From skwigg's journal:
I do find the Fitbit burn to be quite accurate for me. It matches what I thought I ate and the days I spot checked this week (around 2,400 calories per day). My weight is stable. I think the accuracy would depend though on how much you're used to eating. Metabolic adaptation and all. I like to push the limits and encourage a healthy metabolism by eating the most that I can while achieving the results that I want. If you do the opposite and restrict as much as possible, and your body becomes as efficient as possible at getting by on few calories, the Fitbit numbers might seem insane. I'm grateful for people like Layne Norton who talk about reverse dieting and increasing metabolic capacity. It's refreshing when the whole crazy world seems to be screaming, "eat less, be afraid, watch out, restrict, 1,200 calories per day, no sugar." Screw that. LOL I'm not falling for it anymore. That's a recipe for disaster, not health and vitality.
"Skwigg, I was just re-reading the paragraph you wrote about metabolic adaptation. I'm interested in having a fiery metabolism--a healthy appetite, high energy, and good sleep. I want to eat enough to fuel fun, high intensity workouts, but also to just keep me going through the day and keep me in a good mood.
I do think that my body has adjusted to a lower caloric intake, which I've been giving it for quite awhile. Do you have any suggestions in helping my body adjust to a higher (but not ridiculous) caloric intake without going nuts? I know that 'eating more to lose more' is NOT thing. Been there, done that. I do think though that I would feel a lot better and have more energy during the day and for workouts if I ate more. Do you suggest hopping right into it or slowly increasing food, while paying attention to hungry/satiety?"
I suggest doing whatever feels most comfortable and doable. Focus on cultivating habits that work for you. Those tend to stick most effectively when we scale them to our current abilities and receive some immediate reward for our actions. For example, when I eat a satisfying breakfast, I have plenty of energy for my workout and I don't want to murder people. So, that's incentive to do it every day. Think about the rewards associated with your actions. It's more pleasant and effective than if you "have to" or "should" or just picking out some arbitrary calorie goal. You can't go wrong with eating to feel good. I could tell you all about what that looks like for me, but that doesn't mean my way will feel good for you.