FitBit help

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TheVirgoddess
TheVirgoddess Posts: 4,535 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm really very confused and I need some guidance.

Yesterday:
Total steps taken: 4,486
Calories burned: 1,965
Total "very active" minutes: 3

Today:
Total steps taken: 10,084
Calories burned (estimated): 2,119
Total "very active" minutes: 2

I honestly don't get it.

More than twice the amount of steps were taken today - and that represents a 154 caloric difference?

I was at Sea World most of the day, walking. If I had logged four hours (it was closer to six) of walking at a slow pace (2 mph), MFP tells me I burned over 800 calories. Even if we assume MFP is way high (which I do), it still doesn't add up to me.

I feel like I'm missing something really obvious here. Help?

Replies

  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
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    You might want to ask this at Fitbit but it's probably adding net calories which would be 1/3 x weight x miles so you walked about 3 miles more and if you weigh 150lbs you would get about 50 cals per mile, which seems to be the case here.

    The Fitbit forums would probably be able to give you more insight but it looks like most of your walking was just incidental since it only has you at a few minutes of "very active" so you would have been walking below 3 mph if I remember the posts there correctly.
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
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    Very active minutes are earned when you walk fast enough. How fast varies, I think Fitbit takes into account your height/weight. I have to walk very fast on the treadmill (4.3mph or faster) to get very active minutes, but get them more easily outside.

    How many calories you burn, and for what intensity/pace, will depend on your height/weight/gender/age. I don't know your stats but can some examples based on mine: walking ~4.0 mph I burn about 5-6 calories per minute. Running 5.0 I burn 6-7. I'm 40 years old, 130ish pounds. Casual walking (grocery shopping, misc errands) I'm probably 2-3 per minute.
  • TheVirgoddess
    TheVirgoddess Posts: 4,535 Member
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    I understand all that. What I'm saying is: how is there only a 150 calorie difference (in calories burned) between today and yesterday? I walked about 6k more steps - at a higher intensity (not high, mind you - but my graph reflects that it was higher than yesterday).

    I was at an amusement park, I wasn't racing/jogging/walking briskly. I wasn't walking for the purpose of exercise, but I guess I did expect a higher FitBit adjustment.

    Maybe I have no clue what walking burns. I thought that 4,000 steps with an adjustment of 109, my 10,100 steps would earn me more than 252.

    And FTR: I'm a 177 pound 5'4" female.
  • mrogers52
    mrogers52 Posts: 378 Member
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    I don't get too worried about numbers with my fitbit. I want to average between 13,000-15,000 steps a day.
    Just keep moving! :)
  • TheVirgoddess
    TheVirgoddess Posts: 4,535 Member
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    I think I figured out what's going on. I'm just dumb.
  • mrogers52
    mrogers52 Posts: 378 Member
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    TheVirgoddess wrote: »
    I think I figured out what's going on. I'm just dumb.

    No you are not!

  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
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    If your steps were spread out throughout the day today and yesterday the majority were taken within a short time period that could explain it. Also, did you log any exercise that fitbit isn't accurate at tracking yesterday? That can also add to your calorie burn without adding steps.

  • TheVirgoddess
    TheVirgoddess Posts: 4,535 Member
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    No, I didn't do any exercises yesterday (I always log anything but walking via MFP).

    I walked quite a bit at Sea World (9a-2p), then we went to the mall to walk some more. After that it was my usual activity level at home.

    I ended up with a 116 calorie difference between Wednesday and yesterday. I still just don't get it.

    Here are my FitBit days.

    Wednesday: http://gyazo.com/b3d2bd21bf664f335d43ea0381e604cf
    Thursday: http://gyazo.com/a53e7787d7c9c200c897be3f36ab0e5a

    I guess walking just doesn't burn as much as I thought.
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
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    It doesn't. My Fitbit probably over-credits walking at about 100 calorie per 2000-2500 steps or so, which isn't a lot but is more than the formulas for net calories walking (given in a post above), which would have me around half that.

    One thing to be aware of is your Fitbit doesn't estimate your calories on your steps count, per se. See how on the one day you had more mid-level bars? That matters more than steps.
  • TheVirgoddess
    TheVirgoddess Posts: 4,535 Member
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    WalkingAlong wrote: »
    It doesn't. My Fitbit probably over-credits walking at about 100 calorie per 2000-2500 steps or so, which isn't a lot but is more than the formulas for net calories walking (given in a post above), which would have me around half that.

    One thing to be aware of is your Fitbit doesn't estimate your calories on your steps count, per se. See how on the one day you had more mid-level bars? That matters more than steps.

    My issue is that on one day, I took 4,400 steps, and burned 1,900 calories. The next day I took 10,100 steps and burned 2,000. 116 calories more.

    So 5,600 steps = 116 calories? That's ridiculous.

  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
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    It's not really looking at your steps count to assign calories. It's looking at your entire motion pattern-- were you running or walking, slow or fast, low impact or high, etc.?

    But your sedentary day's burn does look suspiciously high. Or maybe your 'high' day looks low, it's hard to tell without more days to look at.

    Were you wearing your Fitbit in the same place both days? What model is it (Flex, One, Zip)?

    I would expect 5600 steps to be about 200 calories or so, all else equal.
  • ewstahl
    ewstahl Posts: 5 Member
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    I generally wear my Fitbit One in my bra and have found that carrying anything that keeps my arms still messes up the count. Also, it really is the pace that burns the calories, not just the number of steps. I stand and walk all day at work, but usually only a few steps at a time moving around the classroom. Hardly registers, but I still get tired from it. Walk 2 blocks to the store, that registers but it feels like nothing. You can add calories into your fitbit for things like grocery shopping, walking the dog, etc which may help your count be more accurate. Just don't add things on MFP when using Fitbit because it subtracts that from what Fitbit reports.
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
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    TheVirgoddess wrote: »
    No, I didn't do any exercises yesterday (I always log anything but walking via MFP).

    I walked quite a bit at Sea World (9a-2p), then we went to the mall to walk some more. After that it was my usual activity level at home.

    I ended up with a 116 calorie difference between Wednesday and yesterday. I still just don't get it.

    Here are my FitBit days.

    Wednesday: http://gyazo.com/b3d2bd21bf664f335d43ea0381e604cf
    Thursday: http://gyazo.com/a53e7787d7c9c200c897be3f36ab0e5a

    I guess walking just doesn't burn as much as I thought.

    Looking at the pictures:

    Wednesday - The majority of your steps were taken in a short time frame. When you get in a lot of steps in a small segment of time.
    Thursday - Your steps were spread out throughout the day.

    That makes me think, your steps on Wednesday were taken at a faster pace than your steps on Thursday. So Wednesday, fitbit gave you a few more calories per step to account for the faster pace. Which is why your days aren't to much different.


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