I too am lost!

aplhabetacheesecake

BMR TEE calories expended....i am sooo confused

first things first

On scooby's site http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ I am 5"6 190lbs 31 yrs old

I have a desk job BUT im in a hospital and it can vary sometimes lots of patient to see therefore i am doing loads of stairs, otther days im at my desk answering emails and following up on projects. My fitbit saYS ANYWHERE FROM 13-40 flights of stairs in a day.

I do Turbofire religiously! its cardio and some resistance band and ab work, 6x a week, an hour a day. On the day off I run, about 45 mins-an hour.

Depending on my activity as light or moderate or heavy really gives me a HUGE range!!!!

my fitbit always gives me extra calories....i think its a lil generous and I politely say thank you, but no thanks!


so what am i asking? I would like to know how to set my MFP to reflect what i am to do!
i have to set for 200 calories right now, 30F 30P and 40 carb, i set my fitness goals as 60 min 6 times a week cause that one day of running doesnt always happen.

but days like yesterday I pre logged my meals to 2000 cals, then went about my day fitbit says i earned some ungodly extra 542 cals from daily activity, and then i did a run and earned another 475 so it brought my NET to 745. WHat am I suppossed to do?

Any help would be appreciated, I am not gaining, I am not losing and i am desperate for some direction!

cedarghost

I set my MFP to reflect my TDEE. That way I always see what it is if I happen to go over my deficit. Sounds like you are confused about your activity level. Just pick one and run with it, then adjust if needed after a few weeks. The calculators are just estimates anyway. Don't pick sedentary and don't sweat the details so much that you stress out. If you're in this for the long run, what difference will a few weeks make if you are spending them figuring out your actual TDEE.

Gapwedge01

I went to the GOALS tab and used customized. I inputted my TDEE less 15% cut number. My TDEE is based on an activity factor of 1.35 which is a tweener of sedentary and lightly active. If I exercise beyond that level I calculate my calorie burn by taking the gross recorded calorie burn and subtract the TDEE calories for that time period that has already been accounted for then back out the 15% cut. This leaves me with a net calorie figure that I eat back. Otherwise I eat my TDEE less 15% and never below my BMR.

HeidiHoMom

What makes you think your fitbit is inaccurate?

I use a fitbit and it seems pretty accurate to me. I calculate my deficit based on my fitbit and I lose on average .7 to 1 pound per week.

aplhabetacheesecake

What makes you think your fitbit is inaccurate?

I use a fitbit and it seems pretty accurate to me. I calculate my deficit based on my fitbit and I lose on average .7 to 1 pound per week.

I think my fitbit is in accurate because i have my calorie goal set at 2000 and i log all my foods the day before, so now nearing the end of the day, i am done my activities and done eating and MFP says fitbit calorie adjustment of a whopping 494 cals PLUS my 302 i earned from my Turbofire workout....there is no way...just no way, so now mfp says i am only netting 1124....soo sonfused

HeidiHoMom

That doesn't sound off base to me.

HeidiHoMom

Do you have your fitbit software to factor in a deficit?

With the amount you are exercising it should be factored as heavy.

HeidiHoMom

I am calculating your TDEE to be around 2800 which seems about what your fitbit is saying. Then your 15% cut would be about 2450.

nellyett

I use the Scooby workshop calculator too...if you know your bodyfat % then you can use the Katch McCardle research model for a more accurate estimate.

I am under the impression that you can interpret the activity level as 1-3, 3-5, 5-7 HOURS per week instead of days. that would put you in the 'heavy' activity category. try that level and tweak from there. if you are walking around a hospital AND doing an hour of cardio everyday, I'll bet you are burning more calories than you think

aplhabetacheesecake

ok thx ladies! I am currently eating 2000cals and not seeing the scale budge, but i am losing inches I can see and feel. I dont eat back exercise cals...is there a point where I should?

HeidiHoMom

If you are losing inches then that is more accurate than the scale.

How long have you been at it?

I had a 12 week plateau where I lost nothing on the scale and even minimal in inches but I just keep doing what I was doing and then the scale started moving again.

aplhabetacheesecake

Just since dec 17th so 5 weeks
I guess i am used to just losing every week on weight watchers 5 weeks in and i am usually down about 10lbs if not more
The problem is ww ends up being so little points i just end up binging

HeidiHoMom

EXACTLY!

I am a former weight watcher as well. I too would lose like 15 lbs in 6 weeks, easy. BUT the problem is that when you are losing that kind of weight you are losing A LOT of lean body mass. Your lean body mass is the part that burns the most calories. Then when you do binge (which is almost guaranteed because the points equal like 1200 cals) you put on weight but you are putting on only fat as opposed to the lean mass that you lost.

This is why people say they gain so fast and it gets harder to take off.

When you eat at a smaller deficit you are losing more fat than lean mass, so even though your scale is moving slower, in reality you are actually losing more fat mass than the person who is losing faster.

It has taken me a year to drop 40 lbs but I have also put on about 8 lbs of muscle.

Right now I am about 5 lbs heavier than I was 6 years ago but I am wearing one size smaller

HeidiHoMom

Not to mention a smaller deficit is MUCH easier to stick to. There is not one time in this past year where I felt like giving up. I don't feel deprived.

On weight watchers I would give up after like 6 months. Then I Would spend 6 months putting on fat, then go back to WW and try to take it off again, lose some, gain more. And I was HUNGRY!! And miserable. I was constantly thinking about food.

It's not like that for me anymore.

aplhabetacheesecake

Not to mention a smaller deficit is MUCH easier to stick to. There is not one time in this past year where I felt like giving up. I don't feel deprived.

On weight watchers I would give up after like 6 months. Then I Would spend 6 months putting on fat, then go back to WW and try to take it off again, lose some, gain more. And I was HUNGRY!! And miserable. I was constantly thinking about food.

It's not like that for me anymore.

so what do you have mfp sat as? calorie goal fitness goals?

HeidiHoMom

I have my account linked to my fitbit so it goes up and down for me depending on my activity level. But I find it more accurate for me. Most days I am eating around 1750-1800, somedays a little higher and some a little lower. But my stats are different than yours. I am 5'2 and weigh 178 and I don't do nearly as much cardio as you. I do heavy weights 3 times per week and 15 mins of HIIT twice per week.

aplhabetacheesecake

I guess I dont feel active? hard to explain, but I do sit at a desk MOST of the day, sure i am up to the washroom, maybe down and up sum stairs to grab a coffee-these are part of my every day stuff...at lunch i may head out on a purposeful 30 min walk and definitly after work I make sure i do my cardio or run, there is some built in resistance band dvds like 2 times a week too. But thats like an hour of my total day
Then i am picking up kids making supper, cleaning up, and then i SIT! for a good hour until bed-
When I look at the activity level choices I think I do not have a srenous job that requires me to be on my feet all day, I am not lifting or anything. I see the fitbit giving me calorie adjustments as early as NOW! it says i have earned an extra 271 cals, its only 838 am and I am sitting at my desk drinking a coffee! I have climbed 7 flights of stairs so far, but that was between the parking garage and my office. I just feel like I am being rewarded calories that I didnt earn, I feel guilty?
I feel I should be losing weight & inches, not just inches alone
And I wish I knew how many cals to eat, what to aim for NETwise and if I am burning exercise cals, is there a number to aim for? and a number in which if I go over I need to eat back-Seems like this info is out there but written in a language I do not understand-makes counting points seem effortless

aplhabetacheesecake

ok BMR 1640-gonna try that one out for a bit

Calories to maintain TEE 3116

Daily calorie goal I chose a low and high based on the 5-6 hours of intense exercise and the 7 hours plus so 2263-2493 calorie range

my fitbit says todays estimated calorie burn based on prevous days is 2581


so.......If i want between a 500-1000 calorie deficit and I am prolly gonna burn about 2500 cals through my normal daily moving around and my 1 hour of cardio..... OR....is this 2500 cal expected burn just my daily moving around and my hour o cardio is an additional burn?

basically do I eat 2500 cals regardless of activity?
do I eat 2000 cals and then i have my 500 calorie deficit already and any exercise on top of that is bonus deficit?

or do i have this completely wrong?

heybales

I guess I dont feel active? hard to explain, but I do sit at a desk MOST of the day, sure i am up to the washroom, maybe down and up sum stairs to grab a coffee-these are part of my every day stuff...at lunch i may head out on a purposeful 30 min walk and definitly after work I make sure i do my cardio or run, there is some built in resistance band dvds like 2 times a week too. But thats like an hour of my total day
Then i am picking up kids making supper, cleaning up, and then i SIT! for a good hour until bed-
When I look at the activity level choices I think I do not have a srenous job that requires me to be on my feet all day, I am not lifting or anything. I see the fitbit giving me calorie adjustments as early as NOW! it says i have earned an extra 271 cals, its only 838 am and I am sitting at my desk drinking a coffee! I have climbed 7 flights of stairs so far, but that was between the parking garage and my office. I just feel like I am being rewarded calories that I didnt earn, I feel guilty?
I feel I should be losing weight & inches, not just inches alone
And I wish I knew how many cals to eat, what to aim for NETwise and if I am burning exercise cals, is there a number to aim for? and a number in which if I go over I need to eat back-Seems like this info is out there but written in a language I do not understand-makes counting points seem effortless

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/813720-spreadsheet-bmr-tdee-deficit-macro-calcs-hrm-zones

See how it compares for activity calculator.

Forget the block calories, go by %.

aplhabetacheesecake

wow this looks awesum! too much to digest while my kiddos are running around driving me insane! perhaps I will get up early and sip a quiet hot coffee and mull this over! much thanks!!