Calories in vs calories out

[Tooraj]

Hi folks,

I have been using MyFitnessPal for over 3 years now logging all my calorie intake. I have also been using Fitbit for 2 and half years no recording all my calories out. Up until recently my calories goal had been 1500 and my weight has been quite stable over this time with no real net weight loss over the last 2 or so years. Over all I have maintained a calorie deficit, so I should have lost weight over this time. But that is not the case. 

I have just gone snooping around and have noticed I may not be the only one in such a situation.  Just sampling 6 profiles (see the image below) who share their details with me, I noticed an average calorie deficit but the weights seem to be quite stable.

What do you think? In general there seems to be an average of 1000 calories deficit. Shouldn't that translate it to weight loss? Or is the difference the basal metabolic rate?

What and I missing?

Cheers,

Tooraj

[Heybales · Accepted solution]

The amount of food intake - actually specifically the amount of deficit, can actually effect the calorie burn side of the equation.

Studies have shown time after time your body will adapt to eating too low for it's amount of burn, and it will adjust that.

In essence, the Fitbit would no longer be accurate about the amount you burn, so eating less than that could be actually eating at maintenance - which it obviously is or you'd lose or gain weight.

If you took what the Fitbit says you burned, and this is assuming you have corrected and manually input non-step exercise, take 20% off.

Do you eat about that amount, or still a lot less?

Food logging can also be a part of that, eating still well below what body wants, but still eating more than you think.

Because studies have shown a max of 20-25% suppression in daily burn.

Once you hit that max suppression, merely have to eat even less to keep losing.

The problem is, that when adherence starts coming in to play, difficult to hold that calorie level.

And when goal weight finally is reached, and maintenance level is 20-25% less than it could be - that makes for sucky maintenance level too - and failure and weight gain back.

Because at that level, you are also burning off usually a decent amount of muscle mass, which also lowers what you burn daily in maintenance.

If you are curious there is simple 2 weeks test to determine are you eating at potential full burning maintenance level - or are you currently eating at a slow burning suppressed level.

For 2 weeks - eat 250 calories more than you currently do.

That should lead to a slow 1 lb weight gain. And if lifting, not even all fat.

Reread that if concerned. Need valid weigh-in day of course that minimized water fluctuations.

So morning after rest day eating normal sodium levels, not sore from last workout.

If you gain more or faster, then your prior level was NOT potential maintenance but suppressed - and you just topped of muscle glycogen stores, which stores with attached water.

That's the fast water weight loss everyone gets going in to a diet.

So 2 directions to go with results of that test.

Start eating less and accept the suppressed burning body, and hope it's max'd suppressed already.

Or heal it and speed it back up again.

And then take a reasonable deficit for amount to lose.

[Psychobarb]

I've had helpful responses from folks about calories in/calories out and muscle mass.

I learned that I need to be careful about food logging and be as accurate as possible.  Also, that I am not seeing actual muscle gain but am feeling stronger and tighter.  Using what muscles I have, I feel this is so important as a middle aged woman to prevent falls/injury as I age!

I, like you, have a calorie deficit I feel should result in a larger weight loss, of about .8 pounds per week.  This was based on a snap shot using the one-week trial food report Premium program.  This week's numbers were similar to those of prior three weeks.

Has anyone purchased the Premium product, is it worthwhile?

[Tooraj]

Dear Heybales,

Thank you for taking the time to write a detailed reply.  Your advice has been priceless! The concept of suppression was foreign to me.

It has been a while to reply, but I wanted to try out your suggestion and report back with the results.

I had set my daily goal to a low 1250 calories!  I was starving and not losing weight, in fact I gained weight very easily, but couldn’t lose it.

I have taken your advice and have gradually increased my calorie intake. I have also started doing weights; twice a week, an hour each time. I also try to eat more protein and less fat. Everything else is the same, 10,000+ steps a day and 4 hours of solid cycling a week.

Over two months, I have increased my daily intake very gradually to around 2250 calories from 1250 a day.  I am very pleased to report back that I have not gained any weight! It is incredible really!

In a nut shell, 1) do not starve yourself; and 2) mix up your cardio exercises with strength workouts.  Yes, I know it is nothing new. I just hates going to a gym and doing weights. I just had to find a nice gym and an introductory personal trainer to get me started.

Thanks again! 

Tooraj

[Heybales]

Ohhhh, you are going to make some women jealous, for one reason as guys we do seem to recover easier, more muscle mass in general.

Glad to hear you got eating level up so high just to see how high it can go. Much better than seeing how low you needed to go. Might say high jump better than limbo.

So did you still have weight or fat to lose now?

Reasonable deficit off 2250 isn't hard at all.

Curious if that's closer to what Fitbit with corrected exercise suggests you burn on average?

And great have the strength training sessions been as you kept eating more?

Glad the gym worked out well. Nice thing with good training, you can take it home with you if totally just desired.

[Tooraj]

Well, I have only focused on getting my metabolism and calories intake right without gaining weight. So weight loss so far. I am supposedly 7kg overweight. My body fat is 17%.

My gym has great a body analyser, so next I want to focus on reducing my body fat and not worry about my weight.

Yes, I can easily manage a decent calorie deficit with 2250 daily intake.

I use MyFitnessPal to track my calorie intake and deficits and general burn estimates  (i.e. BMR etc). I used Fitbit until recently only to track calories I burned, so I don’t pay any attention to what Fitbit tells me. Going by MyFitnessPal’s estimates, it seems to be accurate.

BTW, I stopped using Fitbit about 3 weeks ago and switched to Garmin Vivosmart. I have noticed that Garmin’s calorie burn estimates are more realistic that Fitbit and matches MyFitnessPal’s better.

[Hokie804]

I'm new to Fitbit however this thread seems to fit my question and Haybales touched on it.  If Fitbit calculated my calorie burn with just my inputted answers to the quesions how then does it recalculate once i start wearing the surge?  I would think it would be doubling the amount of calories out.

If i wear the watch during a P90x routine and then manually put in the routine does that register twice if I dont start an activity ont he watch prior to starting my routine?

I hope that question makes sense......thanks for the help!

[Heybales]

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@Hokie804 wrote:

I'm new to Fitbit however this thread seems to fit my question and Haybales touched on it.  If Fitbit calculated my calorie burn with just my inputted answers to the quesions how then does it recalculate once i start wearing the surge?  I would think it would be doubling the amount of calories out.

If i wear the watch during a P90x routine and then manually put in the routine does that register twice if I dont start an activity ont he watch prior to starting my routine?

I hope that question makes sense......thanks for the help!

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Depends on what questions you answered that you are talking about.

Gender, age, weight, height - those are the only answers that are used to calculate calorie burn.

And stride length if you manually changed it.

But all those setting should come over.

Anything you manually log (and Crossfit should be since not a good use for HRM calorie burn formula) replaces whatever Fitbit estimated as calorie burn.

For walking and running manually entered because of more accurate data, distance and steps is also replaced.

None of that has anything to do with the button to start an activity record.

That merely separate the stats for that chunk of time from being buried in the daily stats - so you can review it later.