Calorie totals for the last few days.

Fri 7/23 log:

Sat 7/24 log:

I'll take 5 6" spicy italians for 600 cals please.

Lol
I'm only eating partial sandwiches, 1/4, 1/2, 3/4

spaghetti

You've made terrific progress, so I don't know that I'd worry too much it. Just adjust caloric intake as needed to keep up your progress.

You're showing daily calories burned around 2600-2800 most days. I think your BMR is around 1650 calories or so, now that you're 188 lb (I don't have all of your info for the calculation, so that's an estimate). You may be burning 950 to 1150 kcal per day through exercise (as that includes walking), so that could be right if that's how you're arriving at your daily calories used. If you're just assuming you exercise that much, that could lead to an overestimation.

I'm not discounting the possibility that your metabolism is temporary more efficient. I'm just suggesting starting off by checking the numbers. If all else fails, you can compare expected weight loss to actual weight loss and adjust your TDEE (or BMR and add exercise to that) accordingly.

I would have thought 2,000 is on the high side for BMR, my random guess would be around 1,500.

Arjun mentioned ITT that he thinks Fitbits materially over-estimates calories out. I've been too lazy to check for myself, but I think that is likely to be true for me as well. (If my Fitbit estimated deficit is around 300 a day, that seems to be around maintenance, although I haven't examined the data closely enough to be sure.)

It doesn't really matter what one's BMR is; or if Fitbit under or over-estimates calories out - the key thing is to look at some real-life data and adjust as appropriate.

Yep. It's closer to 1650, give or take. I'll edit the post accordingly.

Yes, it doesn't really matter. Just track everything and use real-world results to adjust.

For the past two weeks my average calorie intake was 1218 and had a 2.4lb loss over the two weeks. That puts my TDEE at 1818(my BMR would be around 1200), this is about 1000cal/day less than what Fitbit is giving and is pretty damn low. This is with an average of 10.2k steps per day.

It's period week so water retention is having an affect. When I log consistently for a few more weeks I'll get a better idea of my actual TDEE. I'm already so low on calories and don't want to go below 1k intake, I'll have to increase exercise.

You walk 5 miles per day? Wat.

You use to walk 5 miles per week.

Maybe do the same calculation for the past four weeks? It's called a period because it's periodic, of course, so getting one cycle should negate that (as four weeks ago you were presumably retaining water too). Or, go from six weeks ago to two weeks ago to be clear of that effect but still at one cycle?

On 7/18, you were 188.1 lbs (congrats). One 6/20, you were 193.9 lbs. So, that's a delta of -5.8 lbs (congrats ). That's 1lb/month more than your past two weeks (-2.4 lbs/2 weeks). Adjusting your calculations accordingly, your BMR would be 1325 cal and your TDEE would be 1943 cal.

You could be missing added butter, oils, and other condiments in your log, or could be underestimating portion sizes. Or, you could be running a bit more efficiently (i.e. slower metabolism). And, of course, your FitBit could be optimistic. Maybe check to see that it has your current weight. And, if you can't find anything from any of that, just adjust the data by your weight loss and go with it, as you have been.

Nutritionally, I'd consider replacing sugary drinks with low calorie versions and using those formerly wasted calories on stuff more protein-rich. You'll be more satiated and have the building blocks you need while on a caloric deficit.

Yeah, I only have two full weeks of logging cals and need to get 4 more weeks for an accurate TDEE.

Sugary drinks are still my Achilles heel and should be the first thing gone with any weight loss attempt. It's harder when playing tournaments and trying to get a quick energy fix during breaks.
I still drink diet sodas non stop throughout the day. Quitting smoking has to be first and then weening off sodas.

Lol at weening off soda. Grow a sack and quit both the smokes and soda today and move on.

Yep!!! It's mostly due to work. I try to get up and walk once an hour if I'm not already outside working on something. My attention span has also gone down these days and I can't focus sitting at a desk all day anymore, this has helped with not being sedentary all day.

It will have to be this weekend. I can't be at work on my period and having nicotine+caffeine withdrawals. I'm trying to avoid the ***** stigma that comes with being the only woman working with all men.

Sun 7/25 and Min 7/26 logs:

Last week's weigh ins:

There's always a reason. Funny how it works that way, eh?

Cooked tacos, black bean enchiladas, and a pork+carrot stir fry tonight.
2hrs of volleyball tonight as well.... trying to get us two teammates and it's worse than organizing a kids sports team. Looks like we will be playing with two newbies tonight, so we won't do as well as last time.

Mon 7/27 and Tues 7/28 logs:

Everytime you drink the vanilla coke, you telling yourself your gonna be a fatty for life. What would a fitness God do? He would go with the Zero version everytime.

Have you read Atomic Habits? These little bad habits of yours killing you. Time to see them. Time to kill them.

Yep. 568 calories from sugary beverages in one day is a total waste. That's over a half-pint of ice cream's worth of calories that is easily replaceable. Do they even taste better than the zero calorie versions?

And, maybe we should all reject sugary Vitamin Water on general principle. Their use of a healthy-sounding name on such a product strikes me as wrong on many levels. If you're choosing this for health reasons, definitely choose the Zero version, as regular Vitamin Water is certainly not so delicious that it merits the caloric intake.

Lol

The sugar sodas are gone....not buying them again.