Tracking my way to weight loss. Yes, I am a geek
CharlesScott78
Posts: 203 Member
Spreadsheets
Charts and graphs
Charts and graphs
3
Replies
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😍😍😍 Ah, weight management spreadsheets! You’re a man after my own heart...4
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Charles, I am beyond impressed! Mostly beyond because my own math/stats skills are awful. You on the other hand are a master! 🏆🥇🏅4
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I will ask, though, if the label should be BMR/day or either NEAT (just the non exercise activity) or the complete TDEE/day!
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I will ask, though, if the label should be BMR/day or either NEAT (just the non exercise activity) or the complete TDEE/day!
Great catch. Yea, I slanged it a bit. I use the **Mifflin - St Jeor equation to calculate BMR then apply an activity factor to come up with NEAT. I have validated that number a few times with Body Gem testing, my Apple Watch and matching to actual results. It is probably fairly close.
I read an article a long time ago, where they did a study on people that food log - on average, even being very diligent over weighing and measuring you typically undercount between 10 to 20%. I use a inaccuracy factory to take calories logged then multiply that number by 1.125 to get actual calories consumed. lol - I am such a geek. I made the workbook generic so I could share it if anyone wanted to use it. It has a setup page that takes in your data, then off you go.
If anyone has an suggestions, I am always tinkering with it.
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???? Huh? This is so beyond me! I know it’s motivating and helpful but the most I can handle is logging and getting on the bathroom scale daily. I am positively gobsmacked!4
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So the corresponding numbers for the MFP activity factor labels are:
sedentary/not very active = 1.25
lightly active = 1.4
active = 1.6
very active = 1.8
The activity factor is assigned to Mifflin BMR (more correctly Mifflin RMR) and split over the 1440 minutes of the 24 hour day.
Which is a source of error and miscommunication often about what is a net exercise calorie and how it should be logged when it comes to specific activities -- and why a device that compares to MFP's TDEE and corrects it based on what the device detected (such as a Fitbit or possibly a Garmin but not an apple watch directly) makes sense to me
BUT to your spreadsheet, what in the end actually mattered to me was a single correction factor that I could use to "correct" my calories. And I chose to correct my apparent Fitbit TDEE (since I was already logging food as accurately as I could).
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/15FAp44ZZtjlhdX3x8CCg1kVsGBk14--8XGcAtzvLmc4/edit?usp=sharing2 -
BUT to your spreadsheet, what in the end actually mattered to me was a single correction factor that I could use to "correct" my calories. And I chose to correct my apparent Fitbit TDEE (since I was already logging food as accurately as I could).
Yep, I use a similar approach. I log as accurately as I can, calculate my BMR as per Mifflin and then I add an activity factor (currently 1.67) to give me an approximate TDEE. I track my intake vs TDEE and monitor the resultant weight trend. My spreadsheet has tolerance limits around the trend data...I only increase or reduce the activity factor if I breach the tolerance limits (I've only needed to tweak it once in the past 14 months).4 -
I read your posts - and think something along the lines of "I wish my TDEE was more consistent" - because it feels to be all over the place on a daily basis. But maybe not as much as I think? I probably have a relatively consistent weekly average.2
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Unless the intensity and/or duration of your activity varies wildly from day to day I would imagine your TDEE is pretty consistent when averaged out from week to week.2
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It can??? Some days I spend 12 hours at a desk - some days none. That alone wreaks havoc on "consistency." I've kept MFP set to sedentary and let fitbit add exercise calories. Which seems to work okay? Not as precise/accurate a system as it reads like you and PAV have.0
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TL/dr : I would argue that long term your TDEE will be, potentially, much more stable than what day to day activity variation will indicate
In the past 2657 days since I got my (first) Fitbit, I've logged:
23 days of less than 5000 steps
170 days with less than 10000 steps
612 days with less than 15000 steps
948 days with less than 20000 steps
579 days with less than 25000 steps
253 days with less than 30000 steps
53 days with less than 35000 steps
15 days with less than 40000 steps AND
4 days with at least 40000 steps
I've just derived this from Fitbit "badge" data but I am eyeballing this as
2.2 years of sub 15K
2.6 years of 15-20K
2.5 years of 20K+
There DOES exist some significant variation, right?
It does look to me that I am significantly regulating weight via activity more so than anything.
Calories EATEN:
2560 -- 1st year MFP (losing fast at 1.5lbs a week)
2913 -- 2nd year MFP (losing slow at <1lb a MONTH)
2911-- 3rd year MFP (weight stable)
2920 -- 5 months of 4th year MFP (weight stable) -- ends April 2018
2938 -- December 26, 2021 to February 18, 2022, losing 2 lbs
The above statement is a lie, by the way. because I would increase calories during increased activity if I wasn't also concentrating on the calories of the food I'm eating.
BUT, other than the first year on MFP--do you notice how closely clustered the intake calories are when considered over lengths of time?
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So - how do those high activity days align with your calories eaten days? And do you use they figures for archive information or to plan coming weeks? At any point do you say....my average TDEE is this so next week I will eat that and expect such and such an outcome?1
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lauriekallis wrote: »So - how do those high activity days align with your calories eaten days? And do you use they figures for archive information or to plan coming weeks? At any point do you say....my average TDEE is this so next week I will eat that and expect such and such an outcome?
Nope I am eating to each day's activity and I'm usually (real energy need) hungry within the same time span.
I DO, now (but not while I was first trying to lose weight) move items around between two adjacent, max two plus the next, based on goals.
if trying to lose weight I might move some of the logged food to the current day so that I reach my "warning line" faster and log a deficit or maintenance that was not real the previous day. But often this also plays along the line of me heading out for late night walks where the previous night's dinner and the activity corresponding to it both took place after midnight so it is not just massaging. It is a mix of data massaging and tilting the hamsters to stop sooner to actually achieve the wanted goals.
I am set on a "permanent" deficit as a warning line to slow down. Usually I go 425 to 450 over my target to get a maintenance day. Anything "closer" to the "-500" target is a weight loss day. Above 450 it is a net gain day. The -500 setting is estimated to be about -425 real.2 -
lauriekallis wrote: »At any point do you say....my average TDEE is this so next week I will eat that and expect such and such an outcome?
I do....and usually I can predict the resultant weight loss pretty accurately. Certainly I can usually predict my trend weight to within 100g.
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That is extraordinary, Bella.
I think that your system might be where I land, eventually, PAV. I logged my "late night snack" to yesterday (Friday)...which worked because I had space - but my 5,000 post midnight steps will be logged to "today" (Saturday)...Doesn't really matter...but it feels sometimes like it does.
Playing with numbers can be pretty **kitten** satisfying....almost as good as eating
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Bella: what you're doing would work potentially for me but would also be potentially impactful on activity.
I do tend to backload food to the day starting the morning pretty tame. This is not necessarily optimal. I've certainly observed on days with breakfast that it CAN work. But, it IS the way I've rolled most of my life to this point.
Anyway. I'm rolling on empty at the start of the day and it has certainly happened that I've headed out for a long "walk" -- (it is an easy level uphill/downhill/walk in mud and water at times hike, not a sidewalk walk) with the dog. Especially if the previous day was an actual deficit ABSOLUTELY the lower energy intake can have an impact. It's the difference between WANTING to keep going and saying something along the lines of **kittens** let's head back home.
RE: Laurie. Along the same theme. Just an FYI. My (personal) rule of thumb is that I do not transfer more than ~500. And that if I have made a substantial transfer I am NOT aiming for zero that day: I know that it WILL be a "maintenance" day on paper.... even though it is actually a deficit. This is just hamster management. BUT. I do keep to not doing things that exceed 20% of my TDEE (probably ~25% of TDEE if I were well into the overweight range or higher)2 -
I don't tend to feel majorly different whether I've fueled before walking or not.
My first dog walk of the day (usually about 6-8km on asphalt or flat hardpacked dirt) is always before breakfast...so usually about 10-12 hours after my previous meal. I don't feel any different on that walk than on the afternoon walk, which usually is about two hours after lunch.
Cycling is a little different - if I've fueled badly I don't feel as if I have quite as much in the tank - however, the feeling of depleted energy is minimal, not significant. Replenishing during the ride with zero cal electrolytes is often almost as effective as getting some actual energy. If I replenish both electrolytes AND energy I can feel an improvement in performance. Depends on the length of the ride though...today I walked 18000 steps in the morning, then at 2:30 I did a 90 minute turbo ride (45kms) and didn't need energy mid-ride, just electrolytes as it was a hot day - still felt as though I had plenty left in the tank at the end, despite having a 700 cal deficit yesterday (I'm banking some calories ahead of my birthday on Monday) and having only 3 hours' sleep last night. So I didn't feel I NEEDED to eat back the exercise calories following the ride, but I did anyway as otherwise I wouldv'e been way under calories.
Maybe I'm weird - I don't seem to have large energy highs and lows...I pretty much feel the same almost all the time, regardless of whether I've run a deficit recently or not. This was the case just as much during the aggressive deficit stage as it is now that I've moved into soft maintenance. I've also not yet noticed being cold, which I know is something you suffer from Pav....perhaps I have that to look forward to! I wonder if this is actually a bad thing....my body not sending signals that it's energy is depleted...because, presumably, it IS depleted, and I ought to be getting some signals, right?
Then again, maybe it ISN'T depleted, as I'm still needing to cut my nails at least once a fortnight - they're growing like the clappers and are super-strong!
My husband, on the other hand, is highly sensitive to fuelling...fuelled well, he can cycle for miles; fuelled badly, his legs feel like cooked spaghetti on the bike...2 -
I ALMOST only have to cut nails when I've been eating at a surplus and gaining weight. Absolutely they are NOT brittle, but neither are they awesome strength inspiring, to the contrary enough so that I tend to throw in a nail file in the handluggage
Re cold: I have to combine long period of inactivity (think computer desk not standing one) and not much sleep in various percentages. Otherwise all good.
End of rapid loss few years back less good. Not terrible. But less good then now. Definitely no (probably incorrect) Raynauld's diagnosis this round. During past extreme deficit while (still obese) poked or pinched hands and feet would act like frostbitten skin and not show elasticity.
Don't discount how often you walk or bike or stand. Spend a three days with no rides and less than 3k steps per, sitting all day🙀.... and let me know (in addition to water weight loss) whether to will start feeling some cold.🙀🙀🙀
(Don't do it 😘)2 -
So the corresponding numbers for the MFP activity factor labels are:
sedentary/not very active = 1.25
lightly active = 1.4
active = 1.6
very active = 1.8
The activity factor is assigned to Mifflin BMR (more correctly Mifflin RMR) and split over the 1440 minutes of the 24 hour day.
Which is a source of error and miscommunication often about what is a net exercise calorie and how it should be logged when it comes to specific activities -- and why a device that compares to MFP's TDEE and corrects it based on what the device detected (such as a Fitbit or possibly a Garmin but not an apple watch directly) makes sense to me
BUT to your spreadsheet, what in the end actually mattered to me was a single correction factor that I could use to "correct" my calories. And I chose to correct my apparent Fitbit TDEE (since I was already logging food as accurately as I could).
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/15FAp44ZZtjlhdX3x8CCg1kVsGBk14--8XGcAtzvLmc4/edit?usp=sharing
I see I have found a kindred spreadsheet enthusiast. 3
