Calories calculation wrong??

ljspoor
ljspoor Posts: 3 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
MyFitnessPal has figured out I need 2960calories a day.

So far today I have eaten 644cals and 551cals exercise which has been accounted for by my fitbit charge. This is a net of 1195calories and then I am told I have 1765cals remaining for the day, why is MyFitnessPal taking calories off me for exercise? Surely I should be gaining calories?

I have ticked Enable Negative Adjustments in my Diary Settings but I don't see why this should cause a problem...any ideas?

Replies

  • Clarewho
    Clarewho Posts: 494 Member
    Is your activity being double counted by the fitbit and then already taken into account in whatever activity level you selected in MFP? Might that be the explanation? Hopefully someone more knowledgeable will come along... at first glance I thought it was because MFP has already taken your activity into account when setting 2960 cals - with the negative adjustment being made as you haven't reached that yet? Does that sound likely?
  • ScubaSteve1962
    ScubaSteve1962 Posts: 612 Member
    I've found the best time to sync to MFP is before going to bed, it seems to make and estimate on how many calories you will burn in a day by your activities up to the point that you sync.
  • CyberTone
    CyberTone Posts: 7,337 Member
    Most likely, if it is early in the day, you have not moved enough yet and the Fitbit Charge adjustment is not a positive 551 Calories but a negative 551 Calories. As you move throughout the day, the adjustment will change from a negative adjustment to a positive adjustment.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    ljspoor wrote: »
    MyFitnessPal has figured out I need 2960calories a day.

    So far today I have eaten 644cals and 551cals exercise which has been accounted for by my fitbit charge. This is a net of 1195calories and then I am told I have 1765cals remaining for the day, why is MyFitnessPal taking calories off me for exercise? Surely I should be gaining calories?

    Click on your adjustment to see the math MFP used to calculate it.

    Your Fitbit burn is TDEE—the calories needed to maintain your current weight. Your MFP calorie goal (2,960) is activity level minus deficit. Adjustments are the difference between your Fitbit burn and your activity level. If you're getting negative calorie adjustments, then you've burned fewer calories than your activity level. (You may want to set it lower.)

    Ignore your Fitbit calorie goal and follow MFP's, eating back your adjustments. With negative calorie adjustments enabled, you'll be eating TDEE minus deficit.

    You can learn more in the Fitbit Users group: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1290-fitbit-users
  • scubasuenc
    scubasuenc Posts: 626 Member
    As others have stated you are probably getting a negative calorie adjustment from the FitBit. When the FitBit syncs to MFP it estimates the total calories you will burn during the day based on your activity so far (call it your FitBit TDEE). MFP estimates your TDEE based on your activity setting and any exercise you have added into MFP (e.g. riding a bike) (call it your MFP TDEE). If your MFP TDEE is greater than your FitBit TDEE and you have negative adjustments enabled, then you will get a calories taken away from your remaining calories. If your FitBit TDEE is greater than your MFP TDEE then you will get calories a positive calorie adjustment to your remaining calories.

    Personally, I have the negative calorie adjustment disabled in my profile. I eat my MFP target and then if I move more than MFP estimates I get a extra calories. This allows for the fact that my activity level is sedentary but some days I move more than that.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    scubasuenc wrote: »
    Personally, I have the negative calorie adjustment disabled in my profile. I eat my MFP target and then if I move more than MFP estimates I get a extra calories. This allows for the fact that my activity level is sedentary but some days I move more than that.

    With negative calorie adjustments disabled, you'll never eat at a true deficit on days you burn fewer calories than your activity level.

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