Confused about what fitbit is telling me vs what is happening

[spookisgirl]

HI all,

I think I just need confirmation of what I already know to let me know I am on the right track. Essentially a sanity check.

I am 5'7" post-menopause female, age 39, weight 219 lbs. I am pretty active, 2.5 hours weight training/week, 8 hours cardio/week. According to my charge2HR fitbit, I burn an average of 2500 cals/day (least active week). My fitbit calorie deficit is set to 1000/day and I eat an average of 1800/day (which I know is less that 1000), but also average an overall deficit per week of 6-7000. I have been working this way for more than 3 months, but I did make a change about a month ago, based on feedback from here.

I am pretty sure that change (which was more me trying to understand the numbers and make sure I wasn't starving myself) is the culprit, but basically I have not lost any weight since adjusting my diet and paying attention to fitbit stats. However, I did lose weight consistently for a while until I made the change.

My fitbit is set to sedentary as I usually have 2 active rest days (no planned workouts, but still a lot of walking). I am really good about tracking everything and if I have to estimate try to over-estimate rather than under. I am also an intermittent faster who eats between noon and 8 pm only (which was a recommendation from an endocrinologist). Like everyone, I have days when I am over calories (usually by about 500 and usually only once per week), but I also have days when I am under.

So with that background, here is what is going on. I started tracking my intake in fitbit to try to get weightloss moving back in March and bought an Aria to help. What I initially noticed was that I was losing weight consistently (got down to close to 215, I started at 230 lbs), but that on my active days (5 days/week) my calorie intake was often 500-1000 below what was recommended by fitbit based on what I was burning. I usually hit goal intake on my rest days, sometimes 500-750 over. I was averaging a deficit around 10,000 calories per week. I was losing an average of 1.5 lbs/week

While I was happy I was losing weight, I was concerned that I wasn't losing it the 'right' way and that I was eating too little and starving myself. I asked for advice here and was recommended to try hitting my calorie in goals some and see what difference that makes. I have been doing that, but in the last few weeks have been watching my weight creep back up to where it is now, so it is obvious I need to make a change.

I just discovered trendweight and it is really insightful. What it is showing is that my lean mass is going steeply down and my fat mass has been going steeply up since I made the switch. In the time before the switch (which I was concerned about), my fat mass was consistently going down (really steep line down), and my lean mass was staying about the same (within 1-2 lb average, pretty consistent line).

It also shows that I am averaging burning only about 230 more calories than I am eating right now, much lower than what fitbit shows and that I should increase that deficit up about 770 more to get back on track, regardless of what fitbit says.

Has anyone else had a similar experience?

(I do understand that fitbit is not the most accurate, especially as my regular activity of ballroom dance doesn't usually register steps or distance so I ignore those numbers and focus on calories, but I guess I had hoped for a bit better...

Thanks to those who recommended trendweight!)

[Baltoscott · Accepted solution]

Hi @spookisgirl

I use TrendWeight and yes the deficit it shows is usually less than what Fitbit predicts when I’m trying to lose weight.  TrendWeight’s calculation is just math.  It is working backwards from what you actually lost in order to determine what your deficit must have been if your weight loss works exactly like calorie deficits would predict.  And Fitbit, of course, is trying to predict future weight loss based on the burn detected by the tracker and the food/drink you’ve recorded.  Both calculations can be off if your metabolism is different than the average person of your weight, sex, and age.

Given your current stats and exercise levels, this NIH calculator thinks you burn about 2800 calories/day. So I would not eat less than you are eating now.  If your TrendWeight lean mass is consistently dropping and fat mass is going up, you may not getting enough protein to support all the exercise you are doing while in this calorie deficit, and your metabolism may be slowing and is unable to replace broken down muscle as a result.  You don’t say much about what you eat other than total calories, so I’ll just make a general suggestion to stay at at least 1700 calories, probably even a bit more, if you are going to continue your current exercise level, but increase the portion of protein and veggies while cutting back on other things.  

[Daves_Not_Here]

Hi @spookisgirl -- here's something else to think about in addition to @Baltoscott 's sound advice:  you may wish to cross-check your body-fat percentage using other means (perhaps calipers, buoyancy, or other tests at a gym).

Last thought, and I'm in a minority in this forum on this -- your level of exercise and time commitment to it is pretty high right now, and if your primary goal is to lose weight, then it seems to me it's not taking you in the right direction.  My personal experience has been that I tend to lose more weight when I lighten up on the activity and focus 100% on what, when, and how much I eat.  

[spookisgirl]

Thank you both!

I tend towards high protein, low carbs when I eat, although that can vary some from day to day. I eat a lot of fresh fruit and greek yogurt, chicken and bean burritos, lamb or chicken curry and rice. I think I have fallen a little into the trap of trying to make up the deficit late at night as I usually train between 5-7 and end up eating after trying to fit it in before 8.

I will try aiming somewhere in the middle for calories and see how that works. Cutting back on exercise is not really an option, I don't do it for weight loss, I train for competitions which requires consistent work. My average before I started adding some calories was 1400/night and not it is 1800 so I will try 1600 and see if that helps. My weight trend line is almost flat right now.

[Nannyjoan]

Yes I am having exactly the same issue.

I was away on holidays then had visitors so eating habits went out the door.  Now back to my normal way of life my weight is dropping by .3 kg per every couple of days but my body fat % is increasing.

I am not sure why but will wait to hear from others.

[bikerhiker]

There are 2 kinds of fat; visceral and subcutaneous.  Visceral fat is fat deposits coated on your internal organs which is your heart, your kidneys, your liver, your digestive systems and your pancreas.  All vital organs and effects your waist line.  This is the fat we don't see visually on the skin, except when you measure your waist line or see it on the scale.  Whereas subcutaneous fat is something you can see because it resides inside the skin.  Subcutaneous fat is not bad as it provides energy for the body as 1gram of fat supplies the body with 9 calories of energy.

So having said that, excessive amounts of visceral fat go hand in hand with a large amount of subcutaneous fat.  When you try to remove excessive amounts of subcutaneous fat through surgery, it can lead to the potential of death.  Which is why they both have a symbiotic relationship.

To reduce fat, you need to reduce the intake of saturated fat.  If you are consuming large amount of protein, make sure they are not saturated fat, rather they are polyunsaturated.  You can get protein from Quinoa or high fibre cereal, beans, lentils and then lean cuts of meat.  Fish is a good source of protein and Omega 3 and 6.  

A daily regimen of long steady HR exercise coupled with strength training to promote or maintain muscle growth, so you don't loose muscles while loosing weight will help burn fat.  The diet industry placed too much emphasis on fat you see, but very little emphasis on the fat you can't see.  

Lastly is stress.  When a person perceive a threat of anything, his or her hypotalamus, a small region in the brain release a warning signal and when then triggered the adrenal glands to release both adrenaline and cortisol.  But extended release of cortisol through constant stress especially in the work place or in life in general can promote weight gain, especially abdominal fat.  If a person does not find a way to deal with the stress, this abdominal fat can lead to heart disease and strokes.  This is actually one of the main contributing factor most people aren't aware of.  And that is, they are not willing to give up certain things that cause them stress like being in a toxic and unproductive relationship, but the body is telling them that it is not longer sustainable if no corrective actions are taken. 

[Mukluk4]

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@spookisgirl wrote:

HI all,

I think I just need confirmation of what I already know to let me know I am on the right track. Essentially a sanity check.

I am 5'7" post-menopause female, age 39, weight 219 lbs. I am pretty active, 2.5 hours weight training/week, 8 hours cardio/week. According to my charge2HR fitbit, I burn an average of 2500 cals/day (least active week). My fitbit calorie deficit is set to 1000/day and I eat an average of 1800/day (which I know is less that 1000), but also average an overall deficit per week of 6-7000. I have been working this way for more than 3 months, but I did make a change about a month ago, based on feedback from here.

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How is this broken up in a week and what are you doing during those times.  You seem to have 2 goals (lose weight and keep muscle mass) and those are not always going to work hand in hand.  Which one is your primary?

[Nannyjoan]

Thank you so much for a very informative answer. I have had bi-lateral hip
replacements so not as energetic as I was but still manage 3-4 gym classes
a week. I started with Zumba class last year and found I was doing very
well with that as I had stopped Line Dancing, which I had been doing for 15
years and starting to get bored with.

I am very conscious of unexplained weight gain and try to keep an eye on
what I eat as I am GF (weight allergy, diagnosed) - not by choice. This has
made me look very closely to my diet but I thought I was doing ok with that.

Stress as you say can also be a big factor and again I try to keep this to
a minimum as I have now retired, but of course Life throws different
challenges for us to deal with.

I will take on board the information you have given me and hope to see the
extra fat drop away as I continue on my path to a healthy weight in my 68th
year.

Kind regards,
Joan

[bex1987]

Can I ask, what Is TrendWeight ? Is it a phone app ?

[Dominique]

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@bex1987 wrote:

Can I ask, what Is TrendWeight ? Is it a phone app ?

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No, it’s a (free) browser-based service: trendweight.com

You link your Fitbit account to it, and it pulls your weight / body fat data from Fitbit. You can choose to keep the data private to you, or to make it publicly available via a link (like the one in my signature).

Note that the site works best when accessed from a computer, rather than from a mobile device (the interface isn’t optimized for such devices: for instance, you can’t change the period using the tabs).