Calorie Defecit from Fitbit

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PotsyLee
PotsyLee Posts: 9 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I have just started using a Fitbit. I love it, but I just don't understand what a calorie deficit is, or how it works. Also I don't understand the adjustment made in myfitnesspal in the exercise section. Is anyone able to explain it in simple terms?

Replies

  • debbie14892
    debbie14892 Posts: 120 Member
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    This is a great question and one that I would like the answer too also!! :smile:
  • luckydays27
    luckydays27 Posts: 552 Member
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    You need to have a calorie intake deficit in order to lose weight. Your deficit is the calories you burn during the day minue the caloires you eat.

    If you want to lose 1 lb a week, your daily deficit will be 500 cals.
    .5 lbs a week loss, 250 cal a day deficit
    2 lbs a week loss, 1000 cals a day deficit.

    You want to gain, then its called a surplus.

    The FB adjustment is the calories earned or lost based on your true daily burn. If you were more active than MFP thought you would be (based on the info you provided MFP), then you earn cals. If you are less active, then you get cals taken away.
  • MichaelVRenner
    MichaelVRenner Posts: 92 Member
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    Fitbit expects you to be active a certain % of your day or it will give you a calorie deficit due to your inactivity.

    For instance, if you have a day off of work and you decide to spend it on the couch watching television, Fitbit will see the low activity and steal calories away from you.

    I don't feel like that is necessarily a bad thing though.

    Needless to say, there is an option in MFP to turn off the Calorie Deficit.

    Enjoy your Fitbit.
  • CTCMom2009
    CTCMom2009 Posts: 263 Member
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    The FB adjustment is the calories earned or lost based on your true daily burn. If you were more active than MFP thought you would be (based on the info you provided MFP), then you earn cals. If you are less active, then you get cals taken away.

    ^^^ This! For example, if you said you were sedentary when you filled out your profile and FItBit thinks you burned more calories that particular day, it will give you extra... if you are less active, which is me alot since I have a desk job, it will take some away. It gives me a kick in the rear when it's taking calories away, so I'll get up from my desk and walk around a bit to get some of them back! LOL
  • Justifier
    Justifier Posts: 336 Member
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    Basically, to lose weight, you need to eat less calories than you burn during the day so your body can burn a portion of your stored energy (in fat) to fuel your activity. The purpose of a FitBit is to figure out how many calories you burned during the day. The two programs work together to calculate your eating goal based on your activity and how much you want to lose.

    When MFP gets the calculation from FitBit, it adds any extra activity to the exercise section because that's how the program is set up to give you more calories when you are more active.
  • krees78
    krees78 Posts: 10
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    A calorie deficit is the difference in the calories used (burnt) and the calories eaten. You need to eat less calories then you are burning in order to lose weight. When you set up your fitbit, it asks you how much weight you want to lose each week, and then it will calculate how many less you have to eat in order to reach this. For me, if I want to lose 0.5kg (about 2 lb) a week, I need to eat 500 calories less than what I burnt.
    Fitbit is special in the fact that it takes into account your normal daily activities, and not just exercise. So it is more about measuring your calorie expenditure in a normal day - so you can find out how active you are when you are at work etc.
    If the projection from Fitbit is more than the projection from MFP, then the app will adjust accordingly. So MFP has also calculated how much calories you should burn a day (BMR or basal metabolic rate) when you first do your profile (age, activity level etc). Fitbit also does that, and if the Fitbit prjection is higher than MFP - you will gain some extra calories from exercise.
    Is that easier to understand? Or did I just make it worse??
  • WaterBunnie
    WaterBunnie Posts: 1,370 Member
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    I find that sedentary on MFP is around 4000 steps. Above that I tend to get a calorie adjustment, below and I'm running the risk of having calories deducted, but it can vary slightly due to your activity patterns. You're safer keeping some calories in hand until late evening though as the adjusting continues throughout the day.
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
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    Since you've linked your Fitbit to MFP, always use the calorie goal MFP gives you. Fitbit's calorie goal is set to maintain your current weight while MFP's goal will have your weekly deficit (based on how much you said you wanted to lose per week) built into the daily goal.

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