Not Understanding Net Calories
Replies
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According to my Garmin right now, today was slow. It shows I burnt 2641 calories.I didn't walk today and only got 4398 steps. No intensity minutes.
You likely have it setup incorrectly.
Go over your physical settings - confirm using metric if entering metric, imperial of using lbs and inches.
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I have a Garmin vivosmart. I am eating about 900 calories daily. I do log everything. No I don't use a food scale. What I am eating usually is pretty cut and dried. I love broccoli and I get Green Giant frozen and it will tell you how many calories in a cup. I am not doing any exercise at all yet. I did walk one day and I cleaned house all day one day.
Sorry but aiming for 900 calories is a dreadful thing to do for your health.
Doesn't the fact that 1200 + exercise calories is the lowest this site will go worry you when you are eating so little?
Make a fresh start including a sensible calorie goal and sort out your Garmin or don't use it as it's clearly not giving you useful data.3 -
While the all day Garmin numbers sound a bit high for sub 5k steps given the op's stats, they would not be impossible for a taller heavier person.
That said, the op is undereating regardless of whether the broccoli would weigh 1.1 or 1.5 times the eyeballed cup measurement.
The goal is not to eat the least amount possible in order to lose as fast as possible and who cares about the consequences
You better goal would be to figure out the best way to both lose weight and keep it off over the next few years and be as happy and healthy as possible while you're at it3 -
I concur it is time for a fresh start for the OP. MINIMUM calories consumed per day should be 1200 PLUS workout calories. Everything else is just a footnote to that and can be sorted out once OP has gotten in better habits as far as not crash dieting. Crash diets do not work and are unhealthy.
By workout calories, I mean calories burned while doing an intentional workout, like lifting weights, riding an exercise bike, or going for a power walk. Not talking about daily life activities. Intentional workouts should be estimated for caloric burn, added to the 1200, and eaten.
I guess I would just disconnect the Garmin sync for now. It sounds like it's causing more confusion than doing anything useful. Get the train on the tracks and focus on eating the correct amount of calories, and then futz with the devices later.8 -
I went to Garmin Connect and studied how they got their figures. This is what I found out:
Total Calories Burned:
Active Calories 722
Resting Calories 1281
Active + Resting Calories = 2003 Total Calories Burned
Adjusted Goal:
Daily Goal 1200
Active Calories 722
Daily Goal + Active Calories = 1922 Adjusted Goal
Calories Remaining:
Adjusted Goal 1922
Consumed 1362
Adjusted Goal - Consumed = 560 remaining calories
I did over eat today. I consumed 1362 calories. (Coworkers birthday cake)
My Garmin calculates my calories burned thoughout the day. The total calories it shows up until the moment is 2033. So they are subtracting the calories used at rest (BMR) and subtracting it from the days' total calculation of calories. 2033 - 1281 - 722. The 722 is considered active calories no matter what you do, exercising, walking or whatever.
Is this miscalculating? If it is, please tell me what I need to do.
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Calories Remaining:
Adjusted Goal 1922
Consumed 1362
Adjusted Goal - Consumed = 560 remaining calories
I did over eat today. I consumed 1362 calories. (Coworkers birthday cake)
How is this overeating? Your calorie goal was 1922 and you ate 1362. The 1200 goal was before exercise. 1200 is below your estimated bmr. You should not eat below bmr.1 -
If you're counting your calories in accurately, and if your calories out are counted accurately, you're severely under-eating.
If you're not counting your calories in accurately, and if your calories out are not counted very accurately, you're PROBABLY severely under-eating.
You will do what you will do and you ARE doing whatever it is you want to do but none of what you're doing has anything to do with what the various metrics you're telling yourself you're trying to use. You're just ignoring the metrics.
You've set yourself a goal to eat ABCD number of calories that includes a reasonable deficit to lose some weight.
You're eating XYZM number of calories that is apparently calibrated to create multiples of the deficit you chose.
Best of luck.
In case you are truly not understanding what you're SUPPOSED to be trying to do: you're supposed to be trying consume calories till your remaining calories are zero. If you were truly doing that, then a discussion as to whether ALL the calories you're told to eat are actually available to be eaten may enter into the equation. But between where you're at and there... there's a large distance.4 -
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I went to Garmin Connect and studied how they got their figures. This is what I found out:
Total Calories Burned:
Active Calories 722
Resting Calories 1281
Active + Resting Calories = 2003 Total Calories Burned
Adjusted Goal:
Daily Goal 1200
Active Calories 722
Daily Goal + Active Calories = 1922 Adjusted Goal
Calories Remaining:
Adjusted Goal 1922
Consumed 1362
Adjusted Goal - Consumed = 560 remaining calories
I did over eat today. I consumed 1362 calories. (Coworkers birthday cake)
My Garmin calculates my calories burned thoughout the day. The total calories it shows up until the moment is 2033. So they are subtracting the calories used at rest (BMR) and subtracting it from the days' total calculation of calories. 2033 - 1281 - 722. The 722 is considered active calories no matter what you do, exercising, walking or whatever.
Is this miscalculating? If it is, please tell me what I need to do.
Why are you trying to follow 2 roads to the same destination?
Don't you find it confusing, possibly annoying?
I thought you were using MFP for your eating goal?
Garmin did NOT implement correctly what MFP says it is doing with base eating goal, and then extra activity over the MFP selected activity level.
You can NOT follow their eating goal, when they pull figures from MFP.
Garmin does send to MFP what MFP needs to correct your eating goal.
If Garmin is good on that Total Calories Burned figure - that's all that is sent, along with any workouts.
But you said you saw on Garmin less than 5K steps and daily burn approaching 2700 mid-day. That's a red flag for your stats.
I suggested confirming your physical stats are correct so Garmin is estimating the daily burn correctly.
Or is that day with 5K steps and 2700 daily burn something else - can you find that day?
Did it have self-logged workouts, or any workouts for that matter?
IF Garmin was having a decent estimated daily burn, then what is synced to MFP allows your daily eating goal on MFP to be reasonable - if you selected a reasonable rate of loss.1 -
This is all so confusing.
Unplug the Garmin. Put it in a drawer. It is not helping you.
Go to the MFP Goals tool. Enter your age, gender, height, weight, etc. Tell it you want to lose a pound a week.
It'll probably tell you 1200 calories, because your maintenance level (break even) is around 1600 cals/day, so to lose a pound a week you'd have to eat 1100 (a deficit of 500/day = 1 lb per week lost) but 1200 is the lowest it will give you.
Eat that 1200 every day. NEVER less.
If you work out - meaning an intentional 30 or 60 or 90 minutes of weight lifting or cardio - either get a calorie estimate for that or just assume it's 200 calories per 30 minutes, and eat every single one of those calories, in addition to the 1200.
That's all you have to do. The weight loss will follow. That Garmin has you tied up in knots and is not helping you at all. Jmho.13 -
This is all so confusing.
Unplug the Garmin. Put it in a drawer. It is not helping you.
Go to the MFP Goals tool. Enter your age, gender, height, weight, etc. Tell it you want to lose a pound a week.
It'll probably tell you 1200 calories, because your maintenance level (break even) is around 1600 cals/day, so to lose a pound a week you'd have to eat 1100 (a deficit of 500/day = 1 lb per week lost) but 1200 is the lowest it will give you.
Eat that 1200 every day. NEVER less.
If you work out - meaning an intentional 30 or 60 or 90 minutes of weight lifting or cardio - either get a calorie estimate for that or just assume it's 200 calories per 30 minutes, and eat every single one of those calories, in addition to the 1200.
That's all you have to do. The weight loss will follow. That Garmin has you tied up in knots and is not helping you at all. Jmho.
This.
The problem is the Garmin is tracking things in different categories than MFP does.2 -
Unplug the Garmin. Put it in a drawer. It is not helping you.
Go to the MFP Goals tool. Enter your age, gender, height, weight, etc. Tell it you want to lose a pound a week.
It'll probably tell you 1200 calories, because your maintenance level (break even) is around 1600 cals/day, so to lose a pound a week you'd have to eat 1100 (a deficit of 500/day = 1 lb per week lost) but 1200 is the lowest it will give you.
Eat that 1200 every day. NEVER less.
If you work out - meaning an intentional 30 or 60 or 90 minutes of weight lifting or cardio - either get a calorie estimate for that or just assume it's 200 calories per 30 minutes, and eat every single one of those calories, in addition to the 1200.
That's all you have to do. The weight loss will follow. That Garmin has you tied up in knots and is not helping you at all. Jmho.[/quote]
I think that is what I am going to do. However I like the Garmin because it calculates my heart rate, calories burned and my steps. So I won't give the Garmin up completely. I have already lost 5 pounds so that is a good sign. As far as my calories I eat. I think I will eat the amount that makes me happy. Yesterday I went over my caloric intake which MFP and Garmin set for me, which is 1200 calories a day. Today I may go a little under. I give myself a bit of slack on some days. All this stuff everyone is talking about confuses me. Even if MFP says that I have "earned x calories" I will probably just stick to my 1200 a day. Most of this stuff you are all talking about, I don't understand. I really don't understand my Garmin that well. But I do know how many steps I do a day, how many calories I burn, and my heart rate. That is enough for me. I am going to stop questioning everything, because when I do, it confuses me that much more. I am 67 years old and I have a college degree, but I don't have a degree in nutrition and science. And I am sorry, but it is too complicated.5 -
So I think the confusion is because MFP and the Garmin calculate the cals differently. Using the Garmin for other purposes rather than cals makes sense.
If your BMR (which basically means the amount of cals you would burn daily if you didn't move at all) = 1281, then your sedentary maintenance cals would be around 1.2x1281, or 1537. MFP calculates your calorie goal from that, if you told it you are sedentary, and that's why you get 1200 (1200 is the minimum).
What the Garmin seems to be saying is that you burn around 256 (or an average person of your height, weight, sex, and age) would, if sedentary. The remaining 466 (772-256) is what it is giving you for other movement, either walking around beyond a sedentary amount or intentional exercise (and again it is an estimate).
MFP counts additional exercise beyond whatever you tell it when you set it up (sedentary or lightly active or whatever) toward your calorie goal, so when you logged exercise you will get more than 1200. That's important, since most women will get 1200 if they say sedentary and want to lose 1 lb/week (or more), but eating 1200 and ignoring significant exercise (like say I run an average of 5 miles a day) would be extremely unhealthy. Ignoring extra cals from logged exercise is not using MFP as intended, although many will reduce the exercise cals to make sure they are not overstated.
As I read your Garmin numbers, it is saying your actual TDEE (that's the total amount of cals you burned) on the day you showed us is 2003 cals. Therefore, if you wanted to lose 1 lb/week, you would want to eat about 1500 cals on that day. Eating 1200-1300 would be more like 1.5 lbs/week, which could be okay if you have a good bit to lose, but can be too aggressive a goal if you don't. At 67, one risk of an overly aggressive goal (in addition to just burn out or having it all hit you at once later) is more muscle loss than you otherwise would have.
The best way to tell if you are undereating is how much you are losing weekly going forward, so I'd keep an eye on that.
The EASIEST thing to do, if you don't want to log exercise in MFP or use it's adjusted cal goal would probably be to use a Garmin cals per day (the 2003) - 500 (a one lb loss goal).
It looks to me that you originally told Garmin that you wanted to lose 1.5 or 2 lb/week, and that's why it's giving you 1200. Again, if you have more to lose, that can be okay, but based on your 1281 BMR I am guessing you might not.0 -
To lose fat weight you merely have to eat less than you burn in TOTAL by a REASONABLE amount.
Make it extreme - you likely become part of the 80% that fail to reach goal weight or maintain it for an decent time period.
You will also lose muscle mass.
Very bad idea.
Your Garmin was estimating what you burn in TOTAL (it could be a good estimate, could be a bad estimate).
You were also given suggestions to use only MFP to estimate a daily burn and skip the Garmin confusion you have.
You are being told by many that you are eating an UNreasonable amount less than you burn.
Reread what that means for an extreme diet.
There was some question as to the Garmin figures you threw out as to what you burned - which is obviously part of the simple math.
That's it - doesn't take a degree, takes understanding that some info may or may not be useful.
Questioning some things is good, not believing those that understand when you aren't going to try to understand - that'll be problematic.
Be like your car mechanic telling you that noise coming from the front end is a suspension piece that could break and cause massive control problem.
You don't believe him, but then you don't try to understand what he is talking about either.
You'll just drive.
Get ready for the crash perhaps.6 -
Unplug the Garmin. Put it in a drawer. It is not helping you.
Go to the MFP Goals tool. Enter your age, gender, height, weight, etc. Tell it you want to lose a pound a week.
It'll probably tell you 1200 calories, because your maintenance level (break even) is around 1600 cals/day, so to lose a pound a week you'd have to eat 1100 (a deficit of 500/day = 1 lb per week lost) but 1200 is the lowest it will give you.
Eat that 1200 every day. NEVER less.
If you work out - meaning an intentional 30 or 60 or 90 minutes of weight lifting or cardio - either get a calorie estimate for that or just assume it's 200 calories per 30 minutes, and eat every single one of those calories, in addition to the 1200.
That's all you have to do. The weight loss will follow. That Garmin has you tied up in knots and is not helping you at all. Jmho.
I think that is what I am going to do. However I like the Garmin because it calculates my heart rate, calories burned and my steps. So I won't give the Garmin up completely. I have already lost 5 pounds so that is a good sign. As far as my calories I eat. I think I will eat the amount that makes me happy. Yesterday I went over my caloric intake which MFP and Garmin set for me, which is 1200 calories a day. Today I may go a little under. I give myself a bit of slack on some days. All this stuff everyone is talking about confuses me. Even if MFP says that I have "earned x calories" I will probably just stick to my 1200 a day. Most of this stuff you are all talking about, I don't understand. I really don't understand my Garmin that well. But I do know how many steps I do a day, how many calories I burn, and my heart rate. That is enough for me. I am going to stop questioning everything, because when I do, it confuses me that much more. I am 67 years old and I have a college degree, but I don't have a degree in nutrition and science. And I am sorry, but it is too complicated.
The key message in this and your other threads is this: All objective signs are that you're undereating. You are creating higher health risk for yourself, intentionally.
You are not so overweight that your weight itself is a severe health risk. You are choosing to increase health risk. At our age (I'm only 2 years younger), this is IMO particularly a bad idea, because we are less resilient to physical stresses like fast weight loss or sub-par nutrition (something almost guaranteed to happen on too-low calories).
Someone else mentioned that your undereating may make your weight loss fail, because it will be impossible to sustain. That would be one of the less dangerous possible outcomes, IMO. Muscle loss and weakening bones are a big deal at our age, because hard - maybe impossible - to restore. They can literally reduce our lifespan, reduce our quality of life for the years we do live. And diverse other bad health consequences become more likely, too.
My sense is that you don't want to hear it, because you want to lose weight fast, but the message here over and over again - from people with relevant professional expertise, from people who've successfully lost weight and kept it off - is that you're undereating, and that can be dangerous.7 -
If you don't want to figure out the numbers... then don't.
Your numbers say that you're trying to eat too little and lose weight too fast.
Eat more and lose weight slower and prevent preventable side effects that, through your choices and actions, you're deliberately choosing to NOT prevent4
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