Considering Charge

[eng3]

I've been on the fence with getting the Fitbit charge 3 (or 4 if it comes out)

I'm 5'9" and was 245lb back in March and had a MI.  I started tracking calories and saturated fat and started light elliptical for 30min a day.  Now I'm 165lb which is an arbitrary point I chose to maintain my weight at.  It's at the top of the normal BMI range with a slight margin.

The last 20 lb took about 3 months.  Once I got down to only eating about 1200 calories a day, I decided that I have to start focusing on maintaining weight.  My issue is that the calculator is off by alot.  I have an office job so I am sitting at a desk then at home it is mostly on a couch except for the 30 min elliptical so my calorie burn is mostly from BMR.  I calculate that I'm burning about 2200cal a day.  I eat about 1500cal a day just to maintain my weight.  This seems really low and I'm hungry all the time.That is average over 3 weeks.  Day to day I tend to either suddenly go up 5lb and gradually drop 1lb a day or the other way around.  My intake should be pretty accurate except if I eat out.  But I have tested going 3 weeks cooking at home every day just to make sure the intake is accurate.

I'm thinking the calorie burn is off.  That is where the fitbit comes in.  I'm wondering if it can more accurately measure.  I have no idea about the elliptical and it's hard to track walking around, sitting, driving, etc.  The only issue is that I'm on beta blockers so my heart rate is low.  Resting is like 50.  Exercise is 120-130.  I'm hoping the charge 4 will have something to account for this but who knows if it will or when it will come out.  Either way, I'd think that it would under estimate where now I seem to be over estimating.

[Dominique]

If/when someone loses a lot of weight in a relatively short period of time, this affects (reduces) their metabolism significantly. You lost 80 pounds in about 9 months, an average of 2.2 lb per week and about one third of your starting weight. It’s impressive, and demonstrates true dedication, but it’s enormous. Both your BMR and your TDEE are significantly lower than those of a person the same age and same height who has been maintaining 165 lbs for years. There is no way Fitbit (whether a current model or one in the pipeline) can account for this. Fitbit estimates (stress on "estimates") energy expenditure (calories burned) using a standard equation for BMR and a clever algorithm for evaluating your activity. It can be a very useful tool for a number of purposes, but I’m afraid it won’t do what you want with regards to your calories out.

[eng3]

I see, I was not aware that BMR drops out of proportion to weight loss when the weight loss is rapid.  I guess the next step is u to see if there is any way to increase my BMR back to a normal level.

The weight loss was actually pretty easy until the last 20lb or so.  Limiting saturated fat naturally limited calories at first.

[Glenda]

@eng3   Consumers Report had good things to say about Charge 3 recently.  Maybe you could google or DUCKDUCKGO for some comments by people who have them.  I just want to say Wow!  What a good job you have done.  It might be good for you to know that anytime a person reduces the calories they eat for a while your metabolism does slow considerably and you MUST add the calories back a little at a  time.  Add some and wait 3 days to make sure you are not gaining  Then add another small amount and wait 3 days to make sure you are not gaining.  If you go from a losing amount of calories to the amount that would maintain the desired weight all at once you will gain weight back.   I've forgotten the suggested number to add back at each step.  Sorry.

[Dominique]

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@eng3 wrote:

I was not aware that BMR drops out of proportion to weight loss when the weight loss is rapid.

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I’m afraid this is what typically happens. Here are a few pointers:

First, a very old one, the Minnesota Starvation Experiment (conducted during WWII). Then, one from modern times, a follow-up study of contestants on the reality TV show "The Biggest Loser".

I’ll also throw in one of my favorite weightloss resources, the Losing All Your Weight At Once video by Dr. Mike Israetel. I know it’s coming late for you, but he explains quite well what is going on with metabolism during rapid and prolonged weight loss.

I guess the next step is to see if there is any way to increase my BMR back to a normal level.

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The metabolic adaptation that took place is not irreversible, but it can take time to get things back to normal. For all the talks about "boosting metabolism", there are no magical tricks that can achieve that quickly, like eating certain foods/supplements, eating according to a special schedule etc. 

[eng3]

Are there any scientifically proven things that I should be doing to improve my BMR?  Exercise more? harder? Or do I just continue with maintaining my weight.

I understand that I cant use standard forumlas to estimate my BMR.  I assume this is what fitbit uses.  How about estimation of calories burned from physical activity (ie. elliptical, walking, etc).  Is this now changed too because of the rapid weight loss?  I don't know how the fitbit estimates this, movement, heart rate?  Basically, I'm asking if the fitbit can be made to be "accurate" by adjusting BMR and only using it to estimate calories burned from activity based on its sensors.

[Dominique]

Fitbit won’t let you edit your BMR explicitly: it will calculate it based on your personal data, using a standard equation. If you want to lower your BMR, you need to "lie" about your age and/or your height, i.e. pretend you are older and/or shorter than you really are.

BMR also affects calories burned through activity. A person with a lower BMR will burn less calories for the same activity performed at the same intensity than a person with a higher BMR. Just like a big gas-guzzler will need more gasoline than a fuel-efficient compact car to go from A to B at the same speed.

In order to raise your BMR, you need to convince your body there’s now food around. You can do so by progressively reintroducing calories, as suggested by @Glenda. As to exercising: nothing crazy, as you don’t want your body to remain in energy-saving mode in anticipation of high demand in terms of activity. Try to favour low-intensity activities like walking that need little (if any) recovery and therefore can be performed daily. Get plenty of quality sleep, keep stress under control etc.

[eng3]

In a way I did add calories as I went from weight loss to maintaining weight.  If I add more, I'll gain weight.  So if I want to stay at my target weight, I either keep eating the same number of calories, or add more with more activity.

If I lost more weight, it's have more of a buffer to help ensure I don't go above my target weight

[Dominique]

I know it may sound counter-intuitive, but sometimes one step back, two steps forward can be a better approach. In other words, you may restore your metabolism faster by regaining - say - 10 lbs in a controlled fashion (this would send a clear signal food is no longer in short supply, normalize your hormone levels etc.), maintaining at the new, slightly higher level for a while and then starting again a new phase of weight loss (but this time, at a more reasonable pace).

What you can also do is enter your personal data in an online calculator like this one, see what your maintenance calories are according to it and compare that to what you are actually eating in order to maintain your current weight (since you have established that already). My guess is your actual calories are at least 15-20% lower than what the standard equation predicts. You’ll have to assess which of the five standard activity levels best apply to you (this would be easier to do if you had a Fitbit, as average step count is a rather good proxy for overall activity IMO).

[eng3]

I guess using the logic, I could also lose another 10lb (quickly), then slowly gain it back and arrive back at my target weight.

I've been using cronometer from day one to track calories, that is probably what helped me keep things under control.  I've been extremely precise with what I enter so it is pretty accurate while at home.  Unforunately, I travel 1/3 of the time so I must eat out and then that adds alot of error in the calorie intake.  As for calorie burn, I have no idea since BMR is off and my main exercise (elliptical), I have no idea either.

So back to the original topic, Would a fitbit be beneficial?  Based on steps, heart rate, whatever else it uses, is it possible to get it to give me an accurate measure of my calorie burn?  At least more accurate than my current menthod of a made up BMR + whatever my phone's google fit picks up (which is basically steps)

[Dominique]

As an activity tracker, a Fitbit (especially one with HR monitoring capabilities) will certainly give you a better picture of your overall activity than a phone + Google’s app. This is because you will be wearing your Fitbit 24/7 and it’s designed specifically for that purpose.

As to quickly losing another 10 lb, I don’t see the rationale in such a move: if your problem is significantly reduced metabolism (because of the rapid weight loss), it would only make things worse. Also: the law of diminishing returns apply. Weight loss is "easy" at the beginning, but the more you lose, the more difficult it becomes to lose further. You already saw that with the "last 20 pounds", why would it be any different with another 10 on top of that?

[eng3]

So the fitbit would still be off because my calorie burn is still abnormal.  But it should give a better estimate.

The other thing is that I am on beta blockers so my HR is artificially being reduced and it is more difficult to make it go up.

[Dominique]

Yes, it would likely be off, but consistently so, which means it would still be a useful tool. Even for people who have no medical conditions, take no drugs etc., calories burned are still an estimate / Fitbit’s best guess.