Another weight loss thread....

[gward84]

Hello,

Just starting out on my Fitbit to weight loss journey. I'm 6ft 5 and 20 st 2 lb, so need to shift some weight. I'm making sure I get out and do my 10,000 steps, because of my size my Fitbit is probably correctly I burn 4000 cals a day.

So to get my 1000 cal deficit a day, does this mean I can eat 3000 cals a day? I kinda get full on about 2600, should I be eating about more?

[JohnRi · Accepted solution]

While most would suggest eating less than 1000 calories less than what you burn is about the safe max, I would say that your fitbit may be 250-500 calories over what you actually burn, and even if you log your food perfectly, you might are probably under 250 calories.

So that being said, a 1500 calorie deficit is ok.  So if you are full at 2600, then eat 2600.

As you lose weight, don't be surprised if what makes you full drops.  I used to 3000-4000 calories a day.  When I first started losing weight I was eating 2400-2500 calories.  I'm 5 inches shorter than you...  And I was one pound lighter when I started...

After losing 63 lbs, I'm down to 1800 calories a day....  I still have 35 more pounds to lose...

So for now you are doing just fine.  Keep it up!  And good luck!

[gward84]

Thanks John for your reply. I thought I was on the right tracks but to get the OK from you with what you have achieved has confirmed my thoughts. Will keep on going, see what happens...cheers and congratulations!

[JohnRi]

I forgot, there is one down side to eat a deficit larger than 1000 calories.  Percentage wise, you have a little less to lose than I did.  The down side is you are going to shrink a lot.  And whether or not your skin shrinks too is impossible to guess.  Everyone is different.  I lost 63 lbs in 8 months.  I have a some loose skin on my biceps, thighs and under my chin to my adam's apple. 

The biceps I can hide by adding muscles mass to my biceps.  Shouldn't be noticable.  My thighs isn't really noticable.  The loose skin under my chin, that's not going anywhere...

As for my stomach, the vote is still out on that.  Most of my remaining fat is there.  And my belly is shrinking.  But I might end up with loose skin there too.  I won't know until I lose more weight.

The slower you lose, the more time your body has time for your skin to shrink.  But if you have stretch marks, chances are the skin is not going to shrink.

Bottomline I don't really care, as long as I'm at a healthy weight and fit.

That's the only issue I can think of having a lower than your deficit diet.  And you lose more at the start than at the end. 

Good luck to you!

[gward84]

Thanks John, taking it all on board as I start my journey. All the best in yours. You are an inspiration to many on here

[JulieB08]

Hi John, I am new to the Fitbit community. On browsing through posts this morning, I saw a couple of supportive posts from you and just wanted to say how helpful, detailed and positive I found them. Julie

[Dominique]

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@gward84 wrote:
I'm 6ft 5 and 20 st 2 lb, so need to shift some weight. I'm making sure I get out and do my 10,000 steps, because of my size my Fitbit is probably correctly I burn 4000 cals a day.

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What you burn depends on your age and your gender (in addition to weight and height). 4000 calories may be on the high side. Assuming you were a male aged 40, your calculated BMR with the Mifflin St Jeor formula (more or less what Fitbit uses) would be 2307. With a moderate activity level, your TDEE would be 3575 calories. I got these numbers using this online calculator, which also defines BMR and TDEE (in case you are not familiar with them).

Now that three weeks have elapsed since you asked your question, you should have a better idea of your actual deficit: do you find that your weight loss has matched your calculated deficit during that period? If it’s smaller than expected, your Fitbit may overestimate your expenditure, or you may underestimate your intake, or both.

At any rate, if you feel full with 2600 calories (as estimated by you), I would stick to that, see what happens weight-wise and make any adjustments to your intake, if necessary. All the best in your endeavour!

[Dominique]

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@Dominique wrote:

Now that three weeks have elapsed since you asked your question, you should have a better idea of your actual deficit

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@gward84: actually, I saw this other thread started by you on May 22, so you have an even longer period you can use to assess the accuracy of your calculated deficit. Also, the calories burned you mentioned in that post (3660) are probably more in line with the activity level corresponding to about 10k steps.