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Steps should not be adding calories

KareninCanada
KareninCanada Posts: 955 Member
in MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions
Usually my MFP tracker counts run keeper for exercise calories but does not adjust for steps. Suddenly today it started adding calorie for steps, too. How can I turn this back off?

Best Answers

  • durden
    durden Posts: 3,446 MFP Staff
    Answer ✓
    If steps are being recorded and you're receiving an adjustment, this means we are receiving information from your tracker and the integration is working correctly. MyFitnessPal isn't providing this information; we're simply displaying what we are given.

    The adjustment is actually not based on your step count, but instead based on your entire activity for the day. The step count is there as an incentive and though it does contribute to part of your activity level, it's not the sole contributor.

    Therefore x amount of steps does not mean you will receive x amount of extra calories.

    The way the adjustment is derived is by comparing your total calories burned from your tracker against the total calories already provided by MyFitnessPal.

    When you have earned more calories than MyFitnessPal has already provided, you will then see the difference as your adjustment.

    ** You can view a breakdown of this calculation by tapping on the adjustment line and then on the adjustment itself (above the Learn More button) in the app, or by clicking the "i" next to the adjustment line in the Cardiovascular section online at www.MyFitnessPal.com **

    Please also note: the total calories from MyFitnessPal will include any calories instantly provided by adding separate exercises (outside of your partner adjustment) to MyFitnessPal, along with the calories needed to reach the goals you set when joining the program.

    The following article may also help: https://myfitnesspal.zendesk.com/hc/articles/360032623871-What-is-the-Calorie-Adjustment-in-my-Exercise-Diary-
  • durden
    durden Posts: 3,446 MFP Staff
    Answer ✓
    Update: https://status.fitbit.com/incidents/D6j3uhKPGKKsJjNoxsp7

    The issue appears to be on the Fitbit side; hoping they are able to resolve their issues soon.
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Answers

  • momofboys826
    momofboys826 Posts: 1 Member
    Does it only sync over fitbit steps if you have premium? I cannot get it to work
  • KareninCanada
    KareninCanada Posts: 955 Member
    edited September 3
    It doesn't need premium. But I think it is glitching today.
  • KareninCanada
    KareninCanada Posts: 955 Member
    Edit - and it's random amounts. Like 276 which then changed to 59 an hour later.
  • ShrinkingOtter2
    ShrinkingOtter2 Posts: 8 Member
    At midnight MFP just randomly gave me 1,600 exercise calories for today. I've walked like 25 steps since midnight. I can't seem to get it to go back to normal. I had the same problem yesterday and that was the first day that it was haywire like that.
  • CornflakeHead
    CornflakeHead Posts: 2 Member
    The calorie tracker has been all over the place this week. This morning it tracked 726 calories for me going downstairs to make a cup of tea. It readjusted 30 mins later to 570.
  • WilliamShreckengost
    WilliamShreckengost Posts: 8 Member
    Glad I'm not alone on this one. At least if it's a widespread issue it'll see more attention. Up to this point, Fitbit has been giving me higher numbers than MFP. I know it has some wide error bars so I think slashing Fitbit's numbers there is a good thing. It's doing the opposite today.

    Today I've more or less just been getting up to grab some water after midnight. Both Fitbit and MFP agree on the number of steps (419 right now,) but Fitbit shows 729 calories and MFP is showing 1,486. I try to be active, but I'm not literally moving a mountain over here.
  • londoneye
    londoneye Posts: 195 Member
    Yep, I'm getting really exaggerated exercise calories today too! I wish I had earned them but sadly not :(
  • londoneye
    londoneye Posts: 195 Member
    edited September 3
    It's giving me waaay too many exercise calories!
  • melissaseifert4
    melissaseifert4 Posts: 1 Member
    I have uninstalled Fitbit and MFP and that did not solve the problem. I have way too many exercise calories for only 1200 steps so far today.
  • keeley123mfp
    keeley123mfp Posts: 1 Member
    edited September 3
    I'm also having problems with MFP giving ridiculous over estimated calorie adjustments all of a sudden without changing any settings. For example, the last few mornings I have woke up, planned and inputted my food and calorie intake for the day, and it's saying over a 1000 additional calories already. I know it's wrong and I'm not sure where it's pulling the info from.

    I'm connected to fitbit, but since this glitch I can have less than 100 steps for the day so far, no periods of exercise, literally lying in bed from being asleep or it's just gone past midnight, etc., and it says multiple 100s or over a 1000 adjusted calories.

    It's making it very unreliable. Usually the MFP adjusted calories is less than the fitbit, so I follow the MFP when trying to lose weight. But currently the MFP is massively higher than the fitbit.

    Has something changed in the algorithms for calculating adjustments from activity trackers?

    Please look into this MyFitnessPal!
  • KareninCanada
    KareninCanada Posts: 955 Member
    edited September 3
    durden wrote: »
    If steps are being recorded and you're receiving an adjustment, this means we are receiving information from your tracker and the integration is working correctly. MyFitnessPal isn't providing this information; we're simply displaying what we are given.

    Thanks, it looks like it's glitching all over the place and I will just ignore the exercise calories it thinks should be applied.

    Like right now adding 226 exercise calories based off 647 steps and no workout. It's a mess. 🤔
  • KareninCanada
    KareninCanada Posts: 955 Member
    ... and now 132. 😆

    Is MFP trying to force people to switch to the paid model in order to be able to turn off exercise calories and have accurate numbers? 🤔
  • WilliamShreckengost
    WilliamShreckengost Posts: 8 Member
    I hesitate to call anything "fixed" when the problem is inconsistent to begin with, but it's gone down to a much more reasonable 428 after a few more steps and some good sleep. I have negative adjustments enabled, so that's going to be at least some of it, but I've never seen one high enough from sleep to make that big a difference. I think it may all be behaving again on my side of things.
  • ChristineTheTraveler
    ChristineTheTraveler Posts: 2 Member
    When I reviewed how my Fitbit calorie adjustment was calculated, the projection it's based on is based on a higher calorie burn than what my Fitbit app is reporting. I just took the Fitbit screenshot a few minutes ago. If my Fitbit is reporting a calorie burn of 1,412, then why is the Fitbit adjustment basing the projection on a calorie burn of 1,634?

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  • minniestar55
    minniestar55 Posts: 350 Member
    Glad it’s not just me! Random exercise calories being added last few days; logged out & in, both Fitbit & MFP, disconnect & reconnect. Still the same. Confusing! 2gml4ztedsor.jpeg
  • WilliamShreckengost
    WilliamShreckengost Posts: 8 Member
    WilliamShreckengost wrote: »
    I hesitate to call anything "fixed" when the problem is inconsistent to begin with, but it's gone down to a much more reasonable 428 after a few more steps and some good sleep. I have negative adjustments enabled, so that's going to be at least some of it, but I've never seen one high enough from sleep to make that big a difference. I think it may all be behaving again on my side of things.

    Well that didn't last long. I definitely don't feel like I burned 2,258 calories through an hour of walking at a moderate pace, nor does my watch nor the Fitbit app on my phone. Those are saying 626 right now and that tries to include my estimated RMR and has been found to regularly overestimate the impact of walking and running by sometimes as much as 40%. If anything, MFP should probably be showing something more like 300 burned.

    Anyway, these past two mornings have convinced me to completely ignore its estimates for exercise calories, do all that through blind estimations, and simply use MFP for tracking the intake side of things and manual workout logging. Right now I just can't rely on this for activity tracking beyond that at all.
  • KNoceros
    KNoceros Posts: 326 Member
    edited September 4
    I use a FitBit Charge 3 to monitor my expertise and MFP to log food, the two accounts are linked.
    This morning when I logged into MFP shortly after getting up, my exercise adjustment (for 91 steps) is +784. It would normally be -73. This is clearly not right.
    What is going on please?
  • Nathc79
    Nathc79 Posts: 3 Member
    Hi - both mine and my wife's calorie Adjustments have gone through the roof over the past 2 days, something is clearly wrong! Having done 1100 steps around the house this morning, I have burned 950 calories doing so! Anyone else getting the same problem / any ideas for to rectify?
  • BlueberryRipple
    BlueberryRipple Posts: 7 Member
    edited September 6
    Me too! This looks like a bug.

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