Am I missing the obvious?

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cbstewart88
cbstewart88 Posts: 453 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I have been working out on a treadmill for many months now. A 70-minute workout burns about 450 calories, according to the machine's readout. Yesterday, I purchased a Fitbit. According to the Fitbit - I logged 10,288 steps so far today - of which 8,000+ were done on the treadmill. The Fitbit is also telling me that I have burned 1400 calories so far today.

If I subtract the 450 burned on the treadmill, that means I have burned only 950 the entire rest of the day. I DO have a desk job - but I am up and down and running around a lot of the day. If this is accurate - NO WONDER my weight loss has pretty much slowed to a crawl now that I am inside 10 lbs to my goal. Any thoughts???? (My daily caloric intake is between 1200 - 1500 BTW)

Replies

  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    Rather than assume you've burned only 950 the rest of the day, I would assume that the treadmill was crediting me with too many calories. I routinely run on a treadmill and the treadmill always gives me a much higher number than what my Fitbit gives me as a calorie burn estimate for the workout.

    So the good news is that you're likely burning more than the 950 you think you are for daily activities. The bad news is that you've probably been overestimating your exercise calorie burns.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 33,968 Member
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    "So far today"?

    What time is it there? Are there still hours left in your day? You "burn" calories even when sleeping, ya know?
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
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    ^^Yeah. Fitbit calories are from midnight to midnight.
  • sammyliftsandeats
    sammyliftsandeats Posts: 2,421 Member
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    In my experience, Fitbits take some time to become better at predicting your TDEE. It is off for the first bit because it doesn't have any data to work with, but the more data it collects, the better at predicting your TDEE.

    Also, it was saying 1400 so far today. It wasn't done counting yet. You probably end the day at a higher number.

    If your weight loss has slowed down, try checking your logging and making sure that is on point. With 10lbs left to go, there is little room for error.
  • cbstewart88
    cbstewart88 Posts: 453 Member
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    janejellyroll wrote: »
    Rather than assume you've burned only 950 the rest of the day, I would assume that the treadmill was crediting me with too many calories. I routinely run on a treadmill and the treadmill always gives me a much higher number than what my Fitbit gives me as a calorie burn estimate for the workout.

    So the good news is that you're likely burning more than the 950 you think you are for daily activities. The bad news is that you've probably been overestimating your exercise calorie burns.

    That is interesting JaneJellyRoll. I was wondering that....BUT: when I put the treadmill on a very high incline (albeit a slow pace) - the treadmill can account for the higher calorie burn due to the incline, but can the Fitbit sense that???
  • not_a_runner
    not_a_runner Posts: 1,343 Member
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    cmriverside wrote: »
    "So far today"?

    What time is it there? Are there still hours left in your day? You "burn" calories even when sleeping, ya know?

    Yes, this.
    Keep in mind the fitbit will continue to credit you with calories burned for the day until midnight. You won't have your entire daily total show until the very end of the day.
    The treadmill readout may have been over estimating. The fitbit may over/under estimate too. (Mine often says I burn close to 4000 calories a few days a week, yet from consistent logging and weighing myself, I've found my actual maintenance to be around 2600.)
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 33,968 Member
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    Another thing...when you are within ten pounds of goal, it is very slow going for many people. Set your calories to "Lose 1/2 pound per week." That will give you only a 250 calorie deficit, so you can see how crucial it is to get your food logging as accurate as possible.

    The calories burned by exercise? It is going to vary and there is no way to get to 100% accuracy, but a fitbit is as close as you are likely to get. All of these devices are based on a average algorithm, so they are all guessing to some degree. Stay the course and only adjust as needed based on your real results. It's tough going at the end. Took me nearly a year to lose those last 15. Maintenance is equally tricky, so really good records are your best tool.
  • 3rdof7sisters
    3rdof7sisters Posts: 486 Member
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    MFP, Fitbit, and the machine calories burned all give me different numbers.
    I average them out. Personally, I think they are all high on calories burned.
    The average calorie burn for women 31-50 each day is 1800 for sedentary.
  • cbstewart88
    cbstewart88 Posts: 453 Member
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    Thank you for your responses everybody. They're good ones :) ...and YES - I do have about 4 more hours until bedtime.....and the way I toss and turn all night - I'm sure I'm burning some there too....
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    Fitbit does not detect incline or resistance on machines. Fitbit does not "learn" your average TDEE. It's all math based on weight and recorded activity and MFP settings if you sync.
  • cbstewart88
    cbstewart88 Posts: 453 Member
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    lorrpb wrote: »
    Fitbit does not detect incline or resistance on machines. Fitbit does not "learn" your average TDEE. It's all math based on weight and recorded activity and MFP settings if you sync.

    This makes sense to me and is what is suspected lorrpb - thank you...
  • CarlydogsMom
    CarlydogsMom Posts: 645 Member
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    On ellipticals (I don't treadmill), my Gear Fit2 gives me way fewer calories burned than the elliptical machine says, like about half as many. After using MFP for years and tracking food/exercise, I've realized that I generally expend way fewer calories than machines give me (and, frankly, other apps like Map My Run/Walk/XXX too). I tend to use my Gear Fit as a benchmark (and believe that even the Gear Fit exaggerates a bit).

    You'll just have to continue to tweak things--get your food measurements on point, and do your own estimations. My friend's Fit Bit gives her way more calories for a walk than my Gear Fit does me, and we're about the same size/height/weight, and we walk together. Like an above poster said, the tracking mechanism inside these bands uses an algorithm based on weight inputs, general heartrate, pace, etc., not your exact calories burned.

    They're good for motivation, tracking, and getting a idea of trends and general outputs (I love my Gear Fit!), but again, you have to use your own personal thought process and weight loss numbers for figuring out your accuracy in these measurements.

  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    edited February 2017
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    cbstewart88 wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    Rather than assume you've burned only 950 the rest of the day, I would assume that the treadmill was crediting me with too many calories. I routinely run on a treadmill and the treadmill always gives me a much higher number than what my Fitbit gives me as a calorie burn estimate for the workout.

    So the good news is that you're likely burning more than the 950 you think you are for daily activities. The bad news is that you've probably been overestimating your exercise calorie burns.

    That is interesting JaneJellyRoll. I was wondering that....BUT: when I put the treadmill on a very high incline (albeit a slow pace) - the treadmill can account for the higher calorie burn due to the incline, but can the Fitbit sense that???

    It would only account for the increased work of doing incline if you have a Fitbit with a HRM (Charge/Charge 2 or the Blaze are the only ones with these, I think).

    Mine has an HRM and I have noticed that it records much lower calorie burns for my treadmill runs (both with an incline and without) than what the treadmill reports. Since I eat back my calories burned and my weight has stayed what I expected, I have confidence that the lower burn from the Fitbit is more accurate.

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