Fit Bit Steps, to eat or not to eat...

TrishSeren

I've used MFP multiple times over the years to get rid of extra weight but this is the first time I've been doing it with a Fit Bit.

I've noticed that this time my weight isn't really moving and I'm wondering if it's because now I'm eating back the calories I've earned from walking (calories burned according to FitBit).

Previously I'd walk and not "earn calories" as I wasn't measuring them, so I'd never eat them back.

Has anyone else experienced this? I might try not counting for a month and see if it works.

snickerscharlie

Most people generally only eat back between 50 and 75% of calories earned through exercise. Leaves some wiggle room for inaccuracies in either the exercise burn or the food logging.

serindipte

It depends on your goal settings. If you have yourself set to "lightly active" or more, then MFP is already taking many of those FitBit steps into account. If you're set to sedentary, then go with the above, 50%-75% of those calories back.

TrishSeren

Previously I used to partly eat back exercise calories but I never used to have walking calories as I wasn't tracking it.

snickerscharlie

TrishSeren wrote: »

Previously I used to partly eat back exercise calories but I never used to have walking calories as I wasn't tracking it.

Are you certain your food logging skills are up-to-snuff? Do you have less weight to lose this time than your previous times tracking on MFP?

TrishSeren

snickerscharlie wrote: »

TrishSeren wrote: »

Previously I used to partly eat back exercise calories but I never used to have walking calories as I wasn't tracking it.

Are you certain your food logging skills are up-to-snuff? Do you have less weight to lose this time than your previous times tracking on MFP?

I'm even more accurate now, previously I never weighed my food and I still lost weight. Now I weigh my food for accuracy and it's not budging. The only change is that now I have a Fit Bit so I'm adding calories to my daily allowance and eating them back. I never did this before, I only ever logged gym or running calories not my general walking around calories.

jedibeau82

Consider too that Fitbit is not very accurate. I had one and it said I was taking steps while I was doing dishes. Something on the order of 150 steps. I also went for a run with the Fitbit and my Garmin chest HRM and the Fitbit over calculated my calories by 120 on a 25 minute run. Needless to say I brought the Fitbit back.

SusanMFindlay

TrishSeren wrote: »

snickerscharlie wrote: »

TrishSeren wrote: »

Previously I used to partly eat back exercise calories but I never used to have walking calories as I wasn't tracking it.

Are you certain your food logging skills are up-to-snuff? Do you have less weight to lose this time than your previous times tracking on MFP?

I'm even more accurate now, previously I never weighed my food and I still lost weight. Now I weigh my food for accuracy and it's not budging. The only change is that now I have a Fit Bit so I'm adding calories to my daily allowance and eating them back. I never did this before, I only ever logged gym or running calories not my general walking around calories.

Is your FitBit synced or are you adding the calories manually? If you're adding them manually, I suspect you're adding too many.

If it's synced, how long have you been using it? It can take a couple of weeks for FitBit to get used to your daily rhythms and establish a regular baseline heartrate for you. During this "getting to know you" period, it can be less accurate. I find mine to be incredibly accurate though.

What have you chosen as your activity level on MFP?

Do you have negative adjustments enabled?

If none of the above triggers any ideas, I'd lean toward underestimating intake being the issue rather than the FitBit overestimating - not that it matters because the solution to either issue would be to eat less.

spiriteagle99

I eat back deliberate exercise calories (walks, runs, bike sessions) but not incidental steps. That has worked well for me.

TrishSeren

SusanMFindlay wrote: »

TrishSeren wrote: »

snickerscharlie wrote: »

TrishSeren wrote: »

Previously I used to partly eat back exercise calories but I never used to have walking calories as I wasn't tracking it.

Are you certain your food logging skills are up-to-snuff? Do you have less weight to lose this time than your previous times tracking on MFP?

I'm even more accurate now, previously I never weighed my food and I still lost weight. Now I weigh my food for accuracy and it's not budging. The only change is that now I have a Fit Bit so I'm adding calories to my daily allowance and eating them back. I never did this before, I only ever logged gym or running calories not my general walking around calories.

Is your FitBit synced or are you adding the calories manually? If you're adding them manually, I suspect you're adding too many.

If it's synced, how long have you been using it? It can take a couple of weeks for FitBit to get used to your daily rhythms and establish a regular baseline heartrate for you. During this "getting to know you" period, it can be less accurate. I find mine to be incredibly accurate though.

What have you chosen as your activity level on MFP?

Do you have negative adjustments enabled?

If none of the above triggers any ideas, I'd lean toward underestimating intake being the issue rather than the FitBit overestimating - not that it matters because the solution to either issue would be to eat less.

The steps are synced, MFP then uses these to allocate calories. I don't use Fit Bit calories as they seem too high, like I doubt I'm burning as much as they say I am.

I've had it since October, and I've put on weight rather than lost weight despite logging (except over Christmas but I was already gaining before Christmas whilst logging).

The lowest activity level as I work in an office.

I'm going to unsync it and eat to what MFP allocates, because before I started using my Fit Bit I was losing weight.

SCoil123

I personally have found my fitbit flex to be very accurate. I am set on mfp to sedentary and eat back all or most of my calories earned. I really think it helps to cross check your settings in both and just play around with the numbers. I also never enter my work outs on mfp, only on fitbit. I actually found mfp was giving me twice as many calories for the same workouts so I believe the fitbit number to be more accurate.
Example:
MFP Bootcamp 30 min 410 cals
Fitbit Bootcamp 30 min 212 cals

Christine_72

OP have you tried eating back 50% of your exercise /walking calories?

I got inflated fitbit calories too, my only exercise is walking. so i went into fitbit settings and reduced my height and stride length and increased my age, now it's pretty much spot on.

I am creating my deficit purely with exercise, i have mfp set to sedentary, maintenance calories , and i "try" and earn at least 500 through exercise which i don't touch. So far, my weight loss is in line with my numbers.

Sorry if my post isn't very clear.. It's 38 celcius here right now , I'm walking outside while i type this and it's bright and sunny, and I'm struggling to see my phone screen properly!

rban1000

I never eat any calories back...no way! Those calories are how I can lose/maintain my weight! I mean...I screw up and overeat and binge many times but not on purpose! I LOVE if I can burn more calories then I eat

rekite2000

I changed the settings to say my Fitbit is in my dominant hand (though it isn't). Makes it less sensitive to movement and feels more accurate to me. I would rather under count rather than over count.

TrishSeren

rekite2000 wrote: »

I changed the settings to say my Fitbit is in my dominant hand (though it isn't). Makes it less sensitive to movement and feels more accurate to me. I would rather under count rather than over count.

My fitbit sits on my hip, it's a clip on one rather than a wrist one.

trigden1991

I use walking to increase my TDEE and create a calorie deficit. Eating them back would be counter-productive.

mlinci

Of course I eat them back (about 80%-100% of my Fitbit calories). I walk about 12k steps a day, which is quite active, so I need to eat more than if I was sedentary. Makes sense, and I don't want to undereat, because funnily enough, that's what makes me overeat.

tinkerbellang83

I found that it was easier to log only steps where I was walking to/from somewhere (I walk at least 1000 per day additional steps just milling around the house or going up and down stairs at work), by underestimating my exercise calories burned, it allows me to offset any inaccurate food entries. Not sure if this will work with fitbit but my Samsung phone has the ability to track calories burned by specific journeys on the SHealth app. I am losing my target weight weekly consistently.

trigden1991

mlinci wrote: »

Of course I eat them back (about 80%-100% of my Fitbit calories). I walk about 12k steps a day, which is quite active, so I need to eat more than if I was sedentary. Makes sense, and I don't want to undereat, because funnily enough, that's what makes me overeat.

If you eat back 80-100% of your FitBit calories, I assume you are trying to maintain? FitBit displays your TDEE I believe.

LivingtheLeanDream

Fitbit gives you your daily TDEE (the number you see at the end of the day is your predicted TDEE and I've found it to be pretty accurate), if you are wanting to lose you need to eat at deficit of that number, be that 10% or 20%, depending on how much you are wanting to lose each week.

Ming1951

I walk and use a fit bit to motivate me. I do not eat back the calories it gives me. In my mind I tell myself I can eat some of them if I am having a particular hungry day, but usually that never happens.