BMR, TDEE and Fitbit - Help!

Tari_D
Tari_D Posts: 121 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all,

I wonder if anyone can help me here as I am really getting myself confused. I've recently bought a fitbit to track how active I am during the day and I'm now not sure what my calorie aim should be.

I am:
5ft4
female
132lb
looking to lose another roughly 13lb to get me to right in the middle of a healthy BMI for my height

I've worked out using a calculator that includes BF% that my BMR is roughly 1250. Therefore making my TDEE if I am sedentary about 1500. I thefore eat 1300 - 1400 as I am only aiming to lose slowly at this point.
It's important to note that I am actually relatively active but I eat ALL my exercise calories back - exercising to earn more calories to eat is what motivates me to go to the gym!

Okay so now that I have a fitbit I am getting an adjustment based on how active I really am on my calories each day.

So does this mean if I am using the fitbit and syncing it to MFP that I am effectively now always eating my TDEE (roughly) as I also include on MFP non walking/step based exercise.

And if so what should my calorie goal be? I want to keep eating back my exercise calories and the calories from my fitbit as this motivates me to move more.

Should I therefore go a bit under my BMR as a target knowing that with the fitbit adjustment I will eat more?

I'm probably hugely overcomplicating things but I am confused. Please help :smile:

Replies

  • gemmaleigh1989
    gemmaleigh1989 Posts: 241 Member
    You have the same BMR as me :) And I also use a fitbit.

    I set my activity level as sedentary so that I can add onto it any other exercise. My activity level really is more than sedentary as I work in sales and am on my feet a lot. This is where the fitbit comes in. You will see a fitbit adjustment becuase they are the extra calories you burn while taking all those extra steps during the day. You will notice that if you upped your activity level from sedentary to lightly active, the fitbit calorie adjustment would get smaller or non existance because those extra calories are already accounted for in your activity level.

    Does that make sense? The fitbit calorie adjustment is just extra calories you have burned doing "incidental exercise"

    It is a great tool to know how active you really are and what you are actually burning through out the day without intending to.

    As for what you should be eating, with a BMR of 1200, aim to NET at that amount each day. That is the calories consumed AFTER taking into account calories burned through exercise and fitbit calorie adjustment. So on the days you exercise you will be eating more than on the days you dont. Eat back your exercise calories and eat back your fit bit caloires! Do NOT net below 1200 cals a day, this is where your metabolism and fat loss slows down, and I know because I have been there!

    I hope this all made sense. Good luck! :)
  • Tari_D
    Tari_D Posts: 121 Member
    Hi Gemma, thank you for your response! That does make sense. I think where I am still a bit confused is if I am eating my BMR and all the exercise calories does that mean I have no calorie deficit?
  • Tari_D
    Tari_D Posts: 121 Member
    Bump? :flowerforyou:
  • glassyo
    glassyo Posts: 7,744 Member
    If you're going by what your fitbit says then yes, you need to create a deficit but if you're going by what mfp says, you already have that deficit created and the fitbit adjustment is just building on to that so eat what mfp says and see how that goes.

    Unless you do what I do and have your mfp set to maintain and the calories you leave in the green under your food log is your deficit.

    Clear as mud? :smile:

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