Fitbit - logs steps but not intensity?

boredfatman
boredfatman Posts: 100 Member
edited May 2015 in Fitness and Exercise
Hi all,

I have a Fitbit charge HR and I was musing over this today.

As we all know, sometimes we like to eat back the occasional exercise calorie gain.

Well if I ran 10000 steps today instead of walked 10000, Fitbit would still just credit me for steps completed rather than Take into account the intensity I completed them with, is that correct??

Thanks

BFM

Replies

  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
    Yep, it just know the steps. There isn't a significant difference in calories burned per unit of distance walking or running so pretty much a non-factor.
  • boredfatman
    boredfatman Posts: 100 Member
    Packerjohn wrote: »
    Yep, it just know the steps. There isn't a significant difference in calories burned per unit of distance walking or running so pretty much a non-factor.

    That surprises me if that's true, I exert myself a whole lot more when I'm running vs when I walk, surely the calorific burn must be higher?
  • refuseresist
    refuseresist Posts: 934 Member
    Mine seems to give me loads of extra calories for my steps so I don't tend to eat them back. If I have done some specific exercise at a higher level of intensity then I might eat a bit more.
  • CoachJen71
    CoachJen71 Posts: 1,200 Member
    Where do Active Minutes come into play?
  • ibamosaserreinas
    ibamosaserreinas Posts: 294 Member
    If you have the HR it is factoring in intensity isn't it? It is monitoring your heartrate. I have the Flex and it can't tell the difference but the HR should.
  • illusion2269
    illusion2269 Posts: 95 Member
    ibamosaserreinas wrote: »
    If you have the HR it is factoring in intensity isn't it? It is monitoring your heartrate. I have the Flex and it can't tell the difference but the HR should.
    From what I have noticed, this is correct. If i just walk 10k steps, I get less calories burned versus running the same number, so the HR monitor does take into account intensity. I've attached my steps from yesterday as an example. Around 11 AM I was walking for 15 minutes on a treadmill, so it is a lower intensity, but around 6 PM I was out for a run. Those steps are counted as higher intensity.
    j32luwnfi9k1.jpg
    Here is the calorie burn for the same time period yesterday, the run shows significantly higher calorie burn per 5 minute period.8gssnox6jfyp.jpg

  • eseeton
    eseeton Posts: 80 Member
    ^ This. If you have the HR it is measuring intensity and calculating burn accordingly.
  • fitmomhappymom
    fitmomhappymom Posts: 171 Member
    A true HRM might be the best option for you. The calorie burn is much different between walking and running, as your heart rate is likely much higher when you are running, resulting in a higher calorie burn. Fitbit is more of an activity tracker, whereas a Polar HRM would give you a very accurate assessment of calories burned during a work out. They are two different tools.
  • kah68
    kah68 Posts: 1,515 Member
    edited May 2015
    boredfatman wrote: »
    Hi all,

    I have a Fitbit charge HR and I was musing over this today.

    As we all know, sometimes we like to eat back the occasional exercise calorie gain.

    Well if I ran 10000 steps today instead of walked 10000, Fitbit would still just credit me for steps completed rather than Take into account the intensity I completed them with, is that correct??

    Thanks

    BFM

    Do you put your Charge HR in workout mode prior to your run? I don't run but I cycle and I put mine in workout mode prior to cycling, it gives me a more accurate caloric burn during my actual workout time.
  • Groto1980
    Groto1980 Posts: 23 Member
    I have the charge HR. You can set a workout by holding down the button on the left side for a few seconds. I am not sure why you would be more interested in intensity of steps. The whole point of the HR is to get a more realistic count of how many calories you burn for activities or for me how many i burn for the whole day. It can be a real wake up call. And you can burn way more calories jogging/running verses walking. Plus i just sync my fitbit with mfp. and it will automatically adjust your calories throughout the day. I do nothing with steps. They also prefer that you enter your exercise into mfp, to do so you will need to know your start time, etc. More info will be on fitbit/mfp.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    You can learn more in the Fitbit Users group: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1290-fitbit-users

    Your Fitbit burn is TDEE (total daily energy expenditure), aka your maintenance calories. It's not just a step counter.
  • boredfatman
    boredfatman Posts: 100 Member
    Thanks for all of the replies people, really helpful.

    The good thing is I haven't eaten back any more than I burn, in fact often a lot less. However, I'm glad that the Charge HR does reflect intensity somewhat!

    Cheers

    BFM
  • nicfitnesszone
    nicfitnesszone Posts: 115 Member
    Good morning,
    I have used flex, charge and now surge. According to fitbit support, Charge and Surge takes into account steps and HR when calculating calories burned. Personally, I make adjustments to the total steps counted by all models. I manually counted my steps and fitbit is off. IMO heart rate/workout intensity and duration is more accurate in approximating calories burned.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    Eating at an aggressive deficit won't get you to goal any more quickly. In fact, it usually leads to bingeing.

    If (and only if) you enable negative calorie adjustments, eating back your Fitbit adjustments means you're eating TDEE minus deficit.
  • boredfatman
    boredfatman Posts: 100 Member
    editorgrrl wrote: »
    Eating at an aggressive deficit won't get you to goal any more quickly. In fact, it usually leads to bingeing.

    If (and only if) you enable negative calorie adjustments, eating back your Fitbit adjustments means you're eating TDEE minus deficit.

    I haven't been too aggressive so far.

    However, I'd be interested to know how to find out if negative adjustments are turned on...
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    boredfatman wrote: »
    I'd be interested to know how to find out if negative adjustments are turned on.

    Enable negative calorie adjustments at http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings

    If you've ever had a zero-calorie adjustment, you've probably got them turned off. You can click on any adjustment to see the math MFP used to calculate it.

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