Fitbit adjustment too liberal. Weight loss at stand still. Any advice?

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TehLaughingDog
TehLaughingDog Posts: 200 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey everyone. Looking for a little help here.

So for the past two weeks I've been at a stand still for losing. I haven't been eating back all of my Fitbit adjustments since I am worried the adjustment is far too liberal. Typically I'm eating back 200-300 after a cardio burn depending on my level of intensity but not much beyond that.

I generally weigh or measure my food (if you look in my diary you'll see only a few vague meals but generally it's fairly consistent). I also drink 10-12 cups daily usually and get my fiber in daily. If Fitbit adjustments were correct I'd be dropping weight since my deficit would be very large and if they're not correct I'd still be assuming a loss since I'm still eating less than my TDEE. I don't believe two weeks would change my measurements but I've been taking them anyways with no changes.

My other thought is that I just started a lifting routine so maybe the water retention after my workouts is lasting longer than the days I'm sore?

Any advice about the Fitbit, needing to change what I'm doing, or anything would be appreciated. Just a little frustrated since I'd be happy to see even 1/2lb loss in the past two weeks.

Thanks!

Replies

  • TehLaughingDog
    TehLaughingDog Posts: 200 Member
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    Also I'm in the gym 4 days a week. 3 lifting, 2 cardio. Usually I'm doing long hikes on days I'm not in the gym. I'm trying to get in another day for the cardio as well.
  • Maxematics
    Maxematics Posts: 2,287 Member
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    I'd say wait it out a bit more but I have to say right off the bat that your diary does not look very accurate at all. I can tell you right away that your S'mores Quest bars are not 180 calories every time. Quest bars are usually 20+ calories more than stated on the package once you weigh them. I see a lot of things in cups, slices, or plates. The entries look way too generic. It's good that you have those Fitbit calories as a buffer. Even if you do lose any weight within the next two weeks, I'd still recommend you tighten up your logging especially for future weight loss.
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    edited July 2016
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    Give it another week or 2. Could be water retention if your new to lifting or depending on where you are in your cycle that can cause water retention as well.

    Be careful using entries like this from the database, they could be very off from what your actually eating
    "Home - Spaghetti with Meat Sauce"
    and
    "Homemade - Homemade - Ground Beef Meatloaf"

    Pasta should be weighed raw if possible (weight of cooked pasta can vary depending on how long it cooked and how much water was absorbed)

    This doesn't look right to me (though I could be wrong)
    Generic - Baked Salmon Fillet 6 oz 199 cal
    USDA has
    • 3 oz salmon, chinook, cooked, dry heat at 196 cal
    • 3 oz Atlantic Farmed Salmon cooked dry heat at 175 cal
    • 3 oz salmon, sockeye, cooked, dry heat at 133 cal
    • 3 oz salmon, coho, farmed, cooked, dry heat at 151 cal

  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    For some people fitbits calorie adjustment is spot on and they can lose weight eating back ALL of their exercise calories.

    This unfortunately hasn't been the case for me, as I would have been at my goal weight eons ago if my fitbit was accurate with it's energy expenditure.
  • Maxematics
    Maxematics Posts: 2,287 Member
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    shadow2soul wrote: »
    This doesn't look right to me (though I could be wrong)
    Generic - Baked Salmon Fillet 6 oz 199 cal
    USDA has 3 oz Atlantic Farmed Salmon cooked dry heat at 175 cal

    You're right, it's not. 6 oz of salmon fillet is easily 275+ calories. Though tasty, it's a very fatty, calorie dense fish.
  • TehLaughingDog
    TehLaughingDog Posts: 200 Member
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    Awesome! Thanks guys! It really helps to have another pair of eyes looking at it. I didn't realize the salmon was off but anticipated the meatloaf and spaghetti were off. And I didn't realize that about te quest bars!

    Thanks guys!!
  • Maxematics
    Maxematics Posts: 2,287 Member
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    TehLaughingDog wrote: »
    Awesome! Thanks guys! It really helps to have another pair of eyes looking at it. I didn't realize the salmon was off but anticipated the meatloaf and spaghetti were off. And I didn't realize that about te quest bars!

    Thanks guys!!

    Yes, packaged items can be tricky. In the fall I bought an entire box of Pumpkin Pie Quest Bars. A serving size is 60 grams. The lowest weight I had was one 59 gram bar; the rest were 63g+ with a few bars being 71g! That added an extra 41 calories. It doesn't seem like much but it adds up. One of the worst offenders I've ever had was a Trader Joe's Fruit and Nut Bar. The serving size was 200 calories for 40 grams; my bar weighed 50 grams and that added an extra 50 calories. You don't have to be super precise if that's not your thing, but wherever you can helps and when in doubt, try to overestimate when eating out or eating things someone else makes.
  • TehLaughingDog
    TehLaughingDog Posts: 200 Member
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    synacious wrote: »
    TehLaughingDog wrote: »
    Awesome! Thanks guys! It really helps to have another pair of eyes looking at it. I didn't realize the salmon was off but anticipated the meatloaf and spaghetti were off. And I didn't realize that about te quest bars!

    Thanks guys!!

    Yes, packaged items can be tricky. In the fall I bought an entire box of Pumpkin Pie Quest Bars. A serving size is 60 grams. The lowest weight I had was one 59 gram bar; the rest were 63g+ with a few bars being 71g! That added an extra 41 calories. It doesn't seem like much but it adds up. One of the worst offenders I've ever had was a Trader Joe's Fruit and Nut Bar. The serving size was 200 calories for 40 grams; my bar weighed 50 grams and that added an extra 50 calories. You don't have to be super precise if that's not your thing, but wherever you can helps and when in doubt, try to overestimate when eating out or eating things someone else makes.

    That's good to know though. I thought I was being fairly accurate and that when I wasn't being accurate that those inaccuracies would be minor. Knowing that about prepackaged goods though makes a huge difference. I'll need to start bringing my scale around with me haha.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    synacious wrote: »
    TehLaughingDog wrote: »
    Awesome! Thanks guys! It really helps to have another pair of eyes looking at it. I didn't realize the salmon was off but anticipated the meatloaf and spaghetti were off. And I didn't realize that about te quest bars!

    Thanks guys!!

    Yes, packaged items can be tricky. In the fall I bought an entire box of Pumpkin Pie Quest Bars. A serving size is 60 grams. The lowest weight I had was one 59 gram bar; the rest were 63g+ with a few bars being 71g! That added an extra 41 calories. It doesn't seem like much but it adds up. One of the worst offenders I've ever had was a Trader Joe's Fruit and Nut Bar. The serving size was 200 calories for 40 grams; my bar weighed 50 grams and that added an extra 50 calories. You don't have to be super precise if that's not your thing, but wherever you can helps and when in doubt, try to overestimate when eating out or eating things someone else makes.

    I am so going to weigh my Quest bar this afternoon. These and eggs are pretty much the only things I don't weigh.
  • daniip_la
    daniip_la Posts: 678 Member
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    I didn't look through your diary, so I'm not going to comment on that, but I do have some advice for weight stalls when starting lifting.

    When I started lifting moderately heavy (for me), my weight stalled for probably a month. And any time I would up the weights, it would stall again for several days. Starting a new lifting routine always caused my body to hold onto every drop of water it could. So sure, tighten up your logging, but just keep the lifting stall in mind as well.

    Good luck!
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    Christine_72 wrote: »
    synacious wrote: »
    TehLaughingDog wrote: »
    Awesome! Thanks guys! It really helps to have another pair of eyes looking at it. I didn't realize the salmon was off but anticipated the meatloaf and spaghetti were off. And I didn't realize that about te quest bars!

    Thanks guys!!

    Yes, packaged items can be tricky. In the fall I bought an entire box of Pumpkin Pie Quest Bars. A serving size is 60 grams. The lowest weight I had was one 59 gram bar; the rest were 63g+ with a few bars being 71g! That added an extra 41 calories. It doesn't seem like much but it adds up. One of the worst offenders I've ever had was a Trader Joe's Fruit and Nut Bar. The serving size was 200 calories for 40 grams; my bar weighed 50 grams and that added an extra 50 calories. You don't have to be super precise if that's not your thing, but wherever you can helps and when in doubt, try to overestimate when eating out or eating things someone else makes.

    I am so going to weigh my Quest bar this afternoon. These and eggs are pretty much the only things I don't weigh.

    It was 62g instead of 60, so 6 more calories than i usually log. I want a 71g Whopper :lol:

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