Solved: weight loss and calorie counting....

Thenry · ‎05-15-2014

Hi! I'm new to fitbit, just started this week. I've been keeping a food log for awhile and trying to maintain a 2000 calorie diet. I am quite overweight (over 100lbs to lose). I was really struggling with the diet though, I was constantly hungry and breaking my diet to binge on junkfood, and the closer I managed to stay to my diet the fatigued I was.

So here's where i'm curious, how exactly does fitbit calculate calorie burn? From activities like walking, i mean. I've only had my fitbit for one work day, but it tells me I walked 12.7 miles and burned 5000 calories over the course of the day. The milage is high but believable, I'm not sure about the calorie burn though, is that right? If it is, it might explain why I was so fatigued and constantly breaking my diet, if I've only been eating half of what I should be for healthy weight loss on my work days.

Another thing I could use some advice on, on my weekends I struggle to be active. I've made more of an effort this weekend but fitbit and I have different ideas of what 'very active' means. An hour long walk up and down hills only yielded 6 minutes of 'very active' today

and as far as eating on my weekends, if i'm not burning nearly as many calories I should eat accordingly, right? and if i'm really burning 5k calories on a work day, then if i'm understanding this right I should be eating 4k (assuming i'm going for a 1k daily deficit for 2lb/week weight loss)? how do you even do that without junk food? I have feel like i'm missing something important here

Heybales · ‎05-16-2014

It's mainly going to underestimate.

See, it uses an estimate of your body's burn rate while sleeping, and applies it to all non-moving time.

But when you are awake and non-moving you actually burn more.

So underestimated. The more non-moving time you have, the bigger the under-crediting for calorie burn.

Moving time, especially for walking, is going to be right on.

And with 100 lbs to lose, you easily could burn 5000 calories with that much walking, because you burn a lot moving that mass around right now.

And eating more than 50% less than your body expends in energy is a recipe for disaster.

Please only do that for 2 weeks max. And then move up to a more reasonable goal of 2 lbs weekly.

And I'd say right now, if you don't get 6 lbs of loss per week with that 3000 calorie deficit, you've already done some damage and get your eating level up to reasonable fast.

And be aware the first week should be a lot more water weight too, so should lose more than 6 lbs, like 10 or more.

That is exactly why you are hungry. And if you continue, your body will adapt and burn less daily than it could otherwise. You will be losing free calorie burn.

And the Fitbit will no longer be decently accurate for your daily burn, it'll be less than stated.

Don't do this. Long term success in losing the weight and maintaining will likely fail it's so hard.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2i_cmltmQ6A

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mimjoy · ‎05-16-2014

just keep loging all you eat and if you are in the yellow zone for calleries eat more but try and keep it healthy like fruite. good luck with your weight lose I have already lost over 1/2 a stone in 2 weeks and have a lot to lose I am aiming for 1lb a week but have been losing a lot more. and thats just from keeping the food log and cutting out crisps and chocolate.

Heybales · ‎05-16-2014