Fitbit and MFP calorie adjustment Help

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boredfatman
boredfatman Posts: 100 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all,

Just a question for you.

I have a Fitbit charge HR.

This morning I went for a 5k run with my heart rate definitely in the high range.

However when I sync my Fitbit to MFP it just credits me 197 calories for taking over 5000 steps. However, I don't think it takes into account the heart-rate and effort for a run. Therefore, should I be getting more back if that makes sense?

For info, I'm 5ft 9inches tall and weigh 155lbs.

Thanks in advance...

Replies

  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    edited April 2015
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    what activity level are you set to and have you enabled negative adjustments

    say you are set to sedentary (for argument) that is 1.2x BMR which means that right now, based on what you've done so far, probably 2500 of those steps have gone to make your BMR and the rest is actual calorie earned

    it will probably even out over the day
  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
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    You wont know the full calorie adjustment until after midnight when the day ends - the calorie adjustment will vary throughout the day depending on your activity levels.
  • philreeduk
    philreeduk Posts: 51 Member
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    Hi there,

    I have had some problems with the levels of calories burned through the fitbit. It turned out that it was down to the BMR settings you use on MFP. I had it set to sedentary and it told me I was burning thousands of calories! I would check to see what yours is set at. Also, always wait till the end of the day as the total will move about during the day.
  • boredfatman
    boredfatman Posts: 100 Member
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    rabbitjb wrote: »
    what activity level are you set to and have you enabled negative adjustments

    say you are set to sedentary (for argument) that is 1.2x BMR which means that right now, based on what you've done so far, probably 2500 of those steps have gone to make your BMR and the rest is actual calorie earned

    it will probably even out over the day

    I am set to lightly active in MFP. How does that work out for me?

    For info, I have been losing at least 1lb per week. MFP has restricted my calorie intake to 1790 per day now, plus whatever exercise calories I choose to eat back.

  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    boredfatman wrote: »
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    what activity level are you set to and have you enabled negative adjustments

    say you are set to sedentary (for argument) that is 1.2x BMR which means that right now, based on what you've done so far, probably 2500 of those steps have gone to make your BMR and the rest is actual calorie earned

    it will probably even out over the day

    I am set to lightly active in MFP. How does that work out for me?

    For info, I have been losing at least 1lb per week. MFP has restricted my calorie intake to 1790 per day now, plus whatever exercise calories I choose to eat back.

    Not sure of the exact multiple - I think active is 1.6 (but that's dim and hazy and might be incorrect)

    it takes me 2500-4000 steps to hit sedentary walking, dependent on my pace / intensity (I'm 5'8 and 160) - that's roughly 2 miles I reckon

    I generally eat back the majority of my exercise calories (I use an HRM for workouts which overwrite my fitbit cals for that time period) .. I'm at maintenance and get 1780 calories for sedentary maintenance plus I eat back an additional plus 350 - 600 calories daily through exercise.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    edited April 2015
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    It'll sort itself out as the day goes on :smile: I also found that when I got a new Fitbit device it took it a few weeks adapting to give a more accurate reading/burn.
    I have my MFP set to Active and have negative adjustments enabled. This works a treat for me :smiley:
    (average steps for me - 20k/ half of those ran)

    The general consensus is to deduct 5% off the Fitbit TDEE figure, and I have to say this has been spot on for me - it told me my average burn was 2400 but I gained eating at 2300 (over a number of weeks), 2150 is more likely to be my real TDEE.
  • cha97shelley
    cha97shelley Posts: 17 Member
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    I would second that the fitbit will get used to what is your normal. I've been wearing a fitbit for nearly two years (although only got the charge HR in January this year). I've got MFP set as sedentary, but got my diet plan on fitbit set to personalised so that it takes into account my normal pattern of behaviour. I did a 14km cycle this morning, and it gave me about 250 cals for that. That was using the stopwatch function. It also picked up the 5000 steps I did on the elliptical machine. The adjustment happens all day so its hard sometimes to see exactly what is happening.

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