FitBit One calories Vs. MFP

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  • DistractedGrace
    DistractedGrace Posts: 31
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  • Bonny619
    Bonny619 Posts: 311 Member
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    I dont get why I'm credited with SO many exercise calories from Fitbit that show up here. I'm talking almost always at least 300 and this is when I'm not even exercising. I wonder if that means my activity level is set too low?
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    I dont get why I'm credited with SO many exercise calories from Fitbit that show up here. I'm talking almost always at least 300 and this is when I'm not even exercising. I wonder if that means my activity level is set too low?

    Probably, yeah.
  • Bonny619
    Bonny619 Posts: 311 Member
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    Probably. I guess it doesn't matter too much.
    I dont get why I'm credited with SO many exercise calories from Fitbit that show up here. I'm talking almost always at least 300 and this is when I'm not even exercising. I wonder if that means my activity level is set too low?

    Probably, yeah.
  • Lesa_Sass
    Lesa_Sass Posts: 2,213 Member
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    I mean to be honest i'm not so sure that this device is useful....it's so confusing to me....i eat below what i normally burn and still i don't list at a fast pace...it's so frustrating..

    The device is awesome. It helps me keep my body moving. I do not rely on fitbit for my food, I let MFP do that.

    If you do not have any friends on Fitbit to compete against, I highly suggest getting one or two. That is what makes it rock for us. My husband and I compete and it is a great deal of fun. I swear we love these things to the point that they are almost like pets.

    so do you have it connected to MFP? and if yes which one you follow?

    Yes, I have them connected and I follow MFP BUT, I also am in toning mode not weight loss mode. Fitbit has my cals way to low.(even when I was in weight loss mode it had them to low) When I started maintenance and then actually ate my fitbit adjustment, I started getting the muscle I have been wanting. I was just eating what I thought was TDEE plus exercise cals and that was not enough.
  • bluebear_74
    bluebear_74 Posts: 179
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    This happened to me then I realised my fitbit was set to a -500 while MFP was set to -250.

    You're probably more active than you think, which is why fitbit is giving you more calories even if you haven't exercised. My TDEE is around 1600, and by the end of the day I find my fitbit gets close to this number and sometimes even starts giving me 'exercise' calories because I start going over my TDEE. Of course there is also the days (weekend) where I don't move much and fitbit starts taking calories away because... well I've sat on my butt all day.

    Remember unlike the fitbit, MFP doesn't have any idea how active you are unless you log it.
  • CharitaC
    CharitaC Posts: 21 Member
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    I'm about at the point where I'm ready to disconnect too. It just should be this confusing and such a vast discrepancy.
  • Shmerty
    Shmerty Posts: 2
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    Hi all,

    It makes sense to me to have my Fitbit on 'Maintenance' setting so that it monitors all my calories OUT, and use MFP to monitor all the calories IN.

    That way all the weight loss etc is entered in MFP. Fitbit only tells MFP how active I have been that day and either deducts calories or gives me calories. The more you are active, the more you will be allowed to eat in MFP.

    If you set set weight loss in MFP (-0.5kg) and in Fitbit (-0.5kg) per week, you are actually setting an unrealistic weight loss target of -1kg per week.

    If you do this it also makes sense to remove the tile that says "you can still eat..." in Fitbit as you are getting this info when you look at MFP.

    I got this tip from a MyFitnessPal or Fitbit help page written by the support team but I cant find it. Thought i had bookmarked it. I will keep looking though.

    Hope this helps,
    Liam
  • pinkraynedropjacki
    pinkraynedropjacki Posts: 3,027 Member
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    I have my TDEE set here at 2000 cals...fitbit however have me at 2500 cals a day........ I only ever take here.
  • Shmerty
    Shmerty Posts: 2
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    ...fitbit however have me at 2500 cals a day....

    Thats why you should remove the tile (panel if you are using the iPhone app) from Fitbit that "gives you calories". The fact that people use MFP for calorie monitoring means you should be ignoring that part of FitBit and only use that it for calories OUT (MFP calorie adjustment).
  • greedygirl118
    greedygirl118 Posts: 37
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    Not sure about that - Fitbit and MFP give me roughly the same amount of calories at the end of the day.
  • KAS0917
    KAS0917 Posts: 172 Member
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    Gosh I *LOVE* my Fitbit. Seriously! :)

    I just went to MFP and under goals saw that it said that I should burn approximately 1990 calories/day, which it used to calculate that I should lose 1 pound/week. So I went to my fitbit dashboard, and changed it to a goal of burning 1990 calories a day/too. Now they are perfectly in sync, and I only get 'extra' calories from my FitBit if I'm on target to hit that 1990 calorie burn.

    I've lost consistently. I don't pay attention to how many calories my FitBit says I can still eat, so I don't know if it's the same as MFP or not. I only pay attention to calories in MFP.
  • pinkraynedropjacki
    pinkraynedropjacki Posts: 3,027 Member
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    ...fitbit however have me at 2500 cals a day....

    Thats why you should remove the tile (panel if you are using the iPhone app) from Fitbit that "gives you calories". The fact that people use MFP for calorie monitoring means you should be ignoring that part of FitBit and only use that it for calories OUT (MFP calorie adjustment).

    I refuse to use the tiles, I only use the website based one. I hated being a beta tester for the tiles one. I'm on the older dashboard still. I totally ignore it anyway. Like I said I only take what MFP says I can eat, even with what Fitbit sends over.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    I disconnected my Fitbit from MFP, talk about confusing. I just log all my food into my MFP.

    This!!!! Or do what I do, take your fitbit average for a week, and just put that as a goal.
  • Clairpooh25
    Clairpooh25 Posts: 4 Member
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    Hi all,

    It makes sense to me to have my Fitbit on 'Maintenance' setting so that it monitors all my calories OUT, and use MFP to monitor all the calories IN.

    That way all the weight loss etc is entered in MFP. Fitbit only tells MFP how active I have been that day and either deducts calories or gives me calories. The more you are active, the more you will be allowed to eat in MFP.

    If you set set weight loss in MFP (-0.5kg) and in Fitbit (-0.5kg) per week, you are actually setting an unrealistic weight loss target of -1kg per week.

    If you do this it also makes sense to remove the tile that says "you can still eat..." in Fitbit as you are getting this info when you look at MFP.

    I got this tip from a MyFitnessPal or Fitbit help page written by the support team but I cant find it. Thought i had bookmarked it. I will keep looking though.

    Hope this helps,
    Liam


    How do you turn on "Maintenance" setting?
  • Clairpooh25
    Clairpooh25 Posts: 4 Member
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    Gosh I *LOVE* my Fitbit. Seriously! :)

    I just went to MFP and under goals saw that it said that I should burn approximately 1990 calories/day, which it used to calculate that I should lose 1 pound/week. So I went to my fitbit dashboard, and changed it to a goal of burning 1990 calories a day/too. Now they are perfectly in sync, and I only get 'extra' calories from my FitBit if I'm on target to hit that 1990 calorie burn.

    I've lost consistently. I don't pay attention to how many calories my FitBit says I can still eat, so I don't know if it's the same as MFP or not. I only pay attention to calories in MFP.

    Question: So the 1990 calories/day is how much you should eat to lose 1 pound/week? Or is that from "Normal Daily Activity"?
  • scrapjen
    scrapjen Posts: 387 Member
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    I've managed to get my MFP and Fitbit settings close, they still aren't exactly the same, but they are close. There are several different factors (especially on the Fitbit site) that affect how the calories are calculated.

    But Fitbit is for Fitness ... MFP is for food. I always go by what MFP says. MFP IS estimating what your daily burn will be, and basing your remaining calories on that count. If MFP is off in it's estimate (which it can easily be), then your calories may change suddenly at the very end of the day, when the real Fitbit numbers come in. I always try to have a little extra (100 calories or so) for wiggle room. Fitbit is based more on exactly what your calories are at the moment (well ... depending on your setting), so it is often lower until you actually earn those calories (which you will continue to do, all the way up until midnight, even if you are just sleeping).

    My favorite graph on the Fitbit site is the "Intake vs Burn" graph ... showing my total daily activity, and my total intake. I always try to keep those lines from touching or crossing. I'm not always successful. This graph also gives you an average of both numbers from the past 30 days. Very informative!

    I'm a Fitbit Fan! http://jenbsjourney.blogspot.com/2013/08/wondering-about-fitbit.html
  • rizzla76
    rizzla76 Posts: 10 Member
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  • ButteredBum
    ButteredBum Posts: 2
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    I set Fitbit to Sedentary, disable calorie estimation on it as well.
    For MFP I enable negative adjustments and list myself as sedentary.
    I put the same weight loss goal for both. This gives me a very low number to begin with on Fitbit, but it adjusts closer to MFP by the end of the day. I make sure to sync a lot.

    I have had MFP before and used it with the Fitbit One (I have the Flex now) and have had no problems. The numbers are identical at the end of the day.
  • thesimsisters
    thesimsisters Posts: 73 Member
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    There is a glitch in the Matrix, and I'm sure it's on MFP's end.

    It will adjust your calories according to the wrong time, giving you an inflated number of calories left.

    For instance my adjustment will say "based on 1800 calories burned by 6:00pm, when really according to FitBit I burned 1800 by 9pm. So while Fitbit thinks I have 3 hours left to burn, MFP is showing it as 6 for some reason.

    What I've ended up doing now is a little complicated, but maybe it will help someone.

    Check your Fitbit dashboard. Look at how many calories it says you burn in a 5 min period. (Mine is 5 for instance) so that means I burn 1 calorie per minute, or 60 calories an hour if I do nothing.

    When I check my calories burned on the FitBit, we'll say for arguments sake I burned 1800 by 9pm again. This means there's 3 hours left. 3x60 = 180 more calories I will burn for the day doing nothing, making my total 1980 calories. I will subtract 500 for my 1 lb a week deficit, which gives me 1480. That's how much allowance I have for food. I will then subtract whatever I already ate in food from 1480 to see how many calories I have left.

    Hopefully that makes sense. Or an easier way is to go by the Fitbit numbers or don't allow the adjustment from Fitbit into MFP.

    It sounds like your time setting is set to the wrong time zone. Go login to fitbit.com and check your time zone setting. I know mine was wrong when I first set mine up, and this sounds like your problem. So make sure both MFP and fitbit are set to the correct time zones. Hope that helps you. :)

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