Where do the MyFitnessPal Calorie Burned Numbers Come from in the Calorie Adjustment Calculation?

luke4947

I have my garmin device synced and have a question about how the app is calculating the adjustment. The FAQ below refers to "MyFitnessPal Calories Burned" and says, "[This] includes not only your daily goals, but also the calories needed to reach the goals you have set within the program..."

For me, this says 2,722 calories including 154 from exercise (via Garmin). So where did the original 2,568 calories come from without the exercise?

This does not match anything I could find related to my goals.

FAQ: https://support.myfitnesspal.com/hc/en-us/articles/360032623871-What-is-the-Calorie-Adjustment-in-my-Exercise-Diary-

Thanks,

Luke

Lietchi

In MFP you have entered your personal stats (weight, activity level, weight loss rate...)
Based on that, MFP gave you a calorie goal (how many calories MFP thinks you burn in a day, minus the calories for your weight loss). If you exercise, that calorie burn is added to your calorie goal, to maintain the desired rate of loss.

When you have a device synced, the calorie burn from that device 'overrides' the number of calories MFP thinks you burn. It's based on the total calorie burn Garmin estimates (extrapolated to the whole day of the day is not yet over).

If you tap on to our calorie adjustment in your diary, you can see more info:

luke4947

I got it how. If I set my activity to sedentary and say that I wanted to maintain weight, the app says I should consume 2,570 calories (i.e., this is my resting metabolic rate or RMR), which matches the number from the adjustment calculation (i.e., 2,568 rounded up is 2,570).

This is what don't get. The app takes my Garmin calories (which includes activity above RMR and let's pretend this is 2,870) and subtracts my the app's RMR (2,570) and then adds this number (300) to the calories I can eat (i.e., 2,570 becomes 2,870).

However, the calories I can eat already takes into account the activity level I input into the app. For example, if I set my activity to light and say I want to maintain my weight, the app says I need to consume ~2,870 calories instead of 2,570. The adjustment is still based on the RMR of 2,570 instead of 2,870 and so the adjustment adds 300 calories to the calories I can eat, and 2,870 becomes 3.170.

Lietchi

I still think the issue is switching between activity levels, that there is a lag, or perhaps you're looking at a day on the past (changing your activity level won't change the calculations if previous days).