New to fitbit HELP

dejavuohlala

Please can you help.

i have been on MFP seriously for over 11 months and was doing reasonably well albeit slowly.

I got my fitbit 2 weeks ago and have been confused ever since.

Here are some figures can anyone explain. Sorry if this all sounds stupid.

MFP says that i need to burn 1790 calories per day and consume 1300 calories a day to lose 1lb per week.= 500 calories deficit

Fitbit says i need to burn 2274 calories a day that's a massive almost 1000 calorie per day deficit.

FITBIT adviser say i am on a training programme- what is that? i wasn't aware i am on a training programme and what is this.

Some other stats for you to help with my query

67 year old female. set at sedentary due to health issues.
start weight in Sept 2013 was 225lbs. now is 198 lbs and has stuck for last 7 weeks and will not budge despite trying various suggestion upping calories increasing walking.
i am having between 1200 - 1300 calories per day and logging everything i eat and drink

thank you in anticipation for your help

Carol

Kimsied

1. MFP says that i need to burn 1790 calories per day and consume 1300 calories a day to lose 1lb per week.= 500 calories deficit

2. Fitbit says i need to burn 2274 calories a day that's a massive almost 1000 calorie per day deficit.

3. FITBIT adviser say i am on a training programme- what is that? i wasn't aware i am on a training programme and what is this.

I added the numbers to your quote for reference..

1. MFP is not saying that you need to burn 1790 calories, what it is saying is that with your profile stats and a sedentary activity level it estimates you might burn 1790 calories a day. This is pretty important to how this works--especially with a fitbit linked. If you are set to lose one pound a week, MFP wants you to eat 500 calories less than you burn. So if MFP estimated you would burn 1790 - 500 = 1290. Hmmm... That doesn't quite work, if you lost weight, you may want to re-run your MFP goals set-up so it updates to your current stats. When I first joined MFP I saw some advice to re-run the plan goals whenever you lose about 5 pounds or so.

So MFP isn't saying you need to burn 1790, it is estimating that is what you probably would burn if sedentary. The estimate is based on your BMR multiplied by a number (associated with the activity level you chose). It is possible to be more or less active and to burn more or less calories. If so, that is where the fitbit adjustment comes in--the adjustment is for the difference between what MFP expected and your fitbit burn. (sort of, that is over simplifying a little).

2. The Fitbit calorie burn goal is not saying you need to burn 2274 calories to meet your goal. The calorie burn goal is not connected with your weight loss plan (confusingly). For non-premium users, it is just a default number like the 10,000 steps, 10 floors, etc and can be changed to whatever you want it to be. If your Fitbit food plan is set up to lose 1 pound a week, your fitbit allowance will end up being whatever you burn in a day minus 500 calories. That's actually kind of what your MFP plan should end up being (by the end of the day) as well.

3. Trainer? That is a Fitbit Premium subscription feature. Each user gets a one week free trial (I think, it has been a while). It is hard to see if it is a good fit in such a short time because the actual trainer programs are 12 weeks long. They set a goal for you to burn a certain number of calories active. If it is showing up on your fitbit dashboard, it sounds like you may have accidentally started your free trial? I personally suggest new users wait a little while before trying it because it is more useful after you understand how to use your fitbit.

dejavuohlala

Thank you for your detailed reply. I think it is slowly sinking in.

So am i right in saying that all the TARGETS on my fitbit dashboard are DEFAULT numbers and i have to set my own??? ( i was assuming that the numbers were worked out as a result of me wearing the fitbit and the activity it was logging- this is not the case - right?)


thank you very much for your help i hope i have got that now!!!!