Help setting up food and activity burn plan

[Telly2]

I am finally getting around to using my fitbit as more than a watch, heart rate and step monitor.  I have been reading through lots of threads and articles on here but just need a couple of things explained to me.

The details:

I am 46F, 5.6, 174 pounds and want to lose about 20 pounds over the next 10-12 weeks.  My goal is to fit my ski pants when the season starts in July (I'm in New Zealand) as well as lots of other winter clothes sitting in my wardrobe.

I have a trainer written weight-loss strength program for the gym and have been doing this 4 times a week for about 3 weeks before the last 3 weeks when I was away for work and holidays so didn't do any.  During the start of my programme I actually have gained weight on the scales (I am ok with this as all my reading indicates it's normal when taking on a strength program although it is frustrating and disheartening when you're working hard at the gym!).  This strength program has replaced my previous 2-3 sessions running on the treadmill a week.

I have set up my fitbit for a 500 calorie deficit as this seems suited to the amount I want to lose and to keep me on track.  I wonder though if I should go for 750.

I used this tool (http://www.fat2fittools.com/tools/bmrtdee-metric/) to calculate my BMR at 2204 (based on moderate exercise).

My main question is what do I set for my activity calorie burn and how do I work this out?  Are there any other things I haven't calculated for?

I think I have my head around what I should be seeing on my tracker to stay on target.  I should have my arrow in the green by the end of the day.  Is this correct?

Thanks

[Telly2]

I have taken some screen shots to show what I am confused about:

This is the report for Monday & Tuesday's food intake:

And the shot above is what I have in my weekly summary.  Is this because I did a gym session each day and have ended up with extra calories consumed?  Is this the number that should read -3500 (if I am doing a 500 calorie deficit) or should it be as close to 0 as possible?

[Telly2]

Can anyone help me out on this one?  Thanks

[ThatGreen · Accepted solution]

As a 46 year old woman at 5'6 and 176 lbs, your basal metabolic rate (BMR) is currently ~1500. This is roughly what you burn just by being alive and you'll burn it even if you were to sleep all day. It's also a decent estimate of how much you should eat every day because you need to at least fuel basic bodily functions.
The number you calculated to 2200 is most likely your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) which is your BMR x activity factor.

If you stay on a deficit of 500 calories, you can expect to lose ~1 lbs per week. 750 = ~1.5 lbs and 1000 = ~2 lbs.

If you eat 1500 calories every day, you'd create that 500 calorie deficit and lose that 1 lbs if you burned 2000 calories that day.
I personally have my 'calories burned' as my main goal and I would recommend this so you'll know how far along you are and your Fitbit will notify you when you hit this goal.

As for your screenshots:

On monday you burned 1859 calories, but ate 1428 which created a 431 deficit for that day.
On tuesday you burned 2292, but ate only 1169, creating a 1123 calorie deficit.

You want that minus sign to be there. In your case, with a 500 calorie deficit, you want it to be around -3500 on Sunday at 23.59. Your number there includes the current day, so this will change as you burn more or put in more food.

I hope this helped you some. Feel free to ask any questions if you have more and I'll try to help you as best I can

Ps. Don't be worry about the initial weight gain. This is very normal when starting a new exercise program and is most often your body retaining more water as a way to heal your muscles.

[Esya]

I you want to eat at a 500 calories deficit and you have set up your plan like that, then yes your arrow should end up in the green. When it is below in the yellow the deficit is larger. You can have your food plan at two different settings. In your top screenshots you see a cog wheel on the right hand side. Here you can chose between sedentary and personalized. Sedentary means that it will only show the amount of calories you burned after burning them. Personalized estimates how much you burn on average and then adjusts when you are more or less active than usual.

So yes, you are right that you should try to hit the green when you aim for your deficit and try to have the difference as close to 0 as possible. The app already took the calories deficit into account for you.

[Telly2]

Thanks.  So to sum up, my weekly deficit at the end of my designated week should be -3500 if I am aiming for a 500 calorie deficit and -5250 if I go for a 750 deficit and -7000 for 1000 deficit?  However, my daily calorie allowance is calculated to take this deficit into account by my fitbit - ie I don't have to minus another 500 (or whatever) off my daily allowance as it's done for me?

[Esya]

You got it. Also when you want to change your plan to 750 or 1000 you can do so in the app and you aim for the green again.

[ThatGreen]

I was going to make a comment on your readings Tuesday through Thursday of last week, which would have given you roughly 1000 calories to eat those days, which is very little, but I'm now thinking you weren't wearing your tracker at all these days?
So instead, a friendly reminder it's not generally recommended to eat below 1200 calories a day for a woman unless you're under the supervision of a physician. This is mostly to keep your basic body functions up.

If you're going for a 1000 calorie deficit, you should be burning a minimum of 2200.

Good luck!

[Telly2]

@Esya: apologies, I only just noticed you had also replied.  Thanks for your clarification also.  What are the pros and cons of sedentary vs personalised?  Which is likely to keep me on track better?

[Telly2]

You're right - I wasn't wearing my tracker last week.  I didn't go to the gym as we had visitors, I hadn't got motivated and I was sitting around drinking wine and eating snacks with my sister-in-law while she was visiting!  I am definitely not going to starve myself.  I want steady weight loss but know I need to eat enough to keep me mentally healthy and functioning at work and running the household!  

[Esya]

That is up to personal preference and I suggest you try both out to see which setting suits you best. I think that with sedentary you have a higher risk of eating less than your plan where with personalised you have a higher risk of eating more than your plan. 

[A_Lurker]

@Telly2- I basically use the sedentary option and remember that early in the day your calories to eat can be super low if you have a high deficit.  As already said, the personalized can be good if you're consistent, but lets say you work out (or do steps) late in the day every day it will give you more to eat.  Then the night you don't work out you'll end up over for the day.