Can we get a "Calorie Deficit" Tracking Option instead of "Calories Left"?

[usagisisa]

I had posted this elsewhere, but a moderator suggested that I post here as well.

I don't love the "Calories Left" tile and would rather have a BIG CURRENT CALORIE DEFICIT reading as part of the main dashboard, instead.  Why? The way that the "Calories Left" number is calculated can result in negative or low "Calories Left" numbers as the day goes by, depending on when you are active.  This is not a positive motivator for postive behaviour change, and isn't that supposed to be the point of quantifying your life?  If I know that I want a target 750 calorie deficit for a day, all I need to know is how I am tracking on actual calories in vs calories out in real time.  I don't want the additional projection on how many calories I should (or should not) eat, and in fact, the way that the "Calories Left" number presents itself provides an inaccurate and demotivational view and could lead someone to make the "wrong" decisions.

Example:    For anyone trying to lose weight in a healthy manner, eating small regular healthy meals over the course of the day is very important.  For my app to tell me that, because I ate my healthy breakfast and a mid-morning snack, I have low or even negative calories left for the day to eat; that is discouraging when lunchtime comes.  Even if in the back of my head I know that this number will continue bump up as the day progresses, and I am planning trip to the gym in the evening, at that moment in time, seeing that  negative or low "Calories Left" number makes me feel like I've done something wrong, when all I have been doing is living my life and eating small meals.   If I was only making decisions based on my app, then I might be hesitant to eat my 250 lunch, which is actually pretty small.  In this instance, the number on my app is not motivating the "right" action.

The problem is, the Fitbit doesn't know what I plan to do, like  work out at 7pm and burn an extra 400 calories.  Since I do most of my working out in the evenings, I'll always look "bad" for the better part of a day.  To go all day with the fitbit telling me that i am "over" because it doesn't know my plans an is calcuating what it "thinks" I should eat based on what it "thinks" I will burn (which is probably inaccurate) is demotivating.  I would much rather have the CURRENT DEFICIT showing in an obvious location.  So for example, if my calorie deficit goal is 750 per day, it is 4pm and I have only a 200 calorie deficit, I know that is is okay to still eat my dinner because I am going to the gym at 8pm where I'll burn an extra 400 calories.  I've had times where my fitbit is essentially telling me that I've eaten way too much and can't have dinner because it doesn't know I plan to go to the gym.  

In the end, it nets out at midnight, but the fact is the meter and the calories left reading can be demotivating, which is why I would rather have my deficit front and centre on the dashboard to help make informed eating choices.

Other contributors and moderators have pointed to ways to "dig" and find the tile or calculate the deficit, but it would be so much more valuable to have and option, particularly for those of us interested in losing weight to view a BIG, AT A GLANCE "Calorie Deficit" reading instead of "Calories Left".  It is the difference between positive motivation and negative motivation.  You have all the data available - would it be hard to offer this as an option?  Anyone agree with me???

[YojanaFitbit]

Hi @antodi, thanks for explaining why you would like to have the option to see the icon "Left to eat" getting filled as we eat rather than the opposite. I've moved it into a similar request. I think that a lot of users would like to have this option on their Fitbit devices. You can learn more about how Fitbit decides what suggestions get released in our FAQs.

Thank you again for your participation in the Feature Suggestions Forums.

[depp_thought]

A very easy solution to this problem would be to allow an "Easiest" option with 0 calories deficit. That would lead to the desired "pur" calorie deficit being shown (see picutre below).

A more sophisticated option would be to allow a custom calory deficit to be entered, e.g. not constrain the user to chose one the 4 options but allow a custom entered number, e.g. 115. But the 0 option above would be sufficient already.

[LizzyFitbit]

Hi everyone, and thanks so much for sharing this Product Feedback! While we don’t currently have plans to release this feature, we always appreciate the passion and creativity that comes out of this Community. Since we know this idea is important to many of you, we have left voting open to continue tracking interest and will post another update if anything changes. To learn more about how Fitbit decides which product feedback is developed, visit our FAQs.

We're always striving to enhance Fitbit products and services, and your input is a big part of that process. We truly thank you for taking the time to share your feedback with us.