Are there any tips to enter weight and goal burned calories to get realistic outcomes?

[Monica92]

Hi,

I've had a Fitbit for several years now and I enjoy all the stats about my activities and health. I entered my weight in the very beginning and because weight loss isn't a goal of mine, I never thought of it again. Now I'm looking into more detail in the amount of calories I burn each day, I realize my weight is influencing that (due to BMR). 

Now the issue is that I was born with 1,5 leg. The half leg is really under developed and my 'normal' leg is probably more muscled than it would be if I had 2 legs. That means my weight isn't very realistic when looking at e.g. BMI. That's why I entered my weight in the beginning with +10kg. 

Now I did enter my actual weight and I noticed my number of burned calories immediately dropped.

My question: does anyone have tips for me to enter my weight and goal burned calories to get realistic outcomes?

Moderator edit: subject for clarity

[Glenda]

Monica,  I'm actually a real know-nothing about your question, but I suggest you google.  I google everything and they have wonderful answers.  Ask, for instance "how many calories would a woman, your, age and weight burn average walking 2.3 miles per hour on crutches (or whatever) or biking. " You will probably gets lots of helpful information or ideas of better questions to ask.

[Heybales · Accepted solution]

7 metabolically active organs burn the majority of calories your body burns daily.

Muscle at rest is about 6 cal/lb, fat is about 2 cal/lb. Bone and red blood cell production is decent too.

So a missing limb would cause BMR estimates to be off by a tad. Since lower weight from missing limb would cause the calculation to assume smaller body and organs in general, you likely do burn more, but height plays a bigger factor in that.

Since BMR is used in calculations for distance traveled and calories burned for daily activity - it can be important as you've observed.

I don't think you'd want to enter that much extra weight though. Won't be that much difference.

Everything is an adjustment anyway - for everyone really.

Everyone really needs to adjust based on results (as long as weight change doesn't include 0 calorie water weight changes).

I'd suggest if you've been holding steady in weight, log your food for average typical week very accurately if you don't already, though a month would be better - there's your daily burn when you average it out. TDEE.

Say it's 2100.

If you really want to set Fitbit and forget it, adjust the weight in Fitbit to arrive at that same TDEE. Here's how.

Find a site with Mifflin-St Jeor BMR calc, just BMR no TDEE estimate needed.

Take your avg Fitbit reported daily burn for a big chunk of time prior to making weight change, divided by the BMR using the weight that would have been used at that time.

That's the activity factor Fitbit thought it was seeing based on that BMR.

Say 2300 / 1700 = 1.3529

Take your more accurate TDEE based on food eaten divided by Fitbit activity factor.

That's the BMR you likely need to hit with stats for Fitbit to reflect correctly.

Say 2100 / 1.3529 = 1552

Use the BMR calc and play with the weight until you hit that BMR.

Use those stats in Fitbit.

That's my suggestion - tad bit of work - but get an adjustment baked into Fitbit that hopefully keeps adjusting decently enough as seasons and activity levels change.

[Monica92]

Thanks, Glenda! Unfortunately, Google isn't much of a help for me. Keeping healthy and active with a missing limb is apparently not something you can find a lot of information about 😉

[Monica92]

Thanks! I didn't keep track of my food yet, because I wasn't busy with my weight. So I got some homework now! I hoped it was a bit easier than this, but you have a point that actually everyone should make adjustments, based on the results. Thanks again!