Weight loss feels impossible with low calorie burn, advice welcome

[Patagonia21]

Yesterday my calorie burn was 1275 according to Fitbit. Admittedly it was an unusually sedentary day, but even if I had gone for a long walk or done a class my requirements are low.

This makes losing weight feel impossible.

Advice welcome.

Bump up the exercise and that will help. I assume this was a really sedentary day? Also those metrics are never going to be 100% accurate so take it as an indication rather than a precise measurement. Day by day little by little you can make changes 💪

A stupid question, but are your details correctly entered into your FitBit account eg height, current weight, age, sex?

Your BMR would only be as low as 1200 or less if you were very short and older, and sedentary.

Yes, I’m 5’5 and older, female. I was surprised at how low it was yesterday! The machine at my gym estimated just over 1400 without exercise, which is more reasonable.

It is harder now not to gain anything, let alone lose. So frustrating when I think about how the pounds dropped off in my 20s and 30s.

Agree, the answer is to move more, but it was one of those days yesterday.

Thanks both.

Try adding weights now and then to build muscle. It will increase your basal metabolic rate. It doesn't have to be hard going, just push yourself a little. Juice & Toya are good for dumbbells routines (YouTube), or you could go for something more Pilates-based like Dansique.

I would just calculate your BMR and your TDEE independently of your FitBit using one of the online calculators.

Agree that increasing muscle mass will increase your BMR if you can find an exercise approach that appeals to you.

Fitbit estimates aren’t very accurate and often underestimate total daily burn.
Even with low activity days, your real maintenance is usually higher than what it shows, so weight loss is still possible with a small consistent calorie deficit over time.

You can lose weight without doing any exercise at all…as long as you are in a calorie deficit.

I lost over 4 stone when pretty much stuck to the sofa due to ill health. I worked out my TDEE, reduced my TDEE by 20% to get a weight loss calorie target, and stuck to it religiously. I’m not saying it was easy, but it’s doable when sedentary.

I am short and chubby, and estimates are that i need just under 1300 calories a day to loose weight at a gradual pace. As unfair as it seems, it does seem to be right, and my tracking my food meticulously, i am looing 1 - 1.5 pounds per week which seems reasonable to me. I have also built in walking where i don't really need to, and it's easy ti 'buy' a treat with enough steps over the day

Thanks all. My next steps will be to increase muscle and learn to properly calorie count!

Check out Cronometer.com, takes the pain out of calculating nutritional intake and targets!

@Beachtastic Thanks! Will look now 😀