Fitbit wants me to eat 3500 calories a day to lose weight .... REALLY??

MartinWardPhoto
MartinWardPhoto Posts: 10 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I posted recently about my Fitbit but I'm no clearer now than I was then, my apologies for yet another thread!!!

I have a Charge HR and have my Fitbit linked into MyFitnessPal. I have had my Fitbit for a week and I'm so confused about everything now.

My stats; Male, 31, 220lbs and 5'9. I have my settings in MyFitnessPal as sedentry and to lose 1.5lbs per week. I've calculated my BMR to be circa 2300.

On Saturday, I have a 13 hour day at a wedding, I'm a photographer, and my fitbit calorie burn was 4,514, 196 active minutes and 9,427 steps. MyFitnessPal has allocated me 1800 calories at sedentry and 1.5lbs per week setting, given the fitbit info it added an adjustment of 2,096 calories meaning in total I was allowed to eat 3,896 calories and still maintain the necessary 750 calorie deficit.

Today, I played golf, it's just after midnight in the UK, I've burned 4,220 calories, taken 15,606 steps and had 194 active minutes. Again the adjustment into MyFitnessPal is 1,863 meaning I could eat 3,663 calories.

I'm so confused here, because there is no way I could ever actually eat that many?!?! Plus, as far as I'm aware, 1lb = 3500 calories......

I was losing eating 1800 calories allocated by MFP, I thought the fitbit would help to make this easier instead it seems to be adding a massive headache!!

Replies

  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    You do realize your BMR is the calories you burn before activity. I don't understand why you think it's impossible. I see you keep posting questions about it and people have given you advice and even told you it's entirely plausible.

    How much weight have you lost? Over what time period? About what was your average intake for that time period?
  • MartinWardPhoto
    MartinWardPhoto Posts: 10 Member
    I posted once and it cleared things up that the burn calculation is correct for which I'm grateful. Yes I understand what BMR and TDEE is so that's not a problem either.

    Since Novemver I've lost 15lbs by following the 1800 calories, lifting heavy (stronglifts) and having my photography job.

    Anyone who has lost weight will understand that it's pretty scary being told to eat almost double to lose weight, when I've ready been losing. My scale also hasn't moved in my fornightly weigh in today so adds to the fear of eating double the amount I have been??
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    So you can either try eating more or just let it at 1800.

    I'm not really sure what to say. I mean, if you truly have averaged 1800 calories for what about 18-22 weeks.
    That's 0.83lbs(18wks) - 0.68lbs(22 wks) per week loss. Which means your daily deficit is on average only 415(18 wks)-340 (22 wks) calories. Which would put your average TDEE at 2215 (18 wks) - 2140 (22 wks).

    So either, your eating more than you think or your burning a lot less than the average person of your height and weight. Have you been tested for any conditions that slow the metabolism?
  • Merkavar
    Merkavar Posts: 3,082 Member
    Sounds like you aren't sedentary or at least not every day so it make sense on the day where your active or very active that your going to burn a lot and to maintain a stable deficit need to eat a lot more.

    Maybe eat 50% of the exercise or 75% giving a bit of leeway for inaccuracy etc in the Fitbit.
  • Torxhart
    Torxhart Posts: 4 Member
    Mine is high too but I ignore it.I'm 37 and lost 30 lbs since January.If I ate the amount of calories it suggests I wouldn't lose weight.I've lost 5 lbs in the past 2 weeks and I've uped my calorie intake but if I took in the calories it suggest I know I wouldn't lose weight as fast as I'd like
  • KrunchyMama
    KrunchyMama Posts: 420 Member
    I found this to be helpful, but I'm only 2 days in with mfp and my fitbit synced: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Chickaboo2014/view/fitbit-adjustments-negative-vs-positive-641367

    Today is my test day of allowing it to adjust for negative calories. The other day I ended up overeating by almost 500 calories because the projections ended up correcting themselves after I went to bed. I would think that as long as you are feeling full though, then you don;t have to eat back all your exercise calories.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    Do you have negative calorie adjustments enabled?
  • MKEgal
    MKEgal Posts: 3,250 Member
    My doctor (endocrinologist specializing in weight loss issues) and dietician told me to eat at my healthy calorie goal
    in order to reach my healthy goal weight, and to ignore exercise calories.
    They'd never heard of the concept of "net" calories, or eating back exercise calories.
    Most people underestimate what they eat, and most machines overestimate calories burned.
    If you ignore exercise calories, most of the time those errors will cancel out.

    If you're really hungry at the end of the day once in a while, have 1/3 - 1/2 of your exercise calories as a snack.

    .
    Male, 31, 220lbs and 5'9. I have my settings in MyFitnessPal as sedentry and to lose 1.5lbs per week.
    I've calculated my BMR to be circa 2300.
    Going by BMI, a healthy weight range for your height is 130 - 165. http://www.shapeup.org/bmi/bmi6.pdf

    This calculator from the Baylor College of Medicine will tell you not only your BMI, but how many servings of various
    foods to eat to maintain that weight. If you enter your healthy goal weight, this will help you plan your food intake
    and calorie goal.
    https://www.bcm.edu/cnrc-apps/healthyeatingcalculator/eatingCal.html

    It says that at 220, if you're inactive you'd need 2446 cal to maintain weight. Subtract 750 to get your desired loss
    per week, and you're at 1700. To maintain a healthy weight of 165, you'd need 1780.
    When you hit a plateau, cut 50-100 cal & give it a couple weeks. Don't go below 1500 unless your doctor says it's OK.

  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    Yeah I Try and ignore exercise calories. It takes me all morning, afternoon and night to get my required steps in!! To then go and eat all that hard work back just bugs me!
  • tannibal_lecter
    tannibal_lecter Posts: 83 Member
    I stagnate in weight loss if I DON'T eat back my exercise calories. I would say just try it both ways for a couple weeks and see what works better for you.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    tannibal_lecter wrote: »
    I stagnate in weight loss if I DON'T eat back my exercise calories. I would say just try it both ways for a couple weeks and see what works better for you.

    I wonder what the theory is behind this??

  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    I would probably just eat what MFP suggested and keep track of my activity seperately. Like, not sync it with mfp and just use it to get an idea of how active you're being.
  • Merkavar
    Merkavar Posts: 3,082 Member
    christinev297 wrote: »
    tannibal_lecter wrote: »
    I stagnate in weight loss if I DON'T eat back my exercise calories. I would say just try it both ways for a couple weeks and see what works better for you.

    I wonder what the theory is behind this??

    Sounds counterintuitive to me.

    Burn more, eat more and weight goes down.
    But burn more and don't eat more and weight remains the same?

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