fitbit issues and fitbit math....help please?

mkakids
mkakids Posts: 1,913 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Ok, i know mfp and fitbit are having issues recently. Adding random calories, not adding calories, adding entries 2 and 3 times in one day, etc...

I disconnected my fitbit from mfp for the time being, but still use it to track steps and tdee.

Lets say my fitbit says my TDEE for the day is 2000. Mfp has me eating 1300 for a 1lb a week loss, set to sedentary.

2000-1300=700. Thats a 700 deficit.

So fitbit 'should' add 200 calories to mfp (were it to be connected, lol) as exercise calories...right?

just checking because sometimes recently it would add 50 calories and sometimes 500.....with a tdee of 2000 for the day. I used simple numbers here...my tdee varies, but the math was still way off sometimes recently. For example one day i had 12450steps and it gave me an extra 38cals... the next day i had 12390 and it gave me an extra 496 cals, lol. Obv something is wrong :)

I was losing just fine eating the fitbit calories added back in (before it went crazy earlier this year)....so i want to manually enter the calories as exercise. Its easier, IMO, and more accurate (for me) than adding my run everyday...which overestimates calories and slows my weightloss.

Just want to check that i am doing it correctly! Thanks!

Replies

  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    Fitibit would add 200 calories to MFP if it thought your TDEE was 200 more than MFP thought.

    If MFP has you at 1300 for a 1 lb/week loss then MFP thinks your TDEE is 1800 and that would indeed suggest a 200 adjustment if Fitbit thinks your TDEE is 2000.

    Timing is a factor too, Fitibt makes adjustments based on what it forecasts your TDEE for the day will be, so if you do a lot of steps in the morning and sync at lunchtime it may make a big adjustment it later has to reduce if you are sat down the rest of the day.
  • blues4miles
    blues4miles Posts: 1,481 Member
    Yes your math makes sense assuming you trust the 2,000 number from FitBit (I know these are hypothetical numbers anyways). If after a couple weeks you aren't losing what you expect to lose than you can readjust from there, but I do know a lot of people say their FitBit is very accurate.
  • dubird
    dubird Posts: 1,849 Member
    Once you get it hooked back up, make sure the daily calorie goal is the same on both. I had trouble with that and ended up having to set one manually so they'd match.,
  • mkakids
    mkakids Posts: 1,913 Member
    Thanks!
  • jeepinshawn
    jeepinshawn Posts: 642 Member
    mkakids wrote: »
    Thanks!

    If you haven't already go into the MFP and look at the track steps section and make sure you have fitbit selected, I did not and had the same issues as you. I selected fitbit, and that fixed the calorie sync issues. Your math above is correct, if you want a 1lb/wk weight loss just make sure you are 500-600 calories per day under your TDEE. I suggest 600 just because I sometimes forget to log little things and it was nice to have a little room in the numbers...
  • mkakids
    mkakids Posts: 1,913 Member
    jeepinshawn wrote: »
    mkakids wrote: »
    Thanks!

    If you haven't already go into the MFP and look at the track steps section and make sure you have fitbit selected, I did not and had the same issues as you. I selected fitbit, and that fixed the calorie sync issues. Your math above is correct, if you want a 1lb/wk weight loss just make sure you are 500-600 calories per day under your TDEE. I suggest 600 just because I sometimes forget to log little things and it was nice to have a little room in the numbers...

    Thanks. I have actually tried it both ways (checked and unchecked) over the last 2 months of fitbit issues....but either waybits messed up!

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