I am so lost!!!! Please help me!! These numbers are so different

brentsgurl
brentsgurl Posts: 40 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I know alot of what you do is based off your BMR. MFP is telling me to eat 1,200 a day. I just recently got a fitbit flex and my dashboard is telling me i'm only burning 1,314 a day with no exercise. I up to this point used the pacer app that counted my steps. I have my profile set as sedentary and pacer was adding calories for my steps. Pacer was saying i burned about 1700 calories a day doing nothing. Why are these things so off? I'm concerned that if I'm only burning 1,300 on a bad day and eating 1,200 it will take me forever to lose any weight. Can anyone direct me on what I should go by?
I do have MFP and Pacer both set to sedentary, so i'm not sure why the counts are so different. Thanks :)
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Replies

  • brentsgurl
    brentsgurl Posts: 40 Member
    I just used a BMR calculator and it says my BMR is 1339. That is if i don't get out of bed right? So if i do anything i burn more? Why is it that my fitbit is only allowing me 1080 calories a day in for a deficit of 250 a day?
  • ManiacalLaugh
    ManiacalLaugh Posts: 1,048 Member
    Actually, a lot of what you do is based off your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure), not your BMR.

    Your BMR is the rate at which you would burn calories if you were in a coma and in bed all day. Your TDEE is based on actual movement and steps taken. Even if you work a completely sedentary job, you're going to burn more than your BMR.

    I like to use this tool to confirm my TDEE every once and a while: http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

    It gives you your difference between your BMR and TDEE. If you'll notice, your TDEE is likely 1600 or above (assuming you're not exceptionally short or petite). This number is what you should be counting your deficit back from.

    Example:

    My TDEE is 1750 calories per day
    I eat 1250 calories per day if I don't exercise
    My deficit total is 500 calories, so I'm set to lose 1 lb of fat (3500 calories) every 7 days.
  • brentsgurl
    brentsgurl Posts: 40 Member
    Okay so it says
    TDEE is 1608
    I eat 1200 a day
    so I'd have a deficit of 400 calories a day based on being sedentary.
    so if i work out i'd have a bigger deficit.

    Question is why is my fitbit only telling me to eat 1080 calories a day? I have my profile set to .5lb loss a week so that's a deficit of 250 a day. That's what has me confused. Thanks for your help!!

  • ManiacalLaugh
    ManiacalLaugh Posts: 1,048 Member
    brentsgurl wrote: »
    Okay so it says
    TDEE is 1608
    I eat 1200 a day
    so I'd have a deficit of 400 calories a day based on being sedentary.
    so if i work out i'd have a bigger deficit.

    Exactly.
    brentsgurl wrote: »
    Question is why is my fitbit only telling me to eat 1080 calories a day? I have my profile set to .5lb loss a week so that's a deficit of 250 a day. That's what has me confused. Thanks for your help!!

    This, I don't know. Sorry. It sounds like a technical glitch or an administrative error somewhere in your height/weight because your goal should not be so low. Only someone who was exceptionally short and light would have a calorie goal that low.
  • katej37
    katej37 Posts: 56 Member
    Check fitbit that you have set it to lose 0.5lb not 5lb per week....
  • brentsgurl
    brentsgurl Posts: 40 Member
    I'm 5'2" so I am short but not to short. lol I don't know why it's set like that either....it throws everything off on my fitness pal too. Guess I'll just stick to eat 1200 and anything i do above and beyond that is good. My issue is I don't know the difference between when i'm being sedentary and lightly active. I do walk about 5000 steps a day on a normal day...and pacer was giving me about 75 calories for that because i had my stat set to sedentary. i guess fitbit will never give me calories lol....oh well
  • katej37
    katej37 Posts: 56 Member
    I'm only 5ft and get more than that on fitbit.
  • brentsgurl
    brentsgurl Posts: 40 Member
    edited February 2016
    I just upped my loss to 1.5 pounds and now I have even less calories. Look
  • brentsgurl
    brentsgurl Posts: 40 Member
    vd82d9c7f0v2.png
  • brentsgurl
    brentsgurl Posts: 40 Member
    even when i eat 1157 it tells me i'm over for the day....what gives?
  • katej37
    katej37 Posts: 56 Member
    my settings on fitbit (flex) on the app go into settings, nutrition and body - I have mine set to a 500cal deficit. In activity I set my step target at 9k and 2,000 calories burned per day with 30 active minutes. I normally am doing over 9k steps per day averaging normally 11-12k. I march while watching tv, dance with toddler, march while reading my kindle anything to get my steps up and active minutes in. I am just under 10k now for the day and have earnt just under 300 calories on MFP from that. x
  • Yi5hedr3
    Yi5hedr3 Posts: 2,696 Member
    None of those toys are anywhere NEAR accurate!
  • brentsgurl
    brentsgurl Posts: 40 Member
    Mine is set exactly like yours but i have steps set at 5k. It gave me 841 calories for the day. Doesn't make sense
  • 42firm03
    42firm03 Posts: 115 Member
    Something is wrong with your Fitbit setup or there is a glitch. Double check all your "stats" you entered. If they are correct contact Fitbit support. You are correct that it's not right!
  • Vortex88
    Vortex88 Posts: 60 Member
    You're getting too hung up on numbers which are being estimated by a machine - the machines work for us remember? lol

    BMR, TDEE are all pretty pointless. They are places to start and absolutely nothing else.

    Start with the recommended amount and then experiment from there - 2 weeks of higher calories, 2 weeks of lower calories for example and record your weight and look in the mirror once a week.

    Keep protein over 100g per day too.

    Experimenting with is the only way you will find out what works for YOUR BODY. Even at 5'2" I'm guessing that 1200 cals is too low. Try starting round 1600-1800 and see what happens. Remember what I said about keeping the protein up too ;)

    Good luck





  • ManiacalLaugh
    ManiacalLaugh Posts: 1,048 Member
    Vortex88 wrote: »
    You're getting too hung up on numbers which are being estimated by a machine - the machines work for us remember? lol

    BMR, TDEE are all pretty pointless. They are places to start and absolutely nothing else.

    Start with the recommended amount and then experiment from there - 2 weeks of higher calories, 2 weeks of lower calories for example and record your weight and look in the mirror once a week.

    Keep protein over 100g per day too.

    Experimenting with is the only way you will find out what works for YOUR BODY. Even at 5'2" I'm guessing that 1200 cals is too low. Try starting round 1600-1800 and see what happens. Remember what I said about keeping the protein up too ;)

    Good luck


    The bolded is needlessly confusing and you literally contradicted yourself two sentences later. Protein can help retain LBM, but it's not going to affect weight loss.

    I do agree about testing the waters (which is why your "TDEE is pointless" line is so bewildering.

    Start by setting a good deficit from your TDEE, adjust every 3-4 weeks if needed. (The time it usually takes to differentiate between fat loss and water weight fluctuations)
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,234 Member
    brentsgurl wrote: »
    Okay so it says
    TDEE is 1608
    I eat 1200 a day
    so I'd have a deficit of 400 calories a day based on being sedentary.
    so if i work out i'd have a bigger deficit.

    Question is why is my fitbit only telling me to eat 1080 calories a day? I have my profile set to .5lb loss a week so that's a deficit of 250 a day. That's what has me confused. Thanks for your help!!

    I believe there are some groups here for users of various devices. You might try asking technology questions there, or in the Fitness & Exercise forum. I think you might be more likely to find more experienced users there.

    And a couple non-technology thoughts: It might help if you could figure out which source(s) are closest to right for your values (if any), to know where it's most helpful to focus further investigation.

    Some of us might comment on the values themselves if we knew more about you: I didn't see where you mentioned your height & current weight, for example - if you did so you might get some feedback from others who are or have been the same size.

    Along that same line, how long have you been eating at 1200? If it's been long enough to tell (3+ weeks), are you in fact losing around that much? If no, are you certain your 1200 eating value is as accurate as it can be (i.e., are you weighing solid foods & measuring liquids routinely)? Are you in fact working out, or not?

    I'm not trying to pry: No need to answer questions like that unless you want feedback from folks here about which numbers are most likely to be accurate estimates.
  • bzgl40
    bzgl40 Posts: 69 Member
    I am 5'3" and if someone is telling me to eat 1200cals a day I am probably going to be ripping some heads off. I agree with your probably somewhere between 1600-1800 to have any energy to go about your day. Just keep those calories good calories and not full of junk and that will be plenty of food to give you all day energy.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    brentsgurl wrote: »
    Mine is set exactly like yours but i have steps set at 5k. It gave me 841 calories for the day. Doesn't make sense

    Did you put your weight in the fitbit in KG's but it is set for lbs. that way if you are 140 lbs it thinks you are only 64 lbs?
  • katej37
    katej37 Posts: 56 Member
    I have to be honest I don't give a flying fig what fitbit tells me about my food. I log all food on MFP and am on 1260 cals per day based on weight loss goal of 0.5lb per week, sedentary lifestyle, my age and height. I then earn calories for exercise pretty much based only on what fitbit tells MFP I do unless its an activity that fitbit doesn't pick up like bike riding or swimming. Just in the last 2 weeks I have lost 4.8lbs so I need to eat more of my exercise calories to slow loss down or stick with it. Slow and steady wins the race after all and I don't want to end up in a position where I struggle to lose the last few pounds because I have to take my net calories down too low.
  • HorrorGeekLiz
    HorrorGeekLiz Posts: 195 Member
    brentsgurl wrote: »
    Mine is set exactly like yours but i have steps set at 5k. It gave me 841 calories for the day. Doesn't make sense

    The problem with the FitBit calories is it starts the day like that, and gives you more as you walk. It assumes you're going to sit on your tail all day and gives you those calories, which are a deficit from your BMR. It then makes you earn your food. If you use the calorie allotment on MFP, you'll find it gives you a more normal amount of calories per day upfront on the assumption (based on the activity settings you provide it) that you will earn them. If you've hooked it up to sync with your FitBit, it will subtract calories if you're not moving, and it will give you more if you're moving more than it is expecting of you.

    It works out the same, it just makes you feel better if you follow the MFP number.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    HorrorGeekLiz wrote: »
    brentsgurl wrote: »
    Mine is set exactly like yours but i have steps set at 5k. It gave me 841 calories for the day. Doesn't make sense

    The problem with the FitBit calories is it starts the day like that, and gives you more as you walk. It assumes you're going to sit on your tail all day and gives you those calories, which are a deficit from your BMR. It then makes you earn your food. If you use the calorie allotment on MFP, you'll find it gives you a more normal amount of calories per day upfront on the assumption (based on the activity settings you provide it) that you will earn them. If you've hooked it up to sync with your FitBit, it will subtract calories if you're not moving, and it will give you more if you're moving more than it is expecting of you.

    It works out the same, it just makes you feel better if you follow the MFP number.

    This is good point. You don't actually know how many calories fitbit is going to give you for the day until 11:59 p.m.
  • HorrorGeekLiz
    HorrorGeekLiz Posts: 195 Member
    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    HorrorGeekLiz wrote: »
    brentsgurl wrote: »
    Mine is set exactly like yours but i have steps set at 5k. It gave me 841 calories for the day. Doesn't make sense

    The problem with the FitBit calories is it starts the day like that, and gives you more as you walk. It assumes you're going to sit on your tail all day and gives you those calories, which are a deficit from your BMR. It then makes you earn your food. If you use the calorie allotment on MFP, you'll find it gives you a more normal amount of calories per day upfront on the assumption (based on the activity settings you provide it) that you will earn them. If you've hooked it up to sync with your FitBit, it will subtract calories if you're not moving, and it will give you more if you're moving more than it is expecting of you.

    It works out the same, it just makes you feel better if you follow the MFP number.

    This is good point. You don't actually know how many calories fitbit is going to give you for the day until 11:59 p.m.

    Exactly. That's why I use MFP and not the FitBit for calorie determination. It's too confusing.
  • brentsgurl
    brentsgurl Posts: 40 Member
    I am 5'2" 154 currently. I am losing less then .5 pounds a week. I've been eating between 1100-1200 calories a day. I weigh and measure everything too. The reason I am trying to figure out my actual burn calories a day is because I'd like to up my exercise but I will have no way to figure out what my deficit is because my fitbit is giving me such strange numbers. I can't earn any calories because MFP has me burning 1673 a day set at sedentary...and FITBIT has me only burning 1314. So anything up to 1673 I won't get credit for. Meaning I would need to burn 360 calories to even get me to what MFP has me burning....I don't understand why fitbit and MFP have such differences in numbers when they are set the same.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    HorrorGeekLiz wrote: »
    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    HorrorGeekLiz wrote: »
    brentsgurl wrote: »
    Mine is set exactly like yours but i have steps set at 5k. It gave me 841 calories for the day. Doesn't make sense

    The problem with the FitBit calories is it starts the day like that, and gives you more as you walk. It assumes you're going to sit on your tail all day and gives you those calories, which are a deficit from your BMR. It then makes you earn your food. If you use the calorie allotment on MFP, you'll find it gives you a more normal amount of calories per day upfront on the assumption (based on the activity settings you provide it) that you will earn them. If you've hooked it up to sync with your FitBit, it will subtract calories if you're not moving, and it will give you more if you're moving more than it is expecting of you.

    It works out the same, it just makes you feel better if you follow the MFP number.

    This is good point. You don't actually know how many calories fitbit is going to give you for the day until 11:59 p.m.

    Exactly. That's why I use MFP and not the FitBit for calorie determination. It's too confusing.

    Me, too.
  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
    Did you go back and make sure you have everything entered in your Fitbit correctly? The Fitbit number sounds off.
  • brentsgurl
    brentsgurl Posts: 40 Member
    I haven't logged any calories and it's telling me right now i have 864 to eat for the day. MFP hasn't synced my food yet...otherwise i'd have nothing left and i only ate 428 calories for the day so far
  • HorrorGeekLiz
    HorrorGeekLiz Posts: 195 Member
    brentsgurl wrote: »
    I am 5'2" 154 currently. I am losing less then .5 pounds a week. I've been eating between 1100-1200 calories a day. I weigh and measure everything too. The reason I am trying to figure out my actual burn calories a day is because I'd like to up my exercise but I will have no way to figure out what my deficit is because my fitbit is giving me such strange numbers. I can't earn any calories because MFP has me burning 1673 a day set at sedentary...and FITBIT has me only burning 1314. So anything up to 1673 I won't get credit for. Meaning I would need to burn 360 calories to even get me to what MFP has me burning....I don't understand why fitbit and MFP have such differences in numbers when they are set the same.

    I just explained why they are different. MFP gives you the calories upfront, the FitBit makes you earn them before it will show them to you.

    Use MFP. Ignore FitBit. Calm down. MFP's numbers are well proven. If you input your correct height, weight, and activity level, you can trust the number. Use the FitBit to track your activity, not your food.
  • brentsgurl
    brentsgurl Posts: 40 Member
    ergdhwlkc6h1.png
  • brentsgurl
    brentsgurl Posts: 40 Member
    As u can see I only ate 1157 but it's telling me I'm over 321 calories for the day

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