Confused about calorie deficit calculated

[ThisIsSteps]

Hi all,

I am new to this. Up until now I have worked with the Samsung Health App. Took me a while but now I have that figured out I struggle with this.

So the plan is for a 750 calorie deficit. I have set it to sedentary rather than personalised in the settings (just a personal preference). 

However, I am a bit confused as currently (4:22pm) in my dashboard it says 1106 cals in, 1242 cals out. And then it says I am 363 over target. Considering though that I am working towards a 750 deficit, shouldn't I be 614 over target? I know I will still burn until midnight, but at this current time, the over/under target indicator is off, or am I missing something?

Thankds for the help 😊

[CatherineEll]

Glad to see your post.  I am also very confused by what it says I can eat calorie wise.  The first few day I was starting at 1200 for the day. I also have it set for 750 deficit and sedentary, I have tried setting it to moderate and kinda hard too, but the numbers stay the same.  When I look at it in the morning, it says I  have around 450 for the day.  Not cool.  I don't know what I am doing wrong.

[shuckyshark]

I too was confused. However, it calculates based on what it thinks your overall target is at that time of day. I don't know what formula Fitbit uses, but if you're consistently under or at target for the day, I wouldn't worry.

For example, my breakfast is usually 200-300 calories (3 eggs and coffee, or 2 servings of yogurt and coffee), and I'm under target.

If I eat an omelette (3 eggs, 2 oz cheddar cheese, 3oz of ham or turkey), with coffee, it's about 500-600 calories, and it shows over target. 

[shuckyshark]

In the sedentary mode, you have to earn calories by being active...Mine starts at 1200 calories earned, based on past history. By the end of the day, I'm usually upwards of 1600-1900 allowed, depending on what I do.

[JimC_99]

The Fitbit app calculates your BMR (Basal Metabolism Rate) using a standard formula (Miffin-StJeor I believe) then using the activity level as a multiplier.  The multiplier is usually between 1.1 and 1.7 dependent on activity level.  the total calories for the 24 hour period are then estimated during the day in 15 min "slices".  My data collected over the last 2 years for my metabolism, shows that the Fitbit is over estimating my calorie burn by 325-350 calories a day.  Once you know how your metabolism acts, you can adjust to compensate for the burn rate...