Calories Burned per DAy

[LisaFatBatter]

I am new to fitbit and I am trying to lose a little over 50lbs. I have set my goal to hardest for a 1000 calorie deficit. I am averaging 13K steps and more than 30 active minutes at lest 25 flights of stairs. I have burned over 3000 cals a day on more than one occassion. Should I eat 2000 + calories in one day? Fitbit set my daily burn goal around 2500, but lately I have been going way over. Should I set a customized goal of 1500 cals or just do what fitbit says. I have a Surge. Do other people have success just following what fitbit tells them? 

[josephz2va]

In my experience, no. Overeating your calorie range is for maintenance or lean mass gain if you're exercising correctly and eating the right foods. If your goal is to lose 50 pounds, the so-so goal is 1200 to 1500 calories.

The foods you need to eat can be found by Google Bodybuilding "Foods for lean mass building" which helps shred bad fat but also be sure you're eating fruits and veggies. Preferably organic.

Dietitians can also provide a list of the correct foods to cook up and eat away from the Processed Foods many have warned to stay away from or avoid.

[Debbie3]

Hi there. You need to burn more calories than you consume. There are so many different ways of achieving this, and some people swear by only eating certain foods or only at certain times or only prepared in certain ways... Please be wary of advice telling you not to eat certain foods or to eat only others. 

Personally, I lost 2 and a half stone by "calories in, calories out". That is, I didn't follow any fads, I just created a calorie deficit. The easiest, most efficient way to do this is to take in fewer calories (as opposed to trying to do it by upping your "calories out"). I started at 1200 but also spent quite a few weeks at 1500. I recommend iifym.com/iifym-calculator/ for finding a good starting point.

Although I don't know anything about you, your height and age etc, I would suggest that 2000 is too high for the sedentary levels of exercise you mention in that post. 

[LisaFatBatter]

I just turned 40 and I'm 5'6" So say choose to eat 1400-1500 calories a day, I cannot stick to 1200 calories for more than a couple days and I don't like to eat artificial garbage. I don't mind eating lots of fresh low cal green veggies, but I need some type of condiment to make them more enjoyable. I am also vegetarian, not vegan, and I do if for the animals not necessarily my health.
Anyway I'm not sure how my activity level posted is sedentary. I meet and exceed all goals on my dashboard, and have had 80 active minutes for a few days in a row.
Fitbit has my expected burn at 2480, but I've been burning 3200 a day. If I eat say 1200-1400 calories if I burned 3200 then I have a 2000 calorie a day deficit. Do you guys agree that that is good? Or should I increase my intake on days that I have an extremely high output?

[whome]

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@LisaFatBatter wrote:

Fitbit has my expected burn at 2480, but I've been burning 3200 a day. If I eat say 1200-1400 calories if I burned 3200 then I have a 2000 calorie a day deficit. Do you guys agree that that is good? Or should I increase my intake on days that I have an extremely high output? 

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Not good if very often or repeated. Not bad if only every now and then. Yes, you should increase your intake on days you have an extremely high output, especially if you have them often.

 Having a calorie deficit of 20 to 25% of your days burn is about the maximum stress that the body can sustain without adapting, and by adapting, I mean lowering it's BMR/RMR.

Good luck

[Heybales]

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@LisaFatBatter wrote:

I am new to fitbit and I am trying to lose a little over 50lbs. I have set my goal to hardest for a 1000 calorie deficit. I am averaging 13K steps and more than 30 active minutes at lest 25 flights of stairs. I have burned over 3000 cals a day on more than one occassion. Should I eat 2000 + calories in one day? Fitbit set my daily burn goal around 2500, but lately I have been going way over. Should I set a customized goal of 1500 cals or just do what fitbit says. I have a Surge. Do other people have success just following what fitbit tells them? 

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Your burn goal and your eating goal are not related - they are 2 totally different goals.

Eat what it says - and you'll be eating less than you burn, and meeting your goal of 2 lbs weekly.

Go for more and it'll include muscle mass, actually already does with that being your only exercise.

More reasonable for only 50 lbs would be 1.5 weekly.

If you think bigger is better, or more deficit is better, or eating less is better - suggest just getting it over with fast and not eating at all.

[Debbie3]

Anyway I'm not sure how my activity level posted is sedentary. I meet and exceed all goals on my dashboard, and have had 80 active minutes for a few days in a row.

Hi Lisa, I hope I didn't come across as rude, I just meant that the statistics you mention, 13k steps, 40 minutes active etc seem like a fairly average, sedentary lifestyle. It's not someone who, say, has a physical job or is really in to their sports. So, eating 2000 calories is probably going to be close to your maintenance levels. 

How long have you been eating at the levels you mention, and how has your weightloss been? I had a pretty steady loss of 2lbs per week and had about 35lb to lose.

[maadhunter]

I have to agree with Heybales. Follow what the fitbit says. It has figured in your 1000cal loss so as long as you follow the fitbit you will end up good.

A personal issue I find with most people I personally know is they live on a "diet" which is usually calorie restricted. Then when they get a device that tells them how many calories they "burn" they don't believe it.

Please understand that most devices that use calorie burn use a scientific calculation for BMR/RMR of some nature. This number is then used as your BASE. If a person were to just use calculations they would add multipliers and such for activity. The fitbit line of devices add on the activity from steps or with the surge and charge HR a combination of steps and HR. Theoretically, these should be pretty darn accurate for calorie burn. 

So trust in the device and apps. Eat what they tell you for a month or so. And see how it goes. The worst that can happen is you will gain a little weight and will level off. The start decreasing your cals by 500 and see what happens. It can be scary, but you will get to know your body.

Remember it is calories in vs calories out, but we all do not burn the same amount of calories at any given time.

[alphasid]

Yes success by following... you got to be patiance, you won t see results in 1, 2 months..just a little... you see things with time and looking back, we are to much surrounded of false informations like socials "30 day transformation" and stuff like that. Stick to your plan, work hard and be patiance and optimist!
With your calorie i suggest if you want add scientific calculation, track your macros with some iifym calculator or pyramid

[JoAllIn]

Hi Lisa - Terrific job by the way, it is great to see you are doing so well.  One caution I would like to address about not eating enough calories.  We can accidentally put our body into starvation mode if we do not feed  sufficient calories for the exercise we are doing.  Your body NEEDs calories to build muscle and maintain a healthy stasis.  Don't be afraid to eat those extra calories - your body needs and deserves them.  Enjoy the journey. 

[emili]

I am with Debbie on this one. Firmly. I lost 65 pounds with a caloric deficit that I can tolerate in a short period of time and have kept it off (actually lost more) for almost two years now. For me it is calories in vs out- always. I never once starved- or hit plateau- some say I am lucky, I say its science and research. you have to understand how to fuel your body in the most efficient way and none of those things happen. I lost it without a fitbit- I got mine later- honestly I got it because we were going to Disney and I heard crazy numbers of how much walking happens there and I wanted to see for myself. Its true - lots of miles per day and I fell in love with my HR- since having it, I lost another 7 pounds and now I get told to eat a sandwich. Ridiculous people. but anyhow, you don't need your fitbit to tell you how many calories you should eat, you can do that yourself and use your fitbit to tell you how much you burn. log your food and you will know if you are yellow, green or red. regardless of what you choose- you started your journey and that is the most important thing. Good luck, I wish you success!

[SebringDon]

@LisaFatBatter

I just finished posting a 4-part series called "Fitbit Food Plan Demystified" on the forum. The first section deals with the basics: Calories In vs. Out, deficits and starvation diets are all discussed. It's a quick read and may clear up a lot of your questions. Here's a link.

https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Fitbit-com-Dashboard/Part-1-Fitbit-Food-Plan-Basics/m-p/1155149#M515...