Will someone please tell me...

Pam_1965
Pam_1965 Posts: 137 Member
edited April 2016 in Fitness and Exercise
How I burned more calories yesterday (14,654 steps, 63 active minutes, 5.78 miles, 2,424 calories burned) than the day before (15,868 steps, 131 active minutes, 6.26 miles, 2,375 calories burned)?

On Monday I walked a hard 5.47 miles and yesterday a much slower 3.52 miles. But yesterday I was more active throughout the day because I was teaching, but absent on Monday, so my steps were mostly taken during my 1.5 hour walk. My Fitbit doesn't actually give me the same number of miles as my Runkeeper. I only use Runkeeper when I go for an "exercise" walk. I don't log that into MFP. I just rely on my Fitbit Flex.

I wouldn't care so much about the differences, except I only eat a base of 1200 calories per day, so I need to eat back some exercise calories to meet my Net goal. It's weird that on a day that I considered easy I was given 559 exercise calories, but on a harder day just 465 calories.

Replies

  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    Not sure but your overall difference in calories appears to have been 59 (2424-2375.) That's well within the realm of "don't sweat the small stuff" IMO.
  • wilsoncl6
    wilsoncl6 Posts: 1,280 Member
    I don't like using step monitors because they can be variable dependent upon a lot of different factors. You can't always take what they say as gospel. For instance, you could walk a longer distance one day than another but get more calories in the shorter day because your heart rate may have been more elevated even though the distance was shorter because you walked more hills or inclines. I would suggest just using it as a guide and no matter what, only eat back between 50%-75% of your exercise calories back. Additionally, if you're using MFP's tracker to count your calories, it figures it normal everyday movement into your base that way you only have to track exercise calories.
  • Pam_1965
    Pam_1965 Posts: 137 Member
    edited April 2016
    This is true, jemhh! LOL! But I was given so many calories back yesterday and only did an easy 3.5 mile walk (plus, regular steps) That is where my concern was. Why so many calories back?
  • Jcl81
    Jcl81 Posts: 154 Member
    Intensity. I doubt it's accurate though.
  • Pam_1965
    Pam_1965 Posts: 137 Member
    edited April 2016
    That is actually my point, Jcl81. My exercise was way more intense on the day I got fewer calories back.
  • tcunbeliever
    tcunbeliever Posts: 8,219 Member
    I know when I key exercises into MFP it sometimes just messes up the math. I can key 90 min. of walking and get fewer calories listed than when I key 45 min of walking. Usually if I see that happening I can rekey the exercise and it will fix the calculation. No idea why sometimes it just can't math right.
  • GYATagain
    GYATagain Posts: 141 Member
    This has happened many different times with my Charge HR -- always makes me wonder and laugh. Hence the reason I never eat back hardly any of my exercise calories. The only days I eat back even 1/2 the exercise calories are the days I Know I have sweated up a storm and can feel the burn and my base is 1200 a day... Age (old), short, desk-job all the usual.
  • hlnebel
    hlnebel Posts: 71 Member
    It may have to do with how the steps/activity was distributed throughout the day. Activity trackers seem to value steps that are spread out more over the day vs. taken all at once.
  • wonko221
    wonko221 Posts: 292 Member
    I've noticed that MapMyFitness tracks elevation changes, and seems to incorporate this into my calorie burn also.

    If you are only focused on pace, distance, and time, you might be missing some other factors.
  • Pam_1965
    Pam_1965 Posts: 137 Member
    hlnebel wrote: »
    It may have to do with how the steps/activity was distributed throughout the day. Activity trackers seem to value steps that are spread out more over the day vs. taken all at once.

    This is what I was thinking. I realize that the discrepancies are not a big deal in the great scheme of things. I was just really HUNGRY yesterday, but was reluctant to eat my calories back when I wasn't sure if I had actually earned them. I did eat enough to not go to bed hungry, however!

    Thank you for all the replies!
  • blues4miles
    blues4miles Posts: 1,481 Member
    I unsynced my step/fitness tracker from MFP because I felt it was giving me inflated burns for everything. However, there are a lot of folks with FitBit who have used it to lose/maintain their weight and swear by its accuracy. I have a theory it's got some multiplier for my being obese and is off for that. Anyways, moral of the story is, you just have to use it for a while and see if its accurate based on whether or not you gain/lose/maintain as expected.
  • ASKyle
    ASKyle Posts: 1,475 Member
    Pam_1965 wrote: »
    That is actually my point, Jcl81. My exercise was way more intense on the day I got fewer calories back.

    Could be that on the day you did more intense exercise, you were less active for the other 23 hours of the day.

    This happens to me on days I run- I am so tired I come home and become glued to the couch!

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