Question about calories on Fitbit

CassieR6

Ok, I'm sorry if this has been asked before but I know the Fitbit already has calories burned when you wake up. I have been told this is what you burn sleeping. I'm just trying to understand out of the number you have at the end of the day, as in 3,000 calories burned or whatever is what you actually burn during the day. I just don't believe I burned that much while sitting at my desk at work and cooking dinner at night. If this has already been answered I'm sorry.

heybales

Depends on your weight and height and age and gender (could easily hit 3000 with a sedentary day in some cases).

Because in fact, all your non-moving time is given sleeping BMR level calorie burn - but being awake, and sitting and moving arms even - burns more than sleeping.
So it's actually under-estimating.

If you just got it, and it's a HR-based model (you failed to mention model, very important for almost any help), it'll still learning you for about 2 weeks.
Your resting HR will help it figure out where the exercise level HR starts, and that's the only time it should be using HR-based calorie burn.
So if new - it could be slipping into that mode during daily activities that happen to raise your HR too high until it knows.

It also could be giving false steps if wrist worn unit and correctly trying to do step-based calorie burn during the day. Now usually bogus steps from wrist movement are seen as minor impacts and almost no distance so almost no extra calories beyond the BMR level you would have gotten.

But it could be your daily walking (how many steps you getting?) is being greatly over-estimated for distance, and therefore bigger calorie burn.

You may have to calibrate and get a more accurate walking stride length for the majority of your day.

You working out yet, because that's in those calories too.