BodyMedia accuracy

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flauwer11
flauwer11 Posts: 6 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm 6'0" female, 176 lbs trying to lose between 20-35 lbs. I was around 190 lbs two years ago when I started a 1500 cal/day diet. I ended up at a 170 lbs in about a year of dieting alone. I tried upping my calories about 6 months later, thinking that was a problem. I upped my intake to 1800-2000 thinking I wasn't eating enough. I also started working out a few times a week. I gained 4 lbs and just chalked it up to my body getting used to having more "fuel" and extra water weight from lifting at the gym. I just bought a bodymedia link, started using it just after Christmas, and it says that I burn around 2800 cal/day on days that I work, but don't even go to the gym. I started eating about 2100-2500 cal/day depending on if I make it to the gym or not and I've since gained an additional 2 lbs. I know I shouldn't be depending on the scale so much, but my clothes are definitely getting tighter and I really don't want to gain any additional weight! Will I stop gaining soon and start to see some positive changes? Any suggestions are appreciated!!!

Replies

  • SonyaCele
    SonyaCele Posts: 2,841 Member
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    my BMF has been accurate to around 10%. If it says you are buring 2800 and you are eating 2500 and you allow for error with both the BMF and your food logging, you could very well be having a calorie surplus. I've always trusted my BMF numbers, and allowing for error, I give myself a deficit of 1200 to 1300 and i have been consistantly losing around 2 lbs each week. According to my BMF i, generally burn 2700 to 2800 a day, and consume close to 1500. Hope this helps.
  • Jaulen
    Jaulen Posts: 468 Member
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    I'm having close to the same problem.

    My BMF says I burn about 2300 calories a day.
    I eat about 1500 calories a day.

    I have not lost any weight in 4 weeks.

    Starting to wonder wtheck I'm doing wrong.
  • flauwer11
    flauwer11 Posts: 6 Member
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    You must have missed the the beginning of my post; I was eating 1500 cals/day for a year and a half and my weight loss stalled for more than half a year.

    Also - when I eat 2500 cals/day, my bodymedia says I have burned 3300 cals. Even with a 10% range, I would still have a deficit of 500 cals.
  • KnitSewSpin
    KnitSewSpin Posts: 147 Member
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    I wore my bmf for four months, followed the calorie recommendations to a T and gained close to 15 pounds. I am selling it on eBay and going back to 1200 for weight loss. It just does not add up for some of us.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
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    Mine is pretty accurate for me. I'm 5'9" and 160 pounds. Mine tells me 2500 TDEE on average. If I eat less than that I lose.

    But I've seen that for some people it's not accurate.

    At 6' and 176, how much more weight do you want to lose. What's your body fat percentage?
  • flauwer11
    flauwer11 Posts: 6 Member
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    I have no real accurate way to tell my bf%, but I am a size 10 and want to be a 6.
  • flauwer11
    flauwer11 Posts: 6 Member
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    I have no real accurate way to tell my bf%, but I am a size 10 and want to be a 6.
  • shorty35565
    shorty35565 Posts: 1,425 Member
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    I'm 5'4 3/4 121lbs My TDEE varies depending on how active I am. My TDEE is anywhere between 1700-2200. I was losing b4 when I eating like 1600. And I ate like 50 or less cals from what my TDEE was quite a bit in DEC & I've maintained. I think mine gives me low readings actually.
  • SonyaCele
    SonyaCele Posts: 2,841 Member
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    << I was around 190 lbs two years ago when I started a 1500 cal/day diet. I ended up at a 170 lbs in about a year of dieting alone. I tried upping my calories about 6 months later, thinking that was a problem.>>

    i guess i dont see what the original problem was. If you lost 20 pounds in one year on 1500 calories, why did you up your calories? 20 pounds a year is about a half a pound a week and considered normal and healthy weight loss.
  • bikinibeliever
    bikinibeliever Posts: 832 Member
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    I find mine to be very accurate. When I stick to my goals I lose like I should. Now, when I get off track I tend to not keep track, so I can't answer in that direction.

    I wouldn't be without my bodymedia. Maybe contact them? I had problems with my display and they were fantastic to deal with.
  • flauwer11
    flauwer11 Posts: 6 Member
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    << I was around 190 lbs two years ago when I started a 1500 cal/day diet. I ended up at a 170 lbs in about a year of dieting alone. I tried upping my calories about 6 months later, thinking that was a problem.>>

    i guess i dont see what the original problem was. If you lost 20 pounds in one year on 1500 calories, why did you up your calories? 20 pounds a year is about a half a pound a week and considered normal and healthy weight loss.


    Because I stalled for over six months. No to mention that I felt like I was literally starving.
  • katevarner
    katevarner Posts: 884 Member
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    my BMF has been accurate to around 10%. If it says you are buring 2800 and you are eating 2500 and you allow for error with both the BMF and your food logging, you could very well be having a calorie surplus. I've always trusted my BMF numbers, and allowing for error, I give myself a deficit of 1200 to 1300 and i have been consistantly losing around 2 lbs each week. According to my BMF i, generally burn 2700 to 2800 a day, and consume close to 1500. Hope this helps.
    Mine, too. When I got it, weighed 134. I'm 5'3". I ate between 500 and 650 under my daily TDEE and lost about .8 lbs. per week (more in the beginning, less at the very end) and lost a total of 24 lbs. in about 7 months that included 2 vacations during which I did not exercise as much as I do at home but still tried to eat at least 500 under each day and succeeded most of the time. I'm 47 and in what my doctor calls "early" menopause, so I chalked up the less than a pound a week to age, hormones, and sometimes inexact logging (I eat out a lot at lunch and so estimate measurements).

    I agree you need to contact them and see if maybe there is something wrong with yours, altho given your height and weight, your numbers sound pretty accurate. Maybe you aren't meant to be a size 6? Certainly it will be hard for you to lose more than half a pound a week.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
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    1500 does seem pretty low for a woman of your size. But I'm not sure why you gained eating more than that. You shouldn't have. Maybe go with 1800 or so for a few weeks and see how that works.
  • paperiniko
    paperiniko Posts: 6 Member
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    been using bmf for almost a year and seems to be quite accurate since it overestimates the calories burn by about 10% so it is quite easy to adjust for

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