Negative calorie adjustment for Apple Watch

azkunk

I don’t understand what is going on. My watch registered over 500 active calories and another 200+ for exercise I tracked but MFP gave me ZERO credit. Does anyone know why this is?

azkunk

The workout looks like it is 313 minutes because I kept getting interrupted and had to pause. The app shows 42 minutes for just over 200 calories

Lietchi

From what I've read on these boards, Apple doesn't send the right number over to MFP. The recommendation is to use Pacer as an intermediate app: connect Apple to Pacer and connect Pacer to MFP.

azkunk

That sucks. I have notice it deducting calories but there was always some credit but today it was zero. I try not to eat my calories back but with only 1200, sometimes I’m still hungry.

heybales

Apple sends for the value of Total Daily Calories Burned so far a figure that is already about equal to MFP's sedentary.

And workouts.

The result of that wrong daily burn figure (total means total, all included, not sedentary rate) is no credit for activity above sedentary, and no credit for workouts.

You can't sync directly.

Disconnect.

Sync to Pacer listed in MFP apps to sync to.
Sync Pacer to Apple Health account.

Pacer sends the correct info to MFP. And workouts come across.

And you are doing it wrong if you think you should not eat more when you do more.
Is that 1200 based on sedentary activity level you selected?
Does your Move show something more was burned, and Exercise too?
Then you are more than sedentary, why would you not allow MFP to correct your wrong selection, or improve it?

briscogun

Your steps are counter balancing your workout? That's odd.

I have an Apple watch but I do NOT use it for steps. I only let it track my intentional exercise. I don't want or need extra "credit" for just walking around during the day, even if I was at Disney walking for 14 hours. But that's just me.

Maybe see if you turn off the steps function see if it balances back out? You might also have it set to an active setting so if you aren't getting your 10,000+ steps in its subtracting calories it figured you'd be burning based on your activity setting?

azkunk

Some more info:
1. I have my activity set to sedentary because I have a desk job.
2. I have to count steps with my watch to link with the Virgin Pulse app to earn credit towards paying for my health insurance.
3. I have increased my average steps from less than 5000/day to over 8000/day these past two months and each month I push my target up 500 steps/day. I would like to consistently get to 10k/day.
4. I do not eat my calories back on most days but some dates I am hungry and I eat some back. I always try to stay under the total. My average daily calories since August have been less than 1200.
5. I walk for exercise and just started a couch to 5K program.
6. I have not increased my activity level because I’m not sure if I should. I feel I can stay at 1200 but eat some calories back the few days that I need more.

I just don’t understand why is subtracts calories. It doesn’t make sense.

heybales

azkunk wrote: »

Some more info:
1. I have my activity set to sedentary because I have a desk job.
2. I have to count steps with my watch to link with the Virgin Pulse app to earn credit towards paying for my health insurance.
3. I have increased my average steps from less than 5000/day to over 8000/day these past two months and each month I push my target up 500 steps/day. I would like to consistently get to 10k/day.
4. I do not eat my calories back on most days but some dates I am hungry and I eat some back. I always try to stay under the total. My average daily calories since August have been less than 1200.
5. I walk for exercise and just started a couch to 5K program.
6. I have not increased my activity level because I’m not sure if I should. I feel I can stay at 1200 but eat some calories back the few days that I need more.

I just don’t understand why is subtracts calories. It doesn’t make sense.

So you aren't sedentary then as I suspected, just FYI.
Extreme diets (you may easily be pushing in to) is one of the major reasons for the 80% failure rate of dieters to reach goal weight or maintain it for over a year.
Just side points resulting from the discussion.

And the reason for subtracting was given in prior response.

azkunk

heybales wrote: »

azkunk wrote: »

Some more info:
1. I have my activity set to sedentary because I have a desk job.
2. I have to count steps with my watch to link with the Virgin Pulse app to earn credit towards paying for my health insurance.
3. I have increased my average steps from less than 5000/day to over 8000/day these past two months and each month I push my target up 500 steps/day. I would like to consistently get to 10k/day.
4. I do not eat my calories back on most days but some dates I am hungry and I eat some back. I always try to stay under the total. My average daily calories since August have been less than 1200.
5. I walk for exercise and just started a couch to 5K program.
6. I have not increased my activity level because I’m not sure if I should. I feel I can stay at 1200 but eat some calories back the few days that I need more.

I just don’t understand why is subtracts calories. It doesn’t make sense.

So you aren't sedentary then as I suspected, just FYI.
Extreme diets (you may easily be pushing in to) is one of the major reasons for the 80% failure rate of dieters to reach goal weight or maintain it for over a year.
Just side points resulting from the discussion.

And the reason for subtracting was given in prior response.

So, you think 1200 is too low and I should increase to lightly active? There isn’t any real guidance on this and I am just not sure. I have lost around 17.5 lbs but seemed to be stalled. I know that if calories are too low then it can stall you but I’m not sure if that’s my problem.

azkunk

Changing to lightly active only changed my calories to 1280 (set to lose 1.5 lb/week), so I made the change.

heybales

2lb weekly loss rate usually reasonable for over 50 lbs to lose.
1.5 for 30-50
1 for 15-30
1/2 lb for under.

If your body already stressed from disease, those ranges may not even be reasonable.

Creating extra deficit by underrating activity, not counting exercise, consistently, just adds stress to body.
It'll adapt, it'll fight your attempts, it'll lose muscle mass.
Too low won't stall you, but can cause water weight gain from the stress and mask fat loss.
Obviously if body is that stressed out, not a good state to be in.

Your change means you were not going to get the full deficit you selected anyway.
And that means that eating goal is for days you are only lightly active with no exercise.
You do more you eat more.
You do less you eat less.
That's the life lesson MFP is trying to teach.
Doesn't have to be done each day, as some average the whole week out and eat the same daily - but they are accounting for the fact they do more still.

azkunk

I still have 50 lbs to get to the healthy BMI range. I was surprised that changing to lightly active only increased calorie goal to 1280. As I progress through the C25K program, I will may need to increase the level to active. I wish there were a guide to help you choose the correct level.

Thank you for talking me through this.

heybales

The activity levels don't ramp up fast enough to include decent amounts of exercise.
That's why exercise is added when actually done.

The description of desk job is poor, since most with step trackers discover if they get over about 3-5K steps (depending on distance gone) - they are above sedentary. Just as your Move calories is telling you.
112 hrs of the week awake perhaps - 40 sitting at desk - what's the other 72?
Bump on a log watching TV/computer/gaming/reading - or got household responsibilities?

Someone will appear with the chart for what the average steps seem to be per activity level, if you really keep increasing daily walking outside of exercise purposeful things.