Just brought myself a fitbit flex and it says I can have more calories than MFP does????

lizstyles2013
lizstyles2013 Posts: 34 Member
in Getting Started
Help I am stuck I am not sure what to do. My fitbit flex says I need to eat 1915 calories but MFP says 1200. If the numbers were a lot closer I wouldn't bother worrying about it but its a huge difference. Any suggestions???

Replies

  • nikiramirez
    nikiramirez Posts: 43
    well, as long as the calories you consume are fairly clean... nutritious, not loaded with sugar or chemicals, I'd say go for the 1,200 :) You wan to give your body enough to work with as you build muscle and lose weight.
  • lizstyles2013
    lizstyles2013 Posts: 34 Member
    I think I'll stick to the 1200 like I have been. I have given up alot of junk food and exercised more regularly and slowly losing weight but the rate I'm going it feels like it's gonna take forever and I have pcos which doesn't help matters. Just gotta stay positive and persistent I guess :smile:
  • Docbanana2002
    Docbanana2002 Posts: 357 Member
    I eat the extra calories! This is telling you that you have underestimated how active you truly are in your MFP a settings and fitbit is correcting it, giving you a deficit based on your actual activity level.
  • Travis_2
    Travis_2 Posts: 1,445 Member
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

    You are not gaining muscle on 1200 calories.

    As Doc said, likely you are not eating enough. Check the above link to help you find a true estimate of where you should be at for calories.
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
    edited November 2014
    Need more info. What time is it in your day? Depending on your Fitbit settings Fitbit may be assuming your activity rate for the day so that # could change up or down as you're more or less active.

    What is your Flex settings for weight loss? Does the # of pounds per week match MFP? Assuming the goals match the end of the day should be about the same. MFP is 1200 + exercise, and Fitbit assumes all activity. If you're more active than you told MFP, Fitbit will generate an additional calorie allowance.
  • lishie_rebooted
    lishie_rebooted Posts: 2,973 Member
    nikiramirez wrote: »
    well, as long as the calories you consume are fairly clean... nutritious, not loaded with sugar or chemicals, I'd say go for the 1,200 :) You wan to give your body enough to work with as you build muscle and lose weight.

    1200 isn't enough to build muscle.

  • katya_be
    katya_be Posts: 227 Member
    nikiramirez wrote: »
    well, as long as the calories you consume are fairly clean... nutritious, not loaded with sugar or chemicals, I'd say go for the 1,200 :) You wan to give your body enough to work with as you build muscle and lose weight.
    No no no! Just no!

  • 2fat2jump
    2fat2jump Posts: 5 Member
    It's been my experience that mfp underestimates calories and fitbit over estimates calories. For me it was a matter of finding the balance between eating less calories for weightloss, but not so few I felt like I was going to rip someone's head off. That number is 1400 + exercise calories. I've gradually gotten to that number, lessening my calories as I lose weight. I too have PCOS and once I switched to gluten free the weight started coming off faster. As someone else said, the quality of calories is much more important - especially when you have PCOS. In the end everyone is different and you'll have to experiment to figure out what works for you. Good luck!
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
    Are you set to the same activity level/deficit on MFP and Fitbit?
  • willrun4bagels
    willrun4bagels Posts: 838 Member
    nikiramirez wrote: »
    well, as long as the calories you consume are fairly clean... nutritious, not loaded with sugar or chemicals, I'd say go for the 1,200 :) You wan to give your body enough to work with as you build muscle and lose weight.

    No! OP please don't listen to this.
  • mbcaldwell123
    mbcaldwell123 Posts: 79 Member
    lizstyles2013 wrote: »
    I think I'll stick to the 1200 like I have been. I have given up alot of junk food and exercised more regularly and slowly losing weight but the rate I'm going it feels like it's gonna take forever and I have pcos which doesn't help matters. Just gotta stay positive and persistent I guess :smile:
    You can do this!!!!!!!
  • Tedebearduff
    Tedebearduff Posts: 1,155 Member
    lizstyles2013 wrote: »
    Help I am stuck I am not sure what to do. My fitbit flex says I need to eat 1915 calories but MFP says 1200. If the numbers were a lot closer I wouldn't bother worrying about it but its a huge difference. Any suggestions???

    This is what is wrong with Fitbits and syncing with MFP.

    If you want to count the calories from your fitbit then only wear it when you are working out, this means running, jogging, elliptical, stair climber, lifting weights even... once you are done working out ... take it off! Realize it is only tracking movements and can't actually tell how many calories are burned.

    The proper way to use a fitbit (IN MY OPINION) would be to wear it for a week doing everything you normally do... it tracks your steps of say 8000-12000 per day. Now that you have your average of 100000 steps per day .. increase that! so aim for 15,000 steps per day... this is what the fitbit was meant for in my opinion it's meant to make you more active... it just also tracks calories cause that's a thing these days... but I wouldn't eat those calories back.

    Also I have a fitbit flex as well, doesn't sync since I updated to IOS8
  • lizstyles2013
    lizstyles2013 Posts: 34 Member
    Thanks everyone I have checked my settings and both fitbit and mfp have the same goals. I am going to see how I go with just eating better and exercising more without worrying about things too much for a week and see how I go. That will give me an idea on what I need to do to improve my fitness and wellbeing.
  • higgins8283801
    higgins8283801 Posts: 844 Member
    Fitbit is based on your BMR.
    Mfp is based on a general 1200 calorie deficit.

    I would personally stick to what fitbit tells you.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    higgins8283801 wrote: »
    Fitbit is based on your BMR.
    Mfp is based on a general 1200 calorie deficit.

    I would personally stick to what fitbit tells you.

    This^

    1200 is MFP's lowest minimum default, it's generic. FitBit is based upon your movement, your activity.
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    Tedebearduff wrote: »
    lizstyles2013 wrote: »
    Help I am stuck I am not sure what to do. My fitbit flex says I need to eat 1915 calories but MFP says 1200. If the numbers were a lot closer I wouldn't bother worrying about it but its a huge difference. Any suggestions???

    This is what is wrong with Fitbits and syncing with MFP.

    If you want to count the calories from your fitbit then only wear it when you are working out, this means running, jogging, elliptical, stair climber, lifting weights even... once you are done working out ... take it off! Realize it is only tracking movements and can't actually tell how many calories are burned.

    Well my fitbit calorie burns are actually pretty accurate.

    Average Intake vs Loss for 30 days gives me a TDEE around 2600.
    Fitbit estimates my average TDEE to be 2455.
    MFP however (b/c I picked Sedentary) thinks I burn only 1900 calories a day.


    The problem with that is Fitbit's calories are your BMR + daily activity + exercise.
    Even if you only wear it during exercise, it is still going to show you your BMR as well.
    When you sync Fitbit to MFP, the adjustment is:

    Fitbit Calorie Burn* - MFP estimated Burn = Adjustment
    *This number will be based on whatever your last sync was. It will change as you sync throughout the day. Until Midnight it can move up/down.

    If I did what you suggest, I wouldn't have enough calories from fitbit to add to MFP here. It would end up giving me a 1200 calorie deficit, since MFP wants me to eat 1400 calories for 1lb per week loss. That's way to much.

    To the OP trust Fitbit for awhile. Chances are you underestimated your activity level. I eat in the 1800-2000 calorie range on average and I am losing about 1.3lbs per week. I'm 5'4.5" and around 169lbs. Mine underestimates a little bit, but I've been using it for over a year now and it has proven to be pretty accurate.

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