Started Very Active Job - Balancing Weight Loss

TexasTallchick

Hello all and thanks for reading! I very recently went from a desk job for 25 years to a pretty active role where I’m on my feet and constantly walking, bending, reaching, etc.

In just 4 hours yesterday, my FitBit recorded me having 7500 steps and burning almost 5000 calories. I’m probably 100lbs overweight right now and over 6’, so I think these numbers are somewhat close to being accurate. I was covered in sweat and felt like I ran a marathon since I’m so out of shape!!

I was starving after work, but I certainly wasn’t going to eat back the thousands of calories this app wanted me to. I know these numbers are estimations, and I need badly to lose, but, in your opinion, what’s the best course of action so I can fuel myself for this massive increase in activity, but still lose? Thanks again!

Jthanmyfitnesspal

Assuming you want to lose weight, I would choose a deficit that is sustainable for you for the long temr. Put another way: if you severely under-eat, you won't be able to do your job! My guidance is not to exceed a 25% deficit.

Now for the 5000kcal part: That's huge! No one can say how well FitBit did in this case, but I can say that it will get thrown off if there is a lot of vibration from machinery (e.g., a lawnmower) or if your job requires a lot of arm movement, which it may interpret as steps even if you are seated. The answer is to pick some deficit relative to the FitBit (500-1000kcals), track your eating as well as you can, and watch what happens to your weight.

Best of luck!

heybales

Look at your Fitbit graphs for the day and see if it automatically slipped into workout mode for chunks or big blocks of time.
It might have with enough steps and HR increase that likely happened.

If that is the case - it went from normal daily activity distance-based calorie burn (which might have been under or over estimated with so much upper body movement), to a HR-based calorie burn (which would have been inflated estimated since out of shape and formula not a decent estimate at lower end of aerobic range).

What kind of distance did you get for the day and total steps?
Because distance and mass and time is a very good calc of calories burned.

But if a lot of bogus steps (likely small distance at least), or your stride-length is off - you may have inflated distance and therefore calorie burn even if it was using the best correct method.

TexasTallchick

I got 4 miles and 8K steps.

I’m currently around 325lbs (ugh), so this was extremely challenging for me!!!!

Also, the times when I was doing the work reaching, etc., I was doing so standing. No seated movements at all.

Jthanmyfitnesspal

Hey, an active job will both help you get into better shape and make you glad you did it. Double win!

(As I stand here at my sit/stand desk...)

SweetP27

Make sure you have good lean protein with each meal. It takes longer to digest and will give you energy. Drink lots of water so you stay hydrated.

springlering62

Congrats on the new job! Hope it means a lot more money and a lot more satisfaction. That’s wonderful you get up and away from your desk.

My daughter quit her desk job and took an electrician apprenticeship. She loves being in motion all the time (not to mention that she thinks electrical handtools and jackhammers are ace).

Keep an eye on your Fitbit. I don’t know how they work because I use Apple Watch.

However, I was winding a ball of yarn a little while ago, and Apple detected the unusual movement and tried to start three different exercise sessions. It detected winding the yarn as running, bicycling, and elliptical!

Devices aren’t foolproof, although they are ah-mazing technology.

heybales

TexasTallchick wrote: »

I got 4 miles and 8K steps.

I’m currently around 325lbs (ugh), so this was extremely challenging for me!!!!

Also, the times when I was doing the work reaching, etc., I was doing so standing. No seated movements at all.

https://exrx.net/Calculators/WalkRunMETs
So using Gross to compare to what Fitbit would be showing, which is gross, saying 4 hrs 4 miles for easy math:

1096 calories.

The amount of calories per distance doesn't change that much for walking (it will if you start running), though 1mph as calc is on extreme side. Likely it was faster pace for smaller chunks of time, then standing.
That would actually cause a smaller calculated burn.

I'm sure since you were doing more activity than steps took you, that is likely an under-estimate.

But if you took what Fitbit has for a non-work day, looking back prior to new job, is the daily burn then plus say 1200 getting you up to 5000?

If not - I'd check to see how many auto-created workouts were done like I mentioned.

Not a good estimate than.

Might use this to compare.
Just TDEE Please spreadsheet - better than rough 5 level TDEE charts from 1919 study.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1G7FgNzPq3v5WMjDtH0n93LXSMRY_hjmzNTMJb3aZSxM/edit?usp=sharing

springlering62

Apple Watch supposedly “learns” your habits for accuracy.

I know nothing about FitBit.

But I’m wondering if they use a similar algorithm and you have a sudden change in activity level, if the device isn’t utterly confused, or could even use a re-set?

heybales

springlering62 wrote: »

Apple Watch supposedly “learns” your habits for accuracy.

I know nothing about FitBit.

But I’m wondering if they use a similar algorithm and you have a sudden change in activity level, if the device isn’t utterly confused, or could even use a re-set?

It does for workouts using HR-based calorie burn.
The amount and time of weekly workouts is part of the formula. So that's a slow change effect.

But frankly for busy job part of active life - really don't want HR-based calorie burn outside of workouts.
We all know that can be pretty iffy on even just the simple matter of HRmax figure, if literal matches the computed they use, which is usually not close.

The daily is based purely on distance and pace and weight - and doesn't adjust based on anything but weight changing, and therefore BMR.

Beverly2Hansen

I plateaued when I used Fitbit and ate back my exercise calories for 2 years. What I found was that to lose weight I had to up my daily calories while active to 1700 and not eat back exercise calories. I think that's why so many people say only eat back 25% of what Fitbit gives you.

Fflpnari

My fitbit said i would burn 3500 calories at my heaviest. So I figured I would try 2400. I stuck to that and in 6 weeks lost 15 pounds. So I stayed at 2400. Lost 100 pounds.
It may take some trial and error to figure out your calories and how accurate your calorie burn on your fitbit.

AnnPT77

Devices can over-estimate calorie burn, but they can also under-estimate calorie burn. Ditto for the so-called calculators (like MFP's) that give us our starting point calorie estimates.

Heybales is a really good advisor on questions about how devices estimate calories, IMO. I'd pay attention to him on that subject (among others). (No, I don't know him IRL, but I've read his posts here for years now.)

Still how you feel (like you ran a marathon, you said) isn't really a great indicator of calorie burn, even though it's normal to feel like it must be. It's mostly an indicator of whether we did something that was quite a challenge for our current fitness level. As a generality, the exact same activity would feel much easier to a very fit person of the same size, but (for most activities) it would burn about the same number of calories. A heart-rate estimate for the two people might even give different calorie estimates for the same activity, because the fit person's heart would beat slower . . . but devices estimate calorie burn, they don't measure it.

If I were you, I'd want to keep track of the daily Fitbit estimates for several weeks, plus keep careful logs of your eating, and see what the loss rate is after at least one full menstrual cycle so you can compare bodyweight at the same relative point in at least two different cycles. (You look to be of an age where that would apply; if not, go for 4-6 weeks.) Along the way, either set yourself to very active on MFP, then add any other (non-job) exercise calories; or use heybales' recommendation for estimating the walking part of the job . . . then, at the slightest hint of otherwise unexplained fatigue or weakness, or very fast loss after a couple of weeks, eat a bit more. Undereating, especially with greatly increased activity, is risky, health-wise. Not losing fast enough can have its own risks if at a high body weight, of course, but slowing a little bit for 4-6 weeks while handling the physical stresses of that new job shouldn't materially hamper the reduction of health risks you get from weight loss.

Let us know how things, work out for you, OK? Hoping you find a route to balance sustaining your energy at a high level, get the activity benefits from your new job, and keep a sensible weight loss rate in the picture. Cheering for you!