Calories in ... calories out

[GauchoBanjo]

How accurate is Fitbit's calories count accurate? In theory, if I consume 2000 calories and eat 2000 calories I should stay the same. Usually I eat about 2000 calories and if I' not in a 4000 or 5000 calorie consumption, I don't lose weight. My weight is not terrible but I would like to get rid of 5 lbs.

[Dominique]

You’ll have to find out the accuracy of your Fitbit for you. It’s not uncommon for Fitbit to overstate calories burned. However, I find it hard to believe you’d have to burn 4000-5000 calories (as reported by Fitbit) before you start to lose weight if/when eating just 2000 calories.

You may want to get a "second opinion" by entering your data in an online calculator such as this one.

[JimC_99]

I have been tracking and counting calories for over a year - My Charge 2 is off (high calorie burn) by about 40%.  I tend to eat a set amount of calories, and make sure I consume under my plan by about 350 calories.  Weight loss appears for me to be similar to diminished return analysis -  as you lose weight, you require less calories and then need to eat even less to see the same results....  sort of depressing...

[Dominique]

@JimC_99 : you were 369 lbs in early April 2018, and 259 lbs in late June 2019. You lost nearly 30% of your starting weight. That’s an average of 1.75 lbs per week over almost 16 months. It’s truly impressive, btw, and demonstrates extraordinary dedication and willpower. However, diminished returns are to be expected with such numbers. It’s probably a good idea for you to take a break, as you wrote in this other topic a few weeks ago.

@GauchoBanjo is only looking to lose 5 pounds. This can be done without having to worry about things like metabolic adaptation.

[GauchoBanjo]

I love this calculator. Is there an app for these? I saw a few on my iPhone and was wondering if one of the apps works with FitBit. To calculate my intake of calories, I use my LoseIt app. I started at 225 lbs in July 2017. December I was 178 lbs and now I'm at 190, not terrible, but this year I want to hit 175-180 lbs range again . On another note, I'm a lot stronger and lifting weitghts, and at 55 is not. reasonable to think that I added 10 lbs of muscle in 6 months.

[JimC_99]

@Dominique,  I have been tapering,  but currently still losing about 0.25 lbs a week  - strange that it is hard to lose weight then hard to stop... I have been hovering around 257 -259 for the last couple of weeks.

[GauchoBanjo]

I started following a podcast called MindPump and their claim is to raise your Calorie burning machine in your body via resistance training (weights). Running, biking, swimming or even HIIT is basically aerobic and will slow your metabolism which will make it harder to lose weight.

My approach is having a mobility workout 6 days a week and resistance training 3 times a week. Good luck.

[Dominique]

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@GauchoBanjo wrote:

I started following a podcast called MindPump and their claim is to raise your Calorie burning machine in your body via resistance training (weights). Running, biking, swimming or even HIIT is basically aerobic and will slow your metabolism which will make it harder to lose weight.

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Sounds like stereotypical anti-cardio propaganda from meatheads: cardio is for wimps, any cardio is intrinsically bad, will kill your gains, destroy your metabolism etc. The truth is both cardio and resistance training have benefits of their own and can be complementary rather than mutually exclusive. As to slowing or "boosting" your metabolism, metabolism is driven primarily by energy balance: if you are in a caloric surplus, your metabolism will increase, if you are in a caloric deficit, it will be reduced. The idea one could lose fat, build muscle and increase metabolism all at the same time is laughable.

[Dominique]

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@GauchoBanjo wrote:

I love this calculator. Is there an app for these? I saw a few on my iPhone and was wondering if one of the apps works with FitBit. To calculate my intake of calories, I use my LoseIt app.

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The calculator makes the same assumptions as Fitbit (and most other fitness apps) regarding BMR: it uses your personal data (age, gender, height, weight) with a standard equation (Mifflin-St.Jeor). The main difference with Fitbit is it displays your estimated BMR explicitely. For TDEE ("calories burned"), Fitbit attempts to estimate it each day based on your actual activity level, whereas with the calculator, you must pick up a standard activity level from five different options.

Lose It! appears to integrate with Fitbit both ways (food calories are passed on from Lose It! to Fitbit, activity calories are passed on from Fitbit to Lose It!), so you should be covered as far as food is concerned (if you prefer to log your intake in Lose It! rather than in Fitbit). 

[Dominique]

@JimC_99 : If you look at your weight loss journey, you can see it’s starting at a steep angle, but that angle is becoming less and less steep over time:

 

I’m sure it’s not because you’ve become "sloppier", probably quite the opposite: more and more effort was required in order to achieve less and less results, precisely the diminishing returns you’ve mentioned. There’s likely some momentum effect going on that makes it "hard to stop" right now, but I’m sure you’ll eventually reach equilibrium. I think you should spend some time (maybe more than 2-3 months, because you have been in a deficit and losing for so long) at maintenance in order to rebuild your metabolism and cancel out the negative effects of metabolic adaptation.

[JimC_99]

@Dominique I agree about the tapering - my current calorie reduction/lb. loss is now about 4900 calories

started out at 3200 calories...