Fitbit adjustment too large?

Cugster
Cugster Posts: 12 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I have been using a fitbit along with MFP for about four months with awesome results! Recently I started jogging/walking and using a HRM. I log my food and activities only with MFP and usually get a small adjustment from fitbit (100-200) last couple days I have been getting an adj. of 500 immediately following exercise PLUS my 500 from my run! Doesn't that seem like a lot! 1000 calories in 4.5miles/60minutes?

Replies

  • gpstrucker
    gpstrucker Posts: 930 Member
    That happens but after a few minutes you should see the adjustment corrected as MFP corrects for the FitBit numbers. MFP looks at the start and duration times for the exercise you log and accounts for it with the FitBit numbers, there is just a bit of a delay.
  • TurtleRunnerNC
    TurtleRunnerNC Posts: 751 Member
    It seems high. I don't log any activity on MFP that Fitbit tracks well. I only track swimming or biking. Otherwise I just let Fitbit adjust.
  • AmandaTWaH
    AmandaTWaH Posts: 181 Member
    Hmm. I just got my Fitbit today but I know a lot of people actually suggest you take it off during your workouts and only use the HRM. Fitbit is really only built for tracking your daily walking activity and can't track workouts well.
  • drmilygo
    drmilygo Posts: 1
    If you are logging your run on MFP and also wearing your FitBit, your run is likely being counted twice. I log all my activity on the FitBit site and all my food on MFP. That way I don't count anything twice, as FitBit sends all my activity information to MFP and MFP sends my calories to FitBit. All the best. I love my FitBit! :D
  • andreamkelly
    andreamkelly Posts: 169
    Are you putting the time you started your workout in MFP when you log the exercise? Mine looks at the time and then normally adjusts the fitbit adjustment down to take out the time when I logged.. At least it used to. I'll need to look to see if it is still doing it next time I log.
  • Lyssa62
    Lyssa62 Posts: 930 Member
    when I do my exercise I don't turn on the stop watch feature..I just let it keep going normally and I dont log any activity on myfitnesspal. That way I have the lower adjustment..and I don't face the horror of finding out I didn't have that many extra calories to eat.
  • runnerchick69
    runnerchick69 Posts: 317 Member
    My Fitbit should be here next week and it seems I have much to learn about that thing :)
  • rextcat
    rextcat Posts: 1,408 Member
    It seems high. I don't log any activity on MFP that Fitbit tracks well. I only track swimming or biking. Otherwise I just let Fitbit adjust.
    yeah this, also i have heard that hrm with women can be "off" by up to 20%
  • flslp87
    flslp87 Posts: 175 Member
    If I wear my HRM I make sure and upload the data from my fitbit just before I exercise and then again just after. If my HRM gives a different number then I'll adjust it, otherwise I don't log any activity in to MFP at all...I just let fitbit do the adjusting for me.
  • veirelav
    veirelav Posts: 12
    If you are logging your run on MFP and also wearing your FitBit, your run is likely being counted twice. I log all my activity on the FitBit site and all my food on MFP. That way I don't count anything twice, as FitBit sends all my activity information to MFP and MFP sends my calories to FitBit. All the best. I love my FitBit! :D

    You're actually supposed to only log activity on MFP. It will tell the fitbit website what you did and sync the times and calories burned properly.
  • Cugster
    Cugster Posts: 12 Member
    If you are logging your run on MFP and also wearing your FitBit, your run is likely being counted twice. I log all my activity on the FitBit site and all my food on MFP. That way I don't count anything twice, as FitBit sends all my activity information to MFP and MFP sends my calories to FitBit. All the best. I love my FitBit! :D

    You're actually supposed to only log activity on MFP. It will tell the fitbit website what you did and sync the times and calories burned properly.


    I have always logged everything only with MFP and fitbit seemed accurate. I log correct times but average my speed as I could NOT jog for 60 minutes! Maybe because of the variation in speed?...
  • Cugster
    Cugster Posts: 12 Member
    :flowerforyou: Lol! Posted this same thread on fitbit and got NO replies at all! You guys are awesome!:flowerforyou:
  • veirelav
    veirelav Posts: 12
    If you are logging your run on MFP and also wearing your FitBit, your run is likely being counted twice. I log all my activity on the FitBit site and all my food on MFP. That way I don't count anything twice, as FitBit sends all my activity information to MFP and MFP sends my calories to FitBit. All the best. I love my FitBit! :D

    You're actually supposed to only log activity on MFP. It will tell the fitbit website what you did and sync the times and calories burned properly.


    I have always logged everything only with MFP and fitbit seemed accurate. I log correct times but average my speed as I could NOT jog for 60 minutes! Maybe because of the variation in speed?...

    has your fitbit synced since you entered the activity on mfp? sometimes there is a lag or delay. mfp should correct itself.
  • Cugster
    Cugster Posts: 12 Member
    If you are logging your run on MFP and also wearing your FitBit, your run is likely being counted twice. I log all my activity on the FitBit site and all my food on MFP. That way I don't count anything twice, as FitBit sends all my activity information to MFP and MFP sends my calories to FitBit. All the best. I love my FitBit! :D

    You're actually supposed to only log activity on MFP. It will tell the fitbit website what you did and sync the times and calories burned properly.


    I have always logged everything only with MFP and fitbit seemed accurate. I log correct times but average my speed as I could NOT jog for 60 minutes! Maybe because of the variation in speed?...

    has your fitbit synced since you entered the activity on mfp? sometimes there is a lag or delay. mfp should correct itself.

    I log when still at the park... Come home and sync... Ten minutes later I get a giant adjustment!
  • gpstrucker
    gpstrucker Posts: 930 Member
    You should only log on MFP. You will see a big adjustment but after a few minutes it will correct.
  • Cugster
    Cugster Posts: 12 Member
    You should only log on MFP. You will see a big adjustment but after a few minutes it will correct.

    I DO only log on MFP. After a couple minutes i get a giant adj! I have 1200 exercise calories tonight and did my exercise this morning! 700 of that is fitbit adjustment!
  • Smudjie
    Smudjie Posts: 126 Member
    I log my activities on MFP site. I have been getting a HUGE adjustment lately so I emailed them. This is what they said.

    Thank you for your inquiry about the integration between MyFitnessPal and Fitbit.

    We apologize for the discrepancy in daily adjustment that you are experiencing.

    After working with MyFitnessPal, we have compiled a list of steps to take in order to resolve this issue.

    Please follow the steps below in order to resolve this adjustment issue:

    1. Log in to your Fitbit account
    2. On the day in questions, please verify that the activity was not logged twice on your Fitbit.com Dashboard
    3. Turn Off Calorie Estimation in your Fitbit Settings (http://www.fitbit.com/user/profile/edit)
    4. Turn Off Personalized Meal Plans in your MFP account
    5. Wear the Fitbit for all activities
    6. Log cardio exercise on the MFP site

    I am not sure what Personalized Meal Plans on MFP is so I didn't bother with it, I did email them to ask them what it was though, no reply yet.
  • gpstrucker
    gpstrucker Posts: 930 Member
    You should only log on MFP. You will see a big adjustment but after a few minutes it will correct.

    I DO only log on MFP. After a couple minutes i get a giant adj! I have 1200 exercise calories tonight and did my exercise this morning! 700 of that is fitbit adjustment!

    A 700 calorie adjustment for an entire day's activity doesn't sound all that huge to me. As long as you are entering the start and duration times of your exercise activity it should be reasonably accurate when adding in your normal daily activity.

    One thing I might suggest is to look at your FB Dashboard information. Take a look at number of steps and especially flights of stairs and see if that seems right to you. If you wear your FB while driving in a hilly area it will record false flights of stairs climbed which will increase the calorie adjustment. Just a thought.
  • Lyssa62
    Lyssa62 Posts: 930 Member
    For me it works best just to put the fitbit on and let it take care of all the adjustments and stuff. I have found with most of my workouts it's pretty dead on. I don't set the stopwatch feature for anything except sleep. I have tried it several different ways and this seems the most accurate to me. I did go and turn off that calorie adjustment because I don't want it to be estimated I'm going to burn so many calories a day when I decide to take a rest day.
    I don't log any activity except sleep. And I only keep track of food on MFP. I have been experimenting since I got it and taking notes and this way is the most accurate for me. It's a trial and error thing and finding out which way works best for you :)
  • Lyssa62
    Lyssa62 Posts: 930 Member
    I started off at basically zero with everything because I forgot to set the stop watch last night and actually I am thinking I am just going to write down what time I go to bed and manually log it in because I like starting fresh at zero.
    Here are my numbers and this is after getting up, dressed and heading out the door for my 3 mile walk which includes several sets of semi steep hills. And it takes me 50 minutes. Here we go....
    Fit bit readings...

    866 calories burned
    19 floors ( I watched it compute my hills...pretty dead on)
    7890 steps ( watched them tally as I walked ..again dead on)
    4.04 miles (that was my 3 mile walk and then I did a couple more laps around the house)

    all seems pretty close to me. The calorie burn would be the only real concern I have but I did work up a sweat and was kind of at a slow jog/walk so it could be real close
  • kinghavok
    kinghavok Posts: 104
    If you are using the HRM and the FITBIT you are double dipping if logging both.
  • gpstrucker
    gpstrucker Posts: 930 Member
    If you are using the HRM and the FITBIT you are double dipping if logging both.

    Not really. When you log your exercise and your calories burned from your HRM, MFP automatically adjusts for that in the FitBit data. That's why it requires you to put in the start and duration times of your logged exercise, so it won't also add in the FitBit data for that time period. I've been doing that for some time now and have seen that FitBit adjustment taken out for the exercise time period.

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