Okay, in your experience how accurate is FitDay's caloric output estimate? I'm assuming it is an average, with a +/- range. Mine says:

Basal: 2532
Lifestyle: 1139
Total: 3671

I get treadmill activity in most days that adds to that, as well.

Yesterday, I run a caloric deficit, according to this, of 2,338. Will be close to the same today. I may eat more calories some days, but usually if I keep my carbs in the 20 range, it's hard to get a ton more calories in. I have been in a 3-week stall, and have probably run carbs in the 30-40 range most of that. I'm trying to break the stall by going into induction level carbs.

Can the FitDay estimates for calorie use be counted on as relatively accurate? I'm worried that I will force starvation mode on myself if they are, and I'm really not hungry on the 1400-1500 calories I tend to eat on induction level carbs...and don't want to eat anything with a lot of calories to up that total since that makes it more difficult to contain the carbs...

I have tried to figure this basal thing out but gave up.

Hi Kryasdad

I love Fitday and it is a good guide to the calories your body needs to keep it going each day. I was initially surprised at how many we need. In the UK they do say that men need an average of 2,500 a day and that is for normal activity, therefore anyone who is overwieght is likely to use even higher levels because they use additional weight in carrying the excess pounds.

In my opinion you should be eating between 2,000 and 2,500 calories daily. Your stall for the last 3 weeks is probably because you are not eating enough. I do not recommend eating below the basal level as this is the essential calories your body needs each day. As you lose weight this level goes down and so can your calories.

If you are struggling to get your calories up then think about adding more fat into your diet. It is your friend here. Use butter, mayonnaise, cream cheese etc.

Every success.

I take the fitday.com estimates with a grain of salt. It doesn't take factors into account such as thyroid problems, medications, or history of chronic dieting that can affect your metabolic rate. It's useful to compare yourself from day to day, but it's not absolute.