FitBit and extra calories

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TerezaToledo
TerezaToledo Posts: 613 Member
I've got a Fitbit a couple of weeks ago and I'm in love with it. I still log my workouts according to my HRM on mfp but the fitbit keeps giving me extra calories to eat every day, bringing me close to my TDEE, even though I set up a small daily deficit (I'm cutting). Am I really more active than I thought? Can I really eat that much calories? I eat my exercise back every day and usually reach 2200, 2300 total (I'm 5'4", 130 lbs).
Thanks for your input and ideas!

Replies

  • HeidiHoMom
    HeidiHoMom Posts: 1,393 Member
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    Yes it is possible that you are more active than you thought.

    I am generally using the burn according to my fitbit and some days I burn way more than I thought I would and somedays it is a few hundred less than what scooby says.
  • TerezaToledo
    TerezaToledo Posts: 613 Member
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    Thanks! Do you actually eat as much as the Fitbit tells you? Somedays I may not burn as much (rest days) and I feel less hungry (I'm very regular with eating times, hungry or not). I'm just very surprised with the fitbit adjustment on top of the exercise.
  • twinmomtwice4
    twinmomtwice4 Posts: 1,069 Member
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    I'm still surprised by how many calories I burn per day, according to my BMF. On most days, I burn anywhere from 2500-2800 cals a day! I consistently eat at 2000, sometimes more if my burn is higher so I don't go under a 500 cal deficit.
  • Raynn1
    Raynn1 Posts: 1,164 Member
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    I've got a Fitbit a couple of weeks ago and I'm in love with it. I still log my workouts according to my HRM on mfp but the fitbit keeps giving me extra calories to eat every day, bringing me close to my TDEE, even though I set up a small daily deficit (I'm cutting). Am I really more active than I thought? Can I really eat that much calories? I eat my exercise back every day and usually reach 2200, 2300 total (I'm 5'4", 130 lbs).
    Thanks for your input and ideas!

    Just be cautious. There seems to be a glitch right now with MFP and Fitbit "talking" to each other. If you have entered in an Activity on your FB, and then entered in a cardio exercise on MFP, it seems that you are getting credit for both. If you check the Fitibit group out, you will see there is a bunch of us that have noticed a huge discrepancy in cals burned. I am pretty certain I did not burn 3900 cals yesterday, with a single 5k run and sitting on my butt the rest of the day:)
  • rachmass1
    rachmass1 Posts: 470 Member
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    I wish I could eat more. My FB tells me I burn between 1800-2200 per day depending how active I am but I could easily eat 2000 a day and still have a growly belly :(
  • jesspi68
    jesspi68 Posts: 292
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    I've got a Fitbit a couple of weeks ago and I'm in love with it. I still log my workouts according to my HRM on mfp but the fitbit keeps giving me extra calories to eat every day, bringing me close to my TDEE, even though I set up a small daily deficit (I'm cutting). Am I really more active than I thought? Can I really eat that much calories? I eat my exercise back every day and usually reach 2200, 2300 total (I'm 5'4", 130 lbs).
    Thanks for your input and ideas!

    Just be cautious. There seems to be a glitch right now with MFP and Fitbit "talking" to each other. If you have entered in an Activity on your FB, and then entered in a cardio exercise on MFP, it seems that you are getting credit for both. If you check the Fitibit group out, you will see there is a bunch of us that have noticed a huge discrepancy in cals burned. I am pretty certain I did not burn 3900 cals yesterday, with a single 5k run and sitting on my butt the rest of the day:)

    I'm not sure what you mean by this but the directions say specifically that you aren't supposed to enter your workouts on fitbit because they will end up being double counted. You only enter your food and workouts on MFP.
  • TerezaToledo
    TerezaToledo Posts: 613 Member
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    I know than when I add my exercise on mfp supposedly it will override the activity on that time frame. I'm being cautions and double checking while still eating accordlingly to was I was eating before fitbit. I can see the communication glitch, it's not syncing as well as in the first days. I may go back to the old fashion style of guestimating and manually inputting things on mpf for a few days.
  • Raynn1
    Raynn1 Posts: 1,164 Member
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    I've got a Fitbit a couple of weeks ago and I'm in love with it. I still log my workouts according to my HRM on mfp but the fitbit keeps giving me extra calories to eat every day, bringing me close to my TDEE, even though I set up a small daily deficit (I'm cutting). Am I really more active than I thought? Can I really eat that much calories? I eat my exercise back every day and usually reach 2200, 2300 total (I'm 5'4", 130 lbs).
    Thanks for your input and ideas!

    Just be cautious. There seems to be a glitch right now with MFP and Fitbit "talking" to each other. If you have entered in an Activity on your FB, and then entered in a cardio exercise on MFP, it seems that you are getting credit for both. If you check the Fitibit group out, you will see there is a bunch of us that have noticed a huge discrepancy in cals burned. I am pretty certain I did not burn 3900 cals yesterday, with a single 5k run and sitting on my butt the rest of the day:)

    I'm not sure what you mean by this but the directions say specifically that you aren't supposed to enter your workouts on fitbit because they will end up being double counted. You only enter your food and workouts on MFP.

    All I do is create an activity on my ftibit with the stopwatch.. it it my understanding that you need this so when you enter the information into MFP, it asks you for a time that you began the activity, so it can override that time period on fitbit. This is not happening. There is a MFP staff member looking into this on the fitbit users group. There are a few of us with huge cal changes with things not working correctly.
  • TerezaToledo
    TerezaToledo Posts: 613 Member
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    That's got to be it! In the first days the totals seemed fine, but lately it's not. Even with a stop watch and adding the time of the activity it's not overriding. I hope they can fix the glitch soon :)
  • Ange_
    Ange_ Posts: 324 Member
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    The way i use my fitbit is to track my TDEE on average per day using a whole week's data.
    I don't eat back whatever cals fitbit has sent to MFP nor do i use them in any calculations to see if i need to eat more to hit my BMR. I'm logging exercise though on MFP with my HRM though so if i'd done so much formal exercise that my NET not including any Fitbit adjustment is less than my BMR i eat more.

    So basically i just look each week at the weekly report on Fitbit and check to see that my what i'm eating is still about 15% cut on my overall weekly TDEE.
    I'd rather eat the same amout every day than more on workout days. So that's how i use mine.
    It would be different though if you are solely using a fitbit to track your workouts and not a HRM at all. Fitbit isn't going to be good for any strength training though, or for that matter cycling which is why i only use it to track my daily activity in general.
  • TheChangingMan
    TheChangingMan Posts: 73 Member
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    Just be cautious. There seems to be a glitch right now with MFP and Fitbit "talking" to each other. If you have entered in an Activity on your FB, and then entered in a cardio exercise on MFP, it seems that you are getting credit for both. If you check the Fitibit group out, you will see there is a bunch of us that have noticed a huge discrepancy in cals burned. I am pretty certain I did not burn 3900 cals yesterday, with a single 5k run and sitting on my butt the rest of the day:)

    Yep, have a look here http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/714911-fitbit-adjustment-out-of-whack