Should I increase my activity level in settings?

StealthyJen

When I set up MFP, I put “lightly active” since I thought I best fit that description. However, I’ve done the math by taking daily weights and tracking, and it seems I burn about 500 more calories a day than MFP says I do at lightly active. I’m not a super athlete or anything, but I fidget a lot. I’ve always got a bouncing leg or something going on when I sit. I also have difficulty sitting very much at all and am always up and about. So much for the “fat people are lazy” trope.

Should I keep it the same and eat my exercise calories (Fitbit adds calories), or change the setting?

tomcustombuilder

Leave it for 6 weeks and change if needed. There are many factors at play that will affect the outcome of your fat loss

mtaratoot

You're on the right track by comparing your expected results with your actual results. Congratulations; that's the way to fine-tune your goals.

How long have you been doing this data check? How long have you been logging? If you're new or back from a bit of time away from weight management, your initial weight changes might not be representative of the long-term results. If it's just been a few weeks, I second @tomcustombuilder's suggestion of waiting a few more weeks. Keep doing what you're doing; keep paying attention to expected and actual results.

If you find you're off, then you can go to the settings and MANUALLY set your calorie goal to some number more than the set-up suggests. After that, keep paying attention! If you are in a weight loss phase, the calories you need each day will decrease over time. You'll probably have to refine that goal over time until you get to maintenance. Once you're at maintenance, you can find the ideal goal by doing exactly what you're doing now - pay attention. Then you'll have a goal that you can set and forget and watch the scale go up and down and up and down over and over and over. That's success!

kshama2001

If, over at least a month, you are losing an average of a pound a week (500 calories x 7 days = 3500 = 1 pound) more than your weekly weight loss goal, you are indeed 500 calories off and can adjust accordingly.