More active=Fewer Calories? (fitbit question)

vgnfarmer

Hi there!
Any idea why I showed a bigger calorie burn on the day when I logged fewer steps, stairs and fewer active minutes? Puzzler. I didn't change any settings.
Thanks!

Amanda4change

There may have been an issue where it didn't log the active minutes correctly. I do know that the speed of your steps can increase the calorie burn number (so if you walked faster the burn could be higher, even though the distance and steps is less). For example if I run 3 miles I burn more calories than if I walk 3 miles (I also have less "active" time as running the 3 miles takes less time than walking them).

Oishii

Ooo... I had a look and I have a similar couple of days.

Oishii

Could it be number of 'very active' minutes?

infomancer

Are you logging exercise via the FitBit app? Unless I am mistaken (always a possibility ), the FitBit app appears to remove active minutes from the counter if I later log that time as exercise. I mostly see this when MapMyWalk syncs to the FitBit app: my calories burnt go up and my active minutes decrement.

If you are doing something similar either manually or via another app, that might explain the pattern above.

vgnfarmer

Thanks ariberio. Maybe it was the speed! That makes sense.
Oishii! You too! I only just noticed today so I wonder how many other days were like that. I only happened to notice because I was looking at the calorie adjustments on mfp and saw that Sunday I had a smaller adjustment even though (i thought) I had done more....

vgnfarmer

Infomancer, I'm just using the Force fitbit syncing to MFP. I don't use any other apps or manually add any exercise. Maybe I should have returned this force with the recall hehe

Oishii

aribeiro659 wrote: »

There may have been an issue where it didn't log the active minutes correctly. I do know that the speed of your steps can increase the calorie burn number (so if you walked faster the burn could be higher, even though the distance and steps is less). For example if I run 3 miles I burn more calories than if I walk 3 miles (I also have less "active" time as running the 3 miles takes less time than walking them).

I thought research had shown that the distance determined the burn, rather than the speed? So a walked mile and a run mile are the same burn.

brower47

Oishii wrote: »

aribeiro659 wrote: »

There may have been an issue where it didn't log the active minutes correctly. I do know that the speed of your steps can increase the calorie burn number (so if you walked faster the burn could be higher, even though the distance and steps is less). For example if I run 3 miles I burn more calories than if I walk 3 miles (I also have less "active" time as running the 3 miles takes less time than walking them).

I thought research had shown that the distance determined the burn, rather than the speed? So a walked mile and a run mile are the same burn.

They are close but not the same. Where the difference is really minimal is between different walking speeds (with incredibly fast paced walking being the exception) and different paces of running (sprinting being the exception for running).

Walking 3mhp vs 4mph will net roughly the same number of calories burned over an equal distance.

The same goes for running at 6mph vs 8 mph.

There is a difference between running and walking though since the mechanics of the two are different with running burning a bit more. It's not a huge difference but one worth logging the difference for.

Francl27

And this is why I stopped using my Fitbit. It just made no sense.

WalkingAlong

Floors doesn't count in to calorie burn at all, if that helps. It's a stand-alone metric, just for fun.

Steps or active minutes are not the determinants of calorie burn, which is why you can have a higher steps day and a lower calorie burn. It depends what it thought you were doing across the whole day. Impact, speed, minutes, etc.

maidentl

Oishii wrote: »

Could it be number of 'very active' minutes?

Yes, that is it. I don't know exactly how it works, I just know that I get more calories on days with more very active minutes. I have been walking 3 miles a day but this week I threw a little bit of running in there. Same distance, more calories. Makes sense to me.

vgnfarmer

That is what was puzzling me. On the day with 55 active minutes I burned less than they day with 1 active minute....oh well either way I just need to keep moving and tracking

vgnfarmer

Thanks WalkingAlong!

Liftng4Lis

Thank you all for helping me in my decision NOT to go with the fitbit. Whew! Load off my mind.

WalkingAlong

Would you feel better if it assigned calories as "X steps = Y calories"? It uses a much more sophisticated set of algorithms.