Fitbit exercise calorie question

astokes427

Could someone please explain why I am getting such different calorie adjustments from my steps? For example, yesterday I walked 7100+ steps, and received a +334 calorie adjustment. Today, I have walked 4,900 steps so far and have already received a +430 calorie adjustment. No extra exercise has been done, and my activity level is set at sedentary.

I have had the Fitbit since the 9th of this month, with walking being my only exercise. The adjustments have been all over the place. I'm just not sure what's up with the inconsistency, and how much I should trust the calorie adjustments? Thanks!!

GauchoMark

I believe it also takes into account the intensity of the activity, so if today's steps were more "exercise-like" then the calorie burn is bigger.

MossiO

Does it track your HR? I've found those can differ wildly in how many calories they give for "exercise."

astokes427

Yes, I have the Charge 2. I do have a heart condition though that causes random spikes in HR, like up to 130 while I'm just sitting on the couch. It's never elevated for too long, but I've been slightly concerned that that would mess with the count.

astokes427

@GauchoMark, I thought that too - however, a large majority of today's steps have been leisurely grocery shopping. Yesterday, a majority were purposeful exercise. It doesn't make sense that today has netted more?

amyepdx

It also depends on how early in the day you walked. The adjustment will decrease as the day goes on.
Oh and make sure you have negative adjustments enabled.

sapphiretyger

I honestly had to give up using my fitbit to track on MFP because I am not allowed to wear it at work (I work in a prison), and I walk about 15 - 20 minutes, at a fast pace, to get from the front gate to my office. At this point, I still wear the fitbit when not at work, but add my walking minutes here on MFP instead of having it synced. With that said ... I notice that it takes me about 10 minutes for 1500 steps. But that's just me. If you try maybe just going with how long it takes you to do a certain amount of steps, and track it that way instead of syncing, it may be more consistent, even though it's more work that way.

malibu927

Your adjustment is based on MFP estimating your total burn for the entire day. So if you remain as active as you have been, it assumes you will burn 430 calories above maintenance. If you move more than MFP expects between now and midnight your adjustment will go up; if you move less, it will go down.

astokes427

Thank you, Amy and Malibu. That makes a lot of sense. I do the majority of my walking at night, but today was in the morning. Negative adjustments are enabled, and I will make sure not to pig out on those exercise calories just yet