Calories burned from fit bit

robinalexis

Yesterday I walked 9,376 steps , went to dinner and calories burned was something like 335. By the time I went to bed I walked a little over 11,000 steps and this morning the calories burned says something like 276? How did I lose calories?

janejellyroll

Moving less than "expected" in the latter part of the day will result in having calories subtracted.

StaciMarie1974

Its because of how MFP takes the information from Fitbit from your last sync and then makes assumptions about your calorie burn for the rest of the today. In reality you burn more some hours than others, because some hours you're sleeping, others you're on your feet for example. You burn more when you're doing stuff vs. not doing stuff. But MFP can't make predictions based on such reality.

MFP projects you will burn X calories per day based on your height, weight, gender, age and stated activity level. Fitbit estimates your actual burn based on the same stats, but factors in when you're moving vs not. MFP syncs to Fitbit, pulls in what you've actually burned so far in the day, and compares the Fitbit burn to what MFP expected. That determines if you have extra calories earned or not. It continually changes each time you sync.

Example - Numbers are made up:

MFP assumes you will burn 2400 cals per day. It breaks that down evenly as 100 per hour because it just can't handle anything else. Lets say you wake up at 6am, and Fitbit gives you credit for 75 cals per hour which is your BMR. So if you sync at 6am, MFP sees: you should have burned 600, but you've only burned 75x6=450 so right now you're at a -150 adjustment. You're behind schedule.

Lets say from 6-7am you're doing misc. stuff around the house and Fitbit says you burned 90. Now you're behind by 160, as you lost another 10.

From 7am-8am you go for a run and Fitbit says you burn 600. Now you're ahead because your total burn at 8am is 450 + 90 + 600 = 1140, and MFP expected you to burn 800 by 8am. So now you're +340.

Then you go to work, and between for 8am-5pm with commute and desk job you average 90 cals burned per hour according to Fitbit. So now your Fitbit adjustment is down to +250.

5-7pm you spend time running errands, in the grocery store, on your feet running around the house, etc. You average 115 per hour. Adjustment goes up to +280.

7pm-8pm you play with the kids out in the backyard and Fitbit says you burn 150. Adjustment goes up to +330.

8pm-midnight, you're chilling and/or in bed. You burn 325 cals total, which is mostly just your BMR with very little extra movement. This is where you lose 75 cals and your adjustment goes down.

Unless you retain some level of activity late at night that meets/exceeds the calorie burn for your MFP activity status (sedentary, lightly active, etc.) in the late night hours, your adjustment will always decrease when it gets the final end of day #s from Fitbit.

WBB55

Here's what I do towards the end of the day.

At around 8 pm, I check my FitBit itself to see what the total calories burned are for the day so far. EVEN IF I SAT ON MY BUTT for the rest of the day or went to bed, I'd burn at least another 240 calories before midnight. So if my FitBit says 1800 total burned, and my MFP log says I've eaten 1600, then I know my total deficit for today will be at least 440 (1800 calories, plus the 240 yet to burn for the day, less the calories eaten) and my "net" calories will be about 60 over my target net calories for the 1 lb/week rate of loss I selected.

Don't know if that makes sense or not.

Moekup

I am really confused on the FitBit calories burned. Why does it say I have burned like 1900 calories and yet if I use map my walk it says that I burned 350? I understand that your body burns calories even when not exercising but I would think that difference would make a big difference in your weight loss? I am really confused on this....HELP

jessiferrrb

The 1900 from fitbit includes your BMR - basal metabolic rate - which is the body at rest - meaning the calories that are used just in existing, digesting, breathing, etc. as well as your activity calories. the sum of these two are your TDEE. Map my walk is just the activity calories from your walk. hope that helps.

Maxematics

I use a Fitbit Charge HR. To avoid that dumb calorie prediction thing, I use the Sedentary option on the Fitbit food plan instead of Personalized. I also set myself as Sedentary on MFP.

StaciMarie1974

The Fitbit 1900 includes all calories you've burned since the day started at midnight. The MapMyWalk app includes only an estimate for calories burned from when you started until you stopped tracking your walk.

Moekup wrote: »

I am really confused on the FitBit calories burned. Why does it say I have burned like 1900 calories and yet if I use map my walk it says that I burned 350? I understand that your body burns calories even when not exercising but I would think that difference would make a big difference in your weight loss? I am really confused on this....HELP