If you change your MFP settings to active rather than sedentary, your fitbit adjustment will not be as high, however your starting calories will be higher. It would all equal out to be about the same though. Since you are set at sedentary, but already have 10,000 steps, it will give you a big adjustment because you've been much more active than what MFP considers sedentary, as the previous person stated.

I just got my charge HR and my net calories today is-29. (I still need to eat one more small meal) I have apparently burned over 900 extra calories. I usually target eating 1200-1400 calories but maybe this is too few? I have my setting as lightly active.

I guess what I am asking is if I have set my calories too low. According to my current height and weight, MFP says I should be eating around 1900 calories. I set mine to 1400 because I went to a weight loss clinic that said to stick to 1200 but that seemed kind of low. I just want to make sure I am losing but also staying healthy.

DanielleMesa wrote: »

I guess what I am asking is if I have set my calories too low. According to my current height and weight, MFP says I should be eating around 1900 calories. I set mine to 1400 because I went to a weight loss clinic that said to stick to 1200 but that seemed kind of low. I just want to make sure I am losing but also staying healthy.

And that clinic had no clue how active you were, or perhaps with the device now, how active you are now.

Sounds like a real fancy clinic, sorry to say, throwing out the same eating level as vast majority of diets, which is really the recommended lowest value for average sedentary female, to not go below for safety.

If not average and not sedentary and you feel like your body deserves better than bare minimum - eat more.

Apt this time of year, would you regularly drive in the snow so as to always be barely skidding and sliding, just at the line of losing traction?

I have this same question so I'm jumping on here (sorry ).

I've only had my FitBit Flex for a day, so I'm still learning about how to use it and going through the info on here. I'm synced to MFP for which I had originally manually set my macros using Scooby's Workshop, putting myself at 'desk job with little exercise', and doing TDEE -20% which was 1480 calories which I've been doing for 4-5 weeks. This is because I don't do any set exercise and I'm on leave so I'm not even going out to work regularly, and some days are just pottering around the house.

However on my first day with the Flex I've hit 7500 steps just in my morning which has taken me by surprise. MFP has already logged an adjustment from FitBit of an extra 429 calories. On reflection, I walk quite a bit throughout the week. So now I think I've put my original activity levels as too low. I was thinking of waiting a few days to see if I'm regularly high like this, readjusting to the next activity level up if so, and going from there. Does that sound like a good plan?

Also when it comes to eating adjustment calories, do FitBit users eat back all of the calories? When I've read about exercise calories on MFP the general idea has been to eat at least 50% back, but I think part of that is because MFP can overestimate calorie burns, so I'm guessing the FitBit adjustment calories might be more reliable and therefore recommended to eat them...?

I don't want to go aggressive and not eat at the right level for me - part of the reason why I got the Flex in the first place - so I want to make sure I'm doing this sensibly

Fitbit also adjusts itself throughout the day. If you ran 5 miles in the first 2 hours you were awake, it's going to give you a HUGE adjustment thinking you'll maintain that same activity level all day. If you spend the day sitting at a desk/only doing normal office walking around and then check back in by late afternoon, Fitbit will probably have drastically reduced its original prediction. Mine does it all the time, since I hit the gym first thing in the morning and confuse the little bugger.

Thanks for the tip Angierae, I hadn't discovered that feature yet.

Angierae75 wrote: »

Actually, if you have Calorie Estimation turned off in your Fitbit account, it won't front load tons and then take them away. It will just give you calories as you earn them. I suggest everyone turn it off so that you don't over eat and then realize you've gone over once it takes the calories back.

I dont see where you can do this?

tmak04 wrote: »

Angierae75 wrote: »

Actually, if you have Calorie Estimation turned off in your Fitbit account, it won't front load tons and then take them away. It will just give you calories as you earn them. I suggest everyone turn it off so that you don't over eat and then realize you've gone over once it takes the calories back.

I dont see where you can do this?

Go to the Food tab of the Log at FitBit.com. Mouse over the gear in the upper right of the Food Plan. Select Sedentary rather than Personalized. Be forewarned, it can show a depressingly low number of calories to eat until you get your usual amount of exercise in.

Hey!! I'm wondering if anyone can answer this question... How does FitBit calculate the calories you should be burning in any given day? I think it's the BMR??? I'm asking because it changes every once in a while. For example the past few days its been steady at 2283, but before that it was at 2184.
Also, does this mean I should be burning more calories than this estimate? I'm worried that I'm not burning enough calories since I average a burn of about 2200 per day.
I've generally been following MFP's calories of 1200 per day + whatever extra calories I gain from exercise.
I'm new to fitbit so I'm still trying to figure this out.
Thanks!!

CountessKitteh wrote: »

Fitbit also adjusts itself throughout the day. If you ran 5 miles in the first 2 hours you were awake, it's going to give you a HUGE adjustment thinking you'll maintain that same activity level all day. If you spend the day sitting at a desk/only doing normal office walking around and then check back in by late afternoon, Fitbit will probably have drastically reduced its original prediction. Mine does it all the time, since I hit the gym first thing in the morning and confuse the little bugger.

Actually no, that's not true at all.
Either on Fitbit itself as you mention, or on MFP.

On Fitbit, your per minute burn rate is based either on barely above BMR (calorie estimation off), or on historical average of many days (CE on).

So if you did big workout and then synced, you be given that big calorie burn and correct eating level.
Now if you waited to sync until evening, you'd be given a minute burn based on either option above.
But NOT based on the burn up until the first sync.

Likewise on MFP, if it received that first sync after your workout, rest of the day is assumed to be equal to whatever activity level you selected on MFP.
Until a new sync comes across and says otherwise to do math with.

You likely have CE enabled, and don't sync often during the day with your device.
So Fitbit is reporting to MFP a larger calorie burn based on past days averages all day until that next sync.

Thank you Heybales!

Just kidding for some reason it just shot up to 800

tmak04 wrote: »

Just kidding for some reason it just shot up to 800

Because you are really running around alot.

What age kids are you chasing after!