clearwaterms

today I started using fit day. I put in my bike ride, along with my height weight and age, and it shows that I burned close to 3600 calories today. however, I ate about 2800 calories. today was not a healthy day, a temp lapse if you will, my normal target is between 1300 and 2300 calories, given that I previously guessed that I would burn around 2300 cal's a day prior to my bike ride, so if I average 1800 and with a daily bike ride, my outgoing should be in the 2500-2800 range. however this site is show that its closer to 3600.

whats the deal?

jaxgtr

Sounds like they use the same calculation as Garmin which is notoriously high, but they look at more than just exercise calorie burn. Their outlook is; if your breathing, your burning calories.

Askel

Fitday has been working pretty well for me for over a year now. These days I burn nearly 4000 calories/day according to them and eat about 3500. I've been losing about a pound a week.

Sometimes I think there's some slop in the numbers, but I can't tell if it's fitday overestimating the calories I burn or me underestmating the calories I eat.

Keep at it though, it's a good tool. If, over time, you learn fitday is about 500 calories off, just adjust the numbers accordingly.

Here's my public journal:
https://fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJourn...ml?Owner=askel

tuckervill

This is a really interesting site to poke around in and calculate your calorie needs. If you look around and follow links, you can find more interesting information. It's a little unusual in that the site is not very cohesive, but it's ad free.

https://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

clearwaterms

using this form, at lightly active I have a need for approx 3100 calories a day. BMR * 1.375. Fitday shows it closer to 4000. THats a pound a week swing.

fmbike

Hello.

Please understand my disclaimer BEFORE taking it as "Gospel" Pardon the pun. All of my observations are personal, anecdotal and need to be quantitatively evaluated for each person.

Yes ,Fitday, Garmin (and many others) numbers are high estimates. Plus (too) many do not take many factors into consideration. For example: Wind Drag(speed, drafting, etc..., Elevation +/-, bodyweight effects on rolling efficiency.

Is their site worthless? By no means. but I used their calculators for almost 4 months and was steadily gaining body weight, both muscle AND fat % even while maintaining a "calorie deficit" according to their calculations. Even worse was the realization that the more I rode, the heavier I got. Because I was "eating" more, too much even. And then you have the possibility/probabiity that no matter how much you exercise your body can only utilize so much food in a given time period, the rest has to be "stored" somewhere. I'd like to learn know more about this myself.

The best rule of thumb without getting scientific that I found (for me and my current weight and body-composition(265lbs ~21% BF) is to consume ~ 300 calories (about a Clif bar) per hour of cycling, a LITTLE more if I'm doing lots of climbs or really laying the hammer down. And a little more per/hour if I'm doing really long rides (5+ hours) Any more, my weight loss stalls, any less and I would get obtusely weak and nauseated in the latter part of the ride and post ride into the rest of the evening.

For those who wish to lean towards the scientific side, start with:

A BMR and V02 tests, Get a Powertap and start to track your numbers based on your actual scientific estimations.

Please share any more input/feedback you know of.

Good luck,
Ride hard my biking friends.

Frank

clearwaterms

well, a BMR and V02 tests might not be a bad idea, but a powertap is quite a costly expense (right?)

I didn't fully understand what you were saying, I am trying to monitor my calorie intake better and plan to use fitday as the program. My calculated BMR based on some website was just under 2300, add to that, my lifestyle using the harris chart I get a total calorie burn of approx. 3100. So my feeling is that if I can consume between 2100 and 2600 (figure my normal bike ride is 500 calories) I should be in a good target 1-2 pounds weekly weight loss. I realize that as my weight goes down, my caloric intake will have to be adjusted accordingly. I also realize that a Dietician would be a wise appointment to make (does insurance cover that?) but barring those things from happening, I am primarily looking for a baseline first, and will adjust accordingly later.

Askel

If that's all you want and you have no previous data on how many calories you burn, just pick any number. Anything will be wrong. If you honestly and consistently measure the calories you eat and the calories you burn, it should become obvious which way you need to adjust the baseline.

It's a very inexact science at best and your body will be changing constantly to screw with your results even more. Consistency over the long haul is what pays off. Like I said, I've been doing this for over a year, I couldn't tell you how many calories I'll burn today- but I got a pretty good idea about how many I'll burn on average this month.

(51)

I found Fitday to be very high, both in calories consumed and calories burned. So maybe it works out that way.

TheNJDevil

I got tired of the inaccuracy at Fitday, my Polar F6 HRM is way more accurate for calories burned.
--Fitday, 6 lbs gained, 3 months
--Polar F6 HRM, 6lbs lost, 2 months.

guybierhaus

I suspect successful use of Fitday will be affected by that old computer axiom of "garbage in garbage out". I started Fitday use back on Sept 12th. Being a bit of a computer/data junkie, I was very thorough and complete with my input. Even inputting my vitamin pills so Nutrition reads more accurate. I was disappointed the Calories In vrs Calories Burned Report does not have actual numbers. So maintain a separate spread sheet for that. I'm currently showing a 7 1/2 pound lost since Sep 12, and sure enough I was 242 when I started and 235 this morning. So for me it is accurate, or at least within my acceptable error limits. Now off to ride another 1000 calorie activity.

edzo

there is no such thing as a temp lapse

you are either serious and don't have lapses, ever

or you are just foolin yoursef

clearwaterms

i don't believe that at all. I have slowly changed my eating habbits, and have gradually reduced the number of soft drinks and calorie loaded drink consumption. As a result my weight loss has been slow, but its also not sudden, so sudden that you are likely to simply quit at some point in the future.

My temporarly lapse was that I had a few additional calories then my normal target because I had a full breakfast and a small bowl of ice cream as a treat. This is better then before when a normal to large sized bowl of ice cream was the standard 3-4 nights a week. Gradual change, just like gradual weightloss is the key to sucess.

This is a life style change, and life style changes dont happen overnight. People who quit smoking don't quit over night (some due, but those are the exception far more then the rule.) People use aids like drugs and plans where they reduce there nicotine usage until the body doesn't crave it any longer. Then they socially and mentally train them selves that they no longer want to smoke and bam they have sucessfully quit.

Food to me (and im sure alot of people here) is my version of nicotine, I love to eat, i love carbs, and love fatty foods. give me a cheeseburger with pan fried onions on a toasted kaiser any day over rabbit food with low fat dressing. But I realize that my quality of life in the long run is going to suffer if I continue to always choose the fatty mc-fatty burger vs. the salad with low fat dressing. I also realize that society will more readily accept me at a leaner and more fashionably acceptable weight. Call me foolish, Call me vein, I don't care. The primary reason I want to loose the rest of my excess weight is the health implications, however the other reason is, gosh darnit, i want to look good in a bathing suit.

Pinyon

I have found that the Fitday should be used as a general guide for counting both calories in and calories out. I think that the food calories are about as good as you can get anywhere (they just don't have FANTASTIC estimates for many things yet, and there are lots of variables at restaurants, etc.), but that everyone burns calories within a much larger range than they indicate. For instance: Fitday indicates that I should eat about 2800 calories a day to maintain my wieght at my current activity level, but I have found that if I eat more than 2400 calories a day I start gaining weight again. I just burn less calories while at rest, or something. I know people that have the opposite issue. They have to eat more than Fitday says that they do to keep from losing more weight and muscle mass.

I think that both Fitday and almost all HRMs are way too generous with how many calories that you burn while working out. I use it as an indicator, only. Following 3+ hour rides over multiple days, I have found that if I eat about the same amount of calories that Fitday or my HRM say that I burned each day, that I can actually gain weight after 3-4 days. I seem to burn between 75% - 85% of what either one says, even on long hilly routes or time-trial type speeds. Again, what Fitday and your HRM provide is just a guide, and you have to see what your body really does through trial and error. Both give you a starting point, though. I find that very useful.

jamimaria

I've used fitday kind of sporadically for the past year and I'm back onto the fitday wagon. I definitely agree that it doesn't seem to be accurate. For me, they say that my commute alone burns more than 600 calories a day and I don't think that is very accurate. It's also kind of bad for me to see that I'm using "3800" calories a day when I know that if I have more than 1800 calories in a day I won't lose weight.

lason

it doesn't calculate hiit at all. i've been doing spinervals and i know that in the 15 minute spinerval sessions i'm hauling my butt off i'll have ended up burning more calories than if i were to have softpedaled down the street on pavement but fitday only goes by speed and distance.

metal_cowboy

For the sake of comparison: I am 6'4" and 305: I burn 3500 calories(BMR) + 600-800 calories a day on the trainer or treadmill. I consume about 2500 calories a day, so my negative calories is about 1800. This has worked for me for the past two months; I have lost 35lbs and feel great. Good luck.

Wogster

Bike calories are hard to calculate perfectly, unless one has a power output recording device, as there are too many variables, there is a huge difference between riding downhill with a tail wind, and riding uphill against a headwind, there is a difference between a large (6'4, 310lbs) rider and a small (5'4, 98lb) rider.

kk4df

Same for me. I've been losing about a pound for every 3500 calories burned in excess of what I eat, so it's pretty close. It certainly helps me reign in the overeating when I start going over early in the day. Just tracking what I eat has been a big help. I've dropped 22 lbs over the past 10 weeks, and fitday has been a big help.

Tom Stormcrowe

The key with fitday, as well as any other online calculator, is to remember that it's a starting point that may or may not be accurate without adjustments in routine based on your results. Once you have a real data string, you know how much correction for your particular metabolism needs to be applied to the calculator results.

shog

I have the paid version of fitday (very similar to online version). What I have found that for me personally the activity numbers are quite high. The food calories for most foods are ok, you actually need to read the labels on your food and determine the accuracy. The home version allows you to enter custom foods which I have done for most of the foods I eat the most or that I have determined aren't accurate in the database. What I think these tools do best for you is it makes it easy to write down and track all that you eat everyday and trend them over time. As long as you are good at entering the numbers you can watch over time and tweak as necessary.

That said I think it is worth finding someplace that can help you determine your resting metabolism (how many calories you burn just to exist) and I also got my body fat % at the same time. I got it done pretty cheap through a local university. This gave me a hard number to shoot for and has allowed me to be pretty consistent on my weight loss. I initially used some only calculators and my nutrionist used a chart and both significantly over estimated my base metabolism.

Shog

MTB

I am in the medical field, this is what we use.

Basal Metabolic Rate: (you laid in bed all day doing nothing)

Female = 655 + (9.5 x body wgt in Kg) + (1.9 x hgt in cm) - (4.7 x age in yrs)

Male = 66 + (13.751 x body wgt in Kg) + (5 x hgt in cm) - (6.75 x age in yrs)

So calculate using your wgt now.

Calculate again, with the wgt you WANT to be.

The difference is the calorie deficit you need per 24 hours to lose & get to desired wgt, if you did nothing but lay in bed.



I have the paid version of Fitday, & in that you are able to put in the value calculated above, in here.

I agree, Fitday's default is way too generous for resting metabolic rate (RMR).

Thats because it really isn't the way they do it in the paid version if you analyse it.

They call RMR sleep 8 hrs + sitting 12 hours. Thats not the medical definition of RMR.

HTH

MTB

This is a pretty accurate RMR calculator (Harris Benedict Equation):

https://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/



This is how they say to use it:
https://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-ca...dict-equation/



This is how to use it for wgt loss:
Calorie Needs to lose weight
https://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-ca...ose-weight.php

kk4df

For me, FitDay has been plenty accurate enough. For every 3500 calories that I burn more than I eat, I lose about 1 lb. I have a Garmin 305, and it does overestimate calories. I import into SportTracks, and let it recalculate my calories. Then I make Fitday turn out about the same. I base the bicycling choice in FitDay not so much on speed as on effort.

I've been using it for about 3 months, and have over 20 lbs just by knowing what I was eating versus what I was burning. It works for me.