Excercise Calories Burned - Confused
dnorts6
Posts: 6
Today, I have walked 7,578 steps which is equiv to 3.67 miles. This has therefore converted to MFP that I have been given an extra 447 calories which seems too much. If had run that distance over a 30 minute period then I would be able to accept that.
So, I had a look on the forum and I see that someone said I should change my settings to show a negative adjustment for when I am sitting around in the office for example....is that the correct way to go about things?
Thanks
So, I had a look on the forum and I see that someone said I should change my settings to show a negative adjustment for when I am sitting around in the office for example....is that the correct way to go about things?
Thanks
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Replies
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Everybody's different, but here's what worked for me:
Connect your accounts: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/apps/show/30
Do not log any step-based activity. Your Fitbit is already tracking that for you.
Log non-step exercise (like biking or swimming) in Fitbit—never MFP.
Log food & drink (including water) in MFP.
Enable negative calorie adjustments: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings
Set your activity level to sedentary: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/change_goals_guided & set your goal to .5 lb. per week for each 25 lbs. you need to lose.
Follow your MFP goal, eating back your Fitbit adjustments. Your Fitbit burn is your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure). If you eat less than your Fitbit burn, you will lose weight.0 -
Thank you for your response.
Just out of interest, can you explain the negative calorie adjustment thing to me? I have enabled it...I just want to understand it!
Regards
David0 -
Can you explain the negative calorie adjustment thing to me? I have enabled it...I just want to understand it!
Your Fitbit calorie adjustment is the difference between your Fitbit burn (which is your TDEE) and your MFP activity level. If you disable negative calorie adjustments, you won't eat at a true deficit on less active days.
PS. Negative calorie adjustments will never drop your calories below 1,200.0 -
Today, I have walked 7,578 steps which is equiv to 3.67 miles. This has therefore converted to MFP that I have been given an extra 447 calories which seems too much. If had run that distance over a 30 minute period then I would be able to accept that.
So, I had a look on the forum and I see that someone said I should change my settings to show a negative adjustment for when I am sitting around in the office for example....is that the correct way to go about things?
Thanks
To add - that adjustment is NOT just exercise, as stated above, difference between Fitbit with total daily burn which may or may not include exercise, and what MFP thought you'd burn with none being done until logged.
But - do you spend time running after that smiling face in your pic?
I'll bet you get positive adjustments on non-exercise days, if you selected Sedentary on MFP.
Because with that little one - you aren't sedentary, no matter what work may be.0 -
I'm still confused. Yesterday, I wore my One all day and it counted 10,793 steps. I also did a circuit training class for an hour. Do I need to log this separately on the Fitbit? Thanks in anticipation of your help!0
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[/quote]
Your Fitbit calorie adjustment is the difference between your Fitbit burn (which is your TDEE) and your MFP activity level. If you disable negative calorie adjustments, you won't eat at a true deficit on less active days.
PS. Negative calorie adjustments will never drop your calories below 1,200.[/quote]
Sorry to be such a pain, but I really like to understand how these things work, so....to clarify...
My Fitbit burn is calculated taking into account how many steps I have taken (not currently exercising due to injury) and also considers my weight, sex, age etc and it lets me know what I have burned that day. MFP then deducts the calories they calculate based on what I should burn on the assumption that I haven't exercised, and then the difference is theoretically an extra allowance of calories I can consume, is that right?
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To add - that adjustment is NOT just exercise, as stated above, difference between Fitbit with total daily burn which may or may not include exercise, and what MFP thought you'd burn with none being done until logged.
But - do you spend time running after that smiling face in your pic?
I'll bet you get positive adjustments on non-exercise days, if you selected Sedentary on MFP.
Because with that little one - you aren't sedentary, no matter what work may be.
As I said in my post directly above, I am not exercising at the moment due to injury, it is purely walking between tube/train stations and walking around the house & office during the day. I did it yesterday without enabling the negative calorie adjustment, but around 3pm yesterday I enabled it, so I should expect to see less calories added to my allowance, is that right? Yesterday, I ended up with an 802 extra calorie allowance due to 'exercise'. It seems excessive for walking 6 miles throughout the day. I will let you know tomorrow how today turns out....in theory the allowance should be less....please tell me I am understanding this correctly?!?!
Right, now on to activity level...I have stated myself as sedentary with MFP simply because I am not exercising at the moment and I work in an office. Should I be deeming myself as 'Lightly active'. If I was to change this, how would this effect my exercise calorie allowance?
Sorry to be a pain, I just really want to understand it all!
Thanks for your reply
David
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Most people advise to keep your setting at sedentary. If you do want to switch to lightly active, the adjustment will drop, but your calorie goal would be the same. When I had Fitbit linked to MFP I set to lightly active (I have a pretty active job) and regularly earned 200-400 calories over from the amount of walking I did. And if I didn't do so much, then the negative adjustment kicked in.0
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Thanks Malibu927, I will see how I go on sedentary, if the adjustment keeps coming in really high, I will then adjust to lighty active.0
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editorgrrl wrote: »Everybody's different, but here's what worked for me:
Connect your accounts: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/apps/show/30
Do not log any step-based activity. Your Fitbit is already tracking that for you.
Log non-step exercise (like biking or swimming) in Fitbit—never MFP.
Log food & drink (including water) in MFP.
Enable negative calorie adjustments: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings
Set your activity level to sedentary: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/change_goals_guided & set your goal to .5 lb. per week for each 25 lbs. you need to lose.
Follow your MFP goal, eating back your Fitbit adjustments. Your Fitbit burn is your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure). If you eat less than your Fitbit burn, you will lose weight.
What about the elliptical? I love the elliptical and burn more calories on that than just walking on the treadmill. Where should I log that activity? And what about weights? Log it on MFP or Fitbit?
I have learned to only log water and food in the MFP app. Just got my Fitbit for Christmas and really started working with logging food and exercise yesterday. So I am learning.
Thanks for any help!0 -
editorgrrl wrote: »Everybody's different, but here's what worked for me:
Connect your accounts: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/apps/show/30
Do not log any step-based activity. Your Fitbit is already tracking that for you.
Log non-step exercise (like biking or swimming) in Fitbit—never MFP.
Log food & drink (including water) in MFP.
Enable negative calorie adjustments: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings
Set your activity level to sedentary: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/change_goals_guided & set your goal to .5 lb. per week for each 25 lbs. you need to lose.
Follow your MFP goal, eating back your Fitbit adjustments. Your Fitbit burn is your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure). If you eat less than your Fitbit burn, you will lose weight.
Hello. I used to use Runkeeper before I got the Fitbit. I ran today and used Runkeeper (because I've been having trouble with the Fitbit) while running while also wearing the Fitbit. How can I tell if the information sent to MFP is correct? (I don't want my run counting twice the calories it should have.)
I worked out twice today; the first time was aerobics, which I manually logged into Fitbit. I logged it first into MFP but after reading your post, I deleted it and put it into Fitbit instead, using the stats MFP gave me. Then the second workout was the run. The first workout burned 293 calories. The second, according to Runkeeper, burned 129 calories.
On MFP exercise diary, it shows the 129 calories burned through Runkeeper, and then underneath, it shows the Fitbit adjustment as 128 calories. These two figures are then added together to give me 257 calories added to my total. Is this right? In my Fitbit, it shows the two workouts, from Runkeeper (129 calories) and then the one I manually entered (as 293 calories).
Sorry if that is confusing. I just still don't understand the Fitbit adjustment that shows up in my exercise diary as an adjustment but just wanted to make sure that I didn't mess things up by using Runkeeper to log my run.
Thank you if anyone can help.0 -
Log all non-step exercise either in Fitbit or in MFP—never both. I log in Fitbit and I lost the weight and have maintained for six months, so I know it's accurate. The only real advantage to logging in MFP is that it appears in your newsfeed.
Elliptical is entirely a matter of personal preference, so it'll take trial & error to see if you prefer to log it or not.
Whatever you log in MFP overwrites your Fitbit data during that time, so never, ever log exercise in MFP as one calorie.0 -
What about the elliptical? I love the elliptical and burn more calories on that than just walking on the treadmill. Where should I log that activity? And what about weights? Log it on MFP or Fitbit?
I have learned to only log water and food in the MFP app. Just got my Fitbit for Christmas and really started working with logging food and exercise yesterday. So I am learning.
Thanks for any help!
Unless you are really pushing in to those steps and not doing it smoothly, elliptical can easily be seeing only half of the "steps".
Also, the formula for calorie burn based on steps, is for running and walking anyway - not elliptical.
The odds that your elliptical steps burns the same as your calculated burn from the walking or running that is used to calculate is pretty bad.
Manually log it - Fitbit has different levels of intensity to select from. Or better, if you entered your weight on the machine, use that calorie burn.
Weight should be logged too, Fitbit best.0 -
Sorry to be such a pain, but I really like to understand how these things work, so....to clarify...
My Fitbit burn is calculated taking into account how many steps I have taken (not currently exercising due to injury) and also considers my weight, sex, age etc and it lets me know what I have burned that day. MFP then deducts the calories they calculate based on what I should burn on the assumption that I haven't exercised, and then the difference is theoretically an extra allowance of calories I can consume, is that right?
Your Fitbit burn is steps, and BMR from being alive, so actually underestimated.
You got the idea right though.
MFP is using a more accurate estimate to correct their initial estimate of your daily calorie burn.
And then taking a deficit you requested for weight loss goal.0 -
As I said in my post directly above, I am not exercising at the moment due to injury, it is purely walking between tube/train stations and walking around the house & office during the day. I did it yesterday without enabling the negative calorie adjustment, but around 3pm yesterday I enabled it, so I should expect to see less calories added to my allowance, is that right? Yesterday, I ended up with an 802 extra calorie allowance due to 'exercise'. It seems excessive for walking 6 miles throughout the day. I will let you know tomorrow how today turns out....in theory the allowance should be less....please tell me I am understanding this correctly?!?!
Right, now on to activity level...I have stated myself as sedentary with MFP simply because I am not exercising at the moment and I work in an office. Should I be deeming myself as 'Lightly active'. If I was to change this, how would this effect my exercise calorie allowance?
Sorry to be a pain, I just really want to understand it all!
Thanks for your reply
David
Negative only makes a difference if you burn less calories than MFP estimated you'd burn.
You have obviously selected the wrong activity level as I suggested, and unless you are sick and don't go to work, or play with kids, you likely will never see a negative adjustment.
How do you know that 802 is excessive for 6 miles of distance and other steps you did?
You are not understanding it correctly.
Again - the MFP activity levels have NOTHING to do with exercise - read their descriptions again.
Exercise, outside of Fitbit's input, is only calculated in when you actually do it and log it.
Then in MFP it increases your daily burn. Take out a deficit for eating goal, and it's higher when you do more.
Fitbit is merely that more accurate input for increased activity - exercise or daily life.
When you change it to a more honest Lightly Active - your calorie adjustments will be less, so you can plan better for the day.
If you have a massively less active day, you'll get negative adjustments. But it's not like that will only show up after dinner when you met a higher goal.
That will slowly be shown through the day as it's seen to be less active than normal.0 -
Hello. I used to use Runkeeper before I got the Fitbit. I ran today and used Runkeeper (because I've been having trouble with the Fitbit) while running while also wearing the Fitbit. How can I tell if the information sent to MFP is correct? (I don't want my run counting twice the calories it should have.)
I worked out twice today; the first time was aerobics, which I manually logged into Fitbit. I logged it first into MFP but after reading your post, I deleted it and put it into Fitbit instead, using the stats MFP gave me. Then the second workout was the run. The first workout burned 293 calories. The second, according to Runkeeper, burned 129 calories.
On MFP exercise diary, it shows the 129 calories burned through Runkeeper, and then underneath, it shows the Fitbit adjustment as 128 calories. These two figures are then added together to give me 257 calories added to my total. Is this right? In my Fitbit, it shows the two workouts, from Runkeeper (129 calories) and then the one I manually entered (as 293 calories).
Sorry if that is confusing. I just still don't understand the Fitbit adjustment that shows up in my exercise diary as an adjustment but just wanted to make sure that I didn't mess things up by using Runkeeper to log my run.
Thank you if anyone can help.
Runkeeper will send a workout as normal to MFP.
That start time and duration and calorie burn will sync over to Fitbit and replace whatever it saw for that workout, steps will be retained. No double counting.
And when manually logging in Fitbit, their database is the same as MFP usually, but they have a few more entries with descriptions.
But aerobics, if moving around taking steps - does NOT require manual entry.
Read above descriptions as to what that exercise adjustment is.
It had to be put somewhere in MFP, and while that happens to be the best place, it's not just exercise.
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Negative only makes a difference if you burn less calories than MFP estimated you'd burn.
You have obviously selected the wrong activity level as I suggested, and unless you are sick and don't go to work, or play with kids, you likely will never see a negative adjustment.
How do you know that 802 is excessive for 6 miles of distance and other steps you did?
You are not understanding it correctly.
Again - the MFP activity levels have NOTHING to do with exercise - read their descriptions again.
Exercise, outside of Fitbit's input, is only calculated in when you actually do it and log it.
Then in MFP it increases your daily burn. Take out a deficit for eating goal, and it's higher when you do more.
Fitbit is merely that more accurate input for increased activity - exercise or daily life.
When you change it to a more honest Lightly Active - your calorie adjustments will be less, so you can plan better for the day.
If you have a massively less active day, you'll get negative adjustments. But it's not like that will only show up after dinner when you met a higher goal.
That will slowly be shown through the day as it's seen to be less active than normal.
Ok, I seem to have misunderstood the meaning of sedentary, I assumed office workers (who do not exercise) would fall into this category rather than lightly active.
I don't know for sure, but when I have used fitness equipment in the gym before, a 30 min run on the treadmill, running approx 3.5-4 miles would burn around 500 calories if I remember rightly. Therefore, I didn't think that walking 6 miles throughout a day would burn just over 800.
Still confused on the activity levels on MFP in that case, what are the activity levels based on, if it isn't exercise?0 -
Thanks heybales: You said there will be no double counting from Runkeeper or Fitbit while recording my run. (I had them both on). Should I continue to record runs this way?
I see you also say not to manually add aerobics. Part of the work-out is step-based but part of it is upper body only, and not moving my legs. That's why I assumed I needed to manually add it. Fitbit didn't seem to acknowledge my workouts until I added them through either Runkeeper or by manually adding them. Will this change when the glitches with Fitbit get better?
Also, you mention to "read above descriptions as to what that exercise adjustment is." Can you tell me where this information is?
Thanks again. I really appreciate the help. I didn't realize how much there was to getting different trackers to sync. Thanks!0 -
Ok, I seem to have misunderstood the meaning of sedentary, I assumed office workers (who do not exercise) would fall into this category rather than lightly active.
I don't know for sure, but when I have used fitness equipment in the gym before, a 30 min run on the treadmill, running approx 3.5-4 miles would burn around 500 calories if I remember rightly. Therefore, I didn't think that walking 6 miles throughout a day would burn just over 800.
Still confused on the activity levels on MFP in that case, what are the activity levels based on, if it isn't exercise?
Who says office workers don't exercise?
Activities levels on MFP, as opposed to almost every other site, are ONLY about the non-exercise part of the day. The other 23 hrs, well, 15 if you take out sleep.
You are then given a deficit for weight loss from that daily burn based on BMR and that activity level.
When you actually do your exercise, you are supposed to log it, daily burn goes up, deficit comes off, you eat more - but deficit amount and weight loss is exactly the same.
So you lose weight whether you exercise or not.
Compared to other sites where that activity level is planned exercise included, usually for the week, giving a daily average. Deficit taken and daily eating goal stays the same.
But you better do your workout then, or you might not have much if any deficit.
It's where the misunderstanding comes from that exercise is required for weight loss.
So sedentary is 45 hr weekly desk job/commute, no kids/pets making you move or shop much rest of the time.
Lightly Active is either a standing on feet job moving a bit, or active with kids/pets after work, or combo.
That's exactly what your Fitbit is giving best estimate of - the other 23/15 hours of the day. And if exercise is step-based, 24/16 hrs in that case.
And the adjustments you see on non-exercise days just proves you are not sedentary by MFP's classification. Even with a desk job and no exercise.
Shoot, there are people that do a huge workout, then are super lazy rest of the day wiped out - no adjustment from the exercise. Meaning as far as calorie burn is concerned, that workout didn't even balance out doing less rest of the day.
Others do no workout but are super active, huge adjustments. And wrong activity level selected too likely.
Running 8 mph for 30 min, depending on weight, would indeed burn around 500 calories.
But that 6 miles walking was not all in a row as if exercise. If it was, the calorie burn would likely not be that much, but those steps, and estimated distance, were more than just walking.
http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/WalkRunMETs.html
Also consider your daily burn is underestimated actually.
Fitbit gives sleeping BMR level burn for ALL non-moving time.
But when awake you burn more - called RMR (Resting).
When standing not moving you of course burn more.
When digesting/processing food you burn more (about 10% of calories you ate).
All that extra is missed.
Your day with no exercise is actually underestimated more.0 -
Thanks heybales: You said there will be no double counting from Runkeeper or Fitbit while recording my run. (I had them both on). Should I continue to record runs this way?
I see you also say not to manually add aerobics. Part of the work-out is step-based but part of it is upper body only, and not moving my legs. That's why I assumed I needed to manually add it. Fitbit didn't seem to acknowledge my workouts until I added them through either Runkeeper or by manually adding them. Will this change when the glitches with Fitbit get better?
Also, you mention to "read above descriptions as to what that exercise adjustment is." Can you tell me where this information is?
Thanks again. I really appreciate the help. I didn't realize how much there was to getting different trackers to sync. Thanks!
You can do runs that way, since the Fitbit stats of calorie burn will be replaced. Distance and steps will be kept though. So if it helps towards any step goals, leave it on.
If a decent chunk of aerobics is no movement to get impacts, then need to manually log it.
If it's body weight stuff with lots of reps, calisthenics would work.
If light weight but higher reps still, circuit training would be better.
No glitches will take care of that issue of no steps no extra calories given.
That calorie adjustment is NOT just exercise, it is the difference between Fitbit with total daily burn which may or may not include exercise, and what MFP thought you'd burn with no exercise being accounted for until logged. If there is a manual workout there in MFP too, that is removed also.
So ....
Fitbit daily burn 2500 - 2000 MFP estimated daily burn - 400 workout manually logged = 100 calorie adjustment. (2500-2000-400=100)
In that case, the 100 is likely increased daily activity.
Fitbit 2500 - 2000 MFP = 500 calorie adjustment.
That could be totally increased daily activity, could be that same 400 cal workout as seen by Fitbit already and not logged on MFP, and increased daily.
And yes, MFP made it confusing by bringing this synced data in to an existing framework to deal with it using existing processes.
They would have cut down on confusion by making some totally new way of handling that increased calorie burn, rather than showing under Exercise tab, and exercise adjustment.0
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