Help with basic goal building

[allitait]

I'm 100% new with trying to lose weight.  I was always thin, but keep putting on more and more weight as I get older.  

I'm now 31 and about 5'3" weighing in at 153.  I have a goal weight of 125, eventually haha.  

I'm using the FitBit Charge HR and the My Fitness Pal for tracking purposes.  Fitbit wanted me to eat below 1200 calories and MFP wouldn't allow that and put me right at 1200.  This seems impossible to me.  Using roughly 2 months of data from the FitBit app, I've found i eat on average 1470 calories a day (being fairly strict as it is) and on average burn 1870 calories a day.  

Based off my above measurements, my BMR is calculated at 1375/day and for a sedentary life comes out to 1650 calories a day.

This is where i get all sorts of confused.  I was considering doing a custom goal on FitBit & MFP of 1350 calories/day intake and 2100 calories/day burn.  I plan on achieving this by walking/running on an incline trainer.  

Will these custom calorie goals get me to lose weight?  There's so many numbers, variables, and equations that i get all turned around on what i should be focusing on!

Please guide me 🙂

[LanuzaFitbit]

Hello @allitait! Welcome to the Fitbit Forums!

Going over what you mentioned, it seems like a solid plan. As a rule of thumb, as long as you're burning more calories than what you are consuming you should lose weight. How much and how fast will depend on how big that difference is. 

I strongly suggest that you read through this great guide about Fitbit's food plan system. It gives you the insights into how the tools on your Dashboard work and how to better reach your weight goals.

I hope you find this useful! I'm sure you will reach your goal in no time.

If you have any questions, please let me know.

[WavyDavey]

Personally, I would add 250 calories or so to your intake. My experience has been, with myself are reading others' stories here, that setting too aggressive a goal can be great at first. Until the metabolism slows down from not enough calories and goes into "survival" mode. Then, weight loss can stall and frustration begins.

It's a marathon, not a race. Extra pounds don't show up overnight. They accumulate slowly over time, and those pounds come off slowly over time.

Of course this is just my opinion, what works for you is what will work for you. But I see a lot of people undercut their long-term success by trying to push things too much in too short a timeframe. 1 pound of weight loss per week takes 500 calories deficit daily. That would give you your goal within a few months. 

Basically, keep listening to your body. It'll tell you what it needs.

[Colinm39]

@allitaitWhen Fitbitters are faced with this dilemma of setting their goals I normally present them with this table.. Effort based on your BMR. In you case, dividing your BMR of 1365 into your calorie burned goal of 2100, the value is 1.53.  Using the table below your effort would be in the 1.55 area. I found portion control helps me.

Sedentary.  Little to no regular exercise. (factor 1.2)

Mild activity level: Intensive exercise for at least 20 minutes 1 to 3 times per week. This may include such things as bicycling, jogging, basketball, swimming, skating, etc.  If you do not exercise regularly, but you maintain a busy life style that requires you to walk frequently for long periods, you meet the requirements of this level.  (factor 1.375)

Moderate activity level: Intensive exercise for at least 30 to 60 minutes 3 to 4 times per week. Any of the activities listed above will qualify.    (factor 1.55)

Heavy or (Labor-intensive) activity level: Intensive exercise for 60 minutes or greater 5 to 7 days per week (see sample activities above).  Labor-intensive occupations also qualify for this level.  Labor-intensive occupations include construction work (brick laying, carpentry, general labor, etc.). Also farming, landscape worker or similar occupations.     (factor 1.7)

Extreme level: Exceedingly active and/or very demanding activities:  Examples include:  (1) athlete with an almost unstoppable training schedule with multiple training sessions throughout the day  (2) very demanding job, such as shoveling coal or working long hours on an assembly line. Generally, this level of activity is very difficult to achieve.  (factor 1.9)