mfp and fitbit do not match
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doctorregenerated
Posts: 188 Member
I signed into the fitbit site for the first time in a year to finally use it since I figured I could link it to MFP.
I cannot seem to get it to show the same as mfp, though. It thinks I need WAY less calories for my day than I am using here. I don't mind the extra activity it wants me to do, but the calories just does not look right.
Is this normal?
I cannot seem to get it to show the same as mfp, though. It thinks I need WAY less calories for my day than I am using here. I don't mind the extra activity it wants me to do, but the calories just does not look right.
Is this normal?
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Replies
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For instance, it knows I ate 344 calories so far, but it thinks I should only eat 851 calories total on a medium intensity plan. (pound a week.) I put in my stats of 5'2'' and 157 pounds.0
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You'll never get Fitbit and MFP to line up exactly. I can get mine close, but usually not until the end of the day. I believe the Fitbit site calculates differently, showing you more of a calorie limit based on the time of day (rather than a set amount like MPF). My MFP has me at 1200, and like you said, Fitbit starts me off around 850 (MFP would never suggest anything that low). But even if you didn't exercise, the Fitbit allowance would grow some just as the day progresses. It grows more as you are more active. By the end of the day, both Fitbit and MFP are often telling me I can eat 2500 calories (as my total burn gets to 3000 on a nice active day).
Over time, you'll see patterns emerge with Fitbit. It keeps a running 30-day look at your burn and intake. I always try to keep my intake below my Fitbit burn (so the lines on the graph don't cross), and just visualize a 500+ deficit from that. I do that more than looking at what Fitbit and MFP tell me "calories left" are. I know I generally get to a "burn" of 2500-3000, so I aim for an intake of 2000, even though both Fitbit and MFP start me off much smaller every morning.
It's hard at your height I think. I see my boys get bigger calorie burns, even if I have more steps! Youth and the male metabolism, it isn't fair!0 -
If you are set on "sedentary" on the Fitbit food plan, your allowance will start very low. But it will update as you sync your fitbit device and if you are more active than expected the allowance will increase. Fitbit doesn't have a minimum allowance--it just does the math. At the end of the day, your fitbit allowance will simply be your fitbit calorie burn minus the requested deficit you chose (-250 for 1/2 pound a week loss, -500 for 1 pound a week loss, -750 for 1.5 pounds a week loss and -1000 for 2 pounds a week loss). Starting with such a low allowance means Fitbit estimates you would burn 1351 calories a day if truly sedentary. Most likely you won't be quite that sedentary.
There is another option on the Fitbit food plan called "personalized". I actually prefer personalized method. With personalized, the calorie burn estimate Fitbit starts with is based on your average calorie burn over the past few days. I like this method because my allowance starts closer to where it ends and I don't start with an insanely low allowance (unless I choose too high a deficit for my body). The Fitbit allowance ends up your total burn minus your requested deficit with either option.
MFP might actually assume you will burn a similar amount (though I think MFP's estimate for sedentary is more generous). If your allowance on MFP starts at 1200, then most likely MFP isn't allowing you the full deficit you requested. If the estimated calories in - deficit would put your allowance below 1200, MFP just sets you for a slower rate of loss without telling you. You can see what MFP set you for if you look in your MFP goals page. The "calories burned from daily activity" is what MFP estimates you would burn at whatever activity level you chose on MFP.
My Fitbit and MFP allowances end up about the same if my deficit is small enough that MFP starts me above 1200. It starts quite different and looks different for most of the day though.0 -
Today was my first full day using my fitbit and fitbit is telling me I has 1050 calories still to eat today and mfp is telling me I have 476. I'm going to lean towards the lower allowance for now but I hope the difference gets smaller soon. I got the fitbit so I could know really how much I needed vs a guess with activity level.0
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Today was my first full day using my fitbit and fitbit is telling me I has 1050 calories still to eat today and mfp is telling me I have 476. I'm going to lean towards the lower allowance for now but I hope the difference gets smaller soon. I got the fitbit so I could know really how much I needed vs a guess with activity level.
I use MFP to figure calories eaten and I use fitbit to tell me how many calories burned, which it also tells MFP. I can enter no activity into MFP but fitbit will calculate a burn and tell MFP and it will be reflected in a little notation at the bottom of the food diary that I have earned *** calories0 -
I figured it out...apparently when I set it up, fitbit missed my losing per week goal and had me maintaining my weight, hence the ~500 calorie difference between mfp and fitbit0
