"in the zone" vs "under budget". I don't understand!

[MakingChanges]

I'm still confused about how the whole "in the zone" and "under budget" thing works. I set it to for losing 1.5 lbs per week. I have been "in the zone" once this week and "under budget" the rest of the time. I just don't fully understand it. Help please!

[SunsetRunner]

@MakingChanges 

The in vs out

Under

More can be eaten (up to 'in range' / green zone) to stay within the food plan, when being under the deficit will be larger than the selected deficit and more weight will be lost instead.

In zone

Stay in this zone to keep on track to stay within the desired deficit, when watching the food plan, you are able to see how many calories can be eaten for the day.

The zone chart only looks at the total intake / calories burned since midnight 'till (now). When eating more calories (according to the food plan allowance) more can be eaten but the chart can display being over at the moment since the body didn't burned as many calories yet.

When staying within the food plan, even when being over at the moment (eating more at dinner), it will drop back to 'within range' during the day.

Over

More calories have been eaten than the food plan (desired deficit), there may still be a deficit, and still loosing weight, but not as much as the selected weight loss plan..

Deficit: 500

Eat over with 200, there's still a deficit of 300 and still being on track to loose weight however the weight loss will be a bit less.

It's allowed to be 50 calories under or above the food plan to stay on track.

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[kay8455]

i do believe "Under Budget" is as bad as "Over Budget", the reason being, YOU need a certain amount of calories everyday and a certain amount of steps. SO Under Budget is either telling you EAT more calories or you need more STEPS to burn the calories you have already eaten. MY FitBit tells me to loose 2 lbs per week I have to do 10,000 steps everyday which burns about 1800 calories and then only eat 800 calories so I burn 1,000 per day x 7 days = 7,000 burned that translates to 2 lbs lost. Eat alot of veggies with yogurt dip or fat free ranch dip and the calories are very low. Hope this helps, Kay

[aurrore]

I suggest visiting an online BMR (basal metabolic rate) calculator to find your BMR, and don't eat below that. Your BMR is the calories your body just needs to survive properly, aka the amount of calories needed to live in a coma -- not the extra activities. If your "under deficit" amount is higher than that number, then it shouldn't be harmful. If it is lower, then definitely eat more. Sometimes, on really lazy days, fitbit wants me to eat below my BMR for weight loss, but I always make sure I hit the BMR number at the minimum.

I also wouldn't try to eat JUST at your BMR, since online caculators can be a little off. I always eat about 50-100 more calories than what it says my BMR is (on days I am just sitting around all day being sedentary). I have been successful in weight loss so far

[MakingChanges]

I appreciate all of the responses. I think I probably didn't wordu question as well as I should have. I guess I really just wanted to know that the pros and cons of being in the zone versus under budget.

[aurrore]

Under budget you will lose weight a little more quickly because it is a larger calorie deficit (pro), but if you're too far under budget it's unhealthy and can cause issues longterm (con). In the zone means you are at exactly how many calories your goal is to have in deficit per day so you're losing weight (pro).. can't really think of a con. Hope that helps more!

[kaelarenee7]

I have my Fitbit set for a weight loss of 1 pound a week, or 500 calorie deficit per day. I try to focus on not going over budget and don't worry about being in the zone as much since it's such a small range to try to fit into each day, especially with being active throughout the day.

I do watch how many calories I am under though on days when it shows me as under budget. If I'm about 600-800 calories under what I burned (so about 100-300 bigger deficit than what I have set), I don't worry about it because a healthy amount of weight to lose per week is up to 2 lbs, which would be a 1000 calorie per day deficit.

As other people have mentioned, you should find out your BMR and make sure that you are at least eating that many calories per day. That's another thing that I watch on the days that I end up under budget.

So, in my opinion, it isn't better or worse to be in the zone or under budget. As long as you are eating enough for your BMR and you don't have too big of a calorie deficit most days, you should be fine not being in the zone every day.

[kelfran]

That icon was so frustrating to me that I had to delete it off of my dashboard. I was only ever 'in the zone' a couple of times and spent most of my hours bouncing between under or over, depending on if i had just eaten and when I last synced. 

[dancefoxtrot]

Kay,

I agree with eating lots of veggies. I think that it matters what our daily goal for calories is. If we are at the end of the day and have a deficit of 200 cals but are over 1200 I don't see this as a problem. If we lose a little faster on 1-3 days a week but eat lean protein, lots of veggies and some fruit and a little whole grains we will be well nourished.

Any deficit is not a cause for alarm just a large daily ones over many weeks and months. That is based on the literature that I have read. DrFuhrman.com is an MD that cites research. Dr. Michael Roizen, MD. 

Barbara G

[dancefoxtrot]

Just looked up a BMR calculator and it gave me 1257 calories when I put in my height & weight. I think that is a little high but I need to know how long it takes for the BMR to slow down. In the body fat calculator I was below fitness zone but above obese just in the acceptable zone. Darn I'm aiming for the fitness and I think that I'll get there. 

Think that I'll log my food and look up my average calories in now.

All the best to you,

Barbara G

[WIP-on-my-A1C]

Where does Fitbit have info on BMR? I have not found this yet...

[kaelarenee7]

As far as I'm aware, Fitbit doesn't have information on BMR or calculating your BMR. You can do a search for calculating BMR online.

Here's a link for a site that can calculate BMR as well: http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

[Chrislapz]

If you are under budget then you certainly don't need more steps! I think what you meant is the following:

If you are under budget, you haven't eaten as many calories as you should have.

If you are over budget, you have eaten too many calories in comparison to your plan.

If you ate your last meal at 4pm, it could very easily say your are "over budget". By midnight though you would have burned more calories and you might be back "in the zone". It is important to look back at the days to see if you have been over/under/in the zone.

[WIP-on-my-A1C]

Thanks Kaela,

Appreciate the feedback and info. I have some homework to do !

I walk a fine line ... would like to loose 15 -20 lbs,

Drop my carb intake & Lower my A1C , but not crash & pass out doing it.

🙂   E.

[Heybales]

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@MakingChanges wrote:
I appreciate all of the responses. I think I probably didn't wordu question as well as I should have. I guess I really just wanted to know that the pros and cons of being in the zone versus under budget.

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If you picked a wise weight loss goal amount for amount you have to lose - in the zone can mean you are only losing fat.

Under budget means you are probably losing muscle mass too, especially if consistent in doing so, thinking it's better.

That will suck sooner and later.

But it's also a pretty useless tile, as it ONLY reflects that moment in time right then. And rarely do our meals and daily burn match up so nicely.

Lose that tile, use the one regarding your eating goal.

[almost2crazy]

Here is how i wrap my head around the 'under/in zone/over' budget thing...

Imagine someone has a base daily calorie intake/burn (BMI) of 2000...

Now imagine that person has some magic (perfect nutrition) crackers that are 1 calorie each...

(Also imagine that person stays in bed all day and adds no extra active calories burnt for the day.)

That person would need to consume 2000 of those magic crackers over the entire day (midnight to midnight), to maintain their weight and be "in the zone" at the end of that day.

The tracker breaks this into parts of the day.

To be "in the zone" all day, they would have to consume:

500 magic crackers by 6 am...

1000 by noon...

1500 by 6 pm...

and 2000 by midnight.

If they eat 900 by noon, the tracker will say "under" at noon, and the "left to eat" will say 1100...

If they eat 1100 by noon, the tracker will say "over" at noon, but the "left to eat" will say 900...

But if they end the day with 2000 magic crackers consumed, they will be "in the zone" for the day, and "left to eat" should be 0.

Just remember...

Any extra calories that person burns, by lets say jogging to the kitchen to grab their box of magic crackers, they will have to add the same number of crackers to consume for that day.

Also, if that person has a food plan with, let's say, 500 calorie deficit to lose weight... they would have to subtract those 500 magic crackers over the entire day....

The more important thing to watch, in MY opinion, is the numbers nearing the end of the day. Being over and under could happen often during each day. It's just a matter of being at or near your goals by the time you go to bed or by midnight.

If the tracker says OVER or UNDER by the time you go to bed... then you have to determine by how much you went over or under for that day.

If you were over by only 1 or 2 hundred, then dont fret! You may still be reaching a deficit! Just not as much as the tracker wants. Also, you can always make a little extra push the next day to make up for it.... or simply adjust your habits so you can get closer to your goal in the future.

If you were over or under by a large amount... then perhaps a change in habit is in order. OR try a smaller deficit goal.

What ever the case maybe, DONT GIVE UP!

** Obviosly everyone will have a different plan and activity level, so don't follow my numbers above... that was just for easy number crunching.

(also that person should be more active then just lay in bed all day) lol 😃

I hope this helps some people understand the widgets a little better. and not confuses anyone.

To Health!

[Scootietoots]

That has got to be the BEST & simplest answer I have read on here!  Now, where do they sell these little magical crackers? Instead of Pokemon Go, maybe FitbitLose and we run around the neighborhood looking for said "Little Magical Crackers"!  Seriously 

[Heggybhoy82]

I've been500 to 900 under budget all week but I'm eating plenty , like breakfast, lunch, dinner and a snack will I lose weight??

[dancefoxtrot]

@Heggybhoy82

You definitely should lose weight at the rate of 1/2 to 3/4 lb a week.  Make sure you eat healthy foods like veggies and lean protein. Cut out empty carbs and sugars that cause inflammation and eventually Diabetes 2.

Develop a food plan that you can live with for life. Most people regain weight when they stop dieting so eat healthy in a way that you can maintain.

Best,

Barbara 

[Heybales]

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@Heggybhoy82 wrote:

I've been500 to 900 under budget all week but I'm eating plenty , like breakfast, lunch, dinner and a snack will I lose weight??

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If by budget you mean the eating goal Fitbit gave - and you told Fitbit you wanted to lose so much weekly - then your budget or eating goal ALREADY has a deficit built in to lose weight.

You going an extra 500-900 under even that may sound good - but a body will rebel against extremes - adapt - and cause you heart ache in the end.

A reasonable diet can lead to only fat loss (if you include some resistance training to tell the body you want the muscles).

An extreme diet (which it sounds like you are attempting) will cause some fat loss, and muscle mass loss.

You'll hate losing that later - that's one of the ways a body adapts to you eating TOO little - lose what burns more.

And you feeling full has little to do with your body being fully fed for your level of activity.

Many ways the body can fool you and not feel hungry, but that doesn't mean it doesn't need more to operate well and healthy.