More calories when sick?
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Checking out the Fitbit forums, a moderator just suggested to set it to sedentary that way you eat the calories as the day goes on. It makes more sense to me.0
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I put my activity level as sedentary in Fitbit too bc like you said, if gives you too many cals until it's too late - 10pm! Rather just eat the calories I do use back. From your question earlier, I do half bc that seems to be what people say so you don't overestimate?
What do you mean it gives you too many calories until it’s too late? I didn’t say that, are you misinterpreting my screen shot?
The adjustments move around all day. They are an estimate of how much you’ll burn by the end of the day based on the activity you’ve had. It’s also advisable to enable negative calorie adjustments so that if you really do have a more sedentary day than normal, then MFP actually subtracts calories to account for that. (with the caveat that it will never go below 1200). The only time I end the day with a negative cal adjustment is if I’m completely ill and bedridden or if I’m on a long haul international flight or on a long road trip.
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Noni, I have only been on mfp for 27 days, hopefully missing the initial water weight loss. In those days, I've lost 5lbs which is pretty close to 1 pound per week?0
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Also, one of those pounds lost was from weighing today and I attribute it to illness.0
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Isn't eating them as I go the same thing though? I exercise in the morning so there's no chance that I'll leave a bunch of calories on the table. 🤔0
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If my BMR is indeed 1746, a 500 calorie deficit (1 pound per week) would be 1246. No?0
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Checking out the Fitbit forums, a moderator just suggested to set it to sedentary that way you eat the calories as the day goes on. It makes more sense to me.
A moderator on FitBit but was it specific to how to use MFP and FitBit together?
What is your typical step count, when you aren’t sick?
Some people like leaving themselves at sedentary. Regardless of what activity level you choose, MFP and FitBit sync up all day long. Also after you’ve been doing this for a while, you get a feeling for what your averages are and can better predict how many cals you’ll end up with at the end of the day.
When I first started I was set at 1200 cals and sedentary and I didn’t have a FitBit. I thought that was the right setting for me because I had a desk job and my only exercise was walking a few times a week, which I logged and ate back the calories burned. I was losing, faster than my desired 1 lb/week. I upped my cals to 1300, then 1400 and kept losing. About 6 months after I started I got a FitBit and I was averaging 10,000 steps without even realizing it and without it being “exercise”. The synced calorie adjustments were large. I got good advice on these forums that if I made myself lightly active or active, then the adjustments would be more indicative of my purposeful exercise and not just my high NEAT from being a busy working mom of two kids. That gave me a higher baseline on MFP and my adjustments were smaller but easier to plan into my day.
It’s really personal preference - the math works out the same, as long as you trust the adjustments and eat them back.
I do recommend the negative calorie enablement especially if you change your activity level.0 -
If my BMR is indeed 1746, a 500 calorie deficit (1 pound per week) would be 1246. No?
Where did you get the 1746 figure from?
Again, you don’t take the deficit from BMR. You take it from your TDEE. The total amount of calories you burn including just being alive (BMR), plus daily actors (= NEAT) + purposeful exercise = TDEE or total daily energy expenditure.
BMR is the amount of calories your body needs to support basic bodily functions. It’s what you would need if you were comatose (when, as I think you said you had some experience with head injury upthread). Eating 500 calories less than that would be literally starving your body of the nutrients it needs to keep you alive.
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If my BMR is indeed 1746, a 500 calorie deficit (1 pound per week) would be 1246. No?
If that is your BMR, no that is incorrect. You don't calculate your deficit BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) as has been explained earlier in the thread. You calculate it from your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure). That number will vary from day to day but you are using a Fitbit and that should give you a reasonable approximation.
As has been said a couple of times already, BMR is what you would burn alive but totally sedentary. Think in a coma. That is your BMR. You seem very confused between BMR and TDEE.0 -
I'm not confused at all! 🙂 I'm just saying my BMR seems kinda low. Yes my FB calculates my TDEE. I've been eating half my exercise cals back but I will start eating all my cals back bc I'm assuming my FB is fairly accurate.
Wino - It does not give me the option of don't negative calorie adjustment bc I'm already on sedentary (1200).
I average about 8000 - 10000 steps per day. My 2 youngest still want me to lay with them while they nap so that's 2 hours less activity 😬0 -
Noni, I have only been on mfp for 27 days, hopefully missing the initial water weight loss. In those days, I've lost 5lbs which is pretty close to 1 pound per week?
Really need a minimum of four weeks, to account for hormonal fluctuations. Let's give it another week and I'll help you work it out
As others have explained, that 1746 would be what your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) would be if you were sedentary, so that minus 500 is indeed 1246. But we've established that you are at least lightly active, even on a sick day.1 -
Nony_Mouse wrote: »Noni, I have only been on mfp for 27 days, hopefully missing the initial water weight loss. In those days, I've lost 5lbs which is pretty close to 1 pound per week?
Really need a minimum of four weeks, to account for hormonal fluctuations. Let's give it another week and I'll help you work it out
As others have explained, that 1746 would be what your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) would be if you were sedentary, so that minus 500 is indeed 1246. But we've established that you are at least lightly active, even on a sick day.
I think she said her total yesterday was 1926 and she subtracted 180 (but I wasn’t sure where that came from) because she though that was the exercise portion of the 1926.0 -
So in conclusion, do you agree that setting my calories to 1200 and eating back all "exercise" calories is the way to go?0
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WinoGelato wrote: »Nony_Mouse wrote: »Noni, I have only been on mfp for 27 days, hopefully missing the initial water weight loss. In those days, I've lost 5lbs which is pretty close to 1 pound per week?
Really need a minimum of four weeks, to account for hormonal fluctuations. Let's give it another week and I'll help you work it out
As others have explained, that 1746 would be what your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) would be if you were sedentary, so that minus 500 is indeed 1246. But we've established that you are at least lightly active, even on a sick day.
I think she said her total yesterday was 1926 and she subtracted 180 (but I wasn’t sure where that came from) because she though that was the exercise portion of the 1926.
Yup, the 1746 is (I think) truly sedentary TDEE. She was close to 5000 steps yesterday, which is what I'm basing the at least lightly active on.
1746 is definitely not BMR, or even RMR.1 -
So in conclusion, do you agree that setting my calories to 1200 and eating back all "exercise" calories is the way to go?
Personally my recommendation is to change your activity level to lightly active, select 1 lb/week rate of loss, and let MFP calculate the calorie target, and still eat back all the calories.
Also the 1 lb/week goal would only be for a little bit longer, under 20 lbs to lose you should be expecting about 0.5 lb/week. So that would be another 250 cals/day.
Another thing to think about is transitioning to maintenance once all is said and done. Going from the minimum calories right up to what you think is your TDEE can be a big and challenging adjustment for some people. This is also why many of the successful maintainers recommend easing up on the deficit and slowly transitioning to your long term calorie target. But you’re not there just yet.6 -
A lot of questions there! First, I tried but am unable to figure out how to accurately separate my exercise cals from my total calories. Yesterday was a very lazy day and I laid around mostly bc I didn't feel well (Fitbit still recorded 10 min of exercise??). My total calories yesterday were 1926. I would ultimately like to lose 21lbs. I selected a loss of 1-2lbs per week. I track very accurately with a scale 98% of the time unless I cannot (no scale with me, etc).
With 21 pounds to go, 1 pound per week for a short time, and then 0.5 pounds per week until goal is an appropriate target for you.
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WinoGelato wrote: »So in conclusion, do you agree that setting my calories to 1200 and eating back all "exercise" calories is the way to go?
Personally my recommendation is to change your activity level to lightly active, select 1 lb/week rate of loss, and let MFP calculate the calorie target, and still eat back all the calories.
Also the 1 lb/week goal would only be for a little bit longer, under 20 lbs to lose you should be expecting about 0.5 lb/week. So that would be another 250 cals/day.
Another thing to think about is transitioning to maintenance once all is said and done. Going from the minimum calories right up to what you think is your TDEE can be a big and challenging adjustment for some people. This is also why many of the successful maintainers recommend easing up on the deficit and slowly transitioning to your long term calorie target. But you’re not there just yet.
Agree with all of this 3 -
Nony_Mouse wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »Nony_Mouse wrote: »Noni, I have only been on mfp for 27 days, hopefully missing the initial water weight loss. In those days, I've lost 5lbs which is pretty close to 1 pound per week?
Really need a minimum of four weeks, to account for hormonal fluctuations. Let's give it another week and I'll help you work it out
As others have explained, that 1746 would be what your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) would be if you were sedentary, so that minus 500 is indeed 1246. But we've established that you are at least lightly active, even on a sick day.
I think she said her total yesterday was 1926 and she subtracted 180 (but I wasn’t sure where that came from) because she though that was the exercise portion of the 1926.
Yup, the 1746 is (I think) truly sedentary TDEE. She was close to 5000 steps yesterday, which is what I'm basing the at least lightly active on.
1746 is definitely not BMR, or even RMR.
I'm sorry, I don't understand what the confusion is. If I laid around all day, my Fitbit said that I would burn 1746 calories. So that is my BMR. Yesterday I had an additional 4000 steps which burned 180 calories.0 -
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Nony_Mouse wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »Nony_Mouse wrote: »Noni, I have only been on mfp for 27 days, hopefully missing the initial water weight loss. In those days, I've lost 5lbs which is pretty close to 1 pound per week?
Really need a minimum of four weeks, to account for hormonal fluctuations. Let's give it another week and I'll help you work it out
As others have explained, that 1746 would be what your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) would be if you were sedentary, so that minus 500 is indeed 1246. But we've established that you are at least lightly active, even on a sick day.
I think she said her total yesterday was 1926 and she subtracted 180 (but I wasn’t sure where that came from) because she though that was the exercise portion of the 1926.
Yup, the 1746 is (I think) truly sedentary TDEE. She was close to 5000 steps yesterday, which is what I'm basing the at least lightly active on.
1746 is definitely not BMR, or even RMR.
I'm sorry, I don't understand what the confusion is. If I laid around all day, my Fitbit said that I would burn 1746 calories. So that is my BMR. Yesterday I had an additional 4000 steps which burned 180 calories.
That’s not quite the way the calculation works. Even sedentary assumes a couple/few thousand steps. BMR is even lower than sedentary, it’s what it would be if you were flat on your back in a coma.
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