How to use more calories in activity

[valis64]

I have just started using the plan created by the trainer.  It tells me my number of steps puts me in the 76th percentile of normal women in my age bracket.  However for activity this only gets me into the 42nd percentile of women in my age bracket who are overweight (only the first graph seems to use your chosen settings for the comparison group for some reason). 

So my question is, how can I burn more calories?  I currently do about 9600 steps per day.  I can aim for more steps, but as stepping doesn't seem to be getting me much reward in way of calorie burning, should I be doing something else, and if so, what?  I need to loose weight.

[Dominique]

You need to be in a caloric deficit for some period of time in order to lose weight. That deficit can be reached via nutrition and/or activity. You will have to find the optimum level of activity that is sustainable for you (given your current weight and fitness level) and your time constraints (if any). Comparing yourself to the general population can be interesting, but you should really think of your individual situation. Find out the level of eating you are comfortable with, add a reasonable deficit on top of it and see what activity level you need. The most important factor in weight loss is nutrition, not activity (you may have heard of the saying "you can’t out-exercise a bad diet").  

[emili]

exactly what Dominique said. You will not lose unless in is less than out. You can either do this through the fitbit or you can do it on your own and use fitbit as a tracker or "score" keeper. Your goal is to be under budget. You will need to determine what a comfortable deficit is for you daily. This will require you to measure, weigh and log your food. Good luck in your journey..

[valis64]

Thanks Dominique and Emili,  I will start looking harder at my calorie intake.  However it is my fitbit trainer that is telling me to increase my calorie burn from activity, so I am still trying to decide whether just to increase my steps goal, or if I would be better off doing some other kind of activity.

[Dominique]

You would have to assess this based on your time constraints and your current fitness level, among other things. For instance, if you only have 30 minutes to dedicate to exercise, you would burn more calories by running for 30 minutes rather than walking for 30 minutes. OTOH, 60 minutes of walking would burn more than 30 minutes of running, and many people who wouldn’t be fit enough to run for 30 minutes could walk for 60 minutes. Another factor is doing things you actually enjoy.

Also note that physical exercise has other benefits beyond the calorie expenditure, so the amount of calories burned doing them shouldn’t be the only criteria when selecting them. For instance, 30 minutes of resistance training may not burn as many calories as the same amount of time spent on a treadmill (even when logged as a separate activity in Fitbit, since your Fitbit tracker wouldn’t fully detect the activity otherwise), but would contribute to preserving muscle mass during weight loss.

[slysam]

I use to use Trainer and could very rarely meet the goal for calorie burn and it would tell me that mine was well below average for my class. It was crazy. The times I met the goal I exercised twice those days -- 2 hours and I walked while running errands or for transportation. I would need about 20k steps to met the goal. There was something wrong with the way the goal was calculated. In another group, there were heavier people who just started and were exceeding their goal with 5000 steps.

I will say, the class comparisons are not correct unless the "overweight" women in your age bracket are also similar in height and weight. If you happen to be shorter or lighter than others in the group you likely won't burn as many calories.

I will say how to burn more -- move more. Any time not sedentary will burn  more. My highest burning day was on vacation where I spend a day walking between museums and browsing museums. I didn't do any actual workout and only had about 20 active minutes. The only sedentary time I had was eating a couple meals and sleeping. I suppose that is the other direction you can go with trainer -- very little sedentary time. 

The only thing I could figure with the goal is that if I was sitting or standing stillish it counted as my BMR. Technically BMR (basal metabolism rate) is laying down in a dark room. Sitting and typing doesn't burn a lot of calories but more than BMR. Standing and preparing food doesn't burn a lot, but more than sitting and typing. But they would be about the same as total rest with my Fitbit One. So I think it would underestimate non-active time. I don't think the wrist-worn do that as bad, though I still feel my One is more accurate with counting steps. 

[bcalvanese]

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@valis64 wrote:

I have just started using the plan created by the trainer.  It tells me my number of steps puts me in the 76th percentile of normal women in my age bracket.  However for activity this only gets me into the 42nd percentile of women in my age bracket who are overweight (only the first graph seems to use your chosen settings for the comparison group for some reason). 

So my question is, how can I burn more calories?  I currently do about 9600 steps per day.  I can aim for more steps, but as stepping doesn't seem to be getting me much reward in way of calorie burning, should I be doing something else, and if so, what?  I need to loose weight.

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The best way to achive and maintain a healthy body weight is to combine exercise with a well balanced diet. If you go on the CDC website they have a lot of great information to help you get startred.

If you enjoy walking it is one of the best exercises you can do to burn off the calories and increase your fitness level if you walk at a very fast pace for 30 to 60 minutes per day.

[SunsetRunner]

you could always wear ankle weights, make your legs work that little bit harder every step