Woah, why is Fitbit calorie adjustment so high ?

On my garmin devic, about 3k steps relatively quickly would give me about 60 calories whereas with my new Fitbit charge I'm getting 180 for the same number of steps. That must be off. Does this have something to do with the heart rate monitor? I have been cooking all day and it's been saying "fat burning mode," even though I really haven't gotten that many steps

Replies

CyberTone

When the Fitbit is a new account, it will use variables for a general population with your stats. As the days and weeks progress, Fitbit algorithms will start using running averages for your specific account, so in effect it "learns" about you and your habits so the estimated Calorie burn will become a better estimate.

And yes, Fitbit accelerometers and heart rate monitors factor into the Calorie estimate. I log food accurately in MFP and eat back 100% of my Fitbit Calorie adjustment and have had no trouble losing and maintaining.

RedheadedPrincess14

CyberTone wrote: »

When the Fitbit is a new account, it will use variables for a general population with your stats. As the days and weeks progress, Fitbit algorithms will start using running averages for your specific account, so in effect it "learns" about you and your habits so the estimated Calorie burn will become a better estimate.

And yes, Fitbit accelerometers and heart rate monitors factor into the Calorie estimate. I log food accurately in MFP and eat back 100% of my Fitbit Calorie adjustment and have had no trouble losing and maintaining.

I'm really not entirely sure what you mean by the variables but thanks! I'm glad it will get better

Francl27

Cooking can be misleading though, you can get steps and an elevated heart rate for stirring something vigorously or grating cheese and your calorie burn will get all messed up for it.

I try to use the hand my fitbit isn't on to do that stuff, or I take it off. Yesterday I was baking for 3 hours and somehow got 2000 steps, which seems pretty excessive.

RedheadedPrincess14

Francl27 wrote: »

Cooking can be misleading though, you can get steps and an elevated heart rate for stirring something vigorously or grating cheese and your calorie burn will get all messed up for it.

I try to use the hand my fitbit isn't on to do that stuff, or I take it off. Yesterday I was baking for 3 hours and somehow got 2000 steps, which seems pretty excessive.

It wasn't giving me steps because I wear it on my non dominant hand but I think it ups calories for just heart rate because I only did a couple light walks. It gave me 7000k steps (which makes sense) but the calorie burn was like 600. Never seen that on my garmin

Lesscookies1

The burns does seem awfully high I've noticed that on my Fitbit as well. I think of it more as an estimate versus actual real calorie burns.

spiffychick85

When I first got my charge it was high calorie burns...but back then I wasn't counting calories just counting steps. After a few weeks it got better and more accurate and I eat what it says and lose weight accordingly

ladyhusker39

I had a Charge HR and it was very accurate. I got a new Alta HR and it's very high on both steps and calories. I've had it for about 3 months and it hasn't gotten any more accurate. No idea why. I've been on an extended diet break, but I'm starting back after the first of the year to work on a few more pounds. I'll switch back to my old Charge HR when I do that. My Alta HR is basically an expensive plastic watch.

stanmann571

Both the Garmin and Fitbit algorithms overweight HR in daily calorie allowance(for many people)

vismal

stanmann571 wrote: »

Both the Garmin and Fitbit algorithms overweight HR in daily calorie allowance(for many people)

Myself included! If I ate what my device said I burned each day I'd probably be gaining weight at around a lb a week.

jeichelb83

Same here. That's why I don't sync it to MFP (well that and because it drops all the time). I only use my Fitbit during dedicated exercise workouts and only log half of the calorie burn it gives me.

Francl27

I hear that Fitbit can take a while to adjust to you as well, so I'd give it some time and make sure all your stats are accurate in the app.

For 7000 steps I usually get a 200-300 adjustment (from sedentary). I have the charge HR and it's been pretty accurate to me (if anything, I should have gained more weight back than I did if I believed the numbers!).

TorStar80

I got 11 steps in while sleeping! Yay me

Fitbit Alta HR here.

Christine_72

Francl27 wrote: »

For 7000 steps I usually get a 200-300 adjustment (from sedentary). I have the charge HR and it's been pretty accurate to me (if anything, I should have gained more weight back than I did if I believed the numbers!).

Same numbers here, so far today I'm at 7,318 steps and have had an extra 248 calories imported over. Also set at sedentary.

I have the fitbit Charge2, upgraded from the regular Alta (no HR monitor) a couple of months ago, and my TDEE and calorie adjustments remained the same. I didn't see any upswings or downswings in numbers when changing trackers. I was expecting massive calorie adjustments for the first couple weeks, while the charge2 was "adjusting", but it never happened.

Morrighan_632017

I'm actually considering whether it's worth upgrading my Fitbit One to an HR model but from the comments I'm wondering if it's actually worth it if the information HR modles give isn't accurate or reliable. Would any of you recommend someone get a Charge HR/ Alta HR?

RedheadedPrincess14

Christine_72 wrote: »

Francl27 wrote: »

For 7000 steps I usually get a 200-300 adjustment (from sedentary). I have the charge HR and it's been pretty accurate to me (if anything, I should have gained more weight back than I did if I believed the numbers!).

Same numbers here, so far today I'm at 7,318 steps and have had an extra 248 calories imported over. Also set at sedentary.

I have the fitbit Charge2, upgraded from the regular Alta (no HR monitor) a couple of months ago, and my TDEE and calorie adjustments remained the same. I didn't see any upswings or downswings in numbers when changing trackers. I was expecting massive calorie adjustments for the first couple weeks, while the charge2 was "adjusting", but it never happened.

I got 17k steps today and it says a burn of 800 calories. That seems insane

Christine_72

RedheadedPrincess14 wrote: »

Christine_72 wrote: »

Francl27 wrote: »

For 7000 steps I usually get a 200-300 adjustment (from sedentary). I have the charge HR and it's been pretty accurate to me (if anything, I should have gained more weight back than I did if I believed the numbers!).

Same numbers here, so far today I'm at 7,318 steps and have had an extra 248 calories imported over. Also set at sedentary.

I have the fitbit Charge2, upgraded from the regular Alta (no HR monitor) a couple of months ago, and my TDEE and calorie adjustments remained the same. I didn't see any upswings or downswings in numbers when changing trackers. I was expecting massive calorie adjustments for the first couple weeks, while the charge2 was "adjusting", but it never happened.

I got 17k steps today and it says a burn of 800 calories. That seems insane

Sounds about right to me.

emjay6x3

TorStar80 wrote: »

I got 11 steps in while sleeping! Yay me Fitbit Alta HR here.

I love when I wake up and I've already taken steps overnight! LOL.

emjay6x3

My FitBit tells me I've burned less calories than my Polar HR monitor did when I was working out. It also tells me my heart rate is lower while working out than the Polar did. It's interesting to me to see the amount of calories I burn "just being alive," however it threw me off the first week or so. I finally just decided to unsync (is that a word?) MFP and FitBit...

Raven_Hawk

Yup it definitely takes into account HR. If I get a fright I get credit for exercise.

As much as I enjoy seeing that credit amount I never call upon it to consume more. I tend to do roughly the same type & amount of exercise per day so I just eat the amount of carbs/calories that I have set as my target.

ashharris424

Your Fitbit will take a while to figure out what your real "zones" are. Once it knows what your average resting rate is, it will factor your "zones" more accurately. Right now it's basing it strictly off the average for your height and weight. And Fitbit doesn't take your BMR into account. It estimates how many actual calories you burn in a day, not just from exercise. You could literally lie in bed all day with your Fitbit on and it will still say you burned "x" amount of calories. For instance, I've worn mine for about half the day today while lying on the couch with the flu. It has only counted 300 steps but gave me a 1500 calorie burn. Give it about 3-4 weeks and it should be way more accurate.

RedheadedPrincess14

ashharris424 wrote: »

Your Fitbit will take a while to figure out what your real "zones" are. Once it knows what your average resting rate is, it will factor your "zones" more accurately. Right now it's basing it strictly off the average for your height and weight. And Fitbit doesn't take your BMR into account. It estimates how many actual calories you burn in a day, not just from exercise. You could literally lie in bed all day with your Fitbit on and it will still say you burned "x" amount of calories. For instance, I've worn mine for about half the day today while lying on the couch with the flu. It has only counted 300 steps but gave me a 1500 calorie burn. Give it about 3-4 weeks and it should be way more accurate.

Okay thank you!! That's very helpful

k8andchr1smom

Christine_72 wrote: »

Francl27 wrote: »

For 7000 steps I usually get a 200-300 adjustment (from sedentary). I have the charge HR and it's been pretty accurate to me (if anything, I should have gained more weight back than I did if I believed the numbers!).

Same numbers here, so far today I'm at 7,318 steps and have had an extra 248 calories imported over. Also set at sedentary.

I have the fitbit Charge2, upgraded from the regular Alta (no HR monitor) a couple of months ago, and my TDEE and calorie adjustments remained the same. I didn't see any upswings or downswings in numbers when changing trackers. I was expecting massive calorie adjustments for the first couple weeks, while the charge2 was "adjusting", but it never happened.

If you got that many steps unintentionally maybe you need to set it at a different place? That doesn't sound sedentary to me. YMMV

Christine_72

k8andchr1smom wrote: »

Christine_72 wrote: »

Francl27 wrote: »

For 7000 steps I usually get a 200-300 adjustment (from sedentary). I have the charge HR and it's been pretty accurate to me (if anything, I should have gained more weight back than I did if I believed the numbers!).

Same numbers here, so far today I'm at 7,318 steps and have had an extra 248 calories imported over. Also set at sedentary.

I have the fitbit Charge2, upgraded from the regular Alta (no HR monitor) a couple of months ago, and my TDEE and calorie adjustments remained the same. I didn't see any upswings or downswings in numbers when changing trackers. I was expecting massive calorie adjustments for the first couple weeks, while the charge2 was "adjusting", but it never happened.

If you got that many steps unintentionally maybe you need to set it at a different place? That doesn't sound sedentary to me. YMMV

If i did no intentional exercise, I'd average around 2000-3000 steps a day in my usual daily life. Every step above those numbers is deliberate exercise, walking or jogging.

Francl27

k8andchr1smom wrote: »

Christine_72 wrote: »

Francl27 wrote: »

For 7000 steps I usually get a 200-300 adjustment (from sedentary). I have the charge HR and it's been pretty accurate to me (if anything, I should have gained more weight back than I did if I believed the numbers!).

Same numbers here, so far today I'm at 7,318 steps and have had an extra 248 calories imported over. Also set at sedentary.

I have the fitbit Charge2, upgraded from the regular Alta (no HR monitor) a couple of months ago, and my TDEE and calorie adjustments remained the same. I didn't see any upswings or downswings in numbers when changing trackers. I was expecting massive calorie adjustments for the first couple weeks, while the charge2 was "adjusting", but it never happened.

If you got that many steps unintentionally maybe you need to set it at a different place? That doesn't sound sedentary to me. YMMV

It doesn't matter because Fitbit will just credit you more anyway. Plus the amount MFP gives you at the end of the day will be much more accurate if you're set at sedentary (I used to 'lose' 200 calories from 8pm to midnight when I was set at active).