Is my Fitbit giving me too many calories.
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KeatsNan
Posts: 10 Member
I'm not convinced about this fitbit. It gives me about 350 - 450 extra calories a day on average and that's just from normal walking around etc. I've been eating at lease some of those calories back and not lost any weight. I'm seriously thinking about taking it off and just logging the actual exercise I do.
I have said that I wear it on my dominant arm ....it was giving me even more calories before that!
Is any body having a similar experience?
I have said that I wear it on my dominant arm ....it was giving me even more calories before that!
Is any body having a similar experience?
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Replies
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How many steps have you done to earn those calories?
So far today I've done 16,200 steps, which is nearly 14kms, and earned 720 extra calories. I'm 5"8 and 140lbs0 -
Also, if you're going to trust your fitbit numbers, then your food logging must be spot on. Because you won't lose weight if you're underestimating your calories, and may gain or maintain if you are also eating back your exercise calories0
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christinev297 wrote: »How many steps have you done to earn those calories?
So far today I've done 16,200 steps, which is nearly 14kms, and earned 720 extra calories. I'm 5"8 and 140lbs
I'm 140lbs and 5'6" and I only get 460 calories from 20k steps! I'm on sedentary, too!0 -
Hi I'm averaging 12 - 14k steps per day for those calories. I weigh 5ft 1" and 139lbs.
I'm pretty accurate with my food intake.
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My profile is also set to sedentary as I do an office job0
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Most people find that both MFP and Fitbit over estimate calories. I don't eat more than half my calories back. But try not to do it al all...0
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I'm not convinced about this fitbit. It gives me about 350 - 450 extra calories a day on average and that's just from normal walking around etc. I've been eating at lease some of those calories back and not lost any weight.
If (and only if) you've enabled negative calorie adjustments in your diary settings, eating back 100% of your Fitbit adjustments means you're eating TDEE minus deficit.
I was shocked how many calories Fitbit said I could eat. But I lost the weight and have maintained for a year.
Trust your Fitbit for several weeks, then reevaluate your progress. Food is fuel, and we should all be looking for the maximum number of calories at which we lose weight—never the minimum.
But you still need to log everything you eat & drink accurately & honestly. Have you read the Sexypants post? https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p10 -
Hi I'm averaging 12 - 14k steps per day for those calories. I weigh 5ft 1" and 139lbs.
I'm pretty accurate with my food intake.
I'm 5' even, 120 lbs, and I get around 400 calories for 10k steps in a day.
I generally eat back all of them, leaving 50-100 to make up for logging inaccuracies.
I've lost 20lbs doing this. I'm maintaining for a little while as actively trying to lose weight at present would be a bad choice. I'm still eating back just about all the calories and it's still working.
~Lyssa0 -
I always try to bank my exercise calories and stay uner my MFP suggested calorie intake, I've lost 23 lbs in 2 months doing this and regularly exercise 5 days a week.0
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MamaBirdBoss wrote: »christinev297 wrote: »How many steps have you done to earn those calories?
So far today I've done 16,200 steps, which is nearly 14kms, and earned 720 extra calories. I'm 5"8 and 140lbs
I'm 140lbs and 5'6" and I only get 460 calories from 20k steps! I'm on sedentary, too!
i don't understand how our burns are so significantly different? ?
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Oops i effed up the kgs to lbs conversion! I'm 65kgs which equals 143lbs. Altho I doubt 3 extra pounds would make a huge difference...0
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I was going to say age makes a difference, but I see you're a little older than her, so that can't be it, lol. I am trying to get at least 10,000 but closer to 12,000 per day and I average MFP saying I have 300-400 exercise calories doing that. I am 65, so that might be part of it. Also, I have noticed I get more if I have a general busy day of walking, rather that doing a long walk am & pm & not much in between.0
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Adjustments are the difference between your MFP activity level & your Fitbit burn (which is TDEE). Click on any adjustment to see the math MFP used to calculate it.
Your Fitbit burn is based on way more than just steps, including sex, age, height, weight & exertion level.0 -
Maybe I just walk harder than you @MamaBirdBoss
Seriously, I would like to find out the answer to this. I'm thinking stride length doesn't come into play here?
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I usually get around 7-800 calories a day just from walking. I eat most of them back. I am loosing weight.
Trust the gadget.
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christinev297 wrote: »Maybe I just walk harder than you @MamaBirdBoss
Seriously, I would like to find out the answer to this. I'm thinking stride length doesn't come into play here?
Actually, stride length could be a factor. As I understand it, if your stride length isn't close to right, then your calorie burn will be off. Plus, how you walk is important. If your steps are higher impact then your Fitbit will interpret them as being longer and as having a higher burn rate. If your steps are more shuffling, then they'll be interpreted as shorter and as having a lower burn rate.
See the FAQ for how to set stride length. Since I don't have easy access to a treadmill, I've used my own approach of just tweaking it by comparing walks of known length (as measured by Map My Walk) to what my Fitbit computes. It's pretty close for walks that aren't too strenuous and/or aren't too hilly.0 -
I've got my stride length set at 85cm which I think converts to 33.5ish inches0
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christinev297 wrote: »Maybe I just walk harder than you @MamaBirdBoss
Seriously, I would like to find out the answer to this. I'm thinking stride length doesn't come into play here?
Steps are not equal calorie burn. Even your own.
The stride length setting is not the distance used for every single step.
It's the basis for figuring out what the actual stride length was but adjusting it, so if stride length setting is right in the middle of your normal range of walking from daily to exercise - there is better chance it's adjusting correctly. But it can only slide so far you might say and remain good accuracy.
If you have stride length setting for short office walks - then your exercise pace will be off. And vice-versa.
2 woman, same stats on everything so their resting metabolism is the same, can get the exact same steps in.
But one was serious walking steps, one was grocery store slow shuffle steps.
There will be a difference in calorie burn between them. That is added to an otherwise totally equal day, and the adjustment is understandably different between them.0 -
For me, anything over 2,000 steps is purposeful and deliberate exercise. That was the number of steps I averaged when I first got my fitbit with normal daily activity. Now I "aim" for 20,000 steps a day0
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I average 14000 steps between 5:30 AM and 4:00 PM for work, usually hitting 10k around noon. I usually add another 2-5k by the time I go to bed. The first 10 k is where I earn the extra calories. It is a lot more steps per minute than the rest of the day. I think intensity is a major factor.0
