Fitbit, Bodymedia, TDEE & BMR
husseycd
Posts: 814 Member
How many of you adjust your Fitbit height/stride length in order to get the correct BMR? I bought one recently and it's so different from my bodymedia and all the calculators, and I get the feeling it is wrong, but it's messing with me mentally and making me want to eat less. Possibly because I have gained a few pounds in the last couple months, though my measurements are pretty much unchanged.
Anyway, here are my details:
I had my RMR tested over the summer and it came in at 1580. My body fat comes in at 19-20% based on a scale and calipers, which looks to correlate with my RMR. Katch-McArdle puts me at a BMR of about 1380 at 19% BF.
I bought a bodymedia shortly after having all this tested and it seems to put my BMR somewhere close. I collected data from the bodymedia and got an average TDEE close to the formulas: 2100-2200 calories/day.
Enter the fitbit. It consistently puts me about 150 to 200 calories lower than the bodymedia, which seems to correspond to the fitbit's lower BMR. In order to make it work out, I have to change my height to 6'.
So I guess I just need reassurance this is all normal, lol. I tend to eat below my TDEE during the week (1800-1900 calories) because I always go over on the weekends and it seems to balance out that way when I actually track on the weekends. But lately I have been starving. I don't know if it's the change in weather or because I've increased my strength training a bit. Yesterday I ate to my bodymedia (shy of about 50 calories) but would have been over on the fitbit.
Anyway TL;DR - Do you all adjust your fitbit to match calculated/measured BMR/RMR or other devices (bodymedia)? It feels a bit like cheating.
Anyway, here are my details:
I had my RMR tested over the summer and it came in at 1580. My body fat comes in at 19-20% based on a scale and calipers, which looks to correlate with my RMR. Katch-McArdle puts me at a BMR of about 1380 at 19% BF.
I bought a bodymedia shortly after having all this tested and it seems to put my BMR somewhere close. I collected data from the bodymedia and got an average TDEE close to the formulas: 2100-2200 calories/day.
Enter the fitbit. It consistently puts me about 150 to 200 calories lower than the bodymedia, which seems to correspond to the fitbit's lower BMR. In order to make it work out, I have to change my height to 6'.
So I guess I just need reassurance this is all normal, lol. I tend to eat below my TDEE during the week (1800-1900 calories) because I always go over on the weekends and it seems to balance out that way when I actually track on the weekends. But lately I have been starving. I don't know if it's the change in weather or because I've increased my strength training a bit. Yesterday I ate to my bodymedia (shy of about 50 calories) but would have been over on the fitbit.
Anyway TL;DR - Do you all adjust your fitbit to match calculated/measured BMR/RMR or other devices (bodymedia)? It feels a bit like cheating.
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Replies
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Check out this thread:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1129738-heybales-another-ss-question-fitbit-ht-adjustment
I have dropped my height to get FB's calculation of BMR to be closer to Katch. I did not change my stride as I want an accurate calculation of distance. At one time I was adjusting my age and had to be 90+ years old. I think I'd rather be shorter than older... LOL0 -
Thanks! I feel like I'd fudging numbers by adjusting the fitbit, but I realize fitbit is just an estimation and based on a formula that doesn't appear to fit me.
I don't know why I'm so obsessed with all these numbers. I think it's just because I want to be able to eat/drink more. :laugh: :drinker:0 -
Thanks! I feel like I'd fudging numbers by adjusting the fitbit, but I realize fitbit is just an estimation and based on a formula that doesn't appear to fit me.
I don't know why I'm so obsessed with all these numbers. I think it's just because I want to be able to eat/drink more. :laugh: :drinker:
if it's going taller, you do indeed!
Just remember to use the FitBit FAQ to get your better stride length numbers, or find online the sites that base formula's on height, because that's all they do.
Also be aware of what FitBit will underestimate for calorie burn, such that you should manually log it on MFP and sync it over. Like lifting or rowing.0
