[ChasingAmy]

I started the calorie counting on July 5th. So far so good! My question is, on fit day it measures basal/lifestyle/activities. Do I want to burn more calories than I've eating in just the activities or does the basal and lifestyle calories burned count too?

I'm so determined to lose weight I just want to make sure I'm doing it right!!!

Please Help!

[jillybean720]

All calories burned are calories burned, whether it's lifestyle, basal, or activities, so they all count. However, just a word of caution regarding fitday--many people find that fitday seems to overestimate calories burned in a day. I know a lot of people who set their lifestyle to "sedentary" to get a more accurate count, even if they are up and moving about at work and such during the day. Also, you may want to be sure you add the activity of sleeping for however many hours each night, as that will also decrease your calories slightly since you burn fewer calories while sleeping than when awake.

[determined2succeed]

Welcome, Amy!

Here's how it works... as long as you are "burning" more calories than you "consuming" then you will gradually lose weight.

Now, that does not mean you have to "excercise" away the same amount of calories that you "eat". In fact, that would be virtually impossible -- you'd have to run on the treadmill for a few hours and then some to burn 1000-2000 calories. SO, the goal is to have a DEFICIT.

Your body itself, whether you excercise at all or not, is burning calories every day. In fact, it burns 15 * (body weight) every single day. What you need to make sure to do is have your body BURN MORE calories than it CONSUMES.

Let's take an example to make this real and not just theoretical:

It looks like you weigh 202 lbs right now. Your body alone will burn 3030 calories PER DAY automatically. (202 * 15). So, if you eat 3030 calories per day, your body will burn ALL of it which will leave you at the same weight (since 3030 calories - 3030 calories = 0 & you have 0 deficit)

What you want to do is eat LESS than 3030 calories so that there WILL be a deficit. For example, if you at 2500 calories PER DAY, you would have a deficit of 530 calories per day. That is just from food intake alone. If you excercized AS WELL, then you could add that to the deficit.

3500 calories = 1 lb whether you gain it or lose it.

GOAL - have the overall calories in a day/week be LESS than the overall calories that you burn (your own body + excercise)

Hope this helps!

[jillybean720]

whoa, now...15 times your body weight is accurate only if you are EXTREMELY active, in which case you do not add to that the calories burned during exercise because it's already included. Typically, your body burns between 9-12 times your body weight without additional exercise every day--every body is different, but that is a ballpark. A lot of people use 10 as the multiplier. I know even I would gain weight if I ate 3000 calories a day, and I weigh MUCH more than 202

Also, such generic multipliers are typically accurate for bodies that have "normal" composition. By being overweight, we don't burn as many calories (as in percentage of your body weight, not actual number) as our normal weight counterparts because fat does not burn as many calories as muscle, and we've got higher percentages of fat.

[ChasingAmy]

Well, I changed my lifestyle to sedentary, although I am pretty active having children and always on the move, I still don't want to kid myself.

At any rate, here is my online journal... so far! I haven't weighed myself but I am getting a new scale tomorrow so I will to it then and start with that weight.

Blessings,

Amy
http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJ...r=ChasingAmy78

[chick_in_the_hat]

I love fitday....except for the calories burned part.....I have myself set at comatose but it still says I burn way more calories than my body says I can. I'm just saying everyone is different, and I don't want you to be disappointed if you put too much trust in Fitday's calculations.

[Philosopher]

I was also wondering about this. Thanks for clarifying.

[aphil]

Yes, the only way to TRULY know exactly how many calories you burn in a day is with special equipment they actually hook up to you. Fitday, calorie calculators online, and calories burned monitors on treadmills and other fitness equipment are only guestimates-everyone is way too different for them all to be accurate.

[Meg]

Aphil's right. A recent study found that - in reality - women vary as much as 700 calories per day from what's predicted by a metabolic calculator and men by as much as 1000 calories per day. That's a pretty big margin of error!!

Why not just pick a reasonable number of calories ( the American College of Sports Medicine recommends 1000 - 1500 daily though someone who's very heavy may choose to start higher) and plan for the recommended 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous daily exercise ( Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005)? See how your weight loss goes and tweak accordingly? Honestly, I would have gone long ago if I used Fitday for anything other than just keeping track of calories.

[ChasingAmy]

Thank You Everyone!! I have lost a lb as of last night, and i'm feeling so motivated to lose that 66 more! I woke up this morning had a serving of oatmeal and headed to the gym where I did the eliptical machine on weight loss mode for 10 minutes. I'm hoping to gradually work myself up to 30.

I will just focus on fitday for counting calories.

You are all so awesome and inspiring.

Meg, I saw your before and after the other night and I am so inspired by you! Congratulations on your hard work and determination.

Amy

[Meg]

Thanks, Amy! You're on your way to getting rid of those 66 pounds forever!!