Apple issues

ascherbo

I know this has been discussed but I’m having trouble following the advice of the other threads. I exercise and my Apple Watch says I burn 1000 calories and I have 15000 steps but MFP only adds back 100 calories. I have my activity level set at light even though I do more than that. Is there any way I can get by Apple Watch to be more accurate because I’m assuming I should be getting more calories back than just 100 from a 1000 calorie day? To add I don’t log individual exercises throughout the day. Thanks.

ascherbo

Would the pacer app be something to consider or does that depend on logging individual exercises, which I don’t do?

AnnPT77

Loosely speaking:

When a tracker device synchs properly, it sends MFP a value MFP can compare with MFP's own calorie estimate for you, which is based on your demographics (age, size, etc.) and the activity level you told MFP. If the tracker reports fewer calories seen than MFP would've expected (and the negative calorie adjustment is enabled on the MFP side), the MFP subtracts calories from your goal. If the tracker reports you as having burned more calories than MFP would've expected, MFP adds calories to your goal. The tracker and MFP may exchange data multiple times a day, and if you exercise lots in the AM but rest more later, or vice-versa, you may see calories add or subtract based on whatever's happened at the time of each data exchange. By the end of the day, it should all reconcile correctly.

In that light, keep in mind that your MFP activity level, even if you're set at sedentary/not very active, does include some activity (you could think of it as steps) above your basal metabolic rate. So, if the sedentary steps assumption by MFP is around 3500 steps, you wouldn't get a calorie increase unless your tracker's data suggested you'd exceed that level of activity. (In reality, it could be something other than just steps - any activity.)

That's, in very broad terms, what ought to happen, for most trackers.

Some people find that the Apple integration doesn't work correctly - allegation is that Apple sends numbers different from what MFP wants/expects. That's why Pacer may help - it will take data from Apple, send MFP what MFP expects. However, some MFP-ers find Apple integration works OK for them. I have no idea why; I'm not an Apple gal.

mrmota70

First read this article it explains how apple does their tracking.

https://www.myhealthyapple.com/move-calories-vs-total-calories-on-apple-watch-manage-both/

Specifically what number MFP awards is based on over all steps per apples tracking. However steps vary. Walking as you mentioned 15k in a day in itself is great. But look at it in these terms. Those same 15k steps throughout the day at normal walking vs walking at higher speed, with inclines, stairs etc are not equal. In some instances your watch will log some of your walking as exercise mins( with a high enough heart rate) and that there will give you more cals that mfp will add. The 1000 cals you mentioned is likely your total move calories. Again total active cals from Apple Watch and what is awarded via mfp will not be a 1 for 1.

This may illustrate it better.



MFP will not award me 404 total move cals for the workout. MFP will give me 338 active cals. And much like the steps being logged the harder the workouts the more move and the actual active cals will be tracked. I allow regular walking to just be captured. I may be between 4k-7k during the day and I may get 3-8 mins of exercise credit. I park .25 miles away from my desk and the parking lot has an incline. By the time I do my afternoon workout MFP may give me 60-100 cals on what I’ve walked up to that point in the day.



Those 60-100 cals go away when you add in workouts and until you start racking up some serious steps in a day will Apple Watch adjustment give you more cals. As I said the 15k is great so don’t let up on that front.

heybales

ascherbo wrote: »

I know this has been discussed but I’m having trouble following the advice of the other threads. I exercise and my Apple Watch says I burn 1000 calories and I have 15000 steps but MFP only adds back 100 calories. I have my activity level set at light even though I do more than that. Is there any way I can get by Apple Watch to be more accurate because I’m assuming I should be getting more calories back than just 100 from a 1000 calorie day? To add I don’t log individual exercises throughout the day. Thanks.

MFP is given wrong figures by Apple to do math with.

MFP is expecting to receive the Total Calories figures (Apples term) for Total Daily calorie burn to correct itself to.

Apple sends Resting Calories if you have accounts linked. Which works out to about the same as Sedentary on MFP.

So with just that math, you would never receive an adjustment of more than a few rounding calories.
No matter how active or how much exercise you did.

To make matters worse, if a tracker sends the workouts over, as Apple does, MFP figures that Total Daily burn contains the calories for the workout - which it should.
So to avoid double counting, it subtracts those known workout calories from the daily burn.

But in Apples case - it sent sedentary figure, so subtracting removes the workout calories when you want them.

@mrmoto70 - can you tap and hold on that line for Apple Watch Adjustment and let us see the figures reported there?