Did I exercise for at least 20 minutes? Yes, just physical therapy and stretching.
Did I stay within my calorie budget for the day? Yes but it was right.
Did I keep track of everything I ate and drank? Yes.

Congratulations @RangerRickL &Rose!
Exercise yes 60 min walk around lovely town of Wymondham UK, 60 min cleaning
Tracking yes Calories yes

Exercise: yes. Excellent day with 2 trips to the gym due to invitation from separate people.
Calories within goal: yes but not the best choices.
Tracked: yes.

RangerRickL: happy anniversary!

@bold_rabbit are you thinking of switching from moderate activity or from a sedentary setting?
If I were in your shoes, I would consider a few things before changing the plan. There could be many reasons.
Are you losing muscle mass? LBM.
Are you losing bone mass?
Has your NEAT changed?
How many data points did you measure the 2-pound weight loss? For me it can vary widely.
Has your water intake changed?
Did you cut down your carbs significantly this month?
Did you change the type of exercise or activity?
Any new supplements?
Are you leaving too many calories off the table and how large is the deficit.
How do the clothes fit?
Have the macros changed significantly?
Have you given it enough time?

My 2 cents worth.

bold_rabbit wrote: »

Exercise? Yeppers. 25 minutes yoga.

Within my calorie goal? Uh-huh. I don't think I will ever understand Fitbit exercise calories. Gave me zero today. Which was fine because I didn't eat much.

I'm debating switching to lightly active in February (without negative adjustments) to try to get a handle on this maintenance thing by evening out my intake some. I'm down over 2 lbs for January, even though, based on my deficit, it should be less. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd appreciate it.

Tracked everything? Yeah, that goes well.

Happy Anniversary 🎉 @RangerRickL 47 is cool beans! That's still 14 years away for us.

RangerRickL wrote: »

@oldDogBiking Where were you in that great photo?? Thanks for sharing! Congratulations on your anniversary too.

That is "Rapp Corral."

Yes x 3!

@bold_rabbit, I’m like you!!!! I used to crunch my numbers in a spreadsheet too! Then I got the urge to change the plan if the results didn't match! lol. But I did eventually came back to reality because I knew (you know this as well as I do) that calculations on paper do not always translate to what we see on the scale. It’s not linear. Everybody is different also depends on where we are in our plan. The scale measures “everything” so I keep in mind that weight is going to fluctuate with such things as fluid, salt, hormones, stress, time of the month, etc. We don’t always know what we are losing based on the scale. Add adaptation and it is going to be variable. Therefore, I have learned to use other yardsticks of health like tape measures, how my clothes fit and even feedback from my friends. In your case, it could just be water weight like you say but again, make sure its not muscle or bone. Then if that happens, what happens to the BMR? You know the answer. I use turmeric too if I remember to take it.

I use a handheld Body Fat percent device that goes by impedance. They make scales that have this function also. I know that they have a 3-5% error but I am mainly concerned of my own trends and I don’t sweat the details. I measure at the same time of day and when I am well hydrated. I was getting too much variability with the calipers and tape measure so I abandoned those ideas. Just me. I’m not going to get in a body pod either lol! For a practical example, if you are losing weight and your fat percent is the same or going up, then you may be losing muscle. Again, as you already know, there are so many variables and a lot are estimated including calories, exercise calories, step counts and fat percent. etc. Take the numbers with a grain of salt.

About the GERD
This is where I see that you may be losing weight despite adding more calories in your plan because you are leaving calories off the table and since you can not tolerate too much fat, you are essentially on a "low-fat diet” also which may be a blessing in disguise especially if saturated fat is a trigger. Hopefully, after you lost weight the GERD got better? My only concern about your scenario is if you continue to lose weight despite UPPING your calories, I would double-check to make sure that the weight loss is from the calorie deficit and “not from something else” (just a precaution). So get to know your gastro. The med you are taking to reduce the acid also can impair the absorption of certain nutrients and it may be another contributing factor.

About the Fitbit steps.
I also use the sedentary setting and I generally do not consume my steps or activity calories unless I have a very intense workout. If so, then I might consume a fraction. If I lose too much weight, then I eat more of my exercise calories. I have a Polar which is like Fitbit. It has a bar in front that indicates my steps but I do not pay too much attention to this too much because, as we both know, the steps are so variable unless we have a dedicated pedometer. I still think its a good idea to keep track of daily activity to see how much it contributes to TDEE though. Fitbit might be more accurate? I am not sure. I do make sure that I get my workout every day based on time which does not accurately translate to steps either.

Good idea on using a smaller deficit as you got to goal because you don’t have much of a wiggle room to begin with, right? I’m guesstimating 1,346 -1,495 at a sedentary TDEE? The last few pounds were the hardest and little finesse was helpful towards the end. You got plenty of leeway in your BMI. Wow, I can’t go that far down. In fact, I looked very sick in the normal BMI range so I adjusted it up a little. I know about losing muscle because I reached my goal in 10 months, 70 pounds. Now I think that was too fast and I know better! I like how I look and feel here so I make 100 cal adjustments about every 2-3 weeks or so if I need it, which is essentially the same effect if you change your activity setting but it’s simpler for me this way. My main concern at this stage is to preserve LBM and staying fit. Keep everything simple with less moving parts as much as possible because by now, its a habit. I also eat a good portion of my calories in complex carbs like you but I also make sure to keep an eye on protein intake (mostly fish like you). If you do a lot of cardio, you might want to add some muscle resistance too.

Returning the book back to you. Sorry : )

bold_rabbit wrote: »

nodm wrote: »

@bold_rabbit are you thinking of switching from moderate activity or from a sedentary setting?
If I were in your shoes, I would consider a few things before changing the plan. There could be many reasons.
Are you losing muscle mass? LBM.
Are you losing bone mass?
Has your NEAT changed?
How many data points did you measure the 2-pound weight loss? For me it can vary widely.
Has your water intake changed?
Did you cut down your carbs significantly this month?
Did you change the type of exercise or activity?
Any new supplements?
Are you leaving too many calories off the table and how large is the deficit.
How do the clothes fit?
Have the macros changed significantly?
Have you given it enough time?

My 2 cents worth.

@nodm

Great questions! Here is a long, more detailed background first.

Because I use a Fitbit and my steps can vary from 3500 - 14,000, I have always used "not very active" (aka sedentary) and tried to eat exercise calories.

Due to GERD, I can't always eat all of the calories. For example, even on days like Christmas, I eat about 1700 calories. This is because (1) my stomach can only handle so much food at a time (2) higher fat, especially saturated fat, is a GERD trigger for me and (3) I have to stop eating at 7 PM. (Because of GERD, I had been slowly losing weight for about 18 months at a rate of about .33-.5 lbs per month before I decided to tackle the extra 20 pounds.)

I was losing 2-3 pounds per month from July - November, so pretty much on track for my .5 lb/ month goal. I upped my intake a little mid-November, but still lost the same in December. For January, I switched to maintenance and attempted a smaller deficit. I wanted to lose my last 3-4 lbs during January - March at a slower rate while practicing maintenance. I also started a spreadsheet in January so I can compare MFP + Fitbit to real world results.

In January, I am definitely eating more calories. As of today, the MFP + Fitbit deficit indicates I should have a 1.56 lb loss. My actual loss is 2.6 lbs. My normal fluctuation for weight is only about one pound. So, while the one pound difference here could be accounted for by "water weight", I have had weigh-ins below the 1.56 pounds loss every day for the past week.

I am 5'3". My weight today is 123.2 lbs. I still have plenty of leeway in normal BMI, but just want to figure out maintenance before dropping much lower. Historically, I look best above 120 lbs.

Onto your questions that aren't covered above:

Are you losing muscle mass? LBM.
Are you losing bone mass?

I have never measured these, so I don't know. I certainly hope not much! I will get a new osteoporosis screening this spring (age 55, had one at 50). Last one showed excellent bone mass.

Has your NEAT changed?
I don't think so. If it has, it is probably lower.

Has your water intake changed?
No.

Did you cut down your carbs significantly this month?
No. I eat pescatarian, mostly vegetarian. My carb intake has always been pretty high.

Did you change the type of exercise or activity?
Nope. I'm almost completely a walker due to joint and tendon/ligament issues. I do a tiny amount of yoga and core exercises (approximately 60 minutes total a week). This has not changed.

Any new supplements?
This is a real possibility. I have discovered a turmeric/ginger smoothie that I love. I notice less daily pain on days I drink it, so less inflammation could be a small factor.

How do the clothes fit?
A little looser, but nothing drastic.

Have the macros changed significantly?
Just a little since my added calories are skewed more towards carb and fat (fruit, avocado, grains, oil, etc).

Have you given it enough time?
Probably not! 😁

Sorry for the book!! I truly appreciate any help. My diary is open to friends, if you are interested in even more information.

yes x 3
dog walking