Adding activity expenditure to baseline calorie intake?

[Bryan Dobson]

Jordan, First of all thanks for all of the information you produce and share. It is a great benefit to the community.

First of all Male, 46, 71.5” tall 223.4 lbs about 5 years consistent training since I restarted in 2012.



The question first then you can read the details if you want.

What is your take on increasing energy intake for activity levels?

I have never really tracked my food well, I estimated protein to make sure I was getting enough but otherwise simply eyeballed my food but it was becoming apparent I need to dial in my diet better.(body comp, performance and health outlooks staring at the road to age 50.

I am now using my fitness pal, it has been 4 weeks now, which I linked to my Fitbit tracker. The fitbit monitors my activity and training sessions and adds calories to the baseline. At first I was a little hesitant to follow the additional energy needs the tracker was giving me due to the reputation that it was inaccurate but eventually I ate a little more and more to conform to the recommended energy requirements due to activity and counterintuitively I am seeing results. I have lost 2.6 pounds. Waist is down an inch (4 weeks) my training performance and work capacity are improving.

I plugged in my baseline to lose .5 pounds a week which comes out to 2430 calories. However last week I ate an average of 3412 calories,( slowly up from week one @3100) Daily for the past week average macros were 258p 267 c 88f 40 fiber, the sum of the remaining calories would go to alcoholic drinks such as red wine and whiskey. Usually I aim for a few more carbs and less fat but I cooked a brisket this past weekend and adjusted.

Although I was hesitant to believe the recommendations from the tracker, the closer I get to consuming the recommended amount the better the outcome. I am just trying to get my head wrapped around what the science is behind this. I can’t argue with the outcomes so far.

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

What is your take on increasing energy intake for activity levels?

Don't do it preemptively.

[Bryan Dobson]

Don't do it preemptively.

I don’t know what I am doing well enough to be preemptive. I am trusting the technology maybe a bit too much though.

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

I don’t know what I am doing well enough to be preemptive. I am trusting the technology maybe a bit too much though.

Yea- there's no wearable tech that is sophisticated enough to influence training or nutrition management decisions. It's all junk being marketed by know-nothings.