FitBit Calorie Adjustment is super confusing.

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Replies

  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    No, you can enter a different eating goal based on a different deficit - and get the correct results with numbers.

    The problem comes when you enter a manual eating goal based off an average weekly TDEE figure where you want to eat the same amount daily, and then MFP adjusts your eating goal based on Fitbit daily burn.
    That's when it gets screwed up.

    But if you want a 375 cal deficit instead of 250 or 500, just change setting to maintenance instead of weight loss goal, and whatever MFP was going to give you for your maintenance calories is now your eating goal.
    Now subtract 375 or whatever, manually set your eating goal to that lower amount.

    Now let MFP make adjustments with Fitbit daily burn, and you'll still get 375 cal deficit no matter what MFP does with Fitbit calorie adjustments or logged exercise.

    That works even if not using Fitbit but only MFP method.

    Just have to update your eating goal as weight is lost manually, since it won't happen automatically.
  • becalee26
    becalee26 Posts: 185 Member
    editorgrrl wrote: »
    magiross wrote: »
    Hey, I used to have a FitBit in 2014, and wore it for around 8 months. If I ran approx 5 miles, and the treadmill showed that I had burnt roughly "600" calories, then my MFP calorie adjustment when it synced with my FitBit was also around "600" calories.

    I've used Fitbit + MFP since 2013, and it's never worked like that. Your Fitbit burn is TDEE, and adjustments are the difference between your Fitbit burn and your MFP activity level (sedentary, lightly active, etc.).

    Connect your accounts at http://www.myfitnesspal.com/fitbit

    Set your goal to .5 lb. for every 25 lbs. you're overweight: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/change_goals_guided

    Enable negative calorie adjustments: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings

    Ignore your Fitbit calorie goal and follow MFP's, eating back your adjustments. No need to log any step-based activity—your Fitbit is tracking it for you. Log non-step exercise (like swimming or biking) either in Fitbit or in MFP—never both. Exercise logged in MFP overwrites your Fitbit burn during that time.

    You can learn more in the Fitbit Users group: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1290-fitbit-users

  • becalee26
    becalee26 Posts: 185 Member
    It was doing that for me too but somehow I changed it on mfp by playing around my goals. Now mfp gives me more calories to eat than Fitbit so I dunno. I follow the Fitbit and have lost 12.5 lbs so I am gonna stick with it.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    magiross wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    magiross wrote: »
    How many calories did you burn the rest of your day (not counting the run)? I can run, burn a ton of calories, and still have a low burn day overall if I'm not moving very much (um, not that I'd ever do that!)

    My TOTAL tdee was 2200, my run accounts for roughly 600 of that, meaning that I burnt an additional 1600cals throughout the day.

    If your total is 2200, and your desired deficit is 500 (a pound), you would be eating roughly 1700. This is pretty close to what the fitbit adjustment gave you (1,673), so I don't see the problem. It only shows that aside from your run you were pretty inactive. If the deficit is being doubled like you assume your MFP would show 1200 as your budget.

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