDEE using a calculator, the EM2WL (http://eatmore2weighless.com/weight-loss-calculator/), for instance, you will choose your activity level. It can be tricky, but as I can see you will not be sedentary, even without formal workouts. You would be either light or moderate. Chasing kids and taking care of the house is not sedentary, that's for sure! Once you start including workouts, you could bump it up a little bit. You fitness tracker reading should be close to what the calculator gives you if you choose the right activity level. Don't that the TDEE is an estimate to help you find your maintenance caloric goal. It could be more or less depending on what you do on an specific day. The same thing you can see in your tracker, it varies day by day. The calculator will give you an aproximate average, as you could get from calculating your weekly average tracker readings.

So, basically, the fitness tracker and the TDEE number given by the calculator should be fairly close.

Tereza
Team EM2WL

Jdkbs

Thanks that helps! According to my tracker I average 800+ cals burned daily.

I will compare my tracker and with the calculator.

ksugirl13

Don't forget to add those 800+ calories a day to whatever your RMR is (the calories your body would burn if you stayed in bed all day long). Good luck, I'm currently trying to figure out my TDEE as well!

heybales

Jdkbs wrote: »

Thanks that helps! According to my tracker I average 800+ cals burned daily.

I will compare my tracker and with the calculator.

Does the tracker and it's account say 800 calories - or is that what shows up on MFP as an adjustment under exercise?

Or that is 800 on top of some base level it starts with, based on perhaps your selection of activity level - just like MFP does?

Because you burn way more that 800 calories daily.

If it gives some grand daily total calorie burn - and even more useful a weekly average report of that - then you have a decent TDEE estimate (depending on your workout time spent and if the tracker is good at calorie burn estimate for it - lifting is rarely if ever well estimated for example).

Jdkbs

Hi Heybales,

The tracker 800 calories for activity above TDEE on average calculated weekly.

My TDEE is 2063 at sedenary
+ 800 calories activity today
-15% for cut

Thats what I aim using. I think its right?

heybales

If that 2063 is THEIR estimate of say non-exercise TDEE (like MFP estimates) - then that is correct method and numbers.

It would be nice if they just gave a total daily burn figure.

Now - does that 800 only include exercise you like enable it for - or that includes daily activity - so in essence it's saying you are well above Sedentary?

When you sync with MFP, selecting MFP's sedentary is indeed the right way.

If you are going for a weekly average TDEE that includes exercise, then you'll need to unsync accounts, manually input your eating goal.

And base it off the total daily burn they seem to be giving you, average weekly.
Just keep an eye on that average weekly values as seasons change and activity level may change - but leave out odd weeks of sick or super busy and missed workouts - anything out of the norm.

Jdkbs

Thanks heybales!