A fitbit helps a LOT..My tale..
fuzzyslipperz
Posts: 49 Member
Ok, so I've been at goal weight (about 120# ) for about 8 years after losing 50 pounds..
I've literally been HUNGRY these last eight years, but have been strict and maintaining at 1500-1800 cals/day with one higher cal day on the w/e (2.5K+). I'm 5'4 and 44 years old and very active but not doing silly amounts of 'exercise'. Probably a 5 mile walk 3-4x/week, some HIIT and weightlifting on alternate days. I also have a fairly active job (clinic nurse) and I have my own mini farm that requires a lot of hauling/lifting/walking around so my non work days are pretty busy. Calories are actually a little above what most people think is 'normal' for someone my age and relatively light weight. Fitbit says I do anywhere from 15K to 30K steps (whew, not that often) per day. Average 22-25K.
My weight crept up about 5# slowly even though my activity was way up (spring!) and I was eating the same foods I had been eating for years. Had worn my fitbit a year or two ago and laughed at the crazy silly calories it had me burning..
(men look away now) Oh, and did I mention I hardly ever got a period? Maybe twice a year IF that. Doc said it was due to peri-menopause and not due to anything else since I was not on a treadmill for hours each day, not underweight and not underfat.
Started wearing my fitbit again and reading this group and thought what the heck.
What I've been doing is letting the fitbit make adjustments and netting slightly over or at BMR - which may not sound like enough to you, but remember most people just go with TDEE on a calculator OR log in exercise manually. Fitbit gives me credit for things like feeding and watering chickens. :P I eat AT TDEE on weekends - sometimes one day, sometimes both.
My calorie intake (which is close to scooby numbers) to NET BMR is now about 2000-2200 on weekdays and on weekends I end up at 2500-2800.. Woot! Been doing this for over two months now - and I am down two pounds. And (guys look away now), aunt flo came two months in a row after nothing for almost a year!
So eating more definitely works, especially if you have a bodymedia fit/fitbit to see how much you are REALLY burning. I didn't do a reset, just eat at 'TDEE' on weekends which keeps me sane.
FWIW, I don't know how anyone survives on 1200 cal total/gross - I couldn't even eat that little when losing my first 50#.
I sometimes WISH I was one of those people who could say 'but I couldn't POSSIBLY eat MORE I'll be SO FULL'. That never ever happens with me. I could probably put down 5K if I'd allow it. :P
Anyway I hope that helps someone.
I've literally been HUNGRY these last eight years, but have been strict and maintaining at 1500-1800 cals/day with one higher cal day on the w/e (2.5K+). I'm 5'4 and 44 years old and very active but not doing silly amounts of 'exercise'. Probably a 5 mile walk 3-4x/week, some HIIT and weightlifting on alternate days. I also have a fairly active job (clinic nurse) and I have my own mini farm that requires a lot of hauling/lifting/walking around so my non work days are pretty busy. Calories are actually a little above what most people think is 'normal' for someone my age and relatively light weight. Fitbit says I do anywhere from 15K to 30K steps (whew, not that often) per day. Average 22-25K.
My weight crept up about 5# slowly even though my activity was way up (spring!) and I was eating the same foods I had been eating for years. Had worn my fitbit a year or two ago and laughed at the crazy silly calories it had me burning..
(men look away now) Oh, and did I mention I hardly ever got a period? Maybe twice a year IF that. Doc said it was due to peri-menopause and not due to anything else since I was not on a treadmill for hours each day, not underweight and not underfat.
Started wearing my fitbit again and reading this group and thought what the heck.
What I've been doing is letting the fitbit make adjustments and netting slightly over or at BMR - which may not sound like enough to you, but remember most people just go with TDEE on a calculator OR log in exercise manually. Fitbit gives me credit for things like feeding and watering chickens. :P I eat AT TDEE on weekends - sometimes one day, sometimes both.
My calorie intake (which is close to scooby numbers) to NET BMR is now about 2000-2200 on weekdays and on weekends I end up at 2500-2800.. Woot! Been doing this for over two months now - and I am down two pounds. And (guys look away now), aunt flo came two months in a row after nothing for almost a year!
So eating more definitely works, especially if you have a bodymedia fit/fitbit to see how much you are REALLY burning. I didn't do a reset, just eat at 'TDEE' on weekends which keeps me sane.
FWIW, I don't know how anyone survives on 1200 cal total/gross - I couldn't even eat that little when losing my first 50#.
I sometimes WISH I was one of those people who could say 'but I couldn't POSSIBLY eat MORE I'll be SO FULL'. That never ever happens with me. I could probably put down 5K if I'd allow it. :P
Anyway I hope that helps someone.
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Replies
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Such a great story. congrats on your success and more importantly, figuring out what the doctors couldn't.
I think I need to get one of those fitbit things.0 -
Interesting - thanks!0
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I have been researching the FitBit a bit, too. One thing I do wonder is how does it monitor mat workouts? i have heard that it only really monitors steps. Do you have any experience with this?
Great work! 1200 cals a day suuuuuuuuuuuuucks...0 -
I have been researching the FitBit a bit, too. One thing I do wonder is how does it monitor mat workouts? i have heard that it only really monitors steps. Do you have any experience with this?
Great work! 1200 cals a day suuuuuuuuuuuuucks...
it doesn't do well with weight workouts or mat workouts, but ya know what? I don't worry about it. I used to manually enter things like kettlebell workouts while using my HRM (MFP has numbers that are WAY too high for my height and weight) but now I just use the fitbit. It gives me credit for walking to the mailbox, cleaning chicken coops, etc so it all works out. I found it was very similar to the TDEE calcs here at least for me. Might not work for someone very sedentary who only does floor work as exercise - in that case I'd use the HRM cals IMO.
I used to have one of the armband monitors but the numbers were so close that paying for a subscription didn't make sense.
I compared my HRM to what MFP wants to give me for a workout and about died laughing. Walking was kinda close, but putting in anything else would give me 3X what I am actually burning.. 0 -
Thanks for sharing! You probably mitigated some of the metobolic damage by having a "spike" on the weekends, but you just kept slowing that metabolism over time. Wow, right? And even better, that you have now "repaired" your body - way to go!! Just goes to show you how resilient and complicated the human body is.0
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What a great story. Thanks for sharing
I just got my FitBit and it truly is an eye opener.0 -
So glad you're having success and thank you for sharing your story!
I got a BMF almost 2 months ago and it's been a huge eye opener! I was eating at 1900 and thought that was just fine until my BMF showed my TDEE was around 2800!!!! Now that I've got my calories figured out based on how much I'm actually burning, the weight is coming off at a consistent rate on a weekly basis!0 -
I use my HRM for workoutsI have been researching the FitBit a bit, too. One thing I do wonder is how does it monitor mat workouts? i have heard that it only really monitors steps. Do you have any experience with this?
Great work! 1200 cals a day suuuuuuuuuuuuucks...0 -
My TDEE is about where yours is and I was :noway: when I saw itSo glad you're having success and thank you for sharing your story!
I got a BMF almost 2 months ago and it's been a huge eye opener! I was eating at 1900 and thought that was just fine until my BMF showed my TDEE was around 2800!!!! Now that I've got my calories figured out based on how much I'm actually burning, the weight is coming off at a consistent rate on a weekly basis!0 -
My TDEE is about where yours is and I was :noway: when I saw itSo glad you're having success and thank you for sharing your story!
I got a BMF almost 2 months ago and it's been a huge eye opener! I was eating at 1900 and thought that was just fine until my BMF showed my TDEE was around 2800!!!! Now that I've got my calories figured out based on how much I'm actually burning, the weight is coming off at a consistent rate on a weekly basis!
It's amazing, isn't it? I think back to all my 1500 calorie days and wow, I was probably 'netting' like 500 calories.. :noway:0 -
I believe my story is similar in that I was also drastically underestimatng my TDEE. I am a teacher and I move around a lot during the day. I only received my Fitbit last Tuesday, by the time the school year has wound down, but even still, My TDEE was around 2200 (I imagine it would by higher on regular teachIng days thanks to standing and walking around the class room) and I was certainly not eating enough back on a consistent basis when factoring in exercise. Of course, now that school is over, I will be far more sedentary for the next few months but I'll know how much I've slowed down with the Fitbit.0
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Fitbit and this group helped me break a 3 month plateau :flowerforyou:
I found my TDEE is about 2200-2400 a day and my BMR is 1411. I'm set to net 1550.
The only little bit I would add is to set MFP activity level to match the TDEE on your fitbit. Mine was oroginally set at 1720 per day, so I wasnt moving at all, Once I changed it to active (2050 per day) fitbit just adds little adjustments instead of the big ones...
I do subtract about 100 cals and 500 steps per day for incidentals like being in the car/bike etc and take them off their site, but its workiing so far :bigsmile:0 -
Thanks for sharing your story, I love your user pic, so cute and fluffy 0
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bump for later reading . I also have a fitbit. Bought on April 29th this year. I LOVE MY FITBIT!!!!...Wondering if I need an HRM? I don't do a whole lot of weight lifting, but I am trying. I walk most days over 10, 000 steps, and have actually hit over 20,000 a few times...That is a lot of steps...Wish I could do more but I keep 2 grandbabies 4-5 days a week for 10-12 hr days...they are a pleasant workout..lol Tks for sharing:) My treadmill broke today also!!! :sad:0
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I just bought a Fitbit yesterday and found this thread. I was wondering how everyone on this thread is going with their Fitbits. Still working well?0
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I love my fitbit - I use it to calculate my TDEE for my cut 0
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Okay, i'm sold. Just ordered a fitbit and a HRM.
I will figure this fat loss thing out
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I have to save up for one. I wish I could afford it...lol. I want one soooooo bad.
Thanks for sharing your experience!0 -
I got mine from ebay - it was cheaper than buying from the fitbit site - but you can register it ok on the fitbit site once you've got it.0
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If there is just no way of obtaining a fitbit at the present, I am still safe to trust online calculators, right?0
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If there is just no way of obtaining a fitbit at the present, I am still safe to trust online calculators, right?
lol, I'm in the same boat... but am really excited that this works for when I can get my own fitbit0 -
Nice to hear your story and very encouraging. Well done on maintaining that loss, that is the really difficult part!! You would never have thought that you could eat so much and still lose weight, one of the many advantages of having a busy active life,0
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Am I right in thinking that the fitbit will tell me how many calories I burn all day? I have a pedometer which tells me when I do "proper" walking, but if I wore the fitbit all day would it tell me how many calories I have burnt off during the whole day doing normal ordinary things (cooking, cleaning, changing the sheets etc.)
I'm struggling to loose weight as my exercise is a bit irregular due to circumstances but I wonder if I underestimate my daily calories. Would this help.
It's a lot of money if it only tracks cardio exercise etc.
Thanks 0 -
Am I right in thinking that the fitbit will tell me how many calories I burn all day? I have a pedometer which tells me when I do "proper" walking, but if I wore the fitbit all day would it tell me how many calories I have burnt off during the whole day doing normal ordinary things (cooking, cleaning, changing the sheets etc.)
I'm struggling to loose weight as my exercise is a bit irregular due to circumstances but I wonder if I underestimate my daily calories. Would this help.
It's a lot of money if it only tracks cardio exercise etc.
Thanks
No, it's designed to be worn 24/7. I think it overestimates a bit, but if not I guess I need more food LOL.0 -
If there is just no way of obtaining a fitbit at the present, I am still safe to trust online calculators, right?
Yes mine is very accurate to the Scooby figures which I was pleased about.0 -
Am I right in thinking that the fitbit will tell me how many calories I burn all day? I have a pedometer which tells me when I do "proper" walking, but if I wore the fitbit all day would it tell me how many calories I have burnt off during the whole day doing normal ordinary things (cooking, cleaning, changing the sheets etc.)
I'm struggling to loose weight as my exercise is a bit irregular due to circumstances but I wonder if I underestimate my daily calories. Would this help.
It's a lot of money if it only tracks cardio exercise etc.
Thanks
I wear it all day - and it calculates everything - on your account online you can see when you've been very active or not - and the times tie in to when I do exercise, or sit around watching tv.
If you do weights or mat exercises you can add the burn from your HRM and it will add those in.
It shows on the fitbit the no of steps you take, the stairs you climb, your current activity level and daily calories burnt so far. It then syncs online when you're by your computer and you can then see all the history on your online account (the free one - I've not paid for the extras).0 -
That's great that you're having success with the Fitbit. I keep swaying between wanting one and not wanting one!
I don't want one in case my TDEE is less that Scooby gives me and I have to deal with the fact that in general I'm lazy :0
It also sounds a bit confusing to set up with MFP. If using a HRM for workouts do you pause the Fitbit for that period of time?
On the other hand I'd like one because I like numbers and would like to see mine in case my TDEE is higher 0 -
Okay, i'm sold. Just ordered a fitbit and a HRM.
I will figure this fat loss thing out
Exactly why I got one!
I have a HRM too, does anyone will a Fitbit use it for HIIT or running? I'm thinking I should use the HRM on those.
Thanks for the updates:flowerforyou:
And BTW, yesterday, which was a pretty lazy day with the exception of a 35 minute brisk walk was 2058 calories burned. I love all this data and numbers
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Thank you for sharing your story with us!! I have had my fitbit for a few weeks now and I LOVE IT!! I didn't realize how many calories that I really burn each day...I know why I wasn't losing any weight (at least I think this is part of it) but I wasn't eating enough still...My fitbit tells me I burn anywhere from 2400-2800 cals/day which is a bit more than I had figured so now I am adjusting my numbers to go with this. It's so great to hear that you are doing it this way and it is working for you - that makes me feel more confident in using mine in the same way!! :happy:0
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When I got my fitbit I tested it by wearing my HRM for 24 hours and the results were very similar which gave me confidence that it was accurate enough for me. This also tied in with what Scooby was telling me too 0
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