Loving MFP but confused by Fitbit Flex calories

jillcally

Hi All,

This is my first post, I lost 28lbs with slimming world, got to a size 12 and felt amazing. Then for some silly reason put it all back on! Trying MFP to educate myself more on calories and have synced it to my fitbit flex which is fab, HOWEVER I am a bit confused about the flex calories its linking to MFP. I have an office job but do walk about as much as possible, at lunch I have had a brisk walk uphill into town and back (about 3/4 mile total) and it has added 330 calories in exercise to MFP? Surely this cant be right, given I did a 45 minutes spin class yesterday where I gave it everything I had, was dripping in sweat and only burned 438 calories?

It seems too generous to say 330 cals for around 22 mins walking!! What do you think?

lesteidel

My fitbit gives me about 300 for every 10k steps.

Make sure you have your settings right on the fitbit, and that it's set to be reading on the hand you have it on. It may be logging too many steps for you. If it's still doing that turn sync itm keep the app open and walk around and watch the number to see if it's going up at the right speed. If it isn't, play with your settings until it's correct.

Also, if you are larger, then you will get more calories for things.

rderrickwhite

Incidentally, I would advise you to set your goals using the "sedentary option" if you use fitbit. It's giving you credit for all of your daily activity, and the activity level settings in your goals are essentially trying to adjust for that as well.

editorgrrl

MFP has a Fitbit Users group: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/1307-fitbit-users

Here's how Fitbit calorie adjustments work:

When you set up your MFP account, you specified an activity level: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/change_goals_guided MFP used your answer, plus your age, sex, height & weight, to estimate how many calories you burn every day (not including exercise). Then you set your weight-loss goal, and MFP subtracted the appropriate deficit to calculate your daily calorie goal.

Once you link an activity tracker to your MFP account (via the "Apps" tab at the top of every page), you start getting calorie adjustments. If your tracker says you burned more calories than MFP estimated, you get a positive adjustment (meaning more calories to eat). If you enable negative calorie adjustments http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings and you burn less than the MFP estimate, you will lose calories. (But negative calorie adjustments will never drop your daily calories below 1,200.)

lesteidel

I think she's asking if the calories given are right, and I don't think hers is tracking her steps correctly. I am a size fourteen and fitbit only gives me 300 calories on days I walk more than 10k steps. I think she is right and something is off about the calories given. That amount of walking does not burn the same as a spin class.

Shaselai

are you moving your arms while walking? not sure if it matters but fitbit FAQ does say they count arm moving as "exercise" too so lets say if you do jumping jacks it will count both your steps and your arms motion. I dont know what spin class is but were you always active during that class - there's no time that you are doing stuff lying down or with minimal limb motion?

editorgrrl

I think she's asking if the calories given are right, and I don't think hers is tracking her steps correctly.

OP, be sure Fitbit's calorie estimation is disabled: https://www.fitbit.com/user/profile/edit

Edited to add that everybody's different, and the size of your Fitbit calorie adjustments depends on your activity level, not just your step count.

DannyD123456

The fitbit will measure nearly every movement of your arm whether it is typing, walking, scratching your forehead, whatever! It will add hundreds if not thousands of steps a day. It doesn't matter what your setting is it will still measure it. If you don't believe me play with the settings then sit down at your desk, don't move your feet, count your steps to that point, then after a few minutes check your steps and they will magically shoot up despite never moving a foot.

To combat this many women use the large band and place it around their ankle. I actually put the bit in my sock and get a perfect reading every time. Disregard what fitbit tells you about wearing it only on your arm because I have tested it by manually counting my steps and its exactly on when worn on the leg.

cmendoza13

I love my Fitbit Flex, but the bad thing is that it only counts steps, not any other kind of activity, unless you're swinging your arms while doing it - which you're not doing in a spin class. It also counts calories for normal daily activity, which I think is good but some people may not agree.

lesteidel

Some people out it on their non dominant hand and then have the settings for it being on the dominant. It's supposed to count some steps you don't take by their own design, but I find mine to be too sensitive if I don't have the settings set that way.

jillcally

Fantastic thank you for all your informative replies! I weigh 12 stone 13lbs currently, my fitbit is definitely set right as I've walked up and down loads like a loony counting my steps and checking it! I just won't eat them all back in case, struggling a bit with only 1200 calories, my poor chubby body is hungry!! Lol, thanks again x

editorgrrl

I eat back all my Fitbit adjustments, and I lost weight.

Remember, your goal should always be to find the maximum number of calories at which you lose weight—never the minimum. Food is fuel.

It will take trial & error to find what works for you. Eat your adjustments for two weeks, then reevaluate.

Read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

Love62

I have had my flex for a week and I'm learning too. I love how it counts my steps, but confused about calories, but I'm losing weight so something is working.

heybales

Reading all the posts at once, I see confusion in translation.

The Fitbit adjustment is NOT just your burn from exercise, it includes that and any difference between Fitbit TDEE including everything and MFP maintenance that is non-exercise.
The odds that the adjustment would equal your exercise calorie burn would be rather rare indeed. It may be more, it may be less.

And of course it didn't track the spin class correctly, read their FAQ - it's step based tracker, and very accurate for that.

Can't compare to anyone else - especially when no weight was given, or pace for that matter.
If you have a lot of mass to move, yes you'll burn more calories with someone with less. Pace matters too.

If your non-exercise days have big adjustments coming across, just means you picked the wrong MFP activity level - increase it so you can plan your day better with bigger eating goal.

Manually log your non-step activity like spin bike and lifting on MFP, let it sync over to Fitbit and adjust your TDEE, and then wait for the MFP adjustment to your eating goal. Takes me, oh, under 1 min for everything to bounce around where it needs to.

JenRun1

Yep- Exactly what I do:

Manually log your non-step activity like spin bike and lifting on MFP, let it sync over to Fitbit and adjust your TDEE, and then wait for the MFP adjustment to your eating goal. Takes me, oh, under 1 min for everything to bounce around where it needs to.

Reading all the posts at once, I see confusion in translation.

The Fitbit adjustment is NOT just your burn from exercise, it includes that and any difference between Fitbit TDEE including everything and MFP maintenance that is non-exercise.
The odds that the adjustment would equal your exercise calorie burn would be rather rare indeed. It may be more, it may be less.

And of course it didn't track the spin class correctly, read their FAQ - it's step based tracker, and very accurate for that.

Can't compare to anyone else - especially when no weight was given, or pace for that matter.
If you have a lot of mass to move, yes you'll burn more calories with someone with less. Pace matters too.

If your non-exercise days have big adjustments coming across, just means you picked the wrong MFP activity level - increase it so you can plan your day better with bigger eating goal.

Manually log your non-step activity like spin bike and lifting on MFP, let it sync over to Fitbit and adjust your TDEE, and then wait for the MFP adjustment to your eating goal. Takes me, oh, under 1 min for everything to bounce around where it needs to.

deepbaker9

Thanks for the clarification! I just started with MFP and Fitbit on the same day and have been a little confused. The posts here have helped!

StaciMarie1974

First what it takes to earn exercise calories will depend on your settings in MFP: sedentary, lightly active, etc. The higher your activity setting, the more you'll need to move to earn extra calories.

Did you wear your Fitbit for the spin class? Or did you log it in MFP as cardo? If you wore the Fitbit: its a sophisticated pedometer, not capable of reading your heart rate to know how much you were working when you were in spin class. (Note: spinning is not a step based activity. So Fitbit can't calculate for it accurately.)

MFP gets your all day step activity from Fitbit. Compares that to your activity setting. It will either give you extra calories (you were more active than your activity settings) or not. If it does not give you Fitbit exercise calories, you might want to a) move more or b) turn down your activity setting in MFP.

StaciMarie1974

We can't compare one person's Fitbit calories to another's, even if we know the height/weight/etc. unless we also know activity levels. If you are "Active" then it will take more work for you to get extra calories than someone else who is less than 'active' for example.

Personally I'm set to "Lightly Active" and I earn extra Fitbit calories around 10k steps. How many, well it varies. If I'm at the desk all day and do a bunch of cardio at night its one #. If I'm on my feet for 8 hours doing light steps (not cardio) for a 2nd job its a different #.

I think she's asking if the calories given are right, and I don't think hers is tracking her steps correctly. I am a size fourteen and fitbit only gives me 300 calories on days I walk more than 10k steps. I think she is right and something is off about the calories given. That amount of walking does not burn the same as a spin class.

Samenamenewlook

Reading all the posts at once, I see confusion in translation.

The Fitbit adjustment is NOT just your burn from exercise, it includes that and any difference between Fitbit TDEE including everything and MFP maintenance that is non-exercise.
The odds that the adjustment would equal your exercise calorie burn would be rather rare indeed. It may be more, it may be less.

And of course it didn't track the spin class correctly, read their FAQ - it's step based tracker, and very accurate for that.

Can't compare to anyone else - especially when no weight was given, or pace for that matter.
If you have a lot of mass to move, yes you'll burn more calories with someone with less. Pace matters too.

If your non-exercise days have big adjustments coming across, just means you picked the wrong MFP activity level - increase it so you can plan your day better with bigger eating goal.

Manually log your non-step activity like spin bike and lifting on MFP, let it sync over to Fitbit and adjust your TDEE, and then wait for the MFP adjustment to your eating goal. Takes me, oh, under 1 min for everything to bounce around where it needs to.

^This

craftywitch_63

Reading all the posts at once, I see confusion in translation.

The Fitbit adjustment is NOT just your burn from exercise, it includes that and any difference between Fitbit TDEE including everything and MFP maintenance that is non-exercise.
The odds that the adjustment would equal your exercise calorie burn would be rather rare indeed. It may be more, it may be less.

And of course it didn't track the spin class correctly, read their FAQ - it's step based tracker, and very accurate for that.

Can't compare to anyone else - especially when no weight was given, or pace for that matter.
If you have a lot of mass to move, yes you'll burn more calories with someone with less. Pace matters too.

If your non-exercise days have big adjustments coming across, just means you picked the wrong MFP activity level - increase it so you can plan your day better with bigger eating goal.

Manually log your non-step activity like spin bike and lifting on MFP, let it sync over to Fitbit and adjust your TDEE, and then wait for the MFP adjustment to your eating goal. Takes me, oh, under 1 min for everything to bounce around where it needs to.

I tried wearing my fitbit flex while swimming -it can get wet BTW - but it didn't track well at all so now I take it off when swimming and log the calories manually. It does seem to track when I'm lifting, though, so either I'm underestimating my calorie burn when lifting or I move my arms around well enough that it tracks.

Sunday I worked out on the elliptical for a 60 minutes at level 5, but the fitbit only logged 3 "active" minutes and 377 calories burned. That seems a little low to me but I think I'd rather it underestimated than overestimated.

[edited for typo]

heybales

It does seem to track when I'm lifting, though, so either I'm underestimating my calorie burn when lifting or I move my arms around well enough that it tracks.

It tracks movement during your lifting - but not the lifting.

The formula for calorie burn is what pace seems to have occurred and what is the mass moved. That ain't lifting at all.

It is badly underestimated, unless you are doing the pink dumbbells for like 100 reps.

So if interested in using the tool for best estimate of daily burn - and I'm assuming that's why you bought it anyway, you have to manually log ALL non-step based activity - like lifting and elliptical you proved it's bad at.

That would be like saying you are going to figure out your average mpg for your car by logging total mileage when you fill up the tank each time, but you won't track any fillups under 5 gallons because too minor.

Shaselai

I am not sure if mine is right or not in terms of calorie burning. but i average 11,400 steps a day and burn ~1000 carlories from the activties (taken from my fitbit)...

vanginmi

I walk 10, 000 - 11, 000 steps a day and fitbit consistently has been adjusting to about 500 calories. I think that is a bit high since I rarely break a sweat when walking. I have tried both hands too. I think I will try placing it on my ankle - that seems to be a good idea Either that or I just may only count half of what the fitbit calculates as adjustment.

lemurcat12

Edited to add that everybody's different, and the size of your Fitbit calorie adjustments depends on your activity level, not just your step count.

Yes. Because of how MFP describes the activity levels, a lot of people think they should say sedentary when they are in reality not sedentary as MFP uses it. The Fitbit adjustment seems to correct for this.

I used to worry that the adjustment was too much, but I calculated my TDEE after a month and the Fitbit is right on or even a bit low, whereas MFP is way low (if I were to add exercise but not the Fitbit adjustment), indicating that I'm not really sedentary.

It sounds like your adjustments are similar.

heybales

I walk 10, 000 - 11, 000 steps a day and fitbit consistently has been adjusting to about 500 calories. I think that is a bit high since I rarely break a sweat when walking. I have tried both hands too. I think I will try placing it on my ankle - that seems to be a good idea Either that or I just may only count half of what the fitbit calculates as adjustment.

It really doesn't matter if it's a hard workout for you or not, that just indicates you are in shape, at least for walking.

You still burn calories walking, probably more than you think.

And the big adjustment, if daily, just means you picked the wrong MFP activity level, increase it up.

Plus as mentioned above, that adjustment is not just the walking, but other aspects of daily life you probably didn't think of.

And no, ankle is not good idea - the formula's for the gyroscope were not based on that location, I'll bet it makes the calorie count go up, because it will see you coming down harder though it's only your foot. If you came down harder, you must have been in the air more. If in the air more you must have been jogging. Jogging is bigger calorie count than walking.

Bad idea.

You might see how many calories you really do burn walking, if you have a sense of pace you go. Gross is what MFP database, HRM, or treadmill would be reporting, as well as Fitbit on their site for that block of time. So use that option.

http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/WalkRunMETs.html