Accuracy of calories burned

BobbyGosbee

Hello everyone. I am in the process of trying to get into shape and decided that myfitnesspal and fitbit were the way to go. So to be as succinct as possible.

I put in my info to MFP and it says my daily calorie burning on average is around 3000 calories. However wearing my fitbit (which is putting more steps than I am actually taking as well for some reason) it is telling me that today, not doing much of anything I have burned around 3200 calories.

Just wondering which is more accurate? The fitbit measuring all my activity with all my stats in it or MFP taking all my stats and their "lightly active" setting.
Thanks!

anamarie1183

I am new using fitbit but I like to think based on what I've seen that the fitbit records activity not steps. I wear mine to bed and by morning it says I've done anywhere from 25-50 steps. Obviously I'm not walking in my sleep.

Regarding MFP, I'm not really sure. I use to use a different app for my steps until recently when I got my fitbit and MFP was always wrong on the calorie burn compared to the other app.

heybales

MFP you are selecting from 4 different levels of activity that have no exercise expected or accounted for.
Did you pick the right level?

Fitbit is giving you infinite levels (well, as close as 1 calorie difference) based on what it sees.
Is it seeing correctly though?

When synced, MFP is trying to correct itself to the more accurate estimate.

The "what it sees" could be a problem.

Fitbit is starting with foundation of BMR just like MFP, sleeping 24 hrs calorie burn.
But you are given that anytime it sees no steps.
But awake non-moving you burn more.
Standing no steps you burn more.
Eating burns calories to process foods and has no steps and you burn more.

So that is all unaccounted for.

Then through the day (or night as mentioned) you may have some bogus steps.

But since a step has impact, and impact is used to calculate distance, and distance and time is pace, and pace and weight is calories....

Steps ultimately do for daily life cause your daily burn estimate on top of that BMR value.
But what impact and distance and calorie burn was given to those bogus steps (50 is nothing) - usually not much - usually not more than the underestimating from above reasons.

Unless a HR-based model is still figuring you out in first 2 weeks, in which case it could be using HR-based calorie burn during daily activity when it should be using steps.
During exercise those models will use HR-based calorie burn - and if the workout is correct for that to be best estimate - probably good enough.
If workout is wrong type (lifting, intervals of any sort, anything non-aerobic and non-steady HR for 2-4 min) than it is overestimating calorie burn by some amount. But how long was that workout - 30 min x 3 weekly? So maybe 50-75 cal off 3 x weekly, out of how many daily?
May be concerned about something that has less inaccuracy than your food labels.

Can you see from your 5 min daily graph where the bogus steps are?
Find that time on the calorie burn graph and see how many calories above base level burn you got?
Much more ?
Can you figure out where the steps are coming from?
There are settings for wrist devices to improve accuracy, since it's attempting to detect step impacts despite swinging arms, which can be swung in manner to actually create weak steps.