TDEE and Fitbit

tisadell
tisadell Posts: 23 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey all,
Just wondering how accurate Fitbit Cahrge HR is at figuring out my TDEE? I have worn it for about 40 days now and I have averaged my daily calorie burns and got right around 2500 calories. Is this pretty accurate? Also, how accurate is the calories burned on the Fitbit?

Replies

  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    edited February 2016
    tisadell wrote: »
    Hey all,
    Just wondering how accurate Fitbit Cahrge HR is at figuring out my TDEE? I have worn it for about 40 days now and I have averaged my daily calorie burns and got right around 2500 calories. Is this pretty accurate? Also, how accurate is the calories burned on the Fitbit?

    I don't believe so personally

    I think the HRM function obfuscates the actual benefit of the pedometer function which is over time pretty great at establishing an activity level

    But the fact that the HRM provides a calorie conversion when HR rises no matter what the activity makes me extremely nervous that people will take that as a guideline

    You can check if you want by eating that amount for 6-8 weeks, logging accurately and monitoring your weight over that period...or even look backwards on what you have been eating plus what you've been losing over similar time period to get your personal TDEE
  • Maxematics
    Maxematics Posts: 2,287 Member
    It depends on the person. I've read a lot of people say to set yourself an inch shorter than what you actually are and say that you're wearing it on your dominant hand no matter which hand you're wearing it on to get the best accuracy. Personally I haven't had to do this at all and I'm finding that if I eat what Fitbit says I can to maintain I usually still lose weight even though I'm not trying to. I've had mine since July, though. As @rabbitjb said, the best way is to eat that amount for a while, then reassess based on your findings. The Charge HR is cool, but nothing is 100% accurate. I'm glad I have mine though or else I'd be undereating all the time.
  • Pawsforme
    Pawsforme Posts: 645 Member
    I've had my Charge HR for a little over six months. From the stats I've compiled I'd say mine is pretty accurate, and if anything it slightly under-estimates my TDEE. I do wear it on my non-dominant wrist and have it set as if I'm wearing it on my dominant one, and I tried very, very hard to make sure my stride length was accurate when I set it.
  • tisadell
    tisadell Posts: 23 Member
    Thanks guys!
  • DaddieCat
    DaddieCat Posts: 3,643 Member
    I have the surge, personally, and mine estimates my TDEE at almost 4000 kcal/day. I know from experience adjusting intake and macros that this is not accurate. My maintenance is closer to 2800. I'm pretty sure the discrepancy is the HR monitor as it always says my lifting is about 1000 kcal/hr which is crazy.
  • blues4miles
    blues4miles Posts: 1,481 Member
    BecomingBane wrote: »
    I have the surge, personally, and mine estimates my TDEE at almost 4000 kcal/day. I know from experience adjusting intake and macros that this is not accurate. My maintenance is closer to 2800. I'm pretty sure the discrepancy is the HR monitor as it always says my lifting is about 1000 kcal/hr which is crazy.

    Or did you ever think maybe you are just a beast?

  • DaddieCat
    DaddieCat Posts: 3,643 Member
    blues4miles wrote: »
    BecomingBane wrote: »
    I have the surge, personally, and mine estimates my TDEE at almost 4000 kcal/day. I know from experience adjusting intake and macros that this is not accurate. My maintenance is closer to 2800. I'm pretty sure the discrepancy is the HR monitor as it always says my lifting is about 1000 kcal/hr which is crazy.

    Or did you ever think maybe you are just a beast?

    I'd love to think that, but know it's not accurate. I'm really just an overgrown kitten... with rabies.
  • XXcookiepussXX
    XXcookiepussXX Posts: 19 Member
    I've been wearing my flex as much as possible to hopefully get my TDEE. I am assuming the calories burned on the Fitbit dashboard are inflated, no? As of today, I've walked about 6500 steps (just at work and home) and it says I burned 1500 calories.

    In the long run, I plan on averaging gym days and non gym days to get a weekly average. Any ideas on how to calculate? I'm a bit of a math dope.
  • CoffeeNCardio
    CoffeeNCardio Posts: 1,847 Member
    Standard advice by the Fitbit community is to tell the charge HR that you are one inch shorter than you actually are, wear it on your non-dom hand but tell it you're wearing it on the dominant hand, and accurately measure and input your gait length to increase all around accuracy. This has worked very well for me, I have the C.HR
  • tisadell
    tisadell Posts: 23 Member
    How do you accurately measure and input gait length? I have made the other adjustments to see if there's a difference in what it says I burn. Thanks for all the input guys!
  • CoffeeNCardio
    CoffeeNCardio Posts: 1,847 Member
    tisadell wrote: »
    How do you accurately measure and input gait length? I have made the other adjustments to see if there's a difference in what it says I burn. Thanks for all the input guys!

    You measure your gait length on a track or some known distance. I did mine in my house, using a measuring tape I counted out 16ft. However many steps you take in that space, walking as normally as possible, divided by the distance = your gait length per step (an average anyway). You can also use a track, as that's more accurate. I don't recommend the treadmill method at all.

    You input gait length (referred to as step length on the fitbit app/website) on the settings page, same place you can alter your other stats like height and weight.
  • tisadell
    tisadell Posts: 23 Member
    Thanks so much!!
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    tisadell wrote: »
    Hey all,
    Just wondering how accurate Fitbit Cahrge HR is at figuring out my TDEE? I have worn it for about 40 days now and I have averaged my daily calorie burns and got right around 2500 calories. Is this pretty accurate? Also, how accurate is the calories burned on the Fitbit?

    Have you been tracking your food intake over that same period of time?

    If so, go to your Fitbit profile on a PC (not the dashboard, but your actual profile page on the website).
    There you will see a 30 day average burn and a 30 day average intake.
    Average Burn - Average Intake = average Deficit
    Average Deficit * 30 = Total Deficit
    Total Deficit/3500 = Expected Loss or Gain
    How does the expected loss or gain compare to what actually happened with your weight?

    Lost more? It might be underestimating a bit or you could be overestimating your food logs.
    Lost less? It might be overestimating or your logging could be a little inaccurate (not using a food scale for example could cause underestimation of calories consumed). If it's overestimating, you could try making yourself an inch shorter in stats and see what happens a month from now.
    Lost about the same or exactly what is expected? Then your all good.

    I don't know your stats, so I can't say how accurate 2500 is or isn't for you. I know that for myself, when I'm actively going to the gym and staying active, my TDEE can range from 2100 - 2500 according to my Surge (which has proved to be accurate for me).
  • tisadell
    tisadell Posts: 23 Member
    I have been actively tracking my food intake on mfp since the beginning of January. I will check out the website and compare some numbers. Thanks for all the advice

    I'm 43 female
    5'1"
    CW: 233.5
    I work in retail and walk an average of 15,000 steps 5 days a week
    Usually on days off I hike a couple miles or go paddleboarding (I live in California and we're having gorgeous weather right now!)

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