Help: negative calorie adjustment mistake?

Options
2»

Replies

  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,933 Member
    Options
    TommyWillWright wrote: »
    This is so simple it's actually childishly Dumb.
    Your tracker (Fitbit) registers the exercise as a Minus figures E.G. -232
    Myfitnesspal registers Calories burned in Positive figures +232
    So in MPF when FitBit links it shows as a Negative number ( As fitbit atores it ) and Myfitness Pal then dies this calculation.
    Calories Eaten - Calories Burned= x
    MFP
    1200 - +232 = 968
    Fitbit sync
    1200 - -232 = 1432
    So in Myfitnesspal it says you have easentially exersized yourself fatter PMSL.

    The OP's original issue was related to BUGS in the MFP and Apple Watch integration.

    It just does NOT WORK PROPERLY (still as of June 2019) unless you use an intermediate app to mediate.

    You may achieve a better understanding of how Fitbit and MFP integrate by reading through the FAQ in the Fitbit User's group. Maybe it is the way you're explaining it; but, it doesn't sound to me as if you have achieved that yet.
  • TommyWillWright
    TommyWillWright Posts: 6 Member
    edited June 2019
    Options
    No my previous has it right, I tested it, just bad coding MFP devs need to make a fix.
  • Gregmire11
    Gregmire11 Posts: 1 Member
    Options
    I’m experiencing the same issue, using an Apple Watch 4 and iPhone X... I worked so hard for my deficit to be faced with such a bad report card at the end of the day... very demotivating.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,933 Member
    edited June 2019
    Options
    use an intermediate app
  • Kathryn247
    Kathryn247 Posts: 570 Member
    Options
    @PAV8888 what "intermediate app" do you mean?
    I just got an iPhone and Apple watch a couple of days ago after having a FitBit for years. I synced the Activity and Health apps as directed, but I'm having the same kinds of errors - I go for an extra walk in the evening and they take calories away. I don't manually enter anything. A 9k step day that FitBit would have given me 400 exercise calories for got me 60 from Apple.
    I just disabled the negative calorie adjustment, I'm hoping that will help.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,933 Member
    Options
    I use Fitbit/Android personally, so you may need to explore apps!

    I think I've seen @heybales suggest connecting all the Apple stuff to Pacer and Pacer to MFP.

    I think @shadow2soul looked into this a while back too.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Options
    Kathryn247 wrote: »
    @PAV8888 what "intermediate app" do you mean?
    I just got an iPhone and Apple watch a couple of days ago after having a FitBit for years. I synced the Activity and Health apps as directed, but I'm having the same kinds of errors - I go for an extra walk in the evening and they take calories away. I don't manually enter anything. A 9k step day that FitBit would have given me 400 exercise calories for got me 60 from Apple.
    I just disabled the negative calorie adjustment, I'm hoping that will help.

    Apple failed to provide the right info, and MFP failed to call them on it from merely wanting them to do the work for syncs. Because so many people yelling for MFP to do the sync.
    Huge misunderstanding thinking MFP has the ability to reach into any tracker's account and pull info.
    It's always the tracker side that has to do the work - in this case Apple - reluctantly - and ultimately incorrectly.

    Sadly this means the math is all screwed up that MFP does.

    You'll have to use Pacer account/app to sync to Apple Health, and the sync MFP to Pacer.

    It's the only way to get the correct values over to MFP.

    Make sure you select Sedentary on MFP.

    Leave Negative enabled, it has nothing to do with the issue.


    For background - all trackers have a Daily Calorie burn - and that's what MFP is expecting to be synced over.
    Apple sends over the figure for base calorie burn of Sedentary. That's all.

    So the more non-exercise active you are - nothing of that comes over to MFP to be accounted for.

    Apple does send exercise over as a workout - but since it's not actually in that Daily Calorie burn, when MFP correctly removes it because it assumes it is - you get calories removed that shouldn't be.

    Double whammy - the more active you are, and the more you workout - the worse the effect of going the wrong direction on adjustments.

    All Apple would need to do is correct their coding on which figure is sent.
    They either have the Total Daily calorie burn, or they can add up the base and Move figures and send that across.

    If all the MFP users would complain to the correct side of the issues - perhaps Apple would do the simple fix.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Options
    TommyWillWright wrote: »
    This is so simple it's actually childishly Dumb.

    Your tracker (Fitbit) registers the exercise as a Minus figures E.G. -232

    Myfitnesspal registers Calories burned in Positive figures +232

    So in MPF when FitBit links it shows as a Negative number ( As fitbit stores it ) and Myfitness Pal then dies this calculation.

    Calories Eaten - Calories Burned = x

    MFP
    1200 - +232 = 968


    Fitbit sync
    1200 - -232 = 1432

    So in Myfitnesspal it says you have essentially exersized yourself fatter PMSL.


    Oh but it gets better. Fitbit and the like sync correctly from myfitnesspal, in the sense that they convert the positive into a minus... So when you manually insert a figure into MFP it will sync to Fitbit, convert to a minus and then sync back to MFP as an additional minus.

    So in essense it's like you haven't added anything at all because they cancel each other out everytime

    TL:DR hilariously bad coding.

    Nope. Not at all what's going on.

    Read the 2nd section here if you want to know what's occurring with the trackers.

    The devices that do the optional workout syncs (Garmin for one) you can figure out in the example how that works still.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10098937/faq-syncing-logging-food-exercise-calorie-adjustments-activity-levels-accuracy
  • mrjayferguson
    mrjayferguson Posts: 1 Member
    Options
    This has me stumped aswell, I have an apple watch, and used the workout app to track and input into myfitnesspal from the health app. My workout saved as 339 calories burned, but then my step calorie adjustment (17,329 steps) turned into -1,639 calories. Has anyone figured it out for certain?
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Options
    mrjayferguson wrote: »
    This has me stumped aswell, I have an apple watch, and used the workout app to track and input into myfitnesspal from the health app. My workout saved as 339 calories burned, but then my step calorie adjustment (17,329 steps) turned into -1,639 calories. Has anyone figured it out for certain?

    Yes. You need to read the last few posts in this thread.
  • ruth88hk
    ruth88hk Posts: 1 Member
    Options
    From my experience, I think the negative adjustment feature is inaccurate (even without manually adding the exercise/workout.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,996 Member
    edited December 2022
    Options
    ruth88hk wrote: »
    From my experience, I think the negative adjustment feature is inaccurate (even without manually adding the exercise/workout.

    I can't speak to its accuracy, but way back I did use negative adjustment briefly and it hurt my brain, so I shut it off.

    For those wondering how to find it, it's a check box at the bottom of the page here:

    https://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary-settings

Categories