Follow-Up: Weight Loss Colophon
Earlier today I published my weight loss colophon, where I outlined the tools I used for weight loss. It's a really long post and I enjoyed writing it, so please check it out. But, it's not "required reading" for this post.
One tool I left off the list was Excel (or any spreadsheet software of your choice - they all work the same). I realized this as I used it this morning to do some calculations. You see, your TDEE is essential for determining your daily calorie budget for weight loss. In the colophon I explained it simply: to lose 1 pound a week, you subtract 500 calories from your daily TDEE (500 x 7 = 3500, the approximate calories that equal 1 pound of fat).
I was talking to someone on the /r/loseit subreddit1 who mentioned that they add their FitBit activity data to Cronometer. I inquired further about the accuracy of FitBit (as compared to my Galaxy Watch), since burned calories tend to be overestimated with fitness devices / smart watches. They mentioned that FitBit's estimated average TDEE is in line with Cronometer's.
When I was resetting my numbers for August 1st, I was consulting different sources to determine my TDEE; I never considered checking against Samsung Health's average. After all, it has all the direct input needed to figure out my daily burned calories: steps, exercise, heart rate, etc.
So, I decided this morning to compare data sets. I set up an Excel spreadsheet and in one table entered Samsung's Total Burned Calories, and in another, Cronometer's. I found the difference between the two - and Cronometer was on average ~600+ calories above that of Samsung's. I saw the problem right away: my "activity level" in Cronometer was set to "Moderately Active".
Activity levels are assigned a multiplier against your BMR, and Moderately Active is BMR x 0.5. I changed the multiplier down to Lightly Active (0.375), and then down to Sedentary (0.2). I misunderstood how Cronometer's calculations work when I stopped counting my exercise calories to add to my calorie budget. When you're counting your calories back against your daily budget, you should set your activity level to "None". I clearly overestimated my activity level.
Anyway, with the activity level set down to Sedentary, my TDEE numbers between the two platforms are now more in line with each other - a difference of less than 30 calories. I'm going to monitor it for the month of August to see how it goes, but I suspect the data will continue to support the 'sedentary' activity level.
I hope this also means that it will mean better results on the scale. If any of this was unclear (and it's highly possible that I've muddied things up) feel free to reach out.
Reply by email
Or if you prefer, find me on Mastodon.
Remember that? I mentioned it as a resource in the post.↩