Cals confusion
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lin7604
Posts: 3,019 Member
Ok I get one reading showing cals burned for exercise when it connects with mfp but all I did was a walk today and that's not a 500 cal burn! So where did the 500 cals come from??? Then when I look on the app it shows 1700? Where does that come from? I know it says 1229 for my bmr but none of this makes sence to me.....
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The adjustment that happens to be put under exercise for MFP to do that math with, is NOT just exercise from Fitbit.
It is merely the total daily burn from Fitbit, MFP corrects itself from your selected activity level to match that better source, and creates an adjustment.
Just means you aren't the MFP activity level you selected - most discover they are not Sedentary, even with desk jobs, and before being motivated to move more.
Might read the FAQ in the stickies for this group.0 -
BMR is sleeping level calorie burn.
I'm assuming since you walked you must have waken up, which means you burned more than BMR, even though that is your biggest burn of the day.
So easily 1700 calories burned being alive. Plus daily movements.
Fitbit saw 1701 burned at basically 5 pm, 17:00 hrs, or 17/24 = 71% of day gone.
So 29% of day left to go. But MFP uses it's burn rate then.
MFP 1450 eating goal + 250 cal deficit perhaps = 1700 MFP expected daily burn. (are you short and pretty light already? Is BMR 1360?)
MFP 1700 x 29% day left = 493 cal for rest of day if you keep at selected MFP activity level.
Fitbit 1701 till now + MFP 493 rest of day = 2194 estimated daily burn.
2194 estimated - 1700 MFP expected = 494 cal adjustment.
Difference is in the minutes and math rounding.
I'm betting you picked sedentary on MFP activity level, unless you walked a good amount - that just means you are not sedentary.0 -
It's set to lightly active. Yes I'm short, 5.2 and have about 15 lbs to lose.
I just was confused as to why it was adding up just daily active moves as past of a exercise burn? Cause if it's saying I need to eat 1700 cals just cause I walked 20- 30 min, no wonder why I'm not losing! I am trying hard to lower my cals as I have no lost a lb since end of April when I started my new routine. And then when I got this last week it's messed me up again not knowing what is what.0 -
So MFP had to put the result of it correcting itself somewhere.
Since that correction would effect the eating goal as it should, they just put it under Exercise Diary.
But that adjustment is merely the difference between a more accurate device's estimate of calorie burn, and what MFP estimated you'd burn by your selection of activity level.
You could have no exercise but high daily activity and get big adjustment.
You could have a hard workout and be lazy rest the day and have no adjustment.
So MFP isn't saying you eat 1700 because of 20-30 min of walking, but 20-30 min walking AND all the other activity you do during the day that makes you burn more than it initially guessed.
With 15 lbs to lose, and small, you are correctly at the point of only a 250 cal deficit.
Unless Fitbit has your stride length waaay off and you do a whole lot of steps during the day in activity - you likely are burning a good amount and should be eating more.
But your food logging may be inaccurate - it should be by weight since calories is per gram, not cups or spoons.
With having low TDEE and near the goal, you have less room for inaccuracy to still see results.
Or you are stressing from undereating so much and gaining cortisol induced water weight same time as losing fat weight.
Are measurements still changing?
Hope scale isn't the only thing defining your fat loss, because losing muscle mass is other reason for Fitbit overestimating calorie burn.
New routine and moving into summer are exactly the kinds of things to increase LBM with good water weight (stress related isn't good). You need that increased blood volume, interstitial water, increased stored carbs.
Don't suggest lowering calories more.
Actually would suggest eating closer to TDEE with no diet for a break. Teach your body this is new eating level, no need for stress. Let new workouts cause maximum improvements.
Then take that 250 deficit after a month.
Only other thing would be confirming Fitbit is as accurate as possible, for what MFP is correcting itself with.
Like walking a known distance at your average daily pace (not exercise pace) and seeing if it's correct.
Manually logging any workouts a HR-based Fitbit is going to overestimate because it's not steady-state aerobic exercise, if done long and frequently enough to matter.0 -
Thx. I had just started back end of April being more active. From end of April to end of may I had put on 10lbs! I couldn't believe it since I should of been losing since I was exercising again 5 days a week. I have not been able to lose 1 lbs of it. Not even 0.5 of a inch! Everything is snug! I live in yoga pants as nothing fits! I will not ever go lower in cals then the 1450 cals I'm at now as I never lost doing 1200 ever before! I started at 1600, then went to 1500 and now 1450. No change. I do weigh my food etc I've been through all this before. I just don't get why I not loosing.
I was wondering about that stride being off but don't know how to go about seeing what I really do and how to do it???
I do not want to take a break yet as I just got back into the swing of things. I have a very hard time staying motivated and in a routine to begin with
I'd say my tree -the 250 is very close to what I'm trying to eat now. I know I need to up my protein and water but that's always been a struggle with me. 0 -
Well, literally right now - your TDEE is whatever you are eating. Because you are maintaining.
Unless - you are indeed gaining stress related water weight same time as losing fat, but clothes show that up usually.
That amount of water weight can be upwards of 20 lbs though, perhaps not for you though being shorter.
But stress from life, diet, disease, lack of sleep, unrecovered workouts, ect - can add undesired water weight.
And usually a great sign that whatever is causing the stress is bad news for body overall.
Sounds like your body is adapting right along with you eating less and less.
Have you noticed the Fitbit daily burns going down over those same times of eating less?
First thing body does is have you move less to conserve calories when you scare it eating too much less.
Then it'll slow things down like hair/nail/skin growth, then keeping warm, ect.
Finally it'll slow your base metabolism down.
Now, you can keep eating less and less and eventually overcome those adaptions - but guess how stressed out the body is at that point trying to adapt to less calories and you go even lower.
Forget workouts being useful, body's not about to make improvements that require more calories when it's already not getting enough.
Better to get body burning full blown again, hope you didn't lose too much muscle mass. Which means slowly increasing calories back up to potential TDEE the Fitbit is estimating.
For stride length - high school track is best bet - just confirm what lines are for 1/4 mile, since many have metric markings now.
Start a workout as you walk up to the line, do 1/4 or 1/2 mile at normal daily pace - not exercise pace, not grocery store shuffle. it'll feel slow, but that's right.
Stop workout when you cross line again.
Look at the record for steps done, and it's distance for comparison. Was it close?
For 1/4 mile take 1320 / steps = decimal feet (like 2.1)
In Fitbit settings, walking stride length put feet at 2.
put inches at 12 x 0.1 (remainder in this example) = 1.2 decimal inches.
Sync device and it'll have new info.
When did you finally switch to 250 cal deficit?
What was prior deficit and for how long, how much weight lost with it?0 -
I started at 1600 cals end of April. At the end of may I had gained 10 lbs starting my exercise program. So come June I dropped at 1500 cals ish. I never make it exact! Like mfp says 1450. So I make sure it's never lower then 1450 but give myself a tad wiggle room. So 1500 incase it's a tad over. So it's been like this for almost 6 weeks.
I don't stress about it and I don't have tons of stress in my life. My sleep according to fit bit is pretty good. Yet nothing is coming off. I know last time when I was losing weight a few years ago I followed a similar pattern. But I was exercising 6 days a week and harder so I was eating 16-1700 cals. It worked very well. I got great results. I had my macros professionally done then too and to lose was 14-2500. Maintain 16-1700 to gain was 1800 plus. So doing 1450-1500 should have me in a deficit with the lower amount of activity I'm doing now. I'm not starving my body or doing too low. But under 14-1450 I sure would be for me.
I do have thyroid issues and possible adrenal. I just know from last time I lost weight I should see something positive by now being weeks into it. I was 122 end of Jan and that wasn't even watching what I ate for the last 2 years!!!! I had only started exercising at that point in oct, so 2 months in.... End of April I was already up to 126-127 and when I finished that 4 week exercise program at the end of may I was 131.6. So June I switched up my exercise program, Weigh in is on Sunday but everything still feels snug0 -
I'd suggest that if you are totally sure you aren't eating way less than 250 deficit, workouts are still good energy and as hard as you want them - then the eating aspect may be off.
In which case it may appear you are eating less and less into danger zone, but not really.
The reason more exercise worked is you burned more than you ate. Considering how hard it can be to burn an extra 500 calories compared to just not eating it - calorie control is the main method.
But if more exercise allows you to eat where you are and adhere better, then that works too.0 -
I'm totally lost, lol
Exercise isn't where I would like it to be or where I have had in the past. HeAlth prevents me from getting to that level right now. So it's just walks for the most part and if I can I try a few days to get in a quick 20 min circuit . But none of that is a quarrentee. That's why I am trying to stick to the 1450/1500 cals. If I do get a good workout in plus a walk etc then yes I would go over that0 -
Do you have or can you have good resistance training as part of what you can do?
The benefits of that are just great for weight loss and maintenance.
The only problem is it doesn't burn a lot of calories during the workout, so you don't get to eat as much as some heavy cardio.
But since a good session burns about as much as a strong walk, it'll be much more body transforming, as well as not allowing a diet to cause muscle mass loss.0 -
I was doing Chalean extreme. But this week I started a 15 day challenge and then I'll go back to Chalean extreme. The 15 day challenge is weights, and hiit /cardio circuits in 20-30 min. I'm enjoying it so I wan to stick with it for a bit as when I lose interest, I lose motivation and then get out of routine! I love weights and would rather do exercises with weights vs cardio. He only cardio I like is walks lol0
