This is a frequent question. You don't say what the "crazy amounts of calories" are, so it is hard to judge what is going on. However, a 600 calorie + exercise eating goal is probably a not a good idea.

Your FitBit should be estimating your TDEE (the calories burned tab on your dashboard). Mine has averaged about 2700 each day for the last 30 days (you can see this on your FitBit profile page).




I am a 58 year old woman, obese if going strictly by BMI. I have FitBit and MFP set to lose 0.5 lb per week. MFP is set to Sedentary. That gives me an eating goal of 1530 on MFP. However, I know from experience, that I need to eat 2000+ calories each day to not feel really hungry, so I exercise enough to get at least 500 calories (and usually closer to 1000) back. This often consists of a 1 hour walk and 20 minutes of Zumba (I need to do the Zumba or my knees can't tolerate the walking) plus daily activity (I do try to move around as much as possible throughout the day). As you can see from the above picture, I have averaged about a 500 calorie a day deficit for the last month and I have lost very close to the predicted amount of weight:

(554 calories per day * 30 days)/3500 calories per pound = 4.8 lbs

I have lost just over 5 pounds in that time, so by that measure, my FitBit is underestimating my calorie burn just a little bit. I may have to eat a bit more, or exercise a bit less because I don't want to lose more than 1 lb a week over the long run (even though I could, technically, since many ways of determining "ideal" weight would say I still need to lose more than 50 lbs).

I would suggest reading the FAQ that heybales wrote that is in the FitBit group stickies. If you're feeling really ambitious, also check out the information on weight loss studies that heybales posted in this thread (they should convince you that trying to create too big a calorie deficit is a really, really bad idea):

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10116453/frustrated-still-not-sure-about-calories/p1

chezzabe89 wrote: »

[I guess my biggest day is last Tuesday. I had 24k steps in and its telling me to eat an extra 2,000 calories for a total of 3,300 calories.

I also have my set to lose 2lbs a week, I guess I will read over the links you sent me and see if that gives me any more insight on what's going on.

You're getting huge adjustments because you get up to 24,000 steps per day but for some reason you've set your calorie goal to only 1,300 calories. Undereating will not get you to goal any more quickly.

Set your goal to .5 lb. per week for every 25 lbs. you're overweight, and set your activity level to active (or lightly active—not sedentary!): http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/change_goals_guided

Enable negative calorie adjustments: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings

No need to log any step-based exercise, as your Fitbit is tracking it for you. Never log work (including housework & yardwork), as that's part of your activity level.

Eat back your adjustments. Your Fitbit burn is your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure). If you eat at a reasonable deficit from that (way more than 1,300 calories), you will lose weight.

chezzabe89 wrote: »

Sorry about that, I guess my biggest day is last Tuesday. I had 24k steps in and its telling me to eat an extra 2,000 calories for a total of 3,300 calories.
I also have my set to lose 2lbs a week, I guess I will read over the links you sent me and see if that gives me any more insight on what's going on.

editorgrrl is right. Take her advice. i.e. Trust your FitBit, log your food accurately, eat your "exercise" calories and give it a month.

If you're getting that many steps at work, then you're burning more calories than you think.

If your final goal is truly 160 pounds*, then you've got about 50 to go. So, 2 lbs a week is too aggressive. You should be aiming for more like 1 lb per week. If you try to lose weight too fast, it damages your body's ability to burn calories and you'll be more likely to gain the weight back. If you've been seriously under-eating for a while, then your weight loss might be slower than your FitBit predicts because you've already decreased your metabolism. But, you won't know if this is the case unless you trust your FitBit to accurately estimate your TDEE for a while.

*The reason I said, "if your final goal is truly 160 pounds" is because my "goal weight" is currently set to the point where BMI says I am no longer obese, because that seemed a more realistic goal than anything lower. (I haven't weighed that little in decades.) I have just under 40lbs to go to that goal. So, it isn't unreasonable for me to lose weight at more than 1 lb per week, but I'd rather take it slower than the maximum and a) not be miserably hungry; b) not spend my entire life exercising; and c) not damage my metabolism.