My Fitness Pal, Map My Walk and Fitbit...I'm confused!!

my5pumpkins
my5pumpkins Posts: 8 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
This morning I walked 1.66 miles. Map My Walk said I burned 252 calories. The Fitbit app said I burned 241 Calories today which included that walk and few extra steps I took earlier with the Fitbit. So I would think that the MFP food journal would say that I had an extra 200 or so calories, but instead it only shows and extra 135 calories.

So I go to the exercise diary itself, and it shows I burned 252 calories in 40 minutes at 2.5 mph through MMW. Under that was the Fitbit calorie adjustment, and it showed -117. And then, like I said, when I go to MFP to journal my food, it said that I only had an extra 135 calories.

Can someone please explain this to me??? Before I had my fitbit, If I burned 252 calories using MMW, from what I can remember, my food journal would say I had an extra 252 calories. THANKS!!

Replies

  • MissTomGettingThin
    MissTomGettingThin Posts: 776 Member
    Is the fitbit and MMW linked together?
  • mrshilderley
    mrshilderley Posts: 14
    I have the three of them and before i found my fitbit I used mmw. However, Now that i have found fitbit I am using just my fitbit. I think you need to pick one app or device and stick to it. Like use mfp and the fitbit or mfp and mmw or just use the mmw for the distance traveled.
  • my5pumpkins
    my5pumpkins Posts: 8 Member
    Yes, they are all three synced together.
  • zacksnana
    zacksnana Posts: 3,230 Member
    From my own experience i found that if i was not moving enough, when i actually did work out i would not always get "full credit" if i had moved less during the day than MFP anticipated. Are you set up for negative calorie adjustment?

    I just don't worry about it when it happens. I would rather be safe and not have them added back if i have burned less that day than anticipated.
  • my5pumpkins
    my5pumpkins Posts: 8 Member
    Yes, I do have the negative calorie adjustment checked. But I don't understand exactly what that does.
  • zacksnana
    zacksnana Posts: 3,230 Member
    I am just figuring this out as well so anyone who sees something inaccurate - feel free to correct me!

    Negative calorie adjustment:

    Let's say your daily goal is 1600 calories per day. When you wake up it may say 1600. But if you lay on the couch a few hours, eat nothing, then check again, you may be down to 1500 available calories for the day. It basically watches your energy expenditures through the day and adjusts calories DOWN if you don't move enough. Get busy and your 1500 will return to 1600.

    So if you were pretty sedetary prior to your walk, you hadn't burned what was expected and therefore didn't get full credit for your walk. And if you eat back workout calories this would really mess with your deficit if it wasn't corrected.

    Make sense?

    Edit to add: MFP will not go below 1200 per day. So if you are already set at 1200 you will not notice this. Fitbit WILL go below 1200 and adjusts calories down or up depending on how much you move.
  • GingerLolita
    GingerLolita Posts: 738 Member
    If you're logging your walk on in your exercise diary or in map my walk, you'll be counting it multiple times because your Fitbit has already counted it.

    Fitbit calories burned = BMR + exercise (although there are limitations to what exercises the Fitbit can track, but it is meant to be used for walking and running)

    The negative calorie adjustment from Fitbit is the total for the day, not just exercise. It adjusts calories burned from your activity level set on MFP. Since I typically have my activity level set to lightly active or active on MFP, I usually wake up to a negative adjustment since I've been sedentary all night. If you consistently end the day with negative adjustments, your Fitbit is tracking that you're burning less calories than your MFP activity level predicts.

    I'd recommend taking off the Map My Walk since your Fitbit will already count your walks. Just use the Fitbit calories burned or the MFP calories after adjustment to plan your diet.
  • scrapjen
    scrapjen Posts: 387 Member
    I don't use MMW or anything else with MFP- but my Fitbit allowance always seems to work out close to MY estimates (from machines or HRM) although sometimes you have to wait until later in the day for it all to even out. I never get as much of an adjustment first thing in the morning, but later in the day it is more to where I would expect.

    Your Fitbit Adjustment on MFP will depend on your settings too (did you mark yourself as stationary or active?) I mark myself as stationary, even though I'm anything but ... that way I can see what my calorie allowance would be without activity, and how much credit I get because of my exercise (if you say your are "active" MFP already figures in some exercise burn allowance and you won't see any Fitbit adjustment until you exceed the expectations).

    Which Fitbit do you have? I keep seeing people posting their "stats" from the Fitbit app after a morning workout, but that is the total calorie burn from the day, which started at midnight. You are burning calories even as you sleep, so as you wake up, your Fitbit should show you at 300-450 calories burned, even before you get out of bed (even if you weren't wearing your Fitbit).

    You can get an exact estimate from your workout (using the timer on the Flex or One or adding in an activity record after the fact on the computer. The 241 sounds pretty in line, compared with the MMW estimate for just your walk, but not for your entire day to that point (that should be higher). I think I'm usually at a 400 burn when I first wake up.
  • my5pumpkins
    my5pumpkins Posts: 8 Member
    I am just figuring this out as well so anyone who sees something inaccurate - feel free to correct me!

    Negative calorie adjustment:

    Let's say your daily goal is 1600 calories per day. When you wake up it may say 1600. But if you lay on the couch a few hours, eat nothing, then check again, you may be down to 1500 available calories for the day. It basically watches your energy expenditures through the day and adjusts calories DOWN if you don't move enough. Get busy and your 1500 will return to 1600.

    So if you were pretty sedetary prior to your walk, you hadn't burned what was expected and therefore didn't get full credit for your walk. And if you eat back workout calories this would really mess with your deficit if it wasn't corrected.

    Make sense?

    Edit to add: MFP will not go below 1200 per day. So if you are already set at 1200 you will not notice this. Fitbit WILL go below 1200 and adjusts calories down or up depending on how much you move.


    Ok, I think I get it! :) So basicly the calorie adjustment is real-time calorie estimation.?? I was sitting at the pc for a while and it went down to -141. Got up, walked around a little, did some laundry, came back, and now it is at -94. Shew....no rest with the Fitbit! HAHA
  • my5pumpkins
    my5pumpkins Posts: 8 Member
    Which Fitbit do you have? I keep seeing people posting their "stats" from the Fitbit app after a morning workout, but that is the total calorie burn from the day, which started at midnight. You are burning calories even as you sleep, so as you wake up, your Fitbit should show you at 300-450 calories burned, even before you get out of bed (even if you weren't wearing your Fitbit).

    You can get an exact estimate from your workout (using the timer on the Flex or One or adding in an activity record after the fact on the computer. The 241 sounds pretty in line, compared with the MMW estimate for just your walk, but not for your entire day to that point (that should be higher). I think I'm usually at a 400 burn when I first wake up.


    I am using the Fitbit One. I've only had it for about a week and so far really like it! I just discovered the "record" mode. So before I go on a walk or an exercise, I record. So much easier keeping track of my workouts!

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