Is my Fitbit wrong or am we eating too little?

djacobh
djacobh Posts: 9 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
TLDR: Recently got a Fitbit saying I am burning 3000-3700 calories a day before exercise. Only eating 2100 calories, do I need to eat more?

For a long time I worked out consistently and recorded my food consistently. However after a certain point I started gaining weight instead of losing weight while I was still eating the same and exercising the same. This resulted in being discouraged and falling off the wagon for about 6 months.

I recently got back into exercising and watching what I eat. And then I received a Fitbit shortly before Christmas as an early present. I have been eating 2100 calories (roughly 40C/30P/30F macro). My Fitbit multiple days in a row is predicting over 3000 calories a day when I work due to the active nature of my job. Do I need to increase my calories so it isn't such a large deficit?

Thank you in advance!

Replies

  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    What's your age, height, current weight, goal weight, and what is your job and where does it fall in these choices?

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  • djacobh
    djacobh Posts: 9 Member
    30, 6'2" height, 240 now, 200 goal and I'd say I fall in active. I am a department manager at a grocery store (deli bakery) which is on your feet all day and working trucks etc.
  • CSARdiver
    CSARdiver Posts: 6,252 Member
    edited December 2018
    If you have a Fitbit or activity tracker and enable negative calories it really doesn't matter what you choose as this will balance out with your real time data gather by your Fitbit.

    Click Settings: Diary Setting and scroll down and you'll find this:

    awza5uim3t21.png
  • JohnnytotheB
    JohnnytotheB Posts: 361 Member
    edited December 2018
    I too have a Fitbit and believe that the calories that they show will enable you to maintain your current weight, not lose. I stopped using their calorie counter and switched to this one because I don't like the way they format theirs (and layout - it's sloppy to me). Plus logging food with FB is a real pain.....


    I also think you need to have a caloric deficiency like you have to lose weight. I think you are on the right track. (always consult a health care professional to make sure your plan is right for you)
  • djacobh
    djacobh Posts: 9 Member
    I log my food in Myfitnesspal, but track activity in Fitbit. I'll look at that negative calorie thing tho!
  • hertingk
    hertingk Posts: 1 Member
    It's actually better to ignore what the fitbit says and determine your own calorie intake. If you are maintaining or gaining weight at 2100cal, and your goal is to lose weight, drop your calories. If you are losing or maintaining and the goal is to gain, increase your calorie intake.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,089 Member
    hertingk wrote: »
    It's actually better to ignore what the fitbit says and determine your own calorie intake. If you are maintaining or gaining weight at 2100cal, and your goal is to lose weight, drop your calories. If you are losing or maintaining and the goal is to gain, increase your calorie intake.

    ^^Seconding this.

    How long have you been back and eating what you believe is 2100 calories a day? What have your results been during that time?
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    djacobh wrote: »
    TLDR: Recently got a Fitbit saying I am burning 3000-3700 calories a day before exercise. Only eating 2100 calories, do I need to eat more?

    For a long time I worked out consistently and recorded my food consistently. However after a certain point I started gaining weight instead of losing weight while I was still eating the same and exercising the same. This resulted in being discouraged and falling off the wagon for about 6 months.

    I recently got back into exercising and watching what I eat. And then I received a Fitbit shortly before Christmas as an early present. I have been eating 2100 calories (roughly 40C/30P/30F macro). My Fitbit multiple days in a row is predicting over 3000 calories a day when I work due to the active nature of my job. Do I need to increase my calories so it isn't such a large deficit?

    Thank you in advance!

    How long have you been eating 2100 and what's going on with your weight?
  • djacobh
    djacobh Posts: 9 Member
    I have been eating 2100 for a month now. Exercising 4 times a week, cardio and weight training. My weight has been holding steady on a week-to-week basis with minor fluctuations typically on the upward side
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    djacobh wrote: »
    I have been eating 2100 for a month now. Exercising 4 times a week, cardio and weight training. My weight has been holding steady on a week-to-week basis with minor fluctuations typically on the upward side

    Did you just start strength training 4 weeks ago?
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    Fitbit accuracy will vary person to person. For me the models with HRMs are a decent guide and the models without actually underestimate a bit.

    That won’t be the case for everyone though.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,089 Member
    djacobh wrote: »
    I have been eating 2100 for a month now. Exercising 4 times a week, cardio and weight training. My weight has been holding steady on a week-to-week basis with minor fluctuations typically on the upward side

    I would recommend

    1) start using a weight tracker (an app that will plot the data points from your weigh-ins to let you better see what the trend is, despite fluctuations)

    2) carve about 200 calories a day from your current 2100 calorie goal and hold it there for a month, then reassess based on your scale results.
  • joaniebalonie088
    joaniebalonie088 Posts: 93 Member
    It sounds like you should be losing on 2100, given your stats.
    Not to harp the usual mantra here on MFP, but make sure you’re using a good scale and logging accurately.

    I don’t see why you’d need to cut your calories more with those stats!
  • rsergeant79
    rsergeant79 Posts: 45 Member
    Fitbit always overestimated my daily calorie burn by atound 400 calories - this is in compatison to my Garmin
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    djacobh wrote: »
    30, 6'2" height, 240 now, 200 goal and I'd say I fall in active. I am a department manager at a grocery store (deli bakery) which is on your feet all day and working trucks etc.

    Try it for 4- 6 weeks and see how much weight you lose.

    If you lose too fast, eat more.

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