Do you believe your fitbit calorie burn?
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Judging by the number of replies I think this thread has probably run it's course so I will simply say that after doing some basic spreadsheet number crunching I trust the the number that fitbit gives me. I have an HR.0
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ncboiler89 wrote: »Judging by the number of replies I think this thread has probably run it's course so I will simply say that after doing some basic spreadsheet number crunching I trust the the number that fitbit gives me. I have an HR.
The replies have helped me immensly! As for the negative calorie thing, you guys explained it so much clearer than than all the info pages I looked up. Thanks again everyone :flowerforyou: xx
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christinev297 wrote: »ncboiler89 wrote: »Judging by the number of replies I think this thread has probably run it's course so I will simply say that after doing some basic spreadsheet number crunching I trust the the number that fitbit gives me. I have an HR.
The replies have helped me immensly! As for the negative calorie thing, you guys explained it so much clearer than than all the info pages I looked up. Thanks again everyone :flowerforyou: xx
I'm sure the replies have been very helpful. What I meant is that I can probably add nothing that hasn't already been said. Just wanted to cast a quick vote.0 -
shadow2soul wrote: »christinev297 wrote: »ILiftHeavyAcrylics wrote: »christinev297 wrote: »For example Fitbit is accurate for walking, but underestimates for hiking. I use MapMywalk for hiking.
I eat back my calories if I'm hungry, but rarely do I eat all of them.
No worries about hiking lol I need to get a bit fitter yet.
I don't have negative calorie adjustments activated. I have read the explanation, but don't quite understand what it means. So I just left it unticked
It means Fitbit giveth and Fitbit taketh away. :laugh:
If you're not active enough to reach your calorie goal it authorizes fitbit to take away calories.
Oh how cruel!
I'll just leave it unticked then 
While it may be cruel, it definitely motivates me to stay active.
When I received my first Fitbit (a Zip), I had MFP set to Sedentary and it would still take away calories. It opened my eyes to how much of a couch potato I really was. I'm at least lightly active now, but I probably wouldn't have changed if it hadn't kept taking away calories and sticking it's tongue out at me.
I agree. My FitBit takes away calories until I get around 5,000 or so steps. I make sure I get enough steps to get into a positive adjustment.0 -
shadow2soul wrote: »While it may be cruel, it definitely motivates me to stay active.
Indeed! Enabling negative adjustments motivates me to get more steps in earlier in the day to get rid of the penalty.
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Enabling the negative calories can help you if you're ahead or behind where MFP expects you to be. If you tend to get most of your activity in the evening, you'll be negative until then. You 'see' this even if you don't have then enabled. Because seeing 0 as an adjustment means you have not yet gotten ahead of MFP's expectation.
I don't usually end the day with a big adjustment - but I make sure to end with higher than 0.
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I have the Fitbit One and I wear it clipped to my bra...for the sake of my story I will add that I am fairly big breasted. One day last week I took a road trip, about 4 1/2 hours riding along bumpy mountain roads. The rest of the trip was spent sitting in an office doing paperwork. When we got back from said road trip, I had apparently taken 9999 steps & climbed 51 sets of stairs. Suffice it to say I do NOT eat back my fitbit calories anymore
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I accept it may not be 100% accurate, but since I typically lose what I should based on my calories in and what my fitbit says my calories out are, I trust my calories burned. It also does seem to average out to be close to what most tdee calculators say I should eat to maintain weight.0
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serenity1097 wrote: »I have the Fitbit One and I wear it clipped to my bra...for the sake of my story I will add that I am fairly big breasted. One day last week I took a road trip, about 4 1/2 hours riding along bumpy mountain roads. The rest of the trip was spent sitting in an office doing paperwork. When we got back from said road trip, I had apparently taken 9999 steps & climbed 51 sets of stairs. Suffice it to say I do NOT eat back my fitbit calories anymore
I haven't had that kind of issue myself but I hear you can add an activity log and call it "driving" and it will remove those false numbers? Might be worth looking into if this happens again!
~Lyssa
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The step counts are reasonably accurate - the calorie burn estimates....not so much. Since these are walking calories, I would suggest eating back no more than 25% to start with.0
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The step counts are reasonably accurate - the calorie burn estimates....not so much. Since these are walking calories, I would suggest eating back no more than 25% to start with.
I found mine to be very accurate so far. I crunched the numbers after a month and was off by a few hundred calories.0 -
ncboiler89 wrote: »The step counts are reasonably accurate - the calorie burn estimates....not so much. Since these are walking calories, I would suggest eating back no more than 25% to start with.
I found mine to be very accurate so far. I crunched the numbers after a month and was off by a few hundred calories.
Same, and mine was off in my favor so I just consider it buffer for occasional overages.0 -
christinev297 wrote: »I got a fitbit zip a week ago, i went from averaging 2,000ish steps a day up to 10,000, and yesterday i hit 20,207 steps for which mfp gave me 850 extra calories. I'm too scared to eat these calories back, partly because it takes me all day to get these steps in ( I do umpteen laps around my house),i'm not 100% sure that these devices are perfectly accurate and it irks me slightly to essentially eat back all of my work. Walking is the only exercise i do.
What do you guys do, eat all your exercise calories back or 50-75% of them, or none at all? How much do you trust your fitbit calorie burn?
Thanks for any and all advice :flowerforyou:
Yes I eat most if not all my fitbit burn
I am set to sedentary with negative adjustments enabled, I'm not sedentary but I like it that way
I have set my pace on fitbit and checked time zones and goals are correct
I average about 8K -10K steps ...I get an additional 350- 450 calories from my fitbit, about the same as a 45 minute gym session0 -
Rabbit judging by your pic it's obviously working for you
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ncboiler89 wrote: »The step counts are reasonably accurate - the calorie burn estimates....not so much. Since these are walking calories, I would suggest eating back no more than 25% to start with.
I found mine to be very accurate so far. I crunched the numbers after a month and was off by a few hundred calories.
Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't the Fitbit award calories based on our speed? I'd think it would not give the same amount for a leisurely stroll as power walking.
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ncboiler89 wrote: »The step counts are reasonably accurate - the calorie burn estimates....not so much. Since these are walking calories, I would suggest eating back no more than 25% to start with.
I found mine to be very accurate so far. I crunched the numbers after a month and was off by a few hundred calories.
Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't the Fitbit award calories based on our speed? I'd think it would not give the same amount for a leisurely stroll as power walking.
I don't think so?? It gives me the same amount of calories whether I pound the pavement at warp speed or do a a few leisurely strolls around my house
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christinev297 wrote: »ncboiler89 wrote: »The step counts are reasonably accurate - the calorie burn estimates....not so much. Since these are walking calories, I would suggest eating back no more than 25% to start with.
I found mine to be very accurate so far. I crunched the numbers after a month and was off by a few hundred calories.
Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't the Fitbit award calories based on our speed? I'd think it would not give the same amount for a leisurely stroll as power walking.
I don't think so?? It gives me the same amount of calories whether I pound the pavement at warp speed or do a a few leisurely strolls around my house
Hmpf. Maybe the difference in calories burned isn't that significant? Maybe I can slow down then. :laugh:
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ncboiler89 wrote: »The step counts are reasonably accurate - the calorie burn estimates....not so much. Since these are walking calories, I would suggest eating back no more than 25% to start with.
I found mine to be very accurate so far. I crunched the numbers after a month and was off by a few hundred calories.
Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't the Fitbit award calories based on our speed? I'd think it would not give the same amount for a leisurely stroll as power walking.
I think it's based on the met system, so speed would have an impact. The thing is though, if you spend most of the day walking around your house which is probably the equivalent to 2 mets one day, but go running on a different day (which I believe is 7 mets) for an hour and spend less time walking around the rest of the day it would probably even out. I know on days I go running, I'm pretty lazy for the rest of the day.0 -
christinev297 wrote: »ncboiler89 wrote: »The step counts are reasonably accurate - the calorie burn estimates....not so much. Since these are walking calories, I would suggest eating back no more than 25% to start with.
I found mine to be very accurate so far. I crunched the numbers after a month and was off by a few hundred calories.
Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't the Fitbit award calories based on our speed? I'd think it would not give the same amount for a leisurely stroll as power walking.
I don't think so?? It gives me the same amount of calories whether I pound the pavement at warp speed or do a a few leisurely strolls around my house
Hmpf. Maybe the difference in calories burned isn't that significant? Maybe I can slow down then. :laugh:
heehee probablychristinev297 wrote: »ncboiler89 wrote: »The step counts are reasonably accurate - the calorie burn estimates....not so much. Since these are walking calories, I would suggest eating back no more than 25% to start with.
I found mine to be very accurate so far. I crunched the numbers after a month and was off by a few hundred calories.
Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't the Fitbit award calories based on our speed? I'd think it would not give the same amount for a leisurely stroll as power walking.
I don't think so?? It gives me the same amount of calories whether I pound the pavement at warp speed or do a a few leisurely strolls around my house
Hmpf. Maybe the difference in calories burned isn't that significant? Maybe I can slow down then. :laugh:
Hehe yeah probably. I've only got the basic zip. The ones with a HRM may change the amounts based on high your heart rate goes. ..
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christinev297 wrote: »christinev297 wrote: »ncboiler89 wrote: »The step counts are reasonably accurate - the calorie burn estimates....not so much. Since these are walking calories, I would suggest eating back no more than 25% to start with.
I found mine to be very accurate so far. I crunched the numbers after a month and was off by a few hundred calories.
Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't the Fitbit award calories based on our speed? I'd think it would not give the same amount for a leisurely stroll as power walking.
I don't think so?? It gives me the same amount of calories whether I pound the pavement at warp speed or do a a few leisurely strolls around my house
Hmpf. Maybe the difference in calories burned isn't that significant? Maybe I can slow down then. :laugh:
heehee probablychristinev297 wrote: »ncboiler89 wrote: »The step counts are reasonably accurate - the calorie burn estimates....not so much. Since these are walking calories, I would suggest eating back no more than 25% to start with.
I found mine to be very accurate so far. I crunched the numbers after a month and was off by a few hundred calories.
Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't the Fitbit award calories based on our speed? I'd think it would not give the same amount for a leisurely stroll as power walking.
I don't think so?? It gives me the same amount of calories whether I pound the pavement at warp speed or do a a few leisurely strolls around my house
Hmpf. Maybe the difference in calories burned isn't that significant? Maybe I can slow down then. :laugh:
Hehe yeah probably. I've only got the basic zip. The ones with a HRM may change the amounts based on high your heart rate goes. ..
It does0 -
shadow2soul wrote: »ncboiler89 wrote: »The step counts are reasonably accurate - the calorie burn estimates....not so much. Since these are walking calories, I would suggest eating back no more than 25% to start with.
I found mine to be very accurate so far. I crunched the numbers after a month and was off by a few hundred calories.
Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't the Fitbit award calories based on our speed? I'd think it would not give the same amount for a leisurely stroll as power walking.
I think it's based on the met system, so speed would have an impact. The thing is though, if you spend most of the day walking around your house which is probably the equivalent to 2 mets one day, but go running on a different day (which I believe is 7 mets) for an hour and spend less time walking around the rest of the day it would probably even out. I know on days I go running, I'm pretty lazy for the rest of the day.
I have been making an effort to walk 5 miles per day, broken up into two chunks, a walk in the morning and again in the evening (and I walk pretty briskly.) Between those and my typical day's activities, I am getting around 15K steps. But on more than one occasion, I've seen it referred to as "just walking." So if I was doing nothing before and I walk 5 miles per day now, I shouldn't count that or count only a very small portion as suggested above? Even if it's "just walking" I'd like to think I've significantly increased my TDEE. There have been days when I did practically nothing and recorded a total day's burn of about 1600. Now I get about 2200. So 25% would be 150 calories for five miles?
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I've lost 20 pounds trusting my Fitbit, which seems to be accurate as long as I make sure that my weight (in MFP to which the Fitbit syncs) is correct. I've only had two instances where my Fitbit (the Fitbit One, which I clip to my bra) was inaccurate:
1- I live in a rural area, and noticed that when I drive on a gravel road (bumpy), the Fitbit will sometimes count that movement as steps--so now if I do, I notice the time I'm on the road and later log it as "driving-- 0 calories" to overwrite the calorie adjustment.
2- My PT suggested that I bounce up and down whilst sitting on a fitness ball for my back; when I did, I looked down at my Fitbit and noticed that it was counting each bounce as a step! Now I just take the Fitbit off when doing my bouncing.
Long story short, yes, I trust my Fitbit for counting my steps and calories expended. But if doing something out of the ordinary that would shake your whole body around, do check that it isn't counting non-steps as steps!0 -
shadow2soul wrote: »ncboiler89 wrote: »The step counts are reasonably accurate - the calorie burn estimates....not so much. Since these are walking calories, I would suggest eating back no more than 25% to start with.
I found mine to be very accurate so far. I crunched the numbers after a month and was off by a few hundred calories.
Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't the Fitbit award calories based on our speed? I'd think it would not give the same amount for a leisurely stroll as power walking.
I think it's based on the met system, so speed would have an impact. The thing is though, if you spend most of the day walking around your house which is probably the equivalent to 2 mets one day, but go running on a different day (which I believe is 7 mets) for an hour and spend less time walking around the rest of the day it would probably even out. I know on days I go running, I'm pretty lazy for the rest of the day.
I have been making an effort to walk 5 miles per day, broken up into two chunks, a walk in the morning and again in the evening (and I walk pretty briskly.) Between those and my typical day's activities, I am getting around 15K steps. But on more than one occasion, I've seen it referred to as "just walking." So if I was doing nothing before and I walk 5 miles per day now, I shouldn't count that or count only a very small portion as suggested above? Even if it's "just walking" I'd like to think I've significantly increased my TDEE. There have been days when I did practically nothing and recorded a total day's burn of about 1600. Now I get about 2200. So 25% would be 150 calories for five miles?
Maybe my statement was confusing. I was saying that:- Day A: No running, but spent lots of time walking which can be anywhere from 2-3.5 Mets depending on speed according to a sheet I found online.
- Day B: Run for 60 mins, end up being less active the rest of the day (maybe spend more time at the computer or watching TV...all of which is under 2 mets).
So will say day A you spent 6 hours at a Met of 2.5...I'll use my weight of 147lbs, that's approx 1050 calories.
So will say day B you ran at a speed equivelent to 6 Mets for 1 hour and then spent 5 hours at a met level of 1.8...that's approx 1050 calories.
Now if you take a day were you were similar to Day A and add 2 walks or runs or anything for that matter without decreasing your activity, than your TDEE will increase.0 -
I've had my fitbit flex for a year and I think it's pretty accurate...if anything, I think it undercounts my mileage. I think it's more accurate than trusting the calorie burn on cardio machines at the gym too. you have to keep in mind that it's based on arm movement, so exercising that doesn't involve the arms won't get counted accurately, which is kind of a bonus...you don't see the additional earned calories and aren't tempted to eat them back:) I'll eat back some of my calories, but try not to focus on that too much...maybe eat back a maximum of up to 500 earned calories on any given day, but not go over that even if fitbit says I've burned quite a bit more.0
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I believe my Jawbone.0
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I've had my fitbit flex for a year and I think it's pretty accurate...if anything, I think it undercounts my mileage. I think it's more accurate than trusting the calorie burn on cardio machines at the gym too. you have to keep in mind that it's based on arm movement, so exercising that doesn't involve the arms won't get counted accurately, which is kind of a bonus...you don't see the additional earned calories and aren't tempted to eat them back:) I'll eat back some of my calories, but try not to focus on that too much...maybe eat back a maximum of up to 500 earned calories on any given day, but not go over that even if fitbit says I've burned quite a bit more.
Not all of them are based on arm movement. Mine clips to my bra.
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Thanks everyone for your replies, they've helped alot
Someone mentioned driving on a bumpy road.... I have a habit of tapping/jiggling my leg when I sit down (I can't keep still). I'm going to check if that affects the step count.....
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christinev297 wrote: »Thanks everyone for your replies, they've helped alot
Someone mentioned driving on a bumpy road.... I have a habit of tapping/jiggling my leg when I sit down (I can't keep still). I'm going to check if that affects the step count.....
Ha! This is why I got rid of mine for a while. I was thinking, "OMG! I am worrying about these numbers way too much!"
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I've had my fitbit flex for a year and I think it's pretty accurate...if anything, I think it undercounts my mileage. I think it's more accurate than trusting the calorie burn on cardio machines at the gym too. you have to keep in mind that it's based on arm movement, so exercising that doesn't involve the arms won't get counted accurately, which is kind of a bonus...you don't see the additional earned calories and aren't tempted to eat them back:) I'll eat back some of my calories, but try not to focus on that too much...maybe eat back a maximum of up to 500 earned calories on any given day, but not go over that even if fitbit says I've burned quite a bit more.
Not all of them are based on arm movement. Mine clips to my bra.
yeah mine too
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christinev297 wrote: »Thanks everyone for your replies, they've helped alot
Someone mentioned driving on a bumpy road.... I have a habit of tapping/jiggling my leg when I sit down (I can't keep still). I'm going to check if that affects the step count.....
Ha! This is why I got rid of mine for a while. I was thinking, "OMG! I am worrying about these numbers way too much!"
I will admit I am totally obsessed. It's early days yet though My poor husband is only just getting used to me counting calories and weighing my food. Now he's annoyed by the "sound of a herd of buffalo" stomping outside when I do my laps around the house :laugh:
I promised myself I will NOT bring up MFP or how many steps I've done today with him, lest I get that glazed eye, you crazy woman, look!
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