Always over or under calorie budget

[Kemara]

I'm 5'1.5" and 183.4 pounds. Obviously, I'm trying to lose weight down to 130. I have a Fitbit Versa with it set to "easier" with a half pound of weight lost per week. The problem is I'm either way under my calories or way over. Most days I still have calories left to eat. I've actually gained a pound since I started tracking. I walk about 2 miles a day on average. Any idea why I'm gaining instead of losing? 

[MarciM]

Hi @Kemara Welcome to the form and congrats on your new Versa. Every person is unique, much like a snowflake, so you have to fine tune things that work best for you. To start, all calories are not created equally, so I would suggest looking at the types and quality of food you are eating. Are you eating a bunch of 'fat free' or 'reduced fat' food? Leafy green vegetables are the magic workers for me. I try to start with a veggie, add protein, and a limited amount of carbohydrates. I know for me personally carb are good for energy, but a large amount of them makes my joints ache, when will impact my ability to keep moving. I'd suggest playing with food options to see what makes you feel good after you've eaten. Start by removing processes foods, so your body can detox/reset, this process can be challenging, but once you've done it you will feel great and if you had any craving they should be greatly reduced if not completely gone. Since all calories are not created equal, it's hard to be successful by monitor only  calories in and out. You need additional data points. 

Best of luck on your journey to a healthier lifestyle. 

[SunsetRunner]

It’s really easy to go over your calorie budget with a low-calorie deficit so you have to monitor what you are eating closely. One day of going “way over” in calories can blow the hard work you did previously so it’s likely you are eating more than you thought. I find it easier to plan ahead of time. In the morning before I eat anything I’ll log what I plan on eating for the day. I can adjust accordingly if needed. I use My Fitness Pal to log. As I’m preparing my meals I’ll use a food scale to weigh the food. I already know how much I need to eat so I add or subtract the food to get to the number I need to be at for that particular food. It’s not going to be perfect but as long as you can be at or below that number within a few grams or so you are good to go. Another thing to consider is the calories Fitbit gives you may not be accurate. Once you are consistently logging your food and you know for certain how much you are eating, if you are still gaining weight or maintaining weight then you know you need to drop your calories a little more.

[Kemara]

So does reducing your calorie count always result in losing weight? In
other words, if I keep my calories at say 770 - which one calculator told
me was what I needed to eat if I was sedentary - then I should lose? Most
days I just have one meal a day anyway, so that would be doable.

[sburb]

If you follow a healthy eating plan of 4-6 small meals spaced out every 2-3 hours a day you will lose more weight. You can read more about this on just about any websites. Your calories of 770 a day are way to low to support any type of healthy weight loss. I currently use Team Beachbody 21 Day Fix Meal plan. A person of you current weight and lifestyle should probably be eating about 2,000 calories a day.

[SunsetRunner]

There are other factors that can affect fat loss but generally speaking, yes. 770 calories is way too low though even for a sedentary person.  It’s not recommended to go under 1200 calories. Your BMR may be lower or higher but don't go under your BMR. Weigh and log your food for a week. Take the average of those calories and deduct 250-500 calories from that. Most of the time when people say they are eating X amount of calories and can’t lose weight it’s because they aren’t logging correctly. Weigh and measure everything including cooking oils, spices and herbs.

[HAlys]

My first thought would be to ask if you do any other exercise other than walking two miles each day... If you have a sedentary lifestyle that will not allow you to then kick-start the weight loss

Equally so, if for arguments sake, your BMR is 1300 and when walking you walk 4,000 steps which burns 1200 calories, eating only 770 will effectively put your body into starvation mode and will hold onto fat even harder.

For example: today is my "rest day" from the gym. I've walked 7,191 steps so far today, equating to 3.24 miles and according to my Versa, burned 1,876 calories.

My BMR is just shy of, or just over 1,800- can't quite recall and I have eaten pretty much on par to 1,400 cal today, so am going to eat a nice, nutrient rich dinner tonight to ensure my body isn't overly hungry and continues to burn the fat, even on my rest day... This may take me slightly over 1,800, but its not a bad "over" if that makes sense?

Hope this helps and if you are still struggling, maybe speak to a nutritionist?

[LisaYamTown]

If you are eating too little calories some days and too many on other days, the reason behind your weight gain could be that your body is in storage mode. When you eat too little your body thinks that it is in a famine, when it gets an increase of food again it starts storing the additional calories in the form of fat. Having a higher calorie intake will not be a bad thing as long as it's steady and healthy foods. Remember it's not also about calories in but also macro and micro nutrients. Are you getting all of your vitamins and minerals. Some vitamins are essential for your metabolism and at a 770 calorie intake you might not be getting the necessary amount. If you are confused I would recommend consulting a reputable dietician. The key word is reputable, remember not all dietician are created equally.