Fitbit giving me extra calories

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Famof72015
Famof72015 Posts: 393 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
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
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  • Seffell
    Seffell Posts: 2,222 Member
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    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
    Famof72015 Posts: 393 Member
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    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
    Famof72015 Posts: 393 Member
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    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
    Famof72015 Posts: 393 Member
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    Bump
  • Seffell
    Seffell Posts: 2,222 Member
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    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
    macgurlnet Posts: 1,946 Member
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    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
    Famof72015 Posts: 393 Member
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    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
    Seffell Posts: 2,222 Member
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    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
    svel713 Posts: 141 Member
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    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
    katnadreau Posts: 149 Member
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    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
    RockWarrior84 Posts: 839 Member
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    It is just confusing, I just ignire that and aim for calorie goal and don't eat the extras
  • ProdigiousDigit
    ProdigiousDigit Posts: 49 Member
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    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
    misnomer1 Posts: 646 Member
    edited September 2017
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    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
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,344 Member
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    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
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    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
    MatthewRuch Posts: 165 Member
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    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
    Famof72015 Posts: 393 Member
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    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
    capaul42 Posts: 1,390 Member
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    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
    Famof72015 Posts: 393 Member
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    So confused. I'm just going to eat what I have set for my goal and not worry about the "extra", haah!

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