Fitbit accuracy

pinksparklefairy

I have one of the basic Fitbits, no heart rate monitor. I have not used it much, but linked it with Fitness Pal because I want to see how many calories I am (approximately) burning doing my regular walks and workouts and if I have been estimating correctly.

So far I have been on a 20-minute walk (1.2 km) and it has logged 4 calories from exercise, which is a bit odd. I might be doing something wrong.

Does anyone rely on their Fitbit Flex to calculate exercise calories and does it tend to be fairly accurate?

capaul42

You didn't burn 4 calories on your walk. Fitbit sends over total calorie burn, not individual exercise. So it says you burned so many calories which MFP uses to figure out if you've burned more calories than your maintenance calories. The adjustment you see is the difference. Has little to do with individual exercise.

trigden1991

capaul42 wrote: »

You didn't burn 4 calories on your walk. Fitbit sends over total calorie burn, not individual exercise. So it says you burned so many calories which MFP uses to figure out if you've burned more calories than your maintenance calories. The adjustment you see is the difference. Has little to do with individual exercise.

This!

My total calorie burn from the FitBit (TDEE) is fairly accurate.

quietapathy

What they said! The adjustment will be different depending on how much total activity you've had and also depending on where your activity level is set. It adjusts all through the day as you sync, rather than adding for each specific activity.

I have always went by my fitbit calorie adjustment with no problem (eating back all or most of them). I have had both with and without HR, though I do like having the HR for even better accuracy and more data (data nerd).

StaciMarie1974

Fitbit tracks your total/all day calories. If you're not wearing it 'all day' then it assumes BMR only for when it senses no movement. MFP estimates your all day calories based on your stated activity level. You 'earn' extra calories from Fitbit if your Fitbit total burn is higher than what MFP expects it to be.

I wear my Fitbit One all the time, unless I'm showering and that is when I charge it. It works pretty well, and I rely on the Fitbit calculated burn #.

pinksparklefairy wrote: »

I have one of the basic Fitbits, no heart rate monitor. I have not used it much, but linked it with Fitness Pal because I want to see how many calories I am (approximately) burning doing my regular walks and workouts and if I have been estimating correctly.

So far I have been on a 20-minute walk (1.2 km) and it has logged 4 calories from exercise, which is a bit odd. I might be doing something wrong.

Does anyone rely on their Fitbit Flex to calculate exercise calories and does it tend to be fairly accurate?

happysherri

I stopped wearing my fitbit flex because I didn't find it helpful any longer since I switched to mainly lifting and lower cardio. I am simply following the plan given to me - which simply is eating right consistently and exercising 5 to 6 days a week. I do believe the fitness trackers are more helpful to those who have active jobs - I sit all day, I already know that I am not getting enough steps in per day. -I don't need my fitbit flex to tell me that lol