Fitbit & MFP Need Help With Calories

dannileef8
dannileef8 Posts: 4
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi

After month of not losing I decide it was time to try something different. I few days ago I got myself a Fitbit with the hope of getting a better estimate of the number of calories I should be eating, but if anything I'm more confused.

I linked Fitbit to MFP and decided to set them both to Sedentary, 1lb a week loss, and eat back my exercise calories. I have never done this before so eating more is taking a bit of getting used to but after reading the forums this method seems to have worked for loads of people.

I also got myself a Mio Link HRM so I can accurately enter my exercise in MFP. I do a lot of walking.

Yesterday I walked 6.5 miles and burned 779 calories, after eating back these I had a net of 1177. Yet Fitbit says - You ate 1956 of your goal of 1801 cals. I'm not sure why it is giving me a goal of less than MFP.

My goal for MFP including exercise was 1,979 and I ate 1,956.

Please can someone explain the difference in the calories?

When I mouse over the Calories tile in Fitbit it says 2212 (and has every day since I got it) is this my TDEE?

Thanks in advance

danni

Replies

  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    If you have the Fitbit linked to MFP, don't manually enter any walking exercise in MFP because the Fitbit is doing it for you.

    Their intake goals differ because the plans are not the same. Pick one.

    The 2212 is just a default suggested goal from Fitbit, based on not much. You can change the goal or ignore it. Your TDEE is the value shown on the tile when you don't mouse over it. If the day is still in progress, it's estimating what you've burned so far so go back to prior days to see some full day values.

    Hope that helps some.
  • dannileef8
    dannileef8 Posts: 4
    Thanks for the response :) It did help, however looking back at the past days TDEE they vary quite a bit which leaves me with no better knowledge of how many calories to eat than I did before I bought it, Feel for me it was a bit of a waste of money as I am back to using MFP set to .5lb a week and will eat back by exercise calories.

    Sure Fitbit is great for many but it's way over my head.
  • Dort68
    Dort68 Posts: 36 Member
    You haven't used your Fitbit long enough to really gather good data from it. You need to wear it for a few weeks and then look at the graphs & stats to get a better idea about your daily averages.

    Use one of the many online BMR/TDEE calculators to estimate those numbers for you, then after a few more weeks using your Fitbit, compare the two sets of numbers. Tweak accordingly.

    I unlinked MPF and Fitbit. Much easier for me this way.
  • dannileef8
    dannileef8 Posts: 4
    i understand I haven't had it long. I it possible to enter my own walking calories rather than have Fitbit estimate them for me?Or will Fitbit double them up (counting the steps too)?

    I know they have now included a new GPS tracker to the app which is cool but I cannot see anywhere where it tells me how many calories I have burned.

    I weight myself today just out of interest and I have put on 1lb, I understand it can vary day to day and my weigh in day is a few days off but the sooner I get the numbers sorted the sooner I will be confident eating more calories :)
  • pteryndactyl
    pteryndactyl Posts: 303 Member
    You should be able to enter your own calories for walking if you enter the exercise on MFP. When you do that, it asks for start time and duration...entering those should cancel out the calories (and maybe steps?) you earned from the FitBit, so you don't double up.
  • SnuggleSmacks
    SnuggleSmacks Posts: 3,731 Member
    i understand I haven't had it long. I it possible to enter my own walking calories rather than have Fitbit estimate them for me?Or will Fitbit double them up (counting the steps too)?

    I know they have now included a new GPS tracker to the app which is cool but I cannot see anywhere where it tells me how many calories I have burned.

    I weight myself today just out of interest and I have put on 1lb, I understand it can vary day to day and my weigh in day is a few days off but the sooner I get the numbers sorted the sooner I will be confident eating more calories :)

    You can enter your exercise on the Fitbit app instead of MFP. That way, Fitbit will replace its own numbers with the numbers you enter for that time period, and will update MFP correctly. If you enter it into MFP, then Fitbit will still be including that time frame in its numbers, so you'll essentially be double dipping.
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
    On linking MFP & Fitbit, setting to sedentary:

    Based on your height, weight, etc.: MFP expects you to burn X calories per day thru regular activity, bodily functions, etc. It then subtracts 500 (for your 1 pound per week loss goal) and tells you to eat X - 500.

    Fitbit estimates your total calorie burn based on your stats and your actual step-based activity. If your total is over X, then MFP shows you a calorie adjustment: which translates to more calories you can consume.

    I do not use a HRM. But if you do, you should ONLY use it for cardio. Not for weight lifting or other activities that include starting & stopping. And not to wear all day in an effort to measure calories burned from all day activity. HRMs are just not reliable for non-cardio situations. When you entered your activity from the HRM, did you have the option to enter a time? SUch as walking w/ HRM from 1pm-2pm? (I've not used a HRM and don't typically enter activities - just use my Fitbit.) The reason I ask: if you enter a time, then MFP should count the HRM during that time, and not the Fitbit. If you just add the calories to the other totals, you'd be counting double.

    If you wore the HRM all day, and mean that you walked 6.5 miles total (instead of 6.5 miles in a single long walking session) then it sounds like you are double counting your calorie burn. You do not want to add your Fitbit calorie burn to your HRM calorie burn if they are tracking the same activity.

    Bit of advice: if the HRM is not linked to the Fitbit or you don't enter the HRM activity at Fitbit.com, then don't look at the Fitbit site for calories to consume info. Its easiest to just use MFP for that.
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
    Here is how I use MFP & Fitbit together: I set MFP to lightly active, 1 pound per week loss goal. I log all my food, water here. All of my cardio is step based: walking, running, etc. So I don't log any activities. If I swim, its nothing very strenuous so I wouldn't log that either.

    My goal on Fitbit is to burn at least 2100 calories per day. That way I can eat 1400-1600 , have my deficit, and a few spare calories here & there to cover any logging errors.

    I make sure I move enough during the day to hit 2100 by midnight - because even when I'm not actively moving, I'm still using energy. I know that my BMR is something like 1.05 calories per minute. So I estimate I will burn 60 calories/hour when I'm in bed, sitting on the couch, etc. Its actually a tiny bit higher but that's ok. So this means I can be 'done' for the day if my Fitbit shows a total calorie burn of:

    2040 by 11pm (60 minutes left, will burn another 60 calories)
    1980 by 10pm (120 minutes left, will burn another 120 calories)
    1920 by 9pm (180 minutes left, will burn another 180 calories)

    You can google to find a BMR calculator, and then divide your daily BMR by 24 (the # of hours in a day) to get an idea of what you burn per hour when you're not active.
  • fvtfan
    fvtfan Posts: 126 Member
    I just ignore the Fitbit adjustment and log the (net) calories burned based on my HRM. Since the Fitbit does not have a heart rate monitor on it I figured the calories burned was an estimate anyway - I realize the HRM is also an estimate but at least it knows when I get my heart rate up which the Fitbit does NOT know. I do not allow the Fitbit to do a negative adjustment in MFP. I only use the Fitbit adjustment if I haven't done any extra exercise beyond my daily routine.

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