Questions about calorie intake/burn, Fitbit accuracy, & guilt

GeauxL

I figured I’d try to get everything in 1 post instead of starting 3 separate ones. I’ve lost 100lbsove the last year, still have 10-20 to go, so apparently I’ve done something right but I have a few questions about things I keep seeing on the board.
#1 When people say consume less calories than you burn or burn more than you consume-does that mean if you are eating 1300 calories a day you should be “burning” at least 1301? And is this “burn” achieved through exercise or exercise & the general calories we burn in everyday activities? I exercise 4-5 day a week-cardio, kettlebells, & weights & ive never created a calorie deficit. Just wondering.
#2 How accurate is Fitbit. I wear it during my cardio workouts (elliptical, jogging, hiking, waking). The elliptical machine always shows double calorie burn than the Fitbit, so I just log Fitbit total. But with other cardio done without machines, I have nothing to base it on, so I just log what Fitbit gives. Is Fitbit pretty accurate?
#3 Do y’all have guilt on days when you skip exercising? Like this morning, I woke up with every intention of going to the gym but I the. Just decided that I wasn’t going to go & now I’m sitting outside enjoying coffee on the patio. I do feel “guilty” & am thinking about how I’ll have to make it up.
Thanks in advance for the insight & for the support; not everyone understands where we are & how hard it is sometimes to travel the road we are on.

kommodevaran

Yes, you burn calories 24/7. Fitbit is accurate enough, I suppose. Don't have guilt for not exercising. The road to health starts with understanding, and isn't especially hard.

malibu927

1. MFP has already calculated the deficit for you. That’s how you lost the weight. If you set up to lose a pound a week it assumes you would burn 1800 calories a day before exercise.
2. Most here find Fitbit to be reasonably accurate. There are outliers, of course. But the beauty is, since it tracks all of your movement and not just exercise you don’t have to log anything on here when the two are connected.
3. No guilt at all. I need days off.

middlehaitch

#1. MFP has taken the information you gave it and estimates your calories without exercise.
Your body burns x amount of calories just going about your normal daily activities, sleeping, and existing. This is known as NEAT.

MFP has built your deficit into your NEAT estimate, so you eat all those calories, you don't try to burn them off.

ie: if you eat 2000 cals to maintain your weight but want to lose 1lbs a week, MFP will give you 1500 cals. This gives you 500 cals less a day to eat.

#2. I don't own a fitness device.
You are expected to eat back your exercise calories so your deficit won't be too high and underfuel you.

This could lead to health problems, lethargy, poor work out performance, or binge/restrict cycle. So eat back your exercise calories.

If you are unsure eat back a set percentage, 75%, and observe your results. Adjust your percentage up or down as needed to lose at your expected rate. (Make sure your logging, using a digital scale etc, is spot on before adjusting.

#3. I'm not a big guilt person.
I'm in this for life so if I occasionally eat too much one day, that is fine it will even out over time, I just don't eat too much every day.

As far as missing a workout.
If I miss my work out I will fit in a walk and some bodyweight exercises at home. No guilt, if it is a lifting session I will default to my 2 day a week plan, if cardio, the walk and bodyweight isn't what I planned but it is still some cardio.

Been doing this almost 10 years, 9 maintaining. I couldn't be the happy person I am if I was filled with guilt every time I misses a workout or ate a little too much occasionally (or had a couple of drinks).
Learn guilt free strategies that work for you.

Cheers, h.

kshama2001

You've lost 100 pounds in a year - you can take a day off

Now that you are only 10-20 pounds from goal, have you reduced your weekly weight loss goal to a half pound per week? You no longer have the fat reserves to support a bigger calorie deficit.

Francl27

I always feel guilty when I don't exercise... but I can't stick to my sedentary calories either - too hungry!

AnvilHead

GeauxL wrote: »

...#1 When people say consume less calories than you burn or burn more than you consume-does that mean if you are eating 1300 calories a day you should be “burning” at least 1301? And is this “burn” achieved through exercise or exercise & the general calories we burn in everyday activities? I exercise 4-5 day a week-cardio, kettlebells, & weights & ive never created a calorie deficit. Just wondering...

Rather than typing out a lengthy explanation, I'll offer a link to a great, detailed read on the topic that explains all aspects of it very well: https://bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/metabolic-rate-overview.html/

AnnPT77

GeauxL wrote: »

I figured I’d try to get everything in 1 post instead of starting 3 separate ones. I’ve lost 100lbsove the last year, still have 10-20 to go, so apparently I’ve done something right but I have a few questions about things I keep seeing on the board.
#1 When people say consume less calories than you burn or burn more than you consume-does that mean if you are eating 1300 calories a day you should be “burning” at least 1301? And is this “burn” achieved through exercise or exercise & the general calories we burn in everyday activities? I exercise 4-5 day a week-cardio, kettlebells, & weights & ive never created a calorie deficit. Just wondering.

It's all the calories from everything, from just breathing and digesting (the stuff you'd do even in a coma) through your job and home chores and hobbies, all the way through exercise.

If you lost 100 pounds, you had a calorie deficit, and - over the course of the year - that deficit added up to around 350,000 calories (around 3500 calories for each one of the 100 pounds you lost). You should be very proud of yourself: That's an amazing accomplishment!

#2 How accurate is Fitbit. I wear it during my cardio workouts (elliptical, jogging, hiking, waking). The elliptical machine always shows double calorie burn than the Fitbit, so I just log Fitbit total. But with other cardio done without machines, I have nothing to base it on, so I just log what Fitbit gives. Is Fitbit pretty accurate?

Like any other way of estimating calorie burn that's do-able in everyday life, the Fitbit is pretty accurate for most people, less accurate for a few, and potentially very inaccurate for a very, very few. If you've been following what your Fitbit says, and losing at the rate expected, it's pretty accurate for you. The only really accurate way of determining calorie expenditure is being locked in metabolic chamber while it's measured, and that's not compatible with a normal life. Any other method is just an estimate, not a measurement.

#3 Do y’all have guilt on days when you skip exercising? Like this morning, I woke up with every intention of going to the gym but I the. Just decided that I wasn’t going to go & now I’m sitting outside enjoying coffee on the patio. I do feel “guilty” & am thinking about how I’ll have to make it up.

No. Guilt is unenjoyable, and life is short, so I avoid unnecessary things that are also unenjoyable and lack other compensatory benefits. Rest days are important for fitness progress, too, and the mental break from routine can also be helpful at times. You know there'll be a physical penalty long term if you stop doing exercise altogether, so it's important to balance what your current self wants (relaxed coffee on the patio) with what your long-term future self needs (regular exercise, so that she will be healthy, happy, and alive enough to enjoy coffee on the patio for many years to come).

Intentionally deciding to take a day off, then failing to enjoy it because of guilt? That's sort of the worst of both worlds: You didn't get the exercise for long-term GeauxL, and you didn't get the full measure of guilt-free sunshine-y happy relaxation today for current GeauxL. Balance. It's always about balance.

Thanks in advance for the insight & for the support; not everyone understands where we are & how hard it is sometimes to travel the road we are on.

You're not just traveling the road, you're dominating it, rocking it, and setting off fireworks! With only 10-20 pounds to go, it's time to start thinking about reducing your loss rate (to 0.5 pounds a week soon), and thinking about how to make a smooth transition into happily maintaining your new and healthy weight for the rest of your life, finding ways of eating and being active that make you happy, and cementing your goals in day-to-day reality. Maintaining - the phase I'm in now - can also be a hard road, but it's a very different one from weight loss.

But, given the success you've achieved so far, I think you'll soon have this challenge mastered, too!