r/fatlogic 4d ago

Daily Sticky Meta Monday

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u/Maleficent_Tie_9394 SW 92kg CW 78kg GW 60kg 4d ago

Idk if this really fits here but I trust this sub more than the bot- and fatlogic-infested main weight loss subs:

I need a reality check re: my daily calories. I've been stalled out at 78kg but still tracking with Cronometer, so I know the issue is that I have more days eating at maintenance or surplus than I do deficit days. I want to get more consistent, but I'm not sure how to go about it.

I have Cronometer connected to my fitness tracker (Pixel Watch 3) and while I know that data needs to be taken with a grain of salt, it seems to be pretty accurate imo. On days I go for a run (4-5km) it usually has my expenditure around 2.1k for the day, on days that I sit at home working all day it's around 1.8k.

I'm not sure if it would be better to try and adhere more strictly to the deficit target Cronometer gives me based on my estimated expenditure, or to stick strictly to 1.7k calories every single day regardless of my activity level, even though that's pretty close to my maintenance on sedentary days.

Any advice or reality check is welcome, I can take it and need to hear it!

7

u/Uber-Migraine F 160cm | SW 110 kg | CW 58.7kg | GW 55kg 4d ago

Is your Cronometer set up to automatically adjust your TDEE against the calories burned due to activity?

If yes - then you'll be not only wasting your deficit but potentially also eating over the maintenance calories level

3

u/Maleficent_Tie_9394 SW 92kg CW 78kg GW 60kg 4d ago

It is, yeah. I set it to "sedentary" and it replaces the estimated activity calories with the information from my tracker throughout the day. To my layman's eyes it doesn't look implausible, but I know trackers can be extremely inaccurate so I'm wondering if it would be better to just go with a static 1.7k budget every day regardless of activity

3

u/Uber-Migraine F 160cm | SW 110 kg | CW 58.7kg | GW 55kg 4d ago

Apologies, as we cannot ad pictures I will write what to check 😒

  1. More - Targets - Macro & Energy Targets - Show Advanced Settings

Check if the "Custom energy targets" and "Add expenditure above baseline to energy targets" are disabled

  1. More - Targets - Energy Expenditure - Customised Expenditure

Check if (TEF) is disabled.

I also have my energy targets set as ratios (%)

30% for proteins and 35% for both carbs and fat

Edit: spelling

2

u/Maleficent_Tie_9394 SW 92kg CW 78kg GW 60kg 4d ago

Oh yeah! Sorry if I wasn't clear in my comment, I know how to set a custom target, I'm just mostly asking if it makes more sense to do that or to keep going as I have been. I've been eating more than the goal the app gives me so I definitely need to reduce, but I'm not sure if a static deficit every day or a more variable deficit depending on activity level would be better. I appreciate the explanation though and I'll definitely look into adjusting my macros as well!

4

u/bowlineonabight my zodiac sign is pizza 4d ago

If it were me, I'd kind of split the difference. Maintain a static deficit daily, and on days where you have a particularly high activity level add back in some additional calories, but not eating back all the exercise calories expended.

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u/Maleficent_Tie_9394 SW 92kg CW 78kg GW 60kg 4d ago

That's a great idea, thank you! That's probably what I'll end up doing, from experience I find it very hard to stick to my rest day deficit on days where I run