Finding the caloric deficit accurate?

[LennyDublin]

Hi all, I am not necessarily new to fitbit as I was given a charge several years ago but in past couple years had not been using it and let over indulgence get the best of me and have become unhealthy. My fiance got me the fitbit alta hr and I have been using it pretty consistently since late October. I've only lost a few pounds and am somewhat frustrated as the calories it is allowing me for my goal (which was for a loss of 1lb a week originally but just changed today) seems to not be low enough. 

I am just a little frustrated as I log everything and tend to over estimate when I log things I forgot to measure and based on the numbers I should be losing more than I am. Did anyone else have this trouble? I am also having some difficulty since I am having to take it easy with physical exercise due to some health concerns that are being investigated right now. I know since I had been using the higher calorie allowance and not being as active that I wouldn't be surpassing my goal by any means but I am confused that I am not really close to meeting what it says I should be. Any thoughts or input or help is greatly appreciated! 

[gtg947h]

I didn't believe the calories burned number to be very accurate, but I pulled about 5 weeks of data where I was really good about entering what I ate and weighing myself regularly.  I found that on average, I was off by about 140 calories or so per day (either over-estimating the burn, or under-counting food).  That's using 3500 cal/lb.

If you're only using a deficit of 500 calories and your error is 200 or so, you might be well within the error range.  You could try bumping up your targeted deficit another notch, and/or doing more activity (which doesn't need to be vigorous exercise--a 30 minute walk could net you another 200 calories burned or more).

[emili]

@LennyDublin hey there.. I agree with @gtg947h.. there is always a + or - for calories burned and for calories eaten. Ultimately weight loss is trial and error. You try, weigh, adjust. When I was losing weight, I actually tracked it myself. I did not rely on what fitbit told me what I can eat, I used that number as a guardrail, but used the food log to track what I ate. Once I hit that number, I was done. More often than not, I was under budget. If I lost less one week or nothing, I adjusted my calories. Things kept moving with constant adjustments. I also got to know what food "stays" with me longer which I would try to stay away from.