Understanding FitBit Surge/MFP food-calories entry

isha_12

I would like some help with understanding the data for MFP and Fitbit.

My question is because FitBit is only sending the steps I take to MFP. When I do other types of workout like Zumba or Step Stairs or any other workout that I track separately on my Surge they do not show on MFP as calorie burned.
Example:
Yesterday I only took 6,148 steps. Thats because I stopped the step count when I did 20 min of Stairclimber, weight training and 30 min of Belly dancing. So, my Surge says I burned 1,961 calories but only 6,148 step. MFP only has my steps which account for 124 calories. So even though i have negative Calories adjustment, 124 cal compared to 1,961 is a big a difference. I prefer seeing my calories left in MFP and not FitBit

How can I have the right amount of calories burned on MFP the way it is on my FitBit Dashboard.

I appreciate the help

heybales

The ONLY thing Fitbit syncs to MFP is steps taken, and daily calories burned up to that point.

So your exercise is included, never fear.

Now weight training you should manually log on Fitbit or MFP, because the HR devices will inflate calorie burn.

The Fitbit calorie adjustment is NOT just exercise, it's the total difference between what Fitbit says you have burned, and what MFP thought you'd burn.

If you manually logged any exercise on MFP, then the adjustment will be less as it already knows about it. And that replaced whatever Fitbit has a burn.

Which it sounds like you are likely getting those workout burns from Fitbit, and manually entering them again. Don't waste your time do that.

shadow2soul

Fitbit sends over Total Calorie Burn, Steps, Weight*, Minutes of Sleep, and Body Fat %*.
*if you log them on Fitbit. Fitbit will pull weight data from MFP if you log it on MFP.

Your adjustment is the difference between your MFP estimated calorie burn based on Activity level and your Fitbit Calorie Burn. Example:



So for you, your fitbit calorie burn of 1961 was only 124 calories higher than what MFP thought you would burn for the day.

isha_12

Wuao, this sounds more complicated than I thought. I would like to know how do you suggest I log my daily workout using my Surge and MFP, what is the best integration? I log my food in MFP. It is definitely better and even though I have my Surge for my workouts I prefer seeing my progress and reports on MFP so in that case. Let's say I go to the gym today and do Zumba. I stop the Step counter and select exercise. Once I am done I put back the step counter. Should I enter the Zumba calories in MFP manually from what Fitbit says I burned? I appreciate your help

NancyN795

heybales has laid it all out in an FAQ:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10098937/faq-syncing-logging-food-exercise-calorie-adjustments-activity-levels-accuracy#latest

Long, but worth it.

isha_12

Thank you, I have read it several times and still do not know if I should log some workouts manually or let my Surge do the Math with HR. I understand that Weigh Lifting should be manually. But Zumba and belly dancing are not really steps base as I move other parts of my body a lot more that my feet sometimes. So I am not sure how I should log that.

NancyN795

I do Zumba every day and I do not log that manually. I let FitBit handle it and it seems to do just fine.

Assuming the Surge has an "exercise mode" like the Charge HR, just put it into that mode at the beginning (I hold the button on my Charge HR until it vibrates) and take it out at the end. That should cause it to use heart rate, rather than steps, to calculate caloric burn. Even if you don't put it into that mode, if it detects enough steps (as it will with Zumba) and your heart rate is elevated, I believe it will end up using the heart rate formula.

indianwin2001

NancyN795 wrote: »

I do Zumba every day and I do not log that manually. I let FitBit handle it and it seems to do just fine.

Assuming the Surge has an "exercise mode" like the Charge HR, just put it into that mode at the beginning (I hold the button on my Charge HR until it vibrates) and take it out at the end. That should cause it to use heart rate, rather than steps, to calculate caloric burn. Even if you don't put it into that mode, if it detects enough steps (as it will with Zumba) and your heart rate is elevated, I believe it will end up using the heart rate formula.

This is true.. I lift 5 days a week and always put it into exercise mode and the calories it spits back to me are just as accurate as my Polar HRM and in line with what calculators online say they should be. I disagree with the people who say the ChargeHR grossly inflates calories burned while lifting because mine simply does not.

shadow2soul

NancyN795 wrote: »

I do Zumba every day and I do not log that manually. I let FitBit handle it and it seems to do just fine.

Assuming the Surge has an "exercise mode" like the Charge HR, just put it into that mode at the beginning (I hold the button on my Charge HR until it vibrates) and take it out at the end. That should cause it to use heart rate, rather than steps, to calculate caloric burn. Even if you don't put it into that mode, if it detects enough steps (as it will with Zumba) and your heart rate is elevated, I believe it will end up using the heart rate formula.

Actually the Surge has a more elaborate "exercise mode". You can tell if it's:

• Run
  • Free Run
  • Treadmill Run
  • Lap Run
• Exercise (can only have 7 of the following on the device at any given time)
  • Weights
  • Elliptical
  • Workout (what I use for dancing and anything else that doesn't actually have an option)
  • Hike
  • Stairclimber
  • Circuit Training
  • Kickboxing
  • Yoga
  • Spinning
  • Bootcamp
  • Pilates
  • Tennis
  • Martial Arts
  • Golf
  • Walk

To the OP, you can always turn on the "Workout" option when you do Zumba and if you think the calorie burn is too high than just delete the log and replace it with a manual entry.

heybales

indianwin2001 wrote: »

NancyN795 wrote: »

I do Zumba every day and I do not log that manually. I let FitBit handle it and it seems to do just fine.

Assuming the Surge has an "exercise mode" like the Charge HR, just put it into that mode at the beginning (I hold the button on my Charge HR until it vibrates) and take it out at the end. That should cause it to use heart rate, rather than steps, to calculate caloric burn. Even if you don't put it into that mode, if it detects enough steps (as it will with Zumba) and your heart rate is elevated, I believe it will end up using the heart rate formula.

This is true.. I lift 5 days a week and always put it into exercise mode and the calories it spits back to me are just as accurate as my Polar HRM and in line with what calculators online say they should be. I disagree with the people who say the ChargeHR grossly inflates calories burned while lifting because mine simply does not.

How would you know?

Compared to another HRM using formula intended for steady-state aerobic exercise?

I would expect them to match decently. And both be inflated potentially bad, depending on how well you did the lifting workout.

The ONLY correlation between HR and calorie burn is when the heart must beat faster to supply more oxygen for the increased energy usage and calorie burn that is going on.

Lifting is anaerobic, without oxygen, and therefore the increased HR isn't related to that at all, and that's why it's wrong.

When you get done with a set of squats, and the HR takes 3 - 4 minutes to slowly lower down to a lower HR, but you are standing or slowly moving the whole time, was that HR really needed to be that high for that level of effort - standing?
Of course not. It was inflated the whole time it was dropping. So while it came up with say an average HR of 140, that's not the level that is normally needed for standing for 3-4 minutes.

Inflated HR, inflated calorie burn.

So while your personal experiences you feel says differently, and you may do your workout in such a way that by sheer coincidence the calorie burn could be a good estimate - that is not the truth of the matter at all.

So very misleading to claim that it should be fine for everyone.

If you want the study references as to what you really burn during a lifting workout, here they are.

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxjb21wZW5kaXVtb2ZwaHlzaWNhbGFjdGl2aXRpZXN8Z3g6MjdiN2Y3NzAwYTU1YWExZQ

If you want the study references as to the proper use of HRM calorie burn formula, just search Google for any study for that matter.

indianwin2001

heybales wrote: »

indianwin2001 wrote: »

NancyN795 wrote: »

I do Zumba every day and I do not log that manually. I let FitBit handle it and it seems to do just fine.

Assuming the Surge has an "exercise mode" like the Charge HR, just put it into that mode at the beginning (I hold the button on my Charge HR until it vibrates) and take it out at the end. That should cause it to use heart rate, rather than steps, to calculate caloric burn. Even if you don't put it into that mode, if it detects enough steps (as it will with Zumba) and your heart rate is elevated, I believe it will end up using the heart rate formula.

This is true.. I lift 5 days a week and always put it into exercise mode and the calories it spits back to me are just as accurate as my Polar HRM and in line with what calculators online say they should be. I disagree with the people who say the ChargeHR grossly inflates calories burned while lifting because mine simply does not.

How would you know?

Compared to another HRM using formula intended for steady-state aerobic exercise?

I would expect them to match decently. And both be inflated potentially bad, depending on how well you did the lifting workout.

The ONLY correlation between HR and calorie burn is when the heart must beat faster to supply more oxygen for the increased energy usage and calorie burn that is going on.

Lifting is anaerobic, without oxygen, and therefore the increased HR isn't related to that at all, and that's why it's wrong.

When you get done with a set of squats, and the HR takes 3 - 4 minutes to slowly lower down to a lower HR, but you are standing or slowly moving the whole time, was that HR really needed to be that high for that level of effort - standing?
Of course not. It was inflated the whole time it was dropping. So while it came up with say an average HR of 140, that's not the level that is normally needed for standing for 3-4 minutes.

Inflated HR, inflated calorie burn.

So while your personal experiences you feel says differently, and you may do your workout in such a way that by sheer coincidence the calorie burn could be a good estimate - that is not the truth of the matter at all.

So very misleading to claim that it should be fine for everyone.

If you want the study references as to what you really burn during a lifting workout, here they are.

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxjb21wZW5kaXVtb2ZwaHlzaWNhbGFjdGl2aXRpZXN8Z3g6MjdiN2Y3NzAwYTU1YWExZQ

If you want the study references as to the proper use of HRM calorie burn formula, just search Google for any study for that matter.

Well me personally,I don't really care what I burn when I lift.I ve been lifting for over 30 years and I don,t lift to burn calories as I am in maintenence for a good long time. However it's my experience with lifting that I feel the charge does not "grossely" over calculate calories. I understand about steady state vs. Anerobic which is why I don't care what I burn lifting but the charge is in the ballpark in my opinion based on my experience and I like to relay my opinion to people who care and need to know if they are trying to lose weight