Slightly confused about Calorie adjustments
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psionx0
Posts: 11
Hello,
I'm a bit confused about calorie adjustments between Fitbit and MFP. I'll use what happened yesterday as an example: I went on a long hike (about 2.5 hours). At the end, when FB synced with MFP it had a calorie adjustment of around 900 calories (this was around 12pm). I can easily see this being the case as where I hike is pretty intense (lots of up and down, very steep hills etc.). This is fairly typical of my day. 2-3 hours of intense work followed by a sedentary rest of the day (I'm a student). Later in the day (around 10pm) I logged my meal for the day, which included eating an extra 900 calories (went out with friends to dinner) bringing my calories eaten to around 2400. As I hit "complete this entry" the FB calorie adjustment dropped from 900 to 350, putting me way over my calorie limit for the day.
Does this mean that it was estimated that if I kept hiking all day that I would have burned 900 calories, or did I actually burn 900 calories on the long hike? If it's the latter, why might my calorie adjustment drop by 600 calories later in the evening?
I'm a bit confused about calorie adjustments between Fitbit and MFP. I'll use what happened yesterday as an example: I went on a long hike (about 2.5 hours). At the end, when FB synced with MFP it had a calorie adjustment of around 900 calories (this was around 12pm). I can easily see this being the case as where I hike is pretty intense (lots of up and down, very steep hills etc.). This is fairly typical of my day. 2-3 hours of intense work followed by a sedentary rest of the day (I'm a student). Later in the day (around 10pm) I logged my meal for the day, which included eating an extra 900 calories (went out with friends to dinner) bringing my calories eaten to around 2400. As I hit "complete this entry" the FB calorie adjustment dropped from 900 to 350, putting me way over my calorie limit for the day.
Does this mean that it was estimated that if I kept hiking all day that I would have burned 900 calories, or did I actually burn 900 calories on the long hike? If it's the latter, why might my calorie adjustment drop by 600 calories later in the evening?
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Replies
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Make sure that in FitBit's settings, you have the Food Plan set to "Sedentary" for your "Daily Calorie Estimate Setting". That will keep FitBit from over-estimating how much more you can eat that day. (However, for many of us, the calories left in FitBit aren't relevant - we use MFP to tell us how much we can eat.) In MFP, you should probably also have your activity level set to Sedentary. I believe those settings will keep FitBit and MFP from assuming more activity later in the day.
Your calorie adjustment probably dropped because your MFP activity level is set too high. If you're mostly sedentary outside of 2-3 hours in the morning, then that is what it should be set at. MFP assumes the activity level that you choose is spread out over the day, not concentrated in the morning.
Also, if you could sync your FitBit before you eat, then you'll have a better feel for how much you can eat. If you can, log your food before you eat it, preferably with a freshly synced FitBit. You said that you "logged my meal for the day" at 10 pm. Did you really only eat one meal all day? Did you really eat at 10 pm?
If you can't log your food as you eat it and/or you can't sync your FitBit more often, then you're going to need to plan ahead and stick to your plan.0 -
MFP looks at your Fitbit burn (which is TDEE), and predicts how many calories you'll burn by 11:59 p.m. This number minus your MFP activity level equals your adjustment.
You must enable negative calorie adjustments. If not, you'll never eat at a true deficit on days you burn less than your MFP activity level: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings
Click on any adjustment to see the math MFP used to calculate it. My adjustments got better & better—as if MFP was "learning" my routine.0 -
Yes, I did only eat one meal that day (aside from some juice I had in the afternoon, which was logged as I was drinking it). Yes, it was at 10pm. I think the problem may have been with Fitbit, it was set to Personalized and not Sedentary. That's been fixed.0
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Yes, I did only eat one meal that day (aside from some juice I had in the afternoon, which was logged as I was drinking it). Yes, it was at 10pm. I think the problem may have been with Fitbit, it was set to Personalized and not Sedentary. That's been fixed.
That's good, but I think you will want to set MFP to Sedentary, too, if it isn't already. The "lightly active", "active", and "very active" categories are for people who are at that level of activity pretty much all day. So, if you're very active in the morning and then sedentary the rest of the day, you'll get the best estimate of remaining calories with it set to Sedentary.0 -
Thanks for your replies Nancy. MFP was already set to sedentary. So, I suspect it was the two databases trying to reconcile their information and one taking precedence over the other. Hopefully I won't run into this issue again. I've been damn good at logging calories and exercise and only eat back the calories I've burnt about 50% of the time. So I tend to rely on those numbers being accurate for when I want to eat more than 1500 calories in a day.0
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I've been damn good at logging calories and exercise and only eat back the calories I've burnt about 50% of the time. So I tend to rely on those numbers being accurate for when I want to eat more than 1500 calories in a day.
Your Fitbit burn is TDEE (total daily energy expenditure), aka your maintenance calories. We should all be looking for the maximum number of calories at which we lose weight—never the minimum.
Set your goal to .5 lb. per week for every 25 lbs. you're overweight: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/change_goals_guided
Enable negative calorie adjustments: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings
And eat back all your adjustments. If you follow these steps, you'll be eating TDEE minus a reasonable deficit.0 -
I've found that most days I don't need more than 1500-1600 calories even after I've burnt off a lot more. Once I hit that 1500 mark I'm rarely hungry. I tend to only eat back adjustments when I've been really active, or go out with friends - social eating is my downfall.
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Undereating will not get you to goal any more quickly. In fact, you'll probably end up bingeing.
Food is fuel.0 -
I've found that most days I don't need more than 1500-1600 calories even after I've burnt off a lot more. Once I hit that 1500 mark I'm rarely hungry. I tend to only eat back adjustments when I've been really active, or go out with friends - social eating is my downfall.
A reasonably fed body can lose just fat.
An underfed body will also lose muscle mass.
Guess which is worse for long term success.
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7 months and no binge eating. Intermittent fasting works for some of us, and that's what I do. Your body can do just fine as long as your macros are being followed. I get plenty of protein to stave off muscle loss. Underfed is not simply about calories, but also not ensuring you have enough macro and micro nutrients. All of which I am doing well with.
Stote, KS; Baer, DJ; Spears, K; Paul, DR; Harris, GK; Rumpler, WV; Strycula, P; Najjar, SS et al. (2007). "A controlled trial of reduced meal frequency without caloric restriction in healthy, normal-weight, middle-aged adults". The American journal of clinical nutrition 85 (4): 981–8. PMC 2645638. PMID 17413096.
Mattson, MP (February 4, 2014). "Fasting: molecular mechanisms and clinical applications". National Center for Biotechnology Information 19 (1932-7420): 181–92. doi:10.1016/j.cmet.2013.12.008. PMID 24440038. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
Heilbronn, Leonie K; Smith, Steven R; Martin, Corby K; Anton, Stephen D; Ravussin, Eric (2005). "Alternate-day fasting in nonobese subjects: Effects on body weight, body composition, and energy metabolism". The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 81 (1): 69–73. PMID 15640462.0 -
But, back to the original technical issues I'm having. Now that I've turned on the "negative calorie adjustment" function, I'm seemingly gaining calories out of no where. That is, I woke up this morning at a 207 calorie deficit, meaning I could only eat somewhere around 1300 calories if I wanted to maintain my current weight loss speed.
I'm not sure I agree with fitbit and MFPs idea here. MFP is supposed to be using my BMR - 700. Not sure why it would adjust that number to go even further down just because I was asleep. After my afternoon walk, I was +600 calories. That number has been shrinking all day. So, by the end of the day I will be right around the 1500 mark.
Both MFP and Fitbit are set to Sedentary and Negative calorie adjustment is turned on (for the moment).
I'm still confused - If I walk 6 miles, and Fitbit reports to MFP that I burned 900 calories, is this actually calories burned or a projection that means "If I maintain that level of activity all day, then this is the amount I will burn"?
Note: I've answered my own question - MFP projects for the entire day - not fitbit. Thus, the calories burned reported to MFP aren't the actual calories burned, but instead MFP's projection and can't be trusted to give an actual calories burned number until around midnight. This could explain the plateau I've been on for the past month as I've regularly eaten back those calories and didn't have the negative adjustment turned on. This will make meal planning much more difficult. Basically, I need to stick to the 1500 calorie limit, and not worry or attempt to eat back any extra calories. Otherwise, I may end up over eating without realizing it because I don't have an actual number, just an estimated number.0 -
Your default MFP calorie goal is your activity level minus your deficit. Adjustments are the difference between your Fitbit burn (which is TDEE) and your activity level.
Click on any adjustment to see the precise numbers MFP used to calculate it.0 -
And if those numbers change every five minutes, going lower and lower then I can't use those numbers to plan ahead. Instead of "You've burned X calories and can eat Y calories" it's now "You might burn X calories, so you might be able to eat Y calories, but you can't be sure because X calories is actually going to go down, changing the Y calories with it."0
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Did you just get a Fitbit? My adjustments were wonky at first but got better & better, as if MFP "learned" my routine.
If your adjustments used to be accurate, verify that both Fitbit & MFP are set to the same time zone.0 -
No. I've had it for about a year. I just turned on negative calorie adjustments a few days ago though. So up until yesterday I was only getting the positive adjustments, which I thought meant "You've burnt X calories today beyond the -700 taken off your BMR." I lost 70lbs without negative calorie adjustments, so I guess I'm all sorts of confused about why I can't rely on those numbers any more to at least give me a mostly accurate estimate of what I've actually done. This implies that I've been eating more calories than I "deserved" and that's a bit disconcerting.0
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Verify both Fitbit & MFP are set to the same time zone. If you're in the US, it's possible one of them isn't set for daylight saving time.0
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I'm also confused about the Fitbit adjustment. I log my workout calories manually into MFP. It then syncs them into the Fitbit data which then generates a positive calorie adjustment. So the "net calorie" calculation first deducts the workout calories, then deducts them a second time when the adjustment is made. In other words, I'm effectively doubling my workout calories in the calculation.0
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mshapiro32937 wrote: »I'm also confused about the Fitbit adjustment. I log my workout calories manually into MFP. It then syncs them into the Fitbit data which then generates a positive calorie adjustment. So the "net calorie" calculation first deducts the workout calories, then deducts them a second time when the adjustment is made. In other words, I'm effectively doubling my workout calories in the calculation.
No, you're not. I recommend that you read the sticky FAQ for the group.
Here's a basic TL;DR version:
Most of us don't log workouts in MFP. We either let the FitBit handle it if the workout is step based (walking, running, dancing) or we log it manually in FitBit if it isn't step based (weight lifting, swimming, bicycling).
However, it is perfectly acceptable to log the exercise in MFP. Just enter the start time, the duration and the calories (MFP generally over-estimates calories, so you need to have a way of determining your calorie burn) and FitBit will happily take those calories and over-write what it thought you burned for that time period. There is no double counting.0 -
But, back to the original technical issues I'm having. Now that I've turned on the "negative calorie adjustment" function, I'm seemingly gaining calories out of no where. That is, I woke up this morning at a 207 calorie deficit, meaning I could only eat somewhere around 1300 calories if I wanted to maintain my current weight loss speed.
I'm not sure I agree with fitbit and MFPs idea here. MFP is supposed to be using my BMR - 700. Not sure why it would adjust that number to go even further down just because I was asleep. After my afternoon walk, I was +600 calories. That number has been shrinking all day. So, by the end of the day I will be right around the 1500 mark.
Both MFP and Fitbit are set to Sedentary and Negative calorie adjustment is turned on (for the moment).
I'm still confused - If I walk 6 miles, and Fitbit reports to MFP that I burned 900 calories, is this actually calories burned or a projection that means "If I maintain that level of activity all day, then this is the amount I will burn"?
Note: I've answered my own question - MFP projects for the entire day - not fitbit. Thus, the calories burned reported to MFP aren't the actual calories burned, but instead MFP's projection and can't be trusted to give an actual calories burned number until around midnight. This could explain the plateau I've been on for the past month as I've regularly eaten back those calories and didn't have the negative adjustment turned on. This will make meal planning much more difficult. Basically, I need to stick to the 1500 calorie limit, and not worry or attempt to eat back any extra calories. Otherwise, I may end up over eating without realizing it because I don't have an actual number, just an estimated number.
Except what MFP uses for rest of the day estimate is purely your selection of your non-exercise activity level.
If you selected sedentary, that's all that is planned for rest of the day after each Fitbit sync.
Problem there though, Fitbit has a setting that if there is no device sync, it'll tell MFP a potentially high or low ball daily calorie burn up to that point.
Read the FAQ, 2nd section on what is actually happening. It's not what you think.
MFP does NOT use BMR minus a deficit as eating goal - it used an estimated daily burn with no exercise less a deficit, which is BMR x activity factor.
If you found your BMR and manually set an eating goal of 700 less - than you have a big misunderstanding of what BMR means, unless you really do sleep all day. And your responses here indicate otherwise.
So your daily starting at -207, if you slept rest of the day, yep, you'd likely keep that.0 -
So the first issue was that I was using an older BMR rate - I didn't recalculate it after losing weight. Ooops. I also didn't realize MFP was using a different equation than my doctor was using. Now that I've corrected those number in my head, the numbers on MFP are making A LOT more sense.
Though I'm still not happy waking up and seeing a negative calorie adjustment for the day. It's a bit of a demotivator right now. It feels like I'm starting the daily race 20 paces behind where I should be. Yes, I understand feelz =/= reality.
This also doesn't remove the concern about not being able to plan ahead when my calorie adjustments are going to keep going negative even after I've burnt a bunch of calories. That's also a demotivator to me. Seeing the "You burnt 900 calories on that hike!" drop to "No, you only burnt 800... we mean 750... nope, we really meant 600... Just kidding it was only 550."
So for me here is what happens: I go most of the day with no meals (eating breakfast makes me ill, I'm rarely if ever hungry around lunch [even after a work out], and I really like the intermittent fasting idea of eating only during a specific set of hours in the evening, and not eating outside of those hours - unless my body is telling me very different on that day) so at around 5pm when I'm starting to feel a bit hungry I look at MFP and see what my calorie limit for the day is. Let's say I was active and MFP says I can eat 2000 calories (1500 [goal set by MFP]+500 [calories reported by fitbit]=2000). So, I set about cooking a nice meal of around 2000 calories. But, in a few hours, that number is going to drop. So, I won't actually be able to eat 2000 calories over a few hours. Instead I'll need to adjust it down. I wouldn't have a problem doing this, except... I don't know how far to adjust it down - now I'm back to guess work.
As someone who relies heavily on numbers to remove most of the guess work (I understand all of these numbers are estimates - but at least it gives me hard numbers to work with), this makes me uncomfortable. What's the best way to figure out how many calories MFP will be removing for the rest of the day? Is it a set number per hour? At least if I have that information I can make a better decision on how I set my daily meal up and not have to worry so much about whether or not I'm going to go over my calorie limit inadvertently.0
