Confused with my fitbit

I synced it to mpf and it keeps adding exercise calories burned when I haven't done anything except a 400 calorie burned workout this morning. I'm up to 900 calories burned and I don't know where it's coming from. It's screwing with my food log. Where are these burned calories coming from?

Ugh.

Replies

  • JustFindingMe
    JustFindingMe Posts: 390 Member
    I'm assuming its tallying up your continued movements and steps :happy:

    Mine adjusts itself throughout the day. I don't add the particulars, I just let it count away.
  • higgins8283801
    higgins8283801 Posts: 844 Member
    It's saying I have burned 905 calories from exercise on here when I have only burned 400 according to my hrm from a beach workout I did this morning.

    So this is ok? That is over 500 extra calories I never thought I would have to eat back. Even though I have ate good and still have dinner to go, I'm now at 400 net for the day because my fitbit keeps adding exercise calories.
  • JuiceBars
    JuiceBars Posts: 78 Member
    I am pretty sure it is giving you your daily calorie burn....just for living and breathing- not just for when you exercise. It will give you your TOTAL daily calorie burn at the end of your day which should be close to 1500-1800 if you have done your 10,000 steps for example . You will only "earn" calories that you can eat back, so to speak, when you reach the allotted amount which is obtained by what you have it set for. These will be added to your MFP daily calorie allotment. Not sure if that makes sense. That's my thinking anyway.
  • higgins8283801
    higgins8283801 Posts: 844 Member
    I am pretty sure it is giving you your daily calorie burn....just for living and breathing- not just for when you exercise. It will give you your TOTAL daily calorie burn at the end of your day which should be close to 1500-1800 if you have done your 10,000 steps for example . You will only "earn" calories that you can eat back, so to speak, when you reach the allotted amount which is obtained by what you have it set for. These will be added to your MFP daily calorie allotment. Not sure if that makes sense. That's my thinking anyway.
    [/quote

    Pretty sure I screwed something up because my fitbit is saying I burned over 2000 calories
  • shireeniebeanie
    shireeniebeanie Posts: 293 Member
    The burned calories are from moving around all day! Depending on how you set your calories in MFP, you may want to eat at least some of them back. Otherwise, why else would you sync your accounts?

    When calculating my calories in MFP, I selected "sedentary" because of my desk job, but also eat many of the estimated calories that Fitbit says I've burned. All that extra movement required extra energy, and too big a calorie deficit would leave me hungry.
  • higgins8283801
    higgins8283801 Posts: 844 Member
    I am pretty sure it is giving you your daily calorie burn....just for living and breathing- not just for when you exercise. It will give you your TOTAL daily calorie burn at the end of your day which should be close to 1500-1800 if you have done your 10,000 steps for example . You will only "earn" calories that you can eat back, so to speak, when you reach the allotted amount which is obtained by what you have it set for. These will be added to your MFP daily calorie allotment. Not sure if that makes sense. That's my thinking anyway.

    I must have screwed up somewhere. My fitbit says I have burned over 2000 calories so far?

    I'm so confused.
  • higgins8283801
    higgins8283801 Posts: 844 Member
    The burned calories are from moving around all day! Depending on how you set your calories in MFP, you may want to eat at least some of them back. Otherwise, why else would you sync your accounts?

    When calculating my calories in MFP, I selected "sedentary" because of my desk job, but also eat many of the estimated calories that Fitbit says I've burned. All that extra movement required extra energy, and too big a calorie deficit would leave me hungry.

    Yes. I do eat them back. However I dot know what to eat back anymore
    Before I was just eating back the ones I burned. But now my deficit is larger than it ever has been.

    I think I may have goofed when I synced them.
  • Needachange84
    Needachange84 Posts: 310 Member
    If you had the fitbit on this morning during your workout and then you went and added the workout on here, it most likely has doubled up from there considering the fitbit counted every "step" you took. Everytime you sync it, it adds to the calories burned based on the steps you have taken. make sense? Also do you have it on your dominate wrist?
  • higgins8283801
    higgins8283801 Posts: 844 Member
    If you had the fitbit on this morning during your workout and then you went and added the workout on here, it most likely has doubled up from there considering the fitbit counted every "step" you took. Everytime you sync it, it adds to the calories burned based on the steps you have taken. make sense?

    I did add it on here! That is probably what it did then. I didn't know you could sync it until after that workout was completed


    Didn't even think about that! Thank you! I'll delete my morning workout I entered and see if that fixed it.
  • higgins8283801
    higgins8283801 Posts: 844 Member
    If you had the fitbit on this morning during your workout and then you went and added the workout on here, it most likely has doubled up from there considering the fitbit counted every "step" you took. Everytime you sync it, it adds to the calories burned based on the steps you have taken. make sense? Also do you have it on your dominate wrist?

    No. I have it on my left hand. I'm right handed.
  • anthmcm
    anthmcm Posts: 1 Member
    I have been having the same issue I don't bother with the fitbit adjustments now they are just massively out. I use it for steps and keeping track of distance walked etc but nothing else.

    Even when I don't wear the band it says I have burnt calories.....
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    It's saying I have burned 905 calories from exercise on here when I have only burned 400 according to my hrm from a beach workout I did this morning.

    So this is ok? That is over 500 extra calories I never thought I would have to eat back. Even though I have ate good and still have dinner to go, I'm now at 400 net for the day because my fitbit keeps adding exercise calories.

    Without Fitbit what MFP does is estimate your daily burn without exercise by YOUR selection of activity level.
    Take off some calories to eat less than what you burn - you lose weight.

    Fitbit is estimating your daily burn by what you ARE doing, not your guess of how active you think you are.

    MFP takes what Fitbit is saying you burned, subtracts what it thought you would burn - and there's your calorie adjustment.
    Say MFP non-exercise daily burn estimate 2000 calories. Minus 500 deficit. 1500 eating goal.
    Fitbit says 2500 burned - 2000 MFP = 500 cal positive adjustment.
    MFP eating goal 1500 + 500 cal = 2000 eating goal with increased activity.

    So if you logged your HRM calorie burn on Fitbit or MFP, and entered the correct start time and duration - you would have replaced Fitbit's estimate of calorie burn during that time.
    That bigger calorie burn is compared to what MFP knows, so....

    Fitbit 2500 burned - 2000 MFP - 400 exercise logged = 100 cal adjustment
    Eating goal 1500 + 400 + 100 = 2000 eating goal with increased activity.

    Works the same either way, if you logged calorie burn matched what Fitbit was going to say anyway - which would be rare.

    What usually happens is you told MFP you were sedentary outside of exercise - and you are not at all.
    So you are getting positive adjustments merely for you guessing activity level badly, and then add to that exercise increasing what you burn daily.

    Fitbit and MFP are trying to protect people from themselves somewhat (except they allow people to select unreasonable weight loss goals), by trying to have you merely eating a set amount less than what you burn.

    Fitbit is improving the accuracy of that what you burn daily, MFP uses it to adjust your eating goal appropriately.

    The only glitch is if things aren't synced up when you happen to look.

    So notice Fitbit's TDEE or daily burn value.
    Then notice on MFP's Exercise diary the "i" for more info on the calorie adjustment - it should show what figure it's basing daily burn on, and that should match Fitbit.
    If it doesn't, then syncing is mesed up.
  • shireeniebeanie
    shireeniebeanie Posts: 293 Member
    You may want to start wearing it on your non-dominant hand so it doesn't log every time you reach for a pencil, etc.

    Of course, you need to make sure you update Fitbit's settings accordingly.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    I have been having the same issue I don't bother with the fitbit adjustments now they are just massively out. I use it for steps and keeping track of distance walked etc but nothing else.

    Even when I don't wear the band it says I have burnt calories.....

    Of course it does - because you burn calories even sleeping. That's called your BMR.

    Fitbit actually uses that level of calorie burn for ALL non-moving activity.

    Fact is you burn more than that merely being awake, called RMR.
    You burn more standing not moving.
    You burn more not moving eating and processing and digesting food for 2-4 hrs.

    All of that increased burn is not accounted for.

    So of course you burn calories not wearing the band or not moving. Hence the reason it's a daily activity tracker. Not workout tracker, which actually it's limited to step-based exercise for any decent accuracy.
  • higgins8283801
    higgins8283801 Posts: 844 Member
    You may want to start wearing it on your non-dominant hand so it doesn't log every time you reach for a pencil, etc.

    Of course, you need to make sure you update Fitbit's settings accordingly.

    It is on my non dominant hand. I have it on the left.
  • higgins8283801
    higgins8283801 Posts: 844 Member
    I also went in and manually added my morning workout on the fitbit app. Should I delete that one as well? It was a beach walk/jog.
  • Melissa26point2
    Melissa26point2 Posts: 177 Member
    make sure if you are adding exercise on MFP while wearing the FitBit that you enter the exact time you started and stopped. This will adjust the calories from FitBit
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    One more point on Fitbit option.

    In your settings, Calorie Estimation should be disable, unless every day is about equal and you are prone to forgetting to put it on.

    That being enabled starts each day as if you are going to burn the same as previous day averages.

    Being disabled it starts the day as if you are going to be sedentary, and then only increases the eating level when you go over it's original value and actually burn more.

    So with calorie estimation on - that bigger value is reported to MFP, which also does an estimate of daily burn based on it, but not from historical. So with morning workouts, it can originally be even bigger gap over reality, not until end of day does it start lowering it to reality.

    So best to disable.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    My fitbit estimates my activity for the rest of the day based on the level of activity already done, so an early morning workout would give a high to the end of the day estimate

    I cross check against the fitbit app and eat around that amount -during the day

    I log all food on MFP, exercise on MFP but I half the calorie estimates - these overwrite the fitbit 'steps' for the timeframe logged

    Then I complete my day the next day as it has a actual on MFP rather than an estimate
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    I also went in and manually added my morning workout on the fitbit app. Should I delete that one as well? It was a beach walk/jog.

    "Also" - as in you did on MFP, and also on Fitbit?

    Ya, with it syncing - just one place.

    Also - no need to manually log any step based exercise like that at all. That's what it's great at estimating. Though I could see sand walk / jog harder than it might estimate, so perhaps that is one to manually log.
    In one place.
  • shireeniebeanie
    shireeniebeanie Posts: 293 Member
    You only need to log your exercise in one place. I suggest doing it in MFP, but making sure the time is correct so that it will overwrite what Fitbit automatically recorded for those minutes.

    Both the nutrition and activity information syncs both ways,.
  • shireeniebeanie
    shireeniebeanie Posts: 293 Member
    I'll go in and check every so often, but I've found that Fitbit will give me roughly the same number of calories whether it automatically tracked my jogging or I went in and entered it. I stopped logging my activities because I trust that it's accurate enough on its own. Much less work for me!
  • leah_motz
    leah_motz Posts: 19 Member
    Agreed, sounds like its counting double. I used to have Map my Run linked to my MFP account and I had the exact same problem. Both FitBit and MMR gave me calorie deductions and it really messed up my food goals.
  • xmichaelyx
    xmichaelyx Posts: 883 Member
    Fitbit is the most wildly inaccurate tool I've ever imagined using. It's less than useless; it's actually harmful to my fitness goals because it is so incredibly WRONG about everything, including counting the number of steps I've taken (which is really the only thing it is supposed to do accurately).

    Sedentary days: Hey look! 10,000 steps!!
    Days I've run 3+ miles: Wow, only 2000 steps today. :-(

    I just gave up on it. Fortunately I got it from work, so it didn't cost much.
  • shireeniebeanie
    shireeniebeanie Posts: 293 Member
    Agreed, sounds like its counting double. I used to have Map my Run linked to my MFP account and I had the exact same problem. Both FitBit and MMR gave me calorie deductions and it really messed up my food goals.

    Yes, letting other accounts sync with both MFP and Fitbit messed things up like crazy! I'm keeping my other fitness apps' data separate.
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    Fitbit is the most wildly inaccurate tool I've ever imagined using. It's less than useless; it's actually harmful to my fitness goals because it is so incredibly WRONG about everything, including counting the number of steps I've taken (which is really the only thing it is supposed to do accurately).

    Sedentary days: Hey look! 10,000 steps!!
    Days I've run 3+ miles: Wow, only 2000 steps today. :-(

    I just gave up on it. Fortunately I got it from work, so it didn't cost much.
    It sounds like you got a dud. I don't know if it's still under warranty but if you wear it and walk 100 steps and it doesn't count between 95 and 105, they'll replace it. But I totally understand it's not for everyone, either. It's got a learning curve, for sure. There are weeks and even years I get mad at mine and leave it off. :laugh:
  • JuiceBars
    JuiceBars Posts: 78 Member
    I only log in one place. I have the fitbit one which clips on....not sure if I would like the inaccuracy of added hand movements counting as activity since I am a cook. I must say that if I compare the calories added back by the fitbit to my daily calorie total to the calories burned by my heart rate monitor for the same activity (morning walk, weight lifting) they are not even close. Especially with weight lifting.....of course I am not walking around too much but the intensity of the workout is not picked up by the fitbit......you have to look at both the fitbit and mfp as tools and not something that is 100% accurate.
    I generally use the fitbit as motivation to get my 10,000 steps in, 20 floors of stairs and track my sleep and use my heart rate monitor for my burn.
  • I noticed my fitbit was doing that as well. I went into the settings on my fitbit and marked "dominant" hand although I was wearing my fitbit on my nondominant arm. For some reason I wear it on my left and my right is my dominant hand. But if I leave the setting as nondominant it would count any movement I did even if I just scratched my head and say I burned way more calories and I knew I wasn't burning that many. Now that I still have it on my nondominant arm, but have the setting marked as dominant it tallies correctly. I wore a pedometer for a day and reviewed the results against fitbit and they were almost exact. Try switching your setting to get a more accurate count.