Question: BMR versus Calories Burned

[TerriLR]

I just started using a FitBit Zip a few weeks ago.  I calculated my BMR to about 1560.  Today, I have walked 4,200 steps so far, and the dashboard shows my calories at 1596.  Does that mean 4,200 steps only burned off approximately 36 calories?

Or am I not reading it right? (Do I have to enter the food eaten, for example).

Thanks!

[Esya]

FitBit only shows the calories you have burned so far for the day. So if it is 11 am, it won't show the 1560 calories for calories burned from your BMR, but 11/24th of that (715 caloried). At the end of the day it will show the total amount.

You don't have to enter the food eaten to get the calories burned.

[Dominique]

BMR is what you burn in 24 hours doing nothing. Fitbit estimates your total calories burned in real time, starting at Midnight. Total calories are BMR + calories from your activity (both formal and informal, aka NEAT). Calories burned are reset at Midnight (like steps and everything else), so tomorrow is another day. You only need to log your food intake if you want to compare calories in vs. calories out, for instance for the purpose of losing weight.

[Mukluk4]

If you have an iphone, there is an app called Power Sync that will port Fitbit activity into the Health App.  This will give you a breakout of BMR and activity calories at the point in time which you sync.  

It would be nice if Fitbit were to integrate this into their app down the road.

[EmjayH]

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@Mukluk4 wrote:

If you have an iphone, there is an app called Power Sync that will port Fitbit activity into the Health App.  This will give you a breakout of BMR and activity calories at the point in time which you sync.  

It would be nice if Fitbit were to integrate this into their app down the road.

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Awesome. Thx 😊🤗

[TerriLR]

For clarification then, when I see 1,900 calories burned after I've walked say 4,000 steps, it DOES include my BMR (resting) calories plus my steps burned calories - up to that point (from midnight to then)?

TerriLR

[A_Lurker · Accepted solution]

Yes, that's correct. At noon you could take half your BMR and subtract it from total calories burned. That would give you an idea of how much your movement is adding to your day.

[TerriLR]

A_Lurker (or anyone)-

How do I interpret the following from the Fitbit Dashboard? Does this mean I am burning only 1874 calories a day on average, when my BMR is about 1500- something?  So I really need to ramp up my exercise because it's only burning an extra 300-ish calories?  I am eating about 1100-1200 calories a day, mostly protein, vegetables and low carbs, and have lost 7 pounds in 6 or 7 weeks.  If I want a faster loss rate, I need to walk more? Thanks!

[A_Lurker]

I'm taking from your average calories burned that you're perhaps:  female, short, close to your goal weight.  Although it's nice to think that we can all drop 2lbs/week (or more) it can be much tougher for people whose BMR is lower to start with.  You don't want to eat too little and it's amazingly difficult to burn tons of calories (again this is assuming that you're already light to begin with).

On the very big plus side you've lost 7 pounds so far!

Those of us who burn lots of calories (I'm over 3000 today and it's not 7pm) also have a lot of weight to lose. I'm not sure how many steps you are doing, but for example - today I have over 15,000 steps and 170 active minutes. Let's say you're doing 10,000 steps and losing ~1lb a week.  Try increasing your average to 11,000 next week.  It's not going to make the pounds fall off, but every little bit helps.

[TerriLR]

Thanks!  I am short, female, late 50's -  but about 45 pounds overweight; not close to my goal weight.      I haven't been averaging 10,000 steps though.  More like 7,000  as I injured my patella and can't walk as long as I'd like to. 

I have decided to drop my carb intake to 50 - 100 g a day if possible.  I will see if that helps too.   I don't eat meat, so it can be hard to get enough protein. It's a combination of things, along with a mostly sedentary job (professor) BUT I do have dogs that I walk a few times a day, 10 to 30 minutes at a time.

I guess I just need to be patient!! 

[A_Lurker]

@TerriLR- 10,000 is an arbitrary number.  It takes most people more effort to burn 500 calories than they would think.  Anyway, if you keep doing what you are doing, next year you'll be at your goal and will have built some great new habits.  If you try and sustain eating or exercise habits that you can't keep up there's a chance you'll give up and be doing the same thing next year.

It's only an opinion, but new sustainable habits are the way to go for permanent weight loss.  Best of luck!