How Accurate do you Think FitBits are?

MysticRealm
MysticRealm Posts: 1,264 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Got my Fitbit one and couple days ago. Yesterday it got kinda messed up cause I wore it while riding so not sure what it would have said calories were there, but today it says that I have burnt 2033 calories with only an hour till midnight when it resets.
That is lower than I thought it would be. I work a standing job with a bit of walking and worked a good busy 8 hours today. I also horseback ride (competitively, so they are working rides, not walking trail rides) and gave my horse a good 45 min ride today (entered this manually under their activities as 'horseback riding - general). The only thing I did not do today is my 30 Day Shred which works out to like 135 cals burned.
So on workout days (lets say 5 days a week, even though I currently have been doing it straight as a challenge though I missed today) I would burn 2168 calories on work days, and on weekends I do a lot less walking standing so my cals burned would generally be a lot less I would think.
My TDEE I calculated at moderately active, due to working a standing job, riding, and 30 day shred is 2219.
But if I were to average out what my fitbit gives me for workdays (2168 with 30 day shred) and what it would give me for non work (probably 500 cals less at least I would think) it would average out to my TDEE would be only 2000.
I am currently weighing 139, and have been the same weight for the last 3 weekly weigh ins (and actually weighed 139.2 this morning). I am eating within my weekly goals which averages out to 1800 which was roughly 15% less than the online TDEE I calculated, but my TDEE -15% according to what the fitbit is saying would only be 1700. 1800 is only 10% less than TDEE.
So do you guys find that your fitbits are accurate for calories burned in a day?
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Replies

  • Diamond05
    Diamond05 Posts: 475 Member
    Bump. Curious about answer on this as I was looking to buy one.
  • jdaugherty85
    jdaugherty85 Posts: 3
    I had a first generation fit bit and lost it but when I was using it, it was pretty accurate. There were a few activities that it didn't register if I wasn't moving enough like my Les Mills Pump because you aren't really walking or moving enough for it to calculate a full step. Hope that helps.
    Jenny
  • Mverdecia1
    Mverdecia1 Posts: 28
    bump
  • pluckabee
    pluckabee Posts: 346 Member
    I have a fitbit one and for me the calorie burn seems to be quite accurate.

    I've had it for 2 months and over the last month according to the graphs I should have lost 7.6lbs with my calorie deficit and i've actually lost 10.6.

    I don't track the calories burned from strength training because I cant measure them accurately but that should account for some of the 3lb discrepancy.

    Overall I think ti's going to be more accurate than A TDEE estimate since they both use the same base calculation to get your BMR but then fitbit measures your actual activity and you don't have to guess.
  • pinkraynedropjacki
    pinkraynedropjacki Posts: 3,027 Member
    They are really quite good. You do know that it's your total TDEE and not anything from activities right? It picks up you are doing something with movement but does not know what it is.... otherwise I'd get a crapload from running. The more 'active' you are the more you are telling your fitbit you are burning.


    I guess you can send it back if you are not happy, but I've lost & kept off weigh just from walking with that before I took up running again.
  • Lobster1987
    Lobster1987 Posts: 492 Member
    I have a fitbit one and I just use it for the steps, although I do find that the calories burned are pretty comparable to mfp's....

    The one thing I hate though is that lately it has been malfunctioning a lot....randomly it will freak out and say that I am burning an insane amount of calories when im just sitting there doing nothing and there's nothing you can do to undo that...you have to wait until it resets at midnight...it's happened like 3 times now in the last 10 days or so, and I just got this brand new for valentine's day....


    but other than that, I think it's a neat little gadget.
  • Lyadeia
    Lyadeia Posts: 4,603 Member
    My Fitbit normally tells me that my calorie burn for the day is between 2150-2250 calories which is spot on with practically any TDEE calculators that I have found online to use. I've been eating 1800 calories a day and losing body fat steadily at a good pace.
  • beattie1
    beattie1 Posts: 1,012 Member
    I had a Fitbit One for Christmas and, like you, I was disappointed as it calculated that I'd burned fewer calories than I got using MFP's database. I stuck with it though, and decided that as the difference was only a couple of hundred calories I'd take it as a slighltly bigger cut.

    Some people reckon that MFP's figures for energy expenditure are too generous which is why if I'm using them I try to only eat about half. I eat all of the Fitbit adjustment calories though. I wonder if perhaps the MFP database figures are not adjusted to allow for your base rate calories that you would have burned anyway, even if you didn't walk, run or work out.

    The convenience of not having to enter burns manually is great, though I'm sometimes maddened by my Fitbit taking calories away from me during the evening after I have pressed the "complete entries" button. This sometimes pushes me into the red, when I completed the day in the green. GRRRR!
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  • jaycee76
    jaycee76 Posts: 325 Member
    I have just got a jawbone up which is a similar thing and I am 138.5lbs and have been for over 6 weeks! I had used the calculators to get my BMR TDEE-15% but not a thing have I lost!

    Since I have had the UP my BMR is 200 lower than the calculators gave me and my burn is much less too 18000 steps in a day only giving me an extra 450 calories!!

    I have decided to drop my calories to 1500 for a couple of weeks instead of 1700 and see if anything happens. If it does, then I have to think that I have been eating at maintenance and not -15 as I had thought.

    Basically, I am seconding what guitar Jerry has said, give it a go and see if you lose.
    I know it's disappointing to not have a higher burn than You hope for, but got to suck it and see x
  • CatMcCheesey
    CatMcCheesey Posts: 143
    This is an interesting comparison between devices.

    http://www.getgrok.com/2013/01/a-comparative-review-28-days-with-the-fitbit-one-jawbone-up-nike-fuelband-and-bodymedia-link/
  • debs6
    debs6 Posts: 232 Member
    I have used both the older and the current fitbit to help me maintain my weight and it has been incrediballly accurate for me, keeping me spot on where I want to be for the last 13 months.
  • janf15
    janf15 Posts: 242 Member
    I wish people would stop talking accuracy of these devices (HRM, Fitbit, Garmin etc). They are within 20% accuracy They are based on a static formula and should be used as a guiding device. I like them - I use them.
  • Squidgeypaws007
    Squidgeypaws007 Posts: 1,012 Member
    Mine has been fairly accurate, but remember they're activity monitors. They don't monitor your heart-rate (or anything you do that happens to make you wet), so if you're doing soemthing cardio you'd be best to use a HRM and enter that seperately to get a better idea.

    I love my FitBit, it's given me a real insight into how much I move around daily and my actual TDEE!!

    ETA: it's also been spot on with TDEE calculators (just with a different activity modifier than I thought!).
  • jaycee76
    jaycee76 Posts: 325 Member
    I wish people would stop talking accuracy of these devices (HRM, Fitbit, Garmin etc). They are within 20% accuracy They are based on a static formula and should be used as a guiding device. I like them - I use them.

    Thank you! I wish someone had told me they are within 20% accuracy. Jawbone and fitbit certainly do not tell you this! I have looked all over trying to find an answer to this and you have now answered the question that so many other websites have not.
  • jaycee76
    jaycee76 Posts: 325 Member
    Mine has been fairly accurate, but remember they're activity monitors. They don't monitor your heart-rate (or anything you do that happens to make you wet), so if you're doing soemthing cardio you'd be best to use a HRM and enter that seperately to get a better idea.

    I love my FitBit, it's given me a real insight into how much I move around daily and my actual TDEE!!

    ETA: it's also been spot on with TDEE calculators (just with a different activity modifier than I thought!).

    I just decided to play about with the scooby calculator (different activity levels) and have found it to be almost accurate an sedate! Never thought about doing that so thanks!
  • GeekAmour
    GeekAmour Posts: 262
    Quite accurate I'd say; I have compared my activity record calorie burns with HRM tracking & they are very similar.

    I thought I burned/moved way more than I did too before I got my fitbit!
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  • mike_ny
    mike_ny Posts: 351 Member
    It's plenty accurate enough for what it's used for. If your stride distance is not in the range it assumes for your height, then that can throw it off and you can adjust that in your profile to correct it.

    I love mine. It keeps me on track and I've been successfully losing fat while building muscle. I've never been this successful in any of the diet/workout attempts I've tried before. The combined short term feedback loops of both Fitbit and MFP are what makes it work for me.

    Do keep in mind that accuracy is relative. Your food calories, metabolism rate, and every other factor are all at best just estimates. Increasing the accuracy of only one number doesn't by itself make the equations using it guarantee the resulting numbers are golden. Unless you're in a lab that measures everything, that's the best we can do.

    The new fitness technology is great in that we can get that much function in a device that small that runs a week on a charge, and at a price that most people can afford.
  • rekite2000
    rekite2000 Posts: 218 Member
    I have read fitbit is 90% accurate (too lazy to find where I read it). I eat what it and MFP tells me it is close to my TDEE15% which I wanted. I am losing more consistently now. I use a HRM for other workouts (JMBR and such).
  • AZKristi
    AZKristi Posts: 1,801 Member
    Well, you have an hour left, so that would burn a few calories, even if you are just sleeping. If you had done 30DS you would have burned at least 100 calories. So, if you had done 30DS your fitbit would probably read 2133-2183 at this point in the day. This is pretty close to the 2219 you estimated as your TDEE. I would wear it for a week or so and reassess.
  • donnaleighh
    donnaleighh Posts: 178 Member
    This is an interesting comparison between devices.

    http://www.getgrok.com/2013/01/a-comparative-review-28-days-with-the-fitbit-one-jawbone-up-nike-fuelband-and-bodymedia-link/


    My experience is that the FB is really accurate once you get a good understanding of what it can and can't do - and how to use it ... this is reflected in the article above and previously posted. Worth a read!!
  • jaycee76
    jaycee76 Posts: 325 Member
    This is an interesting comparison between devices.

    http://www.getgrok.com/2013/01/a-comparative-review-28-days-with-the-fitbit-one-jawbone-up-nike-fuelband-and-bodymedia-link/

    Thank you for this link, it has answered so many questions that I have had over these things! I have googled so many times my questions and this is the first thing I have come across that actually helps! Good to know that my calorie burn on the Jawbone Up is probably a little lower than it should be!
  • Tendlr
    Tendlr Posts: 17
    Bump to read later
  • MysticRealm
    MysticRealm Posts: 1,264 Member
    Thanks for the replies. Had a busier day than I usually have on the weekends with lots of walking so will be hitting 10,000 steps today and going to be above the calories goal that fitbit wants me to hit (2184). However this is definitely not typical of my weekends (which are generally spent lazing around for most of the day).
    I did actually show a big loss on the scale this morning, hoping it sticks around!
    Gonna see what my cals average out to over a week on the fitbit and go from there.
  • pstaceyca
    pstaceyca Posts: 306 Member
    bump
  • JoQuinn523
    JoQuinn523 Posts: 68 Member
    JUST GOT THE FITBIT FLEX AND I LOVE IT!!!! IT ABSOLUTELY IS MORE ACCURATE THAN JUST LOGGING WHAT I DO ONTO MFP - I CAN ABSOLUTELY SEE THE DIFFERENCE IN DAYS I SLACK AND DAYS THAT I REALLY WORK OUT:wink:
  • MercenaryNoetic26
    MercenaryNoetic26 Posts: 2,747 Member
    The nerd in me wanted the flex so I got it. I worked out with it and my polar today an my polar gave me +28 calories for weight traing than Flex. Is it a big deal to me? Not really. I think the fitbit comes close but I wouldn't obsess over accuracy.

    It does motivate me to move more on rest days :smile:
  • whitebalance
    whitebalance Posts: 1,654 Member
    Mine seems legit.
  • JoQuinn523
    JoQuinn523 Posts: 68 Member
    The nerd in me wanted the flex so I got it. I worked out with it and my polar today an my polar gave me +28 calories for weight traing than Flex. Is it a big deal to me? Not really. I think the fitbit comes close but I wouldn't obsess over accuracy.

    It does motivate me to move more on rest days :smile:

    I absolutely agree - I work harder to get in my daily goals and I compete against my husband =)

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