Fit bit calories Do I trust it????

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loridebacker
loridebacker Posts: 24 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
i am afraid to trust my Fitbit calorie allowance. I have a charge hr so it monitors heartrate and steps. I was very active yesterday and worked out. It says I burned 3143 calories and gave me 2100 calories to eat. I have it set at 2 lb weightloss. I am a female 5 5' 165 lbs.
It just seems like a lot of food! Do I trust it??
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Replies

  • SusanKing1981
    SusanKing1981 Posts: 257 Member
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    Interested in the responses you get. I want to buy a charge HR to see if my TDEE is accurate.

    How many steps did you take, what were the activities you did?
  • dogwhisperette
    dogwhisperette Posts: 177 Member
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    Its like I wrote this post myself. Same height, weight and concerned about the calories my fitbit allows. So BUMP
  • fembat75
    fembat75 Posts: 57 Member
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    The fitbit in my experience is pretty darn close, especially if you have the one which monitors heartrate etc. If you were very active a calorie burn of 3143 is possible. To be safe I try not to eat all my calorie allowance but do find it handy for those days when I am a little bit more hungry than usual :blush:
  • loridebacker
    loridebacker Posts: 24 Member
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    I took 23,000 steps. On my feet all day, lots of fast walking. Activity was rebounding for 30 mins and 10 mins of interval training. Heart rate showed 109 active minutes.....
  • loridebacker
    loridebacker Posts: 24 Member
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    I was very hungry yesterday....probably since I was so active. The day before I got far less activity and wasn't hungry and still had 300 cals to eat that I didn't.
  • loridebacker
    loridebacker Posts: 24 Member
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    Just seems to good to be true. Lol. Before my Fitbit unwound have thought I totally screwed up if i ate 2200 calories!
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
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    If the BMR calculation used in fitbit is the correct one used for your current weight, height and weight and if you have your stride setup correctly (for walking/running) the calories should be pretty accurate. I do not have the HR version, I just have the Charge..

    I am curious about what you mean by "i was pretty active yesterday" ... Did you do steady state exercise, did you get a lot of miles logged for walking or "active steps" such as lawn work, cleaning house (leisurely, briskly, etc...).. I would be curious to see what your dashboard looked like yesterday as far as steps and calorie burns to get 3143 calorie burn (the moderate, intense levels)..
  • loridebacker
    loridebacker Posts: 24 Member
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    Gia07 I posted above what I did for the day....
  • gsayler860
    gsayler860 Posts: 25 Member
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    I think the general advice on this forum is to only eat back half of the exercise calories. Most people and methods of estimating exercise burn are over estimations. By only eating back half you can make up for the over estimation factor.

    I have a fit bit Chatge HR also and I feel it's generally pretty good at estimating my effort. However the algorithm that converts your steps/HR to calories burned is buried in the secret sauce of the software I guess. In general I assume the 50% eat back rule and have had good results.
  • chivalryder
    chivalryder Posts: 4,391 Member
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    Personally, I wouldn't trust a damn thing that uses formulas and algorithms to calculate your calorie burn.

    Instead, I would use something that requires no tools but a way to log your caloric intake. Pic a number of calories to eat that should create a deficit, and eat that amount for a month.

    After a month, see how much you've lost compared to how much you've wanted to eat. Lost too much? Eat more. Lost too little? Eat less.

    Trial and error.

    Over a period of time, you should have it all figured out. No need for all these little things that just make you spend more and more of your hard-earned money. On top of that: What do you do if you lose it or break it? You've grown a dependency on this silly little gadget, so you're going to have to go spend more money on it.

    Stop using materialistic gadgets and start using your brain.
  • patrikc333
    patrikc333 Posts: 436 Member
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    from my experience, the charge HR is really good for running but it double estimates calories burnt from walks - I guess it is why people recommend to eat only 50% back

    I normally have 500-1000 cal adjustment per day - depending on how much I walk - that I don' eat back and I'm happily maintaining now

  • governatorkp
    governatorkp Posts: 89 Member
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    I used to have a Fitbit Charge HR that I used daily.

    Comparing heartrate and calorie burn, the Charge HR, in my experience,
    seems to slightly overestimate low-intensity exercise calorie burn (such as walking), altho I feel it's pretty close.
    Athough, one important thing I'm quite certain of; it UNDERESTIMATES high-intensity exercise calorie burn.

    The high-intensity calorie burn is underestimated due to the heartrate tracking.
    It seems to have problems tracking heartrate when high, despite following all cues (putting it higher up your arm etc).
    Comparing to a heartrate meter with chest strap, the heartrates more than often were off by 20-50 bpm.
    In a high-intensity workout that's 30 mins or longer, that can quickly be a 100-200 kcal burn difference.

    Also, FitBit's 'active minutes' are counted towards periods of time in which your heartrate goes above a certain level.. So that would explain why it didn't count just the 40 mins of exercise you did, but also other periods of time in which your heartrate went up.
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
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    23000 steps is about 10 miles and at 80 calories per mile, that would only be 800 calories extra. So, I'm guessing that 2500 would be a more accurate number.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    loridebacker wrote: »
    i am afraid to trust my Fitbit calorie allowance. I have a charge hr so it monitors heartrate and steps. I was very active yesterday and worked out. It says I burned 3143 calories and gave me 2100 calories to eat. I have it set at 2 lb weightloss. I am a female 5 5' 165 lbs.
    It just seems like a lot of food! Do I trust it??

    I trust my fitbit but I use the pedometer function only and don't have an HRM one - I'm really not convinced by those and think the calorie burns they give cannot be accurate

    I'm 5'8, 160lbs and get around 350-450 calories from around 10K steps (5 miles)
    a 45 min workout (based on Polar FT 4 HRM burns) will get me about 350 calories (but it overwrites some of the fitbit steps

    my sedentary TDEE is around 1800 calories .. so I'm taller about the same height and I would have a tdee of around 2300 on an active day

    so how active was your day?
  • odub
    odub Posts: 3 Member
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    Hi,

    I've had my Fitbit HR since February, and make sure I log all food via MFP. So far it's been quite accurate. I do Insanity Max30 4 times a week, and teach insanity classes twice a week, and it's logged my steps, distance and calorie burn pretty well. So far, I've managed to lose half a stone which is what I had set out to do over the last couple of months.

    I'd say it's pretty darn good!! :)

    All the best!
  • loridebacker
    loridebacker Posts: 24 Member
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    How do I use pedometer mode only?
  • jessicapk
    jessicapk Posts: 574 Member
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    I tracked my Fitbit TDEE and my calories in since starting back up in February and found that it's pretty darn accurate. I don't always eat back the exercise calories but the numbers still work out and I just end up losing more.
  • stinegulliksen
    stinegulliksen Posts: 39 Member
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    I´ve had a fitbit Charge HR for about 11 weeks now. I trust the calorieburn, and aim to eat at atleast 1000 cal. deficit. Somedays I´ve eaten less, sometimes more, but it usually evens out to a 7000 deficit a week according to the fitbit. In those 11 weeks, I´ve lost about 20 lbs. I trust it.
  • DWBalboa
    DWBalboa Posts: 37,255 Member
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    I have a Garmin Vivofit, had it for about 8 months or so and it has been a great tool in my weight loss/control. I don't eat back all of my calories but I do eat back a good portion. Simply put I'll eat until I feel satisfied. I have lost roughly 20 pounds since I got it.
    Bottom line; if you don't trust it why have it?
    V/r,
    DW.
  • Monkey_Business
    Monkey_Business Posts: 1,800 Member
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    I have the fitbit flex (steps and activity minutes). I lose weight if I eat back only half the calorie burns. If I eat back all the exercise calories I will gain. Mostly use it as a motivator. Love it

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