FITBIT is whack!!!

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  • flynnfinn
    flynnfinn Posts: 209 Member
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    MFP will adjust your eating goal to maintain the target deficit. Period. That's the key.

    Well, as OP stated, he adjusted the eating goal to a 10% deficit from TDEE, not block like MFP uses.

    If you aren't using MFP the way it was designed, it does not work out correctly unless you make some changes.

    My description above is exactly what I've seen people do, that's the reason I can use it as an example.

    ok...i get what you're saying. i was afraid of "double-dipping" so to speak so that is why i haven't eaten back the fitbit adjustment calories. and i am fairly new to this fitbit thing (have only had it for roughly a week) so i'm still trying to work the kinks out.

    anyway, this is how i was using MFP before i got the fitbit and synced everything: i set my daily caloric goal to 1800 (this is based on that in place of a road map thingy and what helloitsdan recommended). i always logged in my exercise as 1 calorie because 1800 was what i thought was TDEE. anyway...i did that for a VERY LONG TIME and lost 3lbs. but again, my goal was really only to lose 5lbs...so i figured that was fairly spot on. as they say, the less you have to lose, the smaller the deficit and the longer it takes.

    fast forward to this week with my fancy schmancy new fitbit...which i have been syncing with MFP. it is now giving me fitbit calorie adjustments of anywhere from 600-800 calories. it just seemed crazy so i haven't been eating those back.

    i guess i just have to align both very closely. i'm still working on that. will fiddle with it a bit more. i was just wondering how accurate it is for everyone else.
  • flynnfinn
    flynnfinn Posts: 209 Member
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    I've always just eaten 1800 calories regardless of whatever fitbit adjustments are made. I don't eat back the fitbit adjustment calories. I only follow the deficit MFP gave me using the TDEE method. I do have fitbit sync with MFP but just ignored the extra calories. At this point, I'm ready to unsync them and just use the fitbit as an activity tracker.

    Wait - MFP doesn't use a TDEE method, they use a non-exercise maintenance method.

    And you aren't using TDEE either then, since not accounting for adjustments.

    You have a great little tool there ready to be used correctly, just need manual corrections for some activity.

    Why guess at TDEE and maintenance, when that device is trying to tell you?

    100% agree with this... You don't need to guess anymore, FitBit is telling you your TDEE. Do you have a deficit set up in FitBit also? I have both systems set up to lose 0.5lb/week. MFP subtracted 250 cal from what it estimated my maintenance at my current activity level to set my goal. Now that my activity level has been raised to Active, MFP estimates my non-exercise maintenance to be 1935 - 250 = 1685. FitBit subtracts 250 from whatever I burn each day, including regular activity and exercise. If I don't "exercise" my FitBit Calories burned is around 2000, which is actually pretty close to what MFP estimates. When I do exercise or move a lot, my Calories Burned is more like 2200-2300 which FitBit subtracts 250 from and tells me I should be eating around 2000 calories. MFP gives me the 200-300 cal adjustment each day and I end up eating 1900-2000 cals. The two systems are usually within about 50 cals of each other at the end of each day, a negligible difference in my book, and I've been losing pretty consistently 0.5 lb/week since I got the device, set it up following good suggestions I had seen from both Jonnythan and HeyBales in another thread.

    TL/DR - trust the FitBit. Eat more food. Be happy and keep losing weight. :)

    true true...i know i know. i am going to change settings on MFP and fitbit so that the goals are aligned. but at the same time, i can also technically move into maintenance because i am not going to cry over 2 little lbs (that's all i have left to lose but i can seriously poop 2lbs...LOL...ok TMI but hey, it's true). which is also why i got the fitbit because i didn't want to over-estimate my TDEE. and yes, true, now that fitbit is practically screaming this number out at me, i know i should listen to it. and i will.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    Corrected for lifting - it can be very accurate.

    And for you to have that much deficit in place, or it would appear, and only be losing that much, you have another problem.

    Are you accurating logging foods, weighing everything? Or at least 2 weeks weighing to see how far off measuring and eyeballing can be?

    If that has been accurate, I'm going for the direction of you have too great a deficit for the amount left to lose, and body has adapted down and as you've shown - you don't have the deficit it would appear you should have.

    In which case Fitbit is inflating your TDEE over reality - because reality is suppressed, and Fitbit doesn't know that.

    But so close to goal, just finish it off, but realize that Fitbit is not your potential maintenance, probably not for many months until your system speed back up.

    When you go to maintenance, only increase calories 100 per week, and be prepared for fast water weight gain - though your body will look the same.

    Also be prepared for your workouts to get a lot better. Because closer to potential maintenance, the stronger and better effect from them. And I'd suggest you've had too big a deficit and aren't getting to see true potential.
  • freemystery
    freemystery Posts: 184 Member
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    Great post OP! And amazing because I was just going to log on to mfp to ask almost the same question. I'm 5'4",130lbs and got my fitbit one two weeks ago. I walk two and a bit miles to work and back. Plus on my lunch I'm generally running errands so another 2 miles there. Average at about 15k steps

    My question is/ was going to be does that reasonably translate to an extra 600 calories? It seems high to me. I remember being on treadmills for what felt like hours only to burn 100 cals and then feeling awful when I learned that they overestimated burns!

    By the sounds of it maybe its not unthinkable. 2-3 hours of walking is a fair amount I guess. I'm still adjusting, getting to the end of the day and realising I have 500 cals to get in me. Hurrah for chocolate/ cheese/ peanut butter!

    Don't mean to hijack the post just to share that my experience has been similar, thanks for the info all!
  • xmichaelyx
    xmichaelyx Posts: 883 Member
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    whack ... shizznack... for realz ... straight TDEE ...

    Is that you, Liz Lemon?
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    Great post OP! And amazing because I was just going to log on to mfp to ask almost the same question. I'm 5'4",130lbs and got my fitbit one two weeks ago. I walk two and a bit miles to work and back. Plus on my lunch I'm generally running errands so another 2 miles there. Average at about 15k steps

    My question is/ was going to be does that reasonably translate to an extra 600 calories? It seems high to me. I remember being on treadmills for what felt like hours only to burn 100 cals and then feeling awful when I learned that they overestimated burns!

    By the sounds of it maybe its not unthinkable. 2-3 hours of walking is a fair amount I guess. I'm still adjusting, getting to the end of the day and realising I have 500 cals to get in me. Hurrah for chocolate/ cheese/ peanut butter!

    Don't mean to hijack the post just to share that my experience has been similar, thanks for the info all!

    http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/WalkRunMETs.html

    130 lbs, 60 min, 3.6 mph, 1% incline for ups and downs/stairs, gross burn that good treadmill, HRM, or database table would give.
    264 calories.
    Yes, your treadmill was jacked-up.

    But remember - your Fitbit adjustment on MFP is NOT just your exercise - it is an increase in your TDEE compared to what MFP thought your maintenance would be.
    So it is of course the extra walking, some is likely you are more active than you told MFP about.
    Like if you told MFP you are sedentary with all that walking - obviously that's not true. And those big adjustments are proof of it.
    Set correctly, you'll have a more realistic goal, and can plan better with smaller adjustments and surprises end of day.
  • flynnfinn
    flynnfinn Posts: 209 Member
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    Corrected for lifting - it can be very accurate.

    And for you to have that much deficit in place, or it would appear, and only be losing that much, you have another problem.

    Are you accurating logging foods, weighing everything? Or at least 2 weeks weighing to see how far off measuring and eyeballing can be?

    If that has been accurate, I'm going for the direction of you have too great a deficit for the amount left to lose, and body has adapted down and as you've shown - you don't have the deficit it would appear you should have.

    In which case Fitbit is inflating your TDEE over reality - because reality is suppressed, and Fitbit doesn't know that.

    But so close to goal, just finish it off, but realize that Fitbit is not your potential maintenance, probably not for many months until your system speed back up.

    When you go to maintenance, only increase calories 100 per week, and be prepared for fast water weight gain - though your body will look the same.

    Also be prepared for your workouts to get a lot better. Because closer to potential maintenance, the stronger and better effect from them. And I'd suggest you've had too big a deficit and aren't getting to see true potential.

    Ok...I think I have figured this out.

    Fitbit is now set-up to a daily deficit of 250 calories per day based on my daily average of 2291 calories burned.
    MFP is now set-up to Active and a .25kg/week loss.

    So based on those numbers:

    2291 calories burned from Fitbit minus 2060 MFP guidelines (set at Active, .25kg/week loss) which now gives me a Fitbit Calorie Adjustment of 231. MUCH BETTER and way more realistic! This is the 10% deficit I was looking for!

    So I'll give this a whirl for the next 4-6 weeks and see how the losses go and if they go accordingly (.25kg/week). If not, will readjust. Looks like I will only have to add about 260 calories as I already eat about 1800 per day. That's really just about 2+ tbsp of peanut butter.

    Thanks for the guidance!
  • freemystery
    freemystery Posts: 184 Member
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    http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/WalkRunMETs.html

    130 lbs, 60 min, 3.6 mph, 1% incline for ups and downs/stairs, gross burn that good treadmill, HRM, or database table would give.
    264 calories.
    Yes, your treadmill was jacked-up.

    But remember - your Fitbit adjustment on MFP is NOT just your exercise - it is an increase in your TDEE compared to what MFP thought your maintenance would be.
    So it is of course the extra walking, some is likely you are more active than you told MFP about.
    Like if you told MFP you are sedentary with all that walking - obviously that's not true. And those big adjustments are proof of it.
    Set correctly, you'll have a more realistic goal, and can plan better with smaller adjustments and surprises end of day.

    Just wanted to thank you for this!

    In fact I had set up my profile here a while ago and back then I was pretty sedentary- I hadn't even thought about that! Since then I moved home so I can walk to work now. I only bought the fitbit last week so I'd set different weights/ goals/ activity levels on the two.
    I guess these things are only as useful as you let them be- thanks for giving me the reminder I needed!

    I don't mind the surprises towards the end of the day, so long as they're not overwhelming. When I sync at about 7pm, around dinner time, it never hurts to hear I have to clear a few more calories. Just enough for a slice of cheesecake. :happy:
  • kportwood85
    kportwood85 Posts: 151 Member
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    I think it sounds right. On an inactive day for me, I hit about 1900-2100 calories burned. Yesterday I hit 3000. My average is 2400. I hit 10,000 steps most days, at least. I started my weight loss the day I got my fitbit last year, and have been using it daily. I'm down about 40 pounds, so, it must not be too off.
  • Morgaath
    Morgaath Posts: 679 Member
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    i walk about 12km per day.
    i average about 16,000 steps per day.

    12KM should be way more than 16,000 steps, I think?? :ohwell: If I run 5K, I generally have maybe 8000-9000 steps on average; I would guess 12KM is wrong or 16,0000 is too low, possibly?

    right now, I am at 16,700 steps and 12.94km.

    Steps = steps made. Some might be 5 inches (as in standing in a slow moving line, or moving from one sink to the other while washing dishes), others might be 36+inches when running.
  • mycupyourcake
    mycupyourcake Posts: 279 Member
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    How much weight do you lose eating 1600-1800 calories a day? If that is on target for you then I would ignore the fitbit.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    So I'll give this a whirl for the next 4-6 weeks and see how the losses go and if they go accordingly (.25kg/week). If not, will readjust. Looks like I will only have to add about 260 calories as I already eat about 1800 per day. That's really just about 2+ tbsp of peanut butter.

    Shouldn't it be 1 tbsp and some chocolate? Hmmm.

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