Fitbit Charge HR ... Adding Insane Amount Of Calories

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MartinWardPhoto
MartinWardPhoto Posts: 10 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm sitting here pretty confused, I've just got a Fitbit Charge HR at the start of this week and today it's causing me a bit of concern.

I've lost 15lbs in the passed few months following MFP only at 1.5lbs a week, the number that MFP gave me was 1760 cals. I'm male, 5'9 and currently 218.

Today, I've eaten 1640 cals (it's 10.15pm) so basically done for today, the FitBit adjustment for today is 1104 calories, surely this can't be right?!?! That just seems insane!

I've taken just shy of 8,000 steps, no other exercise today. I'm a photographer, had a 2 hour photoshoot I'm just sitting wondering how the heck am I meant to eat 2800 calories? I've been losing at 1760, surely an extra 1000 will stall this? Likewise, at the same time I don't want to be eating too little....
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Replies

  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    I'm 140lbs and my fitbit gave me 850 calories for 20,207 steps, going by our weight difference yours could be pretty accurate. I'm new to fitbit too, which is why I just started a thread questioning the burn it gives me aswell.
  • NobodyPutsAmyInTheCorner
    NobodyPutsAmyInTheCorner Posts: 1,018 Member
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    I take my walking fitbit calories with a pinch of salt. If I'm hungry, I'll eat some of them back but I don't usually bother and I'm losing steadily.

    It does go a bit insane sometimes. I've done 12,000 steps today and it's given me 300 extra calories. I haven't eaten them back though as its only walking.
  • MartinWardPhoto
    MartinWardPhoto Posts: 10 Member
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    @aimeerace I'm not eating them and not really planning to eat them either, even on the MFP numbers if I was hungry I'd eat even if it means going over.... lifestyle change after all and I'm not going to live the rest of my life being hungry. It's just annoying that the Fitbit is meant to help make things more accurate but seems to be adding to the confusion!

    @Christinev297 I'm like you, been searching all night but can't seem to find an answer. An extra 1000 calories just doesn't make sense for me walking and doing a photo shoot!!
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    I'm not going to eat any, or many ;) exercise calories back for 2-4 weeks and then reassess. Have to keep an eye on the scales and see if fitbit and mfp numbers match any weight loss. At this early stage, i think it's a numbers and guessing game??
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
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    Here are some visual examples of how the adjustment works (these are my numbers from a randomly selected day last week if I remember correctly...I'm 5'4.5" and 147.5lbs):

    How adjustment is calculated if Exercise is logged on MFP -
    dxhyja57zoxv.jpg
    How adjustment is calculated if exercise is logged or just tracked with Fitbit -
    syl744t5gnre.jpg


    How adjustment looks if your Fitbit calorie burn is less than MFP's estimate-
    pmbp37li4s69.jpg
    ***this one happens to be Friday last week, early in the day. I did actually end up changing this adjustment by getting a workout in
    • If Fitbit's calorie burn passes the red line, you get a positive adjustment. This doesn't have to just be exercise, but any calories burned that pass what MFP expects (and as you see I have 2 examples based on changing what MFP expects through exercise).
    • If Fitbit's calorie burn stays under the blue line, you get a negative adjustment (if enabled) or 0 adjustment.

    Alright, so the 2 above that have exercise calories are the exact same day. All I did is change where I logged my exercise calories. I'm almost positive I pulled the numbers from the 17th.

    Anyway, I'm set to Lightly Active on MFP.
    For Lightly Active setting, MFP estimates that I would burn 1990 calories in the day before exercise.
    My total steps for the day were 12,608. Of those 6,278 were taken during a run. So 6330 were taken during just daily activity. Somewhere in those steps, was the cut off for what MFP predicted without exercise, because my daily daily activity calories ended up exceeding the amount MFP had allotted by a little over 300.


    My guess, is that you don't have your activity level set high enough. I originally had mine set to sedentary, but even at lightly active I'm up and around enough that my calorie burn without exercise still ends up higher. I really do feel sedentary most of the time and most days I even take a nap in the after noon. I eat mine. My Surge has proven to be closer to my TDEE than the Zip or Flex models were (Zip and Flex were way under and Surge comes pretty close to actually being it).

  • Merkavar
    Merkavar Posts: 3,082 Member
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    I thought the fit bit with hr was based on calories burned not steps.

    As in it calculates a calories burned based on heart rate.
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    edited April 2015
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    Merkavar wrote: »
    I thought the fit bit with hr was based on calories burned not steps.

    As in it calculates a calories burned based on heart rate.

    I'm pretty sure the HR kicks in only once it reaches a certain level. Not 100% though. I can't seem to find anything about that on their website. I'm still looking and might email them about it.

    edit: Looking at the Fitbit Forums so far, I've found 1 person saying HR isn't used when it goes below 50% of their max HR (they analyzed their own data and that's what it looked like to them). I can't find anything else yet. I might just email Fitbit about it.
  • Adiemus200
    Adiemus200 Posts: 63 Member
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    I recently had this problem too. I set my sensitivity setings on my charge HR to normal and dominant wrist even though I ware my fitbit on my non dominant wrist . (I was getting more steps than I should.) It sorted my inflated calorie burns.

    Even some days now it seems a bit high. I don't eat back all of my fitbit adjustment.I will eat some back if im hungry.
  • Merkavar
    Merkavar Posts: 3,082 Member
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    I have a surge with hr so maybe they are different

    But I have in fit bit 200 steps and 900 cal burned.

    The adjustment in mfp is based on 900 converted to kj and then expanded over the whole day.

    It's 10am, just under half the day is over. So looks to me like it's based more on calories burned rather than steps.

    ekegss064ypv.jpg


  • MartinWardPhoto
    MartinWardPhoto Posts: 10 Member
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    Adiemus200 wrote: »
    I recently had this problem too. I set my sensitivity setings on my charge HR to normal and dominant wrist even though I ware my fitbit on my non dominant wrist . (I was getting more steps than I should.) It sorted my inflated calorie burns.

    Even some days now it seems a bit high. I don't eat back all of my fitbit adjustment.I will eat some back if im hungry.

    I also have mines on my non dominant wrist, but, I generally use both hands maybe a 60/40 split, I've changed it around so lets see if that helps out.

    Ended the day with 1200 extra calories even though I've been sat on my *kitten* since 8pm doing nothing but editing some photos!
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    I do laps around my house while reading mfp posts on my phone. My arms are dead still :D
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
    edited April 2015
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    You are very similar to my husband. (I would wonder if you were him under a different ID but he has a Polar Loop.)

    IN general guys burn more than gals. And no offense, but being overweight means you burn more for regular daily activity. Here are his Polar stats for the other day - he is now 210 pounds:

    9627 steps counted
    2977 kilocalories burned

    And a month ago when he weighed ~10 pounds heavier:

    8737 steps counted
    3030 kilocalories burned

    So its not unlikely that you're burning 2800 on 8000 steps.

    Of course actual details will vary. I tend to burn more per day if I'm on my feet constantly getting steps here & there vs. sitting at a desk and getting my steps in 2 bouts of cardio and a little grocery shopping. But thought it might help to see a comparison.
    MartinWardPhoto wrote: »
    I'm sitting here pretty confused, I've just got a Fitbit Charge HR at the start of this week and today it's causing me a bit of concern.

    I've lost 15lbs in the passed few months following MFP only at 1.5lbs a week, the number that MFP gave me was 1760 cals. I'm male, 5'9 and currently 218.

    Today, I've eaten 1640 cals (it's 10.15pm) so basically done for today, the FitBit adjustment for today is 1104 calories, surely this can't be right?!?! That just seems insane!

    I've taken just shy of 8,000 steps, no other exercise today. I'm a photographer, had a 2 hour photoshoot I'm just sitting wondering how the heck am I meant to eat 2800 calories? I've been losing at 1760, surely an extra 1000 will stall this? Likewise, at the same time I don't want to be eating too little....

  • maxit
    maxit Posts: 880 Member
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    Looking at data over a month, you will be able to tell what's what -
  • MelWick524
    MelWick524 Posts: 215 Member
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    I think this thread has sealed the deal on whether or not to get a fitbit.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    MelWick524 wrote: »
    I think this thread has sealed the deal on whether or not to get a fitbit.

    It's truly the best decision I could have made! I've gone from averaging 2,000ish steps a day to between 15,000-20,000 everyday

  • peterjens
    peterjens Posts: 235 Member
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    christinev297 wrote: »
    MelWick524 wrote: »
    I think this thread has sealed the deal on whether or not to get a fitbit.

    It's truly the best decision I could have made! I've gone from averaging 2,000ish steps a day to between 15,000-20,000 everyday

    The only reason I wear my Fitbit Zip is because my wife gave it to me for a gift. To me, it's just another screen to look at during the day :(
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    peterjens wrote: »
    christinev297 wrote: »
    MelWick524 wrote: »
    I think this thread has sealed the deal on whether or not to get a fitbit.

    It's truly the best decision I could have made! I've gone from averaging 2,000ish steps a day to between 15,000-20,000 everyday

    The only reason I wear my Fitbit Zip is because my wife gave it to me for a gift. To me, it's just another screen to look at during the day :(

    Well its 3:30pm and I just hit 15,000 steps, and I haven't even left the house yet! I've gone from being completely sedentary to walking all day long. For me, the fitbit is the best invention ever!!
  • MizzMaamI1
    MizzMaamI1 Posts: 73 Member
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    MelWick524 wrote: »
    I think this thread has sealed the deal on whether or not to get a fitbit.
    This ^^^
  • SleeplessInSeattle
    SleeplessInSeattle Posts: 395 Member
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    I have just ordered a Fitbit Surge! It arrives next week, so let's see. Thanks for all the comments above. Very interesting, I'll have some fun.
  • anwesha1
    anwesha1 Posts: 3 Member
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    One more q. Esp to @shadow2soul. I note that you said if you log exercise in the fitbit or on MFP. Does this mean that you shouldn't log it in both? A previous thread I read had said one should but include the time of workout so that Fitbit and MFP don't double count. In fact for me, the couple of times that I have "double" logged, it seems to collate the two and it somehow becomes one workout overnight. This is also when it adjusts down the "insane" number of calories it is otherwise allowing me @MartinWardPhoto. As @Merkavar put it, the initial number is a projection of "if you keep this up for the rest of the 24 hours". Which will just never happen...

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