BMR too high? Calories burned seem high too...

[hkath]

Me: BMI of 41, hoping to lose 70 lbs. Am very densely built and don't look as heavy as I actually am.

I feel like my base metabolic rate has been highly overestimated by Fitbit because of my elevated BMI. It seems to be set a bit over 1800 calories, which is nuts to me. 1800 just to be alive? Maybe this isn't the norm, but I don't feel like I expend tons of extra energy dragging my extra heft around. I am actually pretty fleet of foot!

So I wore my Fitbit Flex all day today and without going out of my way to do any extra exercise I easily met my 10,000 step goal and my 30 active minutes goal. This was achieved just walking to the bus stop, running for near-miss buses, running around the office and traipsing around my giant building.

This everyday level of activity added a ton of extra calories to my "calories to be burned" tally. I had set my goal at a 500 calorie deficit, which had the app telling me to eat 2,200 calories by mid-afternoon! I changed it to a 750 deficit later on, but since I had done more walking, I still had an estimate of about 2100 for the day. It's now telling me that I'm going to have burned 3,005 calories today. 

That's insane, right? I met my calories consumed goal exactly today and I honestly binged a little just to see what it would feel like to get the "right" amount in. I basically overate just to see - feels gross.

For the record, I have calorie estimation disabled, and I have the food log settings set to "sedentary" so I have no idea what else I could do to influence this...

[Heybales]

If you are dense, then your are more muscular than average probably.

Your BMR is actually higher then.

www.gymgoal.com/dtool_fat.html

And after getting those stats, go up a level and use the BMR tool with that BF% for Katch BMR.

Wondering how you could possibly feel like that is high or not?

I've heard ones express surprise, since they were ignorant that the base metabolism burns more than anything else they would likely do.

But never heard of a feeling that it is too high.

Unless you accurately logged your food prior to changing diet to get a clue as to how much you really ate and maintained weight - you have no idea really if TDEE Fitbit reports is high or not, or BMR it calculates is high or not.

And actually, Fitbit uses BMR for all non-moving time, your TDEE is actually underestimated since that should be only sleeping time, awake non-moving should be higher RMR.

You ever had an RMR test done?

My RMR tested at about 2000, meaning my corresponding BMR was around 1850.

Not nuts at all, you just aren't aware of the energy needs of the body.

You could still pick some date back in time and try to log a typical day of eating. Especially easily if it was eating out. Much harder if it is figuring out weights of stuff you made.

With 70 lbs to lose, you can indeed follow the program and be reasonable to lose 2 lb weekly.

At 40 to lose, switch to 1.5.

at 20, 1.

At 10. 0.5.

Only other influence is if you have short legs and shorter stride for your height compared to others.

Then Fitbit would be calculating faster pace and bigger burn. Since you indeed do a lot of walking, that kind of error can add up to big numbers easily.

Check out the FAQ on measuring your stride using a treadmill, for normal walking speed, and jogging speed. Then change your stats in your profile, below your weight, to measured stride length.

That might influence some.

Otherwise, you just didn't know how many calories you could burn. I'm betting your only experience with calorie levels has been to hear about 1200 calorie diets?

And that's just considered safe minimum for a sedentary woman. Which most people aren't, or don't try to be when trying to change their weight.

And as you have less mass to move around in the future, your TDEE will drop too. It's high now from just walking because it takes a lot to walk.

Try out the most accurate calc for walking calorie burn. Use the gross option for what Fitbit, HRM, or treadmill would tell you. Use the Net option for how much beyond resting you are burning.

Again, at current weight, you'll probably be surprised.

http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/WalkRunMETs.html

[hkath]

Thanks for all the resources. I've already gone ahead and measured my stride hoping that will help get me more accurate data.

Basically in layman's terms, the issue is that my activity level for yesterday was a typical day for me. Based on that activity, Fitbit told me I should be eating more than I usually eat. I am not restricting my food intake at all yet (wanted to get an idea of what I consume in a normal day first), so this was quite a lot of food.

That doesn't make sense. As a person who has been obese for a long time but is also active and healthy, I simply can't consume more calories than I am now while staying at the same activity level and expect to lose weight, instead of gain it. That's just not how it works. But that seems to be what Fitbit is saying.

[Heybales]

Fitbit is telling you to eat more calories, more than you would normally eat.

Were you on a diet before using the Fitbit?

Did you log what you ate so you know?

How much were you eating on it?

Did you change what you ate with Fitbit? - many don't just try to eat less than what they ate, they usually make complete changes and eat totally different, so no idea how that would compare.

You did pick a meal plan that is for weight loss right?

What is current calorie goal?

What are you currently trying to eat though?

Just wanted to confirm you aren't trying to eat TDEE, but maybe you are like you said just to see, but perhaps now it's with all healthy foods.

Some people get too restrictive on what is considered healthy, like leaving out fats and such.

And how much do you think you ate that made you gain weight, because you must have at some time eaten more than you are now.

If you've already been in a diet, but new to using Fitbit, there is a very likely reason why current eating level is far below Fitbit estimate of TDEE.

If you answer questions above, I'll get an idea if that is the case.

[ceeceham]

I am struggling with this concept as welI.  I have not been meting my 10,000 steps goal as I am currently out of work with a shoulder injury.  My exercise options are slightly limited by this as well but fitbit is calculating my calorie burn as pretty high just from resting and normal household chores.  So I am meeting my calorie burn goal daily.  I am struggling to reach my total calories eaten as I am just too full.  It has frustrated me for a long time that the math doesn't add up for me.  By most calculations I have to eat more calories to lose weight than I am to gain it!  I do have some medical factors that impact my metabolism.  Hypothyroid and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome which causes insulin resistance and high insulin levels which lead to increased fat storage.  But it is still confusing and frustrating when people look at me and assume I am lazy and eat cheeseburgers all day long when I actually eat a reasonably healthy diet and am fairly active. 

I am actually trying to up my calorie intake for a while to see if I have not been eating enough for weight loss. 

[josephz2va]

http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

"The BMR Calculator will calculate your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR); the number of calories you'd burn if you stayed in bed all day.

If you've noticed that every year, it becomes harder to eat whatever you want and stay slim, you've also learnt that your BMR decreases as you age. Likewise, depriving yourself of food in hopes of losing weight also decreases your BMR, a foil to your intentions. However, a regular routine of cardiovascular exercise can increase your BMR, improving your health and fitness when your body's ability to burn energy gradually slows down."

To improve your overall health (fat loss, toning), you need to improve on your Calories Burned. Not focusing on the (10,000 Steps) or the (30 active minutes). Those are minimum requirements. Goals set by the WHO in the 1960s.

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/blogs/eat-run/2014/05/21/why-10-000-steps-a-day-wont-make-you-t...

The way you burn fat is to burn to your maximum calories required. If you're maximum calories required is 3,060 calories, you need to aim for 3,060 calories per day on Cardio, Regular Work, Walking, etc.