Success from Fitbit TDEE

I do half and half depending on how hungry I am. My fitbit syncs with MFP at the end of the day instead of throughout so that I don't overeat calories without moving. I tend to use the fitbit adjusted MFP value as my maximum and only if I'm really hungry after drinking water that I will eat upto my fitbit maximum.

Fitbit tells you your estimated calorie burn based on how much exercise you have done at that point which is why you might get you've met your goal- for the day, but not met your goal for that point in time if you still have 4/5 hours until midnight. Does that make sense?

I just got my fitbit yesterday, so I'm definitely no pro. But in my research I think I found that it's saying you need to burn more based on an arbitrary goal it sets for you for calorie burn. You can change it in your settings to whatever goal you want to make!

I hope that helps!

I have had a Fitbit and I have used a Body Media Fit. The BMF gave higher daily burns than the Fitbit for me since the Fitbit doesn't measure lifting or running particularly well. I did an experiment for 3 weeks and ate very close to TDEE per the BMF. The results were this:

Average burn over 3 weeks 2848 calories daily
Average intake over 3 weeks 2653 calories
Weight change: -0.4 lbs

So by my estimation, the BMF is accurate; the Fitbit underestimates unless your primary activity is just walking and NEAT.

Edited to add: I'm 37 y/o, 5'7" and ~158 lbs.

hmm...thats interesting. Im glad your body mediafit works but I wanna know how accurate the fitbit is lol. The only thing I do that the fitbit can't track are my workout dvds with weights which I log as circuit training.

Wow. I seriously was trying to help. I'm telling you my experience. No one can tell you yours. Why don't you just go ahead and put in the time and test it. If you eat at a cut from what the Fitbit tells you and you lose weight it works. If you don't lose weight it doesn't work. Why are you asking if you don't want anecdotal evidence.

TL;DR: Fitbit underestimated my TDEE.

The "you have reached your goal calories, burn more" updates as you continue your day. For example, after dinner, sometimes I have met my calories but it tells me to burn more (usually the case) .

Usually by midnight, the amount of calories burned has caught up, even being sedentary for the rest of the night. I've figured out that I burn approx 60 calories an hour just sedentary. If i see that I'm still not going to be even, as in, I've taken in 1400 calories but have only burned 1600, and will only burn 240 calories more in 4 more hours, that means my TDEE for the day was 1840 and I didn't have that 500 deficit, I adjust accordingly. I'll run up and down the stairs or back and forth around the room.

If you're really active during the day, it's a little more confusing. You should probably go to your fitbit dashboard online and calculate how many calories you have burned during that activity and then kind of estimate how much over your regular TDEE that is. Then adjust how many calories you eat that day accordingly. So, if you burned 400 calories during a running session, and your normal TDEE is 1800, add 400 and you get 2200, then according to your deficit, eat however many calories you need.

The only really annoying thing about it is if you have a certain goal set on MFP and then your TDEE goal changes for the day, you'll be over or under on MFP at the end of the day. My mom adjusts her goal every day, but that's too much work for me. If you hate seeing red numbers, it's what you'll have to do, but I really don't care at this point, as long as I'm meeting the deficit.

Hope that helps!

No, Im not being mean, Im sorry if it came out that way!! I'm saying I really AM glad it worked for you, but you havent experimented with the fitbit much you said..how much did it underestimate your TDEE?

For me, it underestimated by about 200 calories daily on a rest day if the BMF is accurate. I never wore both devices at the same time to compare workout days.

Why don't you just go ahead and put in the time and test it. If you eat at a cut from what the Fitbit tells you and you lose weight it works. If you don't lose weight it doesn't work.

TL;DR: Fitbit underestimated my TDEE.

This. I've found that I don't have to eat 500 less than what fitbit gives me, more like right at or under by 1-200, to lose. So that leads me to believe it's underestimating my TDEE as well. But, I also stopped loging extra stuff like weights/circuit training, etc, moreso because I think I was overestimating there, eating the extra, and not losing.

So, yes, I also agree to try it and see what happens for you!

I have had a Fitbit and I have used a Body Media Fit. The BMF gave higher daily burns than the Fitbit for me since the Fitbit doesn't measure lifting or running particularly well. I did an experiment for 3 weeks and ate very close to TDEE per the BMF. The results were this:

Average burn over 3 weeks 2848 calories daily
Average intake over 3 weeks 2653 calories
Weight change: -0.4 lbs

So by my estimation, the BMF is accurate; the Fitbit underestimates unless your primary activity is just walking and NEAT.

Edited to add: I'm 37 y/o, 5'7" and ~158 lbs.

The Fitbit has a weightlifting activity for you to record, so it can calculate your correct burn. If you don't use all of the tools, it won't be as accurate as it could be.

The Fitbit has a weightlifting activity for you to record, so it can calculate your correct burn. If you don't use all of the tools, it won't be as accurate as it could be.

It pretty much estimates the same as MFP would for other activities, and it overestimates for me. Therefore, I found it more helpful to not log other stuff and underestimate, than overestimate and think I could eat more.

With 10 pounds to lose, I'd aim for TDEE- 10%. But go ahead and figure out your TDEE -15% and try to stay within those numbers if it works for you to have a range instead of a set number. It's only a difference of a few hundred calories, right? Shoot, 2Tbs of peanut butter has 150 cals... Get some dense foods and it's really not that much! lol

This thread was a big help. Been considering getting a FitBit and now I am pretty sure that I will be ordering one this friday (payday$$). Just been doing a bit of research making sure that it was the right choice for me. At this point in my journey, its seems like I can't go wrong with it! Now I can't wait to get it. It seems like it will encourage me to be more active also!