Fitbit giving me too many activity calories?

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pokat302
pokat302 Posts: 10 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I gained this week. So FRUSTRATED. I know what I am doing, I eat properly. I have two accountability partners that I tweet a picture of every meal to. I weigh 226.8 and I'm 5'4. I'm 29 years old.

I've worn my fitbit since a couple days after Christmas. So I have a solid month of fitbit data. My profile is here and public. http://www.fitbit.com/user/23NXM6

Here is a screen shot of my fitbit dashboard from last 1-23 thru 1-29. 7 full days. pic.twitter.com/dh6Ah1Yg

I go to the Y 5 out of the 7 days a week. I do water aerobics on Wednesdays. I did a 5k on the treadmill last Thursday & last night. Otherwise I do about 30 min cardio on the treadmill & then my ActivTrax resistance machines circuit.

You are welcome to view my food logs on here too.

According to my fitbit, my deficit is 5665 for this past week. a pound is 3500 calories. So, by SCIENCE I should have lost 1.6 pounds this week! Sick and tired of weight loss & food being almost every other thought in my mind & only losing 1 pound a month or so.

Maybe my fitbit is giving me too many activity calories & my deficit isn't as high as it states?

Replies

  • benjibear1234
    benjibear1234 Posts: 1
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    I'll bet its water weight. Try lowering your sodium or maybe taking a water pill. You are doing everything right so don't lose hope.
  • now_or_never13
    now_or_never13 Posts: 1,575 Member
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    Unfortunately weight loss is not linear and doesn't follow the math.

    A lot of things contribute to your weight... You are most likely retaining water which is why you don't see a loss.
  • Rebecca8704
    Rebecca8704 Posts: 2 Member
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    I have been using fitbit with MFP for about the same amount of time you have. I am finding that the calorie adjustment is quite high even if I don't have any actual exercise to track. I have gained for the last 2 weeks. it is easy to look at MFP and see those 300 calories added from fitbit and eat them. This week I am going to try and stick to my MFP limit unless I actually track exercise and try to ignore the rest of the calorie adjustment and see what happens. I know this is tough sometimes and you have these times when you wish you didn't have to think about everything that goes in your mouth. I have those too, but it is worth it if you stay with it!!
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    I'd stick to your MFP budget and quit eating what the FitBit is giving you. From just a glance at your diary those exercise numbers look high and you're going over nearly every day. The FitBit is a glorified pedometer so I wouldn't rely on it too much for calorie information.
  • TJJones1962
    TJJones1962 Posts: 1
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    Take a look at this web site.http://www.fitsugar.com/5-Things-Can-Affect-Number-Scale-223463
  • niknokd
    niknokd Posts: 127 Member
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    It's very likely this is just water weight or something to do with your menstrual cycle. Put the scale away for a week, eat right and check back in in 7 days!
  • themedalist
    themedalist Posts: 3,213 Member
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    I'm betting it's sodium induced water weight also. Your sodium levels are really high. Try keeping sodium in the 1500 to 2000 range for several days (maybe a week?) and see if it makes a difference.

    By the way, the American Heart Association now recommends that everyone limit their daily sodium intake to 1500 mg.
  • knk1553
    knk1553 Posts: 438 Member
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    holy cow your fitbit adjustments are high. Today for example I walked 15,000 steps and 40 flights of stairs and my adjustment is only 210 calories from my fitbit. Granted I'm over 100lbs less than you (I don't mean this in a bad way, just stating that with weight difference there is a difference in calorie burn between someone who weighs 240+ and someone who weighs 130). I haven't lost any weight, but I'm lifting weights pretty heavily so I wouldn't really be losing weight necessarily, I have toned up and not gained weight though. I would log your exercise calories into mfp and not let fitbit calculate them for you. I wear my HRM when I workout and log those calories and then whatever my fitbit adjustment is. You can also try using fat2fitradio.com to calculate your TDEE and eat that and don't even bother with exercise calories to see how it works.
  • notreallytrillian
    notreallytrillian Posts: 77 Member
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    you're going over nearly every day.

    I agree with this. You have gone over your calorie intake quite often, even if you count in the exercise calories. Cut back on your intake and stay under your calorie goal - see if that makes a difference.

    Good luck!
  • Crazy4Healthy
    Crazy4Healthy Posts: 626 Member
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    I have a FitBit and also wear a HRM when I workout and if anything, I find it is typically a bit under. I tend to only use the FitBit for it's adjustments and sometimes even adjust up because my HRM is higher (mostly for weight training). I use MFP for the rest and don't really worry much about what the FitBit site tells me.

    I agree with others that weight loss doesn't always follow exactly what the calories say it should. Things like water weight, TOM, etc. can influence your weight. Try to be patient, this isn't a race, it's a marathon and can take time. Remember, Lifestyle change, not a diet. Best of luck.
  • vick9180
    vick9180 Posts: 144 Member
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    I'd stick to your MFP budget and quit eating what the FitBit is giving you. From just a glance at your diary those exercise numbers look high and you're going over nearly every day. The FitBit is a glorified pedometer so I wouldn't rely on it too much for calorie information.

    I'm with this...burning over 800 calories in a 30 minute workout probably isn't likely. I burn that amount in an 8 mile run which takes me over an hour. Unless you're doing extremely high intensity that entire time, this would be the first adjustment I'd make if I were you. Beyond that, take your measurements rather than look at the scale; be really honest with yourself about the level of activity you put in as your lifestyle. If you're really active, and you account for your exercise in figuring your calories, don't eat back your exercise calories, because they're already accounted for.

    You've already lost 37 lbs, which is awesome! Just keep at it, and make small adjustments here and there. If you've done a ton of cardio to lose that weight, your body has probably become really efficient at cardio, and won't use as much energy to cover the distances you're running. Change some things up. Add some intervals to your workout, add some weights, and then give yourself a few weeks before remeasuring yourself.

    ETA: I just really looked into your diary, and wow! There are days where you're over 1000 calories over what MFP is allowing you. I would also try to make some substitutions in your diet...like adding a protein shake instead of the Carnation drink. Having enough protein will help curb your appetite better...it's important to balance it all out, but when you should be taking in well over 200 grams of protein and your intake sits at 50-60, while your carb intake is 150-200 grams over, it means you've gotta make some adjustments in your diet

    Best of luck!
  • toni14301
    toni14301 Posts: 18 Member
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    Reviewing your fit bit data I agree with all the others on the salt intake. Cut that back and take a water pill it should help straighten you out... And remember that sometimes the TOTM can cause uncontrolled scale changes.
  • ejmcam
    ejmcam Posts: 533 Member
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    I got a fit bit for Christmas, and have actually found it quite useless. It doesn't track my calories burned when I'm weight training accurately at all. I prefer to use my HRM when working out. And I found myself getting frustrated if I wasn't meeting my daily steps, which is ridiculous because I have never cared about how many steps I take a day before (just in my head, I know).
    Make sure your drinking plenty of water, and reduce your salt if you might be retaining water. How about measurements? Because you cant always trust the scale. Could you be building muscle?
  • Crazy4Healthy
    Crazy4Healthy Posts: 626 Member
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    I got a fit bit for Christmas, and have actually found it quite useless. It doesn't track my calories burned when I'm weight training accurately at all. I prefer to use my HRM when working out. And I found myself getting frustrated if I wasn't meeting my daily steps, which is ridiculous because I have never cared about how many steps I take a day before (just in my head, I know).
    Make sure your drinking plenty of water, and reduce your salt if you might be retaining water. How about measurements? Because you cant always trust the scale. Could you be building muscle?

    I agree 100% it is not accurate for things like Weight Training, I also manually adjust using my HRM for this. But for things like running and stairs, it is pretty accurate. My numbers have been very close to my HRM when running.

    I also don't think her numbers are unbelievable. I burn 320 cals in 30 min of running and I weigh 114 (with HRM). She is burning 500+ in an hour with more weight. I think the overages in calorie intake are playing a larger role. Once she gets things balanced out, the weight should start moving. :drinker:
  • now_or_never13
    now_or_never13 Posts: 1,575 Member
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    I got a fit bit for Christmas, and have actually found it quite useless. It doesn't track my calories burned when I'm weight training accurately at all. I prefer to use my HRM when working out. And I found myself getting frustrated if I wasn't meeting my daily steps, which is ridiculous because I have never cared about how many steps I take a day before (just in my head, I know).
    Make sure your drinking plenty of water, and reduce your salt if you might be retaining water. How about measurements? Because you cant always trust the scale. Could you be building muscle?

    Fitbit and HRM both have their good points.

    Keep in mind, a HRM will not calculate your calories burned accurately for weight lifting and lower intensity exercise. They are designed to work with higher HRs... another reason why they are not recommended to wear all day to calculate your calories burned all day.

    I agree with those saying to watch your sodium... it can change the weight on the scale a lot depending on how much you consume.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    I adjust up because my HRM is higher (mostly for weight training). I use MFP for the rest and don't really worry much about what the FitBit site tells me.

    HRM's are not accurate for lifting. Your HR isn't raised enough for the algorithms to work properly which is why it's giving you higher numbers.

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