New to Fitbit and need some help with deficit

[yablomx10]

Hi all,

I just bought a Fitbit Charge HR yesterday after having and using a jawbone UP2 for over a year. I log all my foods in MFP and exercise at least 4x week for an hour. I've recently hit a wall with weight loss so I got the charge HR in hopes when I work out I can stay in target HR levels. When I set up the device and app yesterday and looked at nutrition I was kind of puzzled with the 1,000 deficit. MFP gives you your goal and doesn't really mention deficits. After reading up on it, I understand what it is. My question being is 1,000 cal deficit too aggressive or dangerous?

My info:
Female
Age: 24
Height: 5'4"
CW: 186 lbs
GW: 130 lbs

Any thoughts, tips, recommendations?

[Dominique]

I think the difference between MFP and Fitbit is that MFP has built-in safeguards that will prevent you from choosing an unrealistic deficit, whereas with Fitbit, you tell it how much you want to lose, in what time frame and it will let you have whatever deficit is needed based on that, even if it’s way too high.

Your personal data would put your BMR at 1565 calories. If you were to be highly active, you could burn up to 2700 calories per day, in which case you would still have 1700 calories to eat. However, I would personally start with a more reasonable deficit, for instance 500 calories. How much did MFP want you to eat? What kind of daily expenditure did you get in average with your Jawbone, and how does that compare with what your Fibit says you burn (based on your activity level)? 

[JohnRi]

Ok, here are a few things I can throw out there.  First of all I've been running a 1000 calorie deficit since January.  And it's not easy.  My BMR keeps dropping, so now if I don't exercise daily, I can't make that goal.  I eat around 1800 calories a day, and burn 2400 to 3400 calories a day.  If I eat less than 1800 I'm often hungry, at 1800 I'm rarely hungry.  So that was my magic minimum. 

But I'm about 43 lbs from my goal, and a 1000 calorie deficit is really for those that are 40+ lbs overweight.  At 56 lbs from your goal, a 1000 calorie deficit would be ok until you get down to 40 lbs from your goal.  A 1000 calorie deficit are really for people that are in the obese weight range.  I'm still in that range for another 5 lbs. 

At 40 I'm switching to 750, and at 20 lbs from goal to 500, and at 10 lbs from goal a 250 calorie deficit.

It's going to take longer, but it will be healthier, and more importantly as I ramp my diet up to a weight maintaining diet, I'll be able to do it easier if I do it in little steps.

Depending on what you are eating now, you should start slow, like 250, then 500, then 750 and then 1000.  I did that over a two month time period.  So my body could adjust to the new lower calorie diet.

Since your fitbit is probably over calculating how many calories you burn, you might set a 1000 calorie goal, and eat a 100 or 200 below that.  But most would say as a woman do not eat below 1300 calories in a day. 

If you can't make your goal, you have to exercise.  I used to joke with my wife when I went out to exercise after work that I was going to walk and earn my dinner.  Time to earn my dinner...

[A_Lurker]

Since I started using it for weight loss I've found that the charge HR is pretty accurate for me.  If I look at the last 7 weeks it tells me that I should be losing 2.9 lbs a week (I'm at 3).  Too fast for me, but waiting to see if the original loss is just a start of loss fluke.

It can be tough though.  Although my step count isn't super high today, there been lots of lifting, carrying, moving stuff around.  ie. high heart rate, 137 active minutes.  With my weight that is up to almost 3900 calories burned and the day isn't over.  I suspect I won't get in the other 1100 calories it wants me to eat, but at the moment I'm set for a 1000 cal deficit and I'm not worried if I end the day 500 short.  However, I know from past experience that I can't keep up a larger deficit for too long a period of time.

[SunsetRunner]

Not too dangerous, not too aggressive.

It  all depends really, do you start fast and burn out or do you need to see fast results to stay motivated?

Most people cut too hard and burn out too fast.  I would personally start at 500, see how it goes for two weeks and reduce a 100-200 if you feel like you can go harder, rinse and repeat.

I have cut at defecits much larger than 1000 but I wouldn't advise that for everyone.  Crash dieting (I'd say 1000 cals+ defecit) ultimately cannot work long term for most people with jobs, families and a life outside of lying on the couch starving and feeling terrible.

Listen to your body, recognize it's a marathan not a sprint and pick a plan you can succeed with!