Fitbit giving me extra calories

Famof72015

I have MFP set on lightly active but I guess fitbit is giving me like 700+extra calories for walking 12,000 steps... doesn't that seem like a lot? When last year at this time if I walked 14000 I would get maybe 200-300. Please help

Seffell

My fitbit gives me 300-400cals more a day than it should. I've had it over a year and it does it consistently. Sadly I have to ignore it.

Famof72015

So should I just eat back half my exercise calories then anyway? On top of maintenance calories? So for instants today I'm eating at maintenance calories do I just eat that or should I eat half of my extra calories burned?

Famof72015

So I will actually be 322 calories over maintenance today.... so I should get 600+ calories back in exercise or adjusted calories burned, eat half of those back then I should be okay not gaining right?!

Famof72015

Bump

Seffell

I'm 138lbs 5'7 female and for 12000 steps I burn 350-400 cals. I maintain on 1450 at completely sedentiary (not MFP sedentiary because it includes around 5000 steps). So if I made 12000 steps and wanted to eat at maintanance I could eat 1800cals safely. From 1.5 years experience this works for me.
I don't know your stats, lifestyle and body so I just listed mine for comparison.
It might be different for you.

macgurlnet

Make sure your Fitbit account has correct info - double check your height, gender and weight in your profile. There was a glitch where Fitbit was recording weights inaccurately, resulting in weird burn numbers.

Have you seen a change in calories burned on the Fitbit side?

~Lyssa

Famof72015

5'6..134. Says maintenance is 1457. I have logged today 1779 calories. So I'm about 322 Cals over. I don't want to gain so so I need to cut something out today or get 6-700 calories and eat half of those back? Thanks everyone

Seffell

Famof72015 wrote: »

5'6..134. Says maintenance is 1457. I have logged today 1779 calories. So I'm about 322 Cals over. I don't want to gain so so I need to cut something out today or get 6-700 calories and eat half of those back? Thanks everyone

If you already made 12k steps today you should be fine. 1457 is sedentiary maintanance for sure. Can't be including the steps.

svel713

gebeziseva wrote: »

My fitbit gives me 300-400cals more a day than it should. I've had it over a year and it does it consistently. Sadly I have to ignore it.

You can go to Goals->Calorie and Macronutrient Goals-> Calories. Deduct the extra 350 or so and MFP will "forget" they exist.

That's what I had to do(300-ish by experimentation), and now my calories left is way more accurate.

katnadreau

I think that seems right. Your MFP sounds like it's set to sedentary, and you'll be rewarded 200 (I think) calories for each activity level you up, and at 12000 you're at very active. Admittedly, I'm incredibly tired right now...so I could be off on some numbers here ☺

RockWarrior84

It is just confusing, I just ignire that and aim for calorie goal and don't eat the extras

ProdigiousDigit

I game Fitbit & MFP the same way they game me.

For example, I do at least 100 sit ups a day and have never recorded one.

misnomer1

12k steps seems like 'very active'. Should give 500-700 calories over 'lightly active' imo.

I think fitbit is right. Mfp gives me exactly extra 700 calories on 'very active' over 'lightly active'.

AnvilHead

ProdigiousDigit wrote: »

I game Fitbit & MFP the same way they game me.

For example, I do at least 100 sit ups a day and have never recorded one.

The extra 5-10 calories from 100 situps wouldn't matter much anyway, so you're fine.

heybales

Famof72015 wrote: »

I have MFP set on lightly active but I guess fitbit is giving me like 700+extra calories for walking 12,000 steps... doesn't that seem like a lot? When last year at this time if I walked 14000 I would get maybe 200-300. Please help

What are the steps coming from - like daily life, or extra walking or running, or road biking?

Makes a difference.

If you are doing that many daily activity steps no exercise included like running or elliptical - then MFP is merely trying to correct itself and that sounds right - that number of steps is above Lightly Active by decent amount, but sounds like it's above Sedentary actually.

Just confirm your settings.

Also - see if device was slipping into workout mode if HR-based, then it'll start using HR-based calorie burn, and that is inflated for daily life walking.

MatthewRuch

The general piece of advice I give to anybody wearing an activity tracker, myself included, is that you set your MFP activity level to sedentary to make sure you are not "double dipping" on your activity calories as well as enabling negative calorie adjustments. That is the way you can make sure you are being as accurate as possible in your calorie tracking

Because at lightly active MFP is already giving you credit for some activity calories that you will now double count.

Now if you want to up your game when it comes to activity tracking, I recommend Polar products which have continuous 24/7 heart rate monitoring so you get the most accurate activity tracking possible. Others may prefer different brands, but I have used polar for years and couldn't be happier. YMMV

Famof72015

So MFP is set on lightly active. And those steps are about 6-7000 of jusybdaily steps and the other 5-6000 I get are from fitbit either in running mode or it's calculating steps in my workouts each morning and I don't change itntonworkout mode but when I run I change it. SO I should change MFP to sedentary?

capaul42

Famof72015 wrote: »

So MFP is set on lightly active. And those steps are about 6-7000 of jusybdaily steps and the other 5-6000 I get are from fitbit either in running mode or it's calculating steps in my workouts each morning and I don't change itntonworkout mode but when I run I change it. SO I should change MFP to sedentary?

MFP deducts your maintenance calories no matter what activity setting you choose. If you choose sedentary you'll get a larger adjustment than if you pick active. Either way doesn't really matter.

Famof72015

So confused. I'm just going to eat what I have set for my goal and not worry about the "extra", haah!

karahm78

MatthewRuch wrote: »

Because at lightly active MFP is already giving you credit for some activity calories that you will now double count.

This is incorrect.... MFP will not record an adjustment until one exceeds the calories allowed with a the selected activity level. At 12,000 steps she in not Lightly Active hence the large adjustment. If she had MFP set as Sedentary the adjustment would be even larger.

OP, if you consistently are this active and don't want large adjustments you should increase your activity level in MFP.

1457 seems way low for Maintenance based on your stats and activity level. Where are you seeing that number, in MFP?

Famof72015

I used some tdee calculator.... based on my height and weight. That's what it gave me for maintenance. So maybe I should put MFP as active? I was also told that setting MFP isn't necessary since fitbit syncs to mfp anyway

karahm78

Try the calculator on Scooby, it is one of the more reliable ones. Without knowing your age, etc I played around and your maintenance is likely north of 1800.

http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

Famof72015

Okay I'll check it out. I'm 35. Thanks

MoveitlikeManda

OP its not complicated, set you activity level on MFP and enable negative adjustments in you settings.
This way if you are less active on a day you will have a negative calorie adjustment and on more active days a plus adjustment.

example: MFP activity level set at active = 1700 cals

on Monday your fitbit tells MFP that you were only active enough to be lightly active so MFP takes say 250cals off your 1700 goal.

But on Tuesday fitbit tells MFP you have been VERY active so MFP gives you 250 extra cals

some people eat everything fitbit gives them extra, some eat half and some ignore it.
you need to figure out which of the 3 is right for you and you goals x

heybales

MatthewRuch wrote: »

The general piece of advice I give to anybody wearing an activity tracker, myself included, is that you set your MFP activity level to sedentary to make sure you are not "double dipping" on your activity calories as well as enabling negative calorie adjustments. That is the way you can make sure you are being as accurate as possible in your calorie tracking

Because at lightly active MFP is already giving you credit for some activity calories that you will now double count.

Now if you want to up your game when it comes to activity tracking, I recommend Polar products which have continuous 24/7 heart rate monitoring so you get the most accurate activity tracking possible. Others may prefer different brands, but I have used polar for years and couldn't be happier. YMMV

None of that is true regarding the double dipping.

The setting to Sedentary is because of the end of day over-estimate that won't be corrected until the next mornings sync.

The FAQ in the Fitbit group explains the math behind it if curious.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10098937/faq-syncing-logging-food-exercise-calorie-adjustments-activity-levels-accuracy/p1


Also so you know - HR-based calculated calorie burn is ONLY valid for it's best estimate - aerobic exercise zone with steady-state HR for 2-4 min.
Under aerobic exercise, like daily activity, is badly inflated.
Over aerobic, like anaerobic lifting and intervals, is badly inflated.
And the edges of the valid range start getting inflated too.


@karahm78 - Scooby is using the same exact TDEE calc as almost every other site out there based on a 1919 study by Harris (of the old BMR formula). His improvement is giving option for Katch BMR using bodyfat % if you have a good estimate.

heybales

Famof72015 wrote: »

So confused. I'm just going to eat what I have set for my goal and not worry about the "extra", haah!

So you trust MFP to set a calorie eating goal based on your selection of perhaps the correct activity level from 5.

But you don't trust MFP when it wants to correct itself to a better estimate from a device with infinite levels that actually sees what you are doing.

Unless you know there are corrections that should be made on Fitbit for accuracy improvements - trust MFP to correct itself.

You do more, you eat more.
You do less, you eat less.

In a diet a tad less in either case.

That's a life lesson right there regarding fat weight control.

Depending on your workouts, if you consistently cause underrecovery because of lack of food - they will become mediocre and you'll be missing the best you could get from them.

heybales

Famof72015 wrote: »

I used some tdee calculator.... based on my height and weight. That's what it gave me for maintenance. So maybe I should put MFP as active? I was also told that setting MFP isn't necessary since fitbit syncs to mfp anyway

You'll confuse yourself trying to mix methods as you have done.

Stick to one - but why guess from 5 levels of TDEE when Fitbit is giving same info at infinite levels?

If you want to eat the same daily - look at historical averages of normal days with and without workouts (not sick days, not unusually busy days of running around) and come up with your own TDEE figure.
Take a deficit.
Set your eating level.

Unsync Fitbit.

emailmehere1122

Do you have a food and activity log?

If so let's think about what your goal is..it's to maintain your weight. I would suggest you pick a good weight range to try to stay in,+ or - 5 pounds of your current weight. I understand there are more "variables" for women per month then for men so pick a day each month that accounts for those. Weigh yourself on the day you choose...if you've gained a few pounds refer back to your activity and food logs. If your activity dropped off you can increase that back up or lower your calories. If your weight went down again refer to your logs and make the appropriate adjustments

You can just set your calories in mfp for what you think you need...surely you have a good idea what that is by now,and not worry about the adjustments...they sound like a real pain in the *puppy* anyway

ProdigiousDigit

AnvilHead wrote: »

ProdigiousDigit wrote: »

I game Fitbit & MFP the same way they game me.

For example, I do at least 100 sit ups a day and have never recorded one.

The extra 5-10 calories from 100 situps wouldn't matter much anyway, so you're fine.

Sorry, maybe I wasn't clear.

I do more than sit ups each day, I just never record any exercises in MFP other than the steps sent over by Fitbit. Then I just eat under that number.

Plus, I'm 297. I lose 10 calories each time I blink.

misnomer1

Simple test to check whether fitbit is working correctly:

1. Keep fitbit synced to mfp.
2. keep setting at 'lightly active'
3. Enable negative calorie adjustment from MFP website on pc. Go to settings>Diary settings>calorie adjustments
4. for 1 day, keep fitbit away from body so it doesnt record any activity.
5. You should see a negative adjustment that day, move less - eat less.
6. You could also try 5000-6000 steps with fitbit on and see that adjustments are quite small comparitively (and not 700). thats because 5000-6000 steps is similar to 'lightly active' on mfp from my experience.

This would prove that fitbit is considering the activity level setting of mfp.
1. so at 0 movement on fitbit, you should see a large negative adjustment
2. on 4000-6000 steps you should see small adjustments
3. On 12000 steps you should see large positive adjustments
if mfp activity level is set at 'lightly active'

If this is getting too complicated, you could unsync fitbit and do as you were before.