Fitbit Frustration

dcmitchell01
dcmitchell01 Posts: 76 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
So I got my Fitbit One a few days ago. It is linked in with my MFP account. Each day, as I go through my day, it adds in some extra calories and MFP says on the diary page "you earned ... calories due to exercise today." Usually the number has been over 300. Today I had a usual day, but then went to the gym and in total including my BMR, my Fitbit and the Dashboard say I hit 2500 cal total so far. I was on the elliptical for 30 minutes and it (the elliptical) said I burned 272 calories. Then I also did some strength training (legs today). So on MFP diary page today it says I earned only 75 extra calories. I'm just confused. Why the discrepancy? I like to see that number go up. Why is that piece not syncing over to MFP??

Any ideas??

Replies

  • stinkinstone
    stinkinstone Posts: 34 Member
    If you log your exercise on MFP as a separate entry then you do not get a fitbit adjustment as well. So you don't get double credit for exercise.
  • dcmitchell01
    dcmitchell01 Posts: 76 Member
    Yeah, I noticed that, so I took away the exercise I added in, and my 75 cal Fitbit adjustment came back. On my fitbit dashboard, where it has the lines that shows how many calories I burned at a certain time, during the time I was in the gym the lines add up to 351 cal. I know that it adjusts to your activity level, and the more you wear it, the more accurate it's supposed to be. Do you think it might have just adjusted to my having been in the gym the past 3 days? I feel like that is unlikely though. I mean, I am still 1000 cal over my BMR and over 300 calories over my TDEE today, regardless of what I did the past 2 days. Just want to be sure it's working appropriately, I guess. But everything else adds up appropriately. There is obviously something at play here that I don't understand.
  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
    When I do a workout, other than walking, I set the timer on the fitbit and then log my activity on mfp when done, which then allows you to tally the time of your workout to the timer on fitbit. That seems to work for me. IT then adds in any calories earned from extra walking.
  • luckydays27
    luckydays27 Posts: 552 Member
    I dont think the fitbit gives accurate steps while using the eliptical or bike. I know that it does not measure strength training at all, just the steps that you took to get to each machine or do each exercise but not the cals burned while pumping iron.

    I use a HRM for fitness and log that here on MFP. If I did not have a HRM I would use a fitness calculator online or use the machine cals burned (dont use MFP estimates because they seem high). When the cals burned are entered here on MFP, it overrides the cals burned estimate that fitbit gives for that timeframe.
  • dcmitchell01
    dcmitchell01 Posts: 76 Member
    OK, so I'll just enter them manually, I guess.. it's just that the fitbit dashboard shows the right numbers (at least close to what the machines told me), it just isn't coming through here. Frustrated because I know I burned more than 75 calories. Maybe it's a fluke, and it'll be better tomorrow.... I can hope....
  • luckydays27
    luckydays27 Posts: 552 Member
    Do you have negative adjustments set here on MFP. Under the My home tab, then settings, then pick diary settings.

    What may have happened, is that you are sedentary during the day and burned less than what fitbit expected you to burn. So when you burned cals, say 300, if you were 225 under before fitness after fitness, fitbit and MFP will give you a exercise adjustment of 75 cals burned.

    I get negative adjustments when I am sedentary most days. To avoid it, I have to move more.

    i sync up frequently so negative adjustments work for me. If you only sync up when you get home from work after a long day, doing negative adjustments might not make sense.
  • dcmitchell01
    dcmitchell01 Posts: 76 Member
    woohoo! this was a syncing issue between MFP and Fitbit, now that it is corrected, my actual adjustment for Wednesday 7/3 is 701 cal!!! A big difference! I feel so much better!!! I am still sore from my workout that day, I knew I needed credit for more than 75 calories!!! Faith in the Fitbit now restored!

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