Fitbit and MyFitnessPal Calorie Inconsistency

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rscdjackson
rscdjackson Posts: 1 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
The fitbit app usually says I can eat about 200 calories less than MyFitnessPal. I have a friend who has experienced the same thing. But I was wondering if there was a reason for this, or if there were any way to make those synch better, or which one to follow. I don't want to overeat. I only enter exercise and calories into myfitnesspal like everything says, but there is still this discrepancy...

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  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
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    What are your goals in each app? E.g., 2 lbs/week, etc. I'm not sure the Fitbit app has the 1200 floor the MFP app has. And I think the Fitbit app adjusts your calorie allowance throughout the day based on your activity level. There are various settings, though.

    Does it matter? Why not just pick one and run with it? There's no magic calorie intake level. Any deficit works and if it's too slow for your tastes, just make it larger.
  • adorable_aly
    adorable_aly Posts: 398 Member
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    Above poster is right, fitbit doesn't have a calorie floor.
  • FredSetToGetFit
    FredSetToGetFit Posts: 286 Member
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    Does it matter? Why not just pick one and run with it? There's no magic calorie intake level. Any deficit works and if it's too slow for your tastes, just make it larger.

    This. I also have a fitbit Flex and noticed this. I just take it that MFP has gotten me this far, why change it now. I go with the MFP calories.
  • Collier78
    Collier78 Posts: 811 Member
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    I wear a fitbit flex and it adjusts my calories based on what I have burned and what it projects I will burn based on my activity level during the day. I have it set for 2lbs so I know I have wiggle room...the fitbit only pulls what calories you enter in MFP..it does not pull what MFP says you should be eating...so sometimes your fitbit calories will allow for more and sometimes less based on your activity level. If you set MFP to allow for negative adjustments, when you aren't as active (say you sat at a desk all day) Fitbit will then tell MFP that you haven't been that active and actual add calories (like you ate them) to your MFP total...if you excercise or move more fitbit tells MFP to subtract calories from what you've netted. Hope this helps!

    For example currently, because I have been at my desk all morning Fitbit has added 123 calories to my MFP total...I have eaten 552..so my net shows as 675...once I go for my run later that 123 will become a negative number and my net will go down.
  • Rerun201
    Rerun201 Posts: 125 Member
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    I use MFP for the food journal and as the guide to how much more I can eat for the day. The calories here are what I go by. I use a HR monitor to measure the calories burned during exercise as FitBit Flex never seems to think I exercise as much as the HRM. When I'm doing strength or bodyweight training, the Flex doesn't catch all the movement. I use my Flex more as a motivator to make sure I get a minimal amount of activity.

    I've found that MFP's counts work well for me. Pick one, stick with it for a while. If it works stay with it. If it don't switch to the other.
  • sjlawgirl
    sjlawgirl Posts: 31 Member
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    (deleted question) Never mind...found my answer.
  • barb1221
    barb1221 Posts: 5
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    I, too, go by the calorie count on MFP instead of Fitbit, it's just easier. However, I feel I need the 750 deficit Fitbit suggests. Should I just try to get my net calories on MFP to reflect 750 calories? And the safe way to do this is through more exercise, right? Thank you for any feedback!
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
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    I would just use the Fitbit plan and forget MFP and it's goofy 'net calories' construct. It's an unnecessary complication.

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