Anyone know if CICO works? "Calories in, Calories out"

[Nickyyyyy]

Hey everyone!

I've heard a lot of buzz over CICO "Calories in, Calories out" and I just got my FitBit Blaze and want to know if this method actually works. Am I understanding correctly that if you are trying to loose weight, you should consume 500 calories less than what you burn so regardless of how much you burn, you will always consume 500 less?

example (exaggerated for understanding purposes)

If today I burned 3000 calories, I should consume 2500 calories?

or if I burned 5500, I should still consume 5000 calories because it is 500 calories less?

I have also heard that this is because if the deficit of calories is larger than 500 calories, then your body stores anything you eat to create energy since it will believe you are staving it. So even if I eat a salad, my body will automatically store it as fat because I am consuming less than a 500 calorie deficit.

Sorry if this is confusing! lol but is anyone else going through this?

Help/explain! Thank youuuuu! 🙂

[TravellingSunny]

CICO seems to be working for me.  I logged all of my food intake for 8 weeks in the fitbit app and logged all of my activity (well, Fitbit picked up my activity for me automatically.)  Calories in for 8 weeks was 80,320 and calories burned for 8 weeks totaled 125,122.

125,122 - 80,320 = 44,802 total deficit.

44,802 / 3,500 (500 calories x 7 days) = 12.8

So, according to CICO, I should have lost 12.8 pounds.  I've actually lost 15...

[Dominique]

Yes, calories in vs. calories out. It’s what works for getting people fat, and it’s also what works for reversing the process. Now, there’s nothing that says you must have a deficit of 500 calories, nothing more, nothing less. It’s just a common, middle-of-the-road average deficit. People who are very heavy can often sustain higher deficits, at least in the beginning. OTOH, people who are only looking to lose 10 pounds can use a smaller deficit.

You’ll also need to assess whether the energy expenditure reported by your Fitbit is correct. Just because your Blaze said you burned 5500 calories doesn’t mean you actually burned that amount: it could overestimate it. In fact, very few females would be able to burn that much: you would need to be very young, very tall, very heavy and very active, and even then, you’d struggle. 

[Nickyyyyy]

@TravellingSunny Thank you so much! Im new to this fitbit world and want to take as much advantage of it as I can. Is that what the "___ left for the day" means? I should always have that say 0?

[Nickyyyyy]

So in my case, I weigh 150 and just want to tone up and maybe get back to 135-140 so about 15 pounds and I am 5'5-5'6, would that be a good amount to stick to? @Dominique

[TravellingSunny]

At a 500 calorie deficit each day, you should lose about a pound a week.  Coupled with a little strength training two or three times per week, you'll likely hit your goal in about 15 week.  You can make your deficit a little more or a little less, but don't have your deficit set any higher than 1,000 per day.  That wouldn't be healthy for you.

The math should work.  Your body isn't a robot, so it's not an exact science, but it's pretty doggone close.  🙂

[TravellingSunny]

@Nickyyyyy The ___ calories left for the day is Fitbit's way of helping you know how many more calories you can eat and still have a 500 calorie deficit.  (You've answered setup questions that you want to lose weight at a medium pace (500 calories) and if you are logging your food intake and your exercise / steps, Fitbit can calculate an estimate of the number of calories you've burned.

They've already taken your 500 deficit into consideration.  The day starts over at midnight.  If you exercise more (burn more calories) it'll tell you that you can eat more calories.  🙂

[Dominique]

At 5’6 / 150, you’re still within the normal range as per BMI (24.1). With a average daily deficit of 500 calories, you would be at 135 in 15 weeks, right before summer.

Now, depending on how old and how active you are, 500 can be a relatively high deficit (in relation to your total expenditure): for instance, if you’re expending 1800 and eating 1300, you would only be eating 72% of your needs. Someone expending 3000 and eating 2500 (same deficit) would be eating 83% of their needs (easier to sustain).

You may want to play with an online calculator such as this one and compare the numbers to what your Blaze says you burn.

[Nickyyyyy]

@TravellingSunny @Dominique Thank you guys so much!!!! I hope you are reaching your goals as well! This really helped A LOT!!!!!!! 

Happy FitBitting!

[Anniesusie]

I have to say that CICO only works for me if I stop eating after 7. Otherwise, I just couldn't lose. It was really driving me nuts. My Dr. told me to try it and I went down immediately. It is hard and sometimes I go to bed hungry, but I have to learn not to let hunger frighten me.

[A_Lurker]

@Nickyyyyy- everyone is different, but as a rule, yes it works.  I'm one of those people who burns a lot of calories, and I do sometimes set an arbitrary number to stop eating at even on high calorie burn days (right now it's 2500-2750).  As a rule, I count calories, with nothing being off limits as long as it fits within my calorie level.

@Anniesusie- the stop eating at a certain hour generally works because most people don't leave calories to eat at that hour.  Let's say you were eating 1500 calories a day, then you have a late night snack of 200-300 calories.  This can easily derail you.  Myself, if I don't leave calories to eat then I know I'm going to overeat, so I plan for it.  Of course, I'm eating high enough that what I often have to do is plan not to leave too many calories at the end of the day.

[creepingjennie]

My calorie deficit is set at 700. I am very active, and track every bite I take, but despite burning twice as much as I eat, I have not lost anything since I got this thing for Christmas.

Perhaps the estimates made by FitBit for calorie expenditures is grossly inaccurate. 

[Dominique]

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@Anniesusie wrote:

I have to say that CICO only works for me if I stop eating after 7. Otherwise, I just couldn't lose.

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Just in case: there is nothing special about food eaten after 7pm. In other words, it’s not like calories from these foods count twice as much or anything like that. Some people can eat all their calories between 7pm and bedtime (intermittent fasting) and stil lose weight. It’s working for you as a rule, because late-evening eating caused you to be no longer in a deficit. Everyone needs to find what floats their boat.

[TravellingSunny]

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@A_Lurker wrote:

Myself, if I don't leave calories to eat then I know I'm going to overeat, so I plan for it.  Of course, I'm eating high enough that what I often have to do is plan not to leave too many calories at the end of the day.

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This touches on the issue I'm having with not eating enough.  I like to know that if I get hungry I can eat.  Even if I ultimately deny myself, I still like to know the option is there for me in my budget.  I have my deficit set at 500 calories, but I'm so concerned about overeating, that when I try to spread the calories out over the day, I end up leaving calories on the table when I go to bed at night.  That in itself isn't a bad thing, but when it says I still have 400-600 calories at the end of the day, it's really telling me that my deficit is 900-1,000 calories for the day.  Too much.  But, I get uncomfortable when that food line turns green - or, God forbid, red.  Because then I CAN'T eat, even if I wanted to.

I've been trying to add 50 calories or so each time I eat to soak up some of that extra the last few days.  It's getting me closer to my goal, so I've only been running a 700-800 deficit.  Small moves.

[TravellingSunny]

@creepingjennie - Double-check your profile settings to make sure everything is current - gender, height, current weight, etc.  Assuming that information is accurate, then two variables are in play: what you're eating and what you're burning.

I've found the calorie estimates in Fitbit are pretty good, but to make absolutely sure, start to weigh everything that you're eating and start logging the weights of your food.  For instance, if you are eating an apple, rather than just going with Fitbit's estimate for 1 medium apple, remove the core and weigh the portion you're going to eat and log that.  You may find that the calories are higher than you were reporting.

The other variable is your exercise, but I found it was just as important to know what intensity you're doing those exercises.  My old device - the Flex - didn't measure heart rate, so the exercises I was logging was showing much more calories burned than I was actually doing.  I wasn't working as hard as I needed to.  I ended up getting the Charge 2 which has a heart monitor, and since then, my calories burned that are logged by Fitbit are pretty accurate.  And that's when I started losing the weight.

[Nickyyyyy]

Update: Thank you guys all so much for the feedback! I started off at 150 last week on Monday and using CICO and also exercising about 4 times a week, I am 146! Seems to be working pretty well for me. I will say that I don't try to eat late, but if I do leave the gym late, or for whatever reason I get hungry, I'm not worried about what time it is. I think its more about being mindful about what you're consuming. For example: if at the end of the day I can still consume 900 calories, I'm not gonna go eat a burger worth 900 calories, but instead maybe a protein shake or some yogurt and fruits. @Anniesusie Maybe that is something you can look into?

Also, any other cool features I should know about the watch? I'm really loving it and want to make the best of it! Thanks 

[creepingjennie]

Check my settings? Oh gee why didn't I think of that? Of course I checked
my settings.
As for what I'm eating- I'm measuring everything out carefully, and erring
on the side of caution.
But hey, it's still my fault, right? Can't possibly be the device or
software.
I have even ensured that I'm not sleepwalking and eating in my sleep.

[TravellingSunny]

@creepingjennie - Sorry Jennie, I'm definitely not trying to throw blame around.  I'm just trying to offer suggestions as this is a help forum and you asked for assistance.  What type of device do you own?  Does it measure your heart rate?

[creepingjennie]

Didn't actually ask for advice or help, just answered the question that was
asked.
But thank you anyway.

[TravellingSunny]

@creepingjennie  My apologies.  Good luck on your journey.