Seated exercise

[Enbleu]

I can’t walk nor stand. So I exercise sitting in a chair exercising arms. 

I know the step count on my Ionic is not right, I don’t step.

What about calories used? Is that measure correct on my band? 

[Dominique]

Given your mobiity constraints, energy expenditure estimated by Fitbit (or any other device) will be off, because Fitbit & Co assume the standard activity pattern of a person your age and your size. Even if totally sedentary, someone your age and your size who can stand and walk will expend more energy than you.

However, your Fitbit can still be useful, by providing you with a baseline (for calories burned). If if says you are burning 4000 calories on average, that number may well be quite wrong in absolute terms (if your intake - as logged by you - is around 2000 and you’re more or less maintaining your weighy, it means the real expenditure is closer to 2000), but if on one particular day it’s 4500 or 3500, you will know you have been more or less active than in average (and can possibly adjust your eating accordingly).

Your main tool for dropping weight will be nutrition, since you have limited potential to increase your activity, so you’d want to make the most from the limited amount of calories you can eat: give your preference to foods that are high-volume/low-calorie (veggies and many fruits fit the bill), have a lot of fiber (again, veggies and fruit, but also whole grain, oat meal etc.), provide satiety (protein), have a higher thermic of food (again, protein).

As to exercise: if you had a bench (flat and/or incline), would you be able to move from your chair to it, and back? If so, you could consider lifting weights: bench press, curls, flyes etc., there are lots of exercises you can do sitting and lying. Weight lifting doesn’t burn as many calories (for the same amount of time) as aerobic exercise, but certainly more than sitting idle in a chair. Plus it’s great for increasing strength and preserving existing muscle when losing weight. 

[Enbleu]

Thank you very much for your help, I’ll use this info starting today..

larry t