FitBit Calorie Adjustment is super confusing.

magiross
magiross Posts: 13 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey, I used to have a FitBit in 2014, and wore it for around 8 months. If I ran approx 5 miles, and the treadmill showed that I had burnt roughly "600" calories, then my MFP calorie adjustment when it synced with my FitBit was also around "600" calories.

I recently got a new FitBit Flex, and was so excited to not manually have to log my runs anymore. I already have a deficit worked into MFP, and my daily goal is 1375cal. My MFP account, and my FitBit account are connected, and my calorie goal also shows up on my FitBit account.

Here's where it gets tricky.

Yesterday I had eaten around 1200 calories before suppertime. I run before I eat dinner. I ran 5 miles, and burnt 600 calories. FitBit had showed that over the course of the day, I burnt 2200 calories in TOTAL. However, my MFP calorie adjustment was ONLY 298 additional calories, bringing me up to 1,673 calories I could eat yesterday before, according to MFP, I was "over."

FitBit never used to do this to me. I have checked, and re-checked settings and I'm not sure what to do. I'm already going crazy and it's only been one day. I have read forum after forum and I'm at my wits end. Someone please help!!
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Replies

  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    What is your activity level set to? My first guess is that you didn't move "enough" the rest of the day (that is, as much as your activity level projected) so that your exercise didn't give you 600 calories more -- it only brought you closer to even. This is why I have my activity level set to sedentary -- to minimize things like this.
  • acheben
    acheben Posts: 476 Member
    Okay, so based on your FitBit your TDEE yesterday was 2200 calories. Your adjusted calorie goal was 1673 calories. That results in a daily calorie deficit of 527 calories or just about a pound per week weight loss.

    Do you have MFP set for a 1lb/week rate of weight loss?
  • magiross
    magiross Posts: 13 Member
    I already have a deficit set in MFP that is just above my BMR (afterall 1375cals/day is basically nothing, as I'm 5'8" and 164lbs) Lol. I feel like FitBit is doubling up on the deficit maybe? I already have my activity level set to sedentary, and my "goal" is to lose 1lb/week.

    All I know is, that eating less than 1600cals/day, while also running 5 miles a day is not healthy nor sustainable and I miss the way FitBit used to account for that. I can't figure out why it's not adjusting properly.
  • acheben
    acheben Posts: 476 Member
    magiross wrote: »
    I already have a deficit set in MFP that is just above my BMR (afterall 1375cals/day is basically nothing, as I'm 5'8" and 164lbs) Lol. I feel like FitBit is doubling up on the deficit maybe? I already have my activity level set to sedentary, and my "goal" is to lose 1lb/week.

    All I know is, that eating less than 1600cals/day, while also running 5 miles a day is not healthy nor sustainable and I miss the way FitBit used to account for that. I can't figure out why it's not adjusting properly.
    Since your goal is to lose 1lb/week (500 calorie deficit per day), your FitBit worked exactly like it was supposed to. You were probably less active than "sedentary" during the day, which resulted in a low TDEE.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    magiross wrote: »
    I already have a deficit set in MFP that is just above my BMR (afterall 1375cals/day is basically nothing, as I'm 5'8" and 164lbs) Lol. I feel like FitBit is doubling up on the deficit maybe? I already have my activity level set to sedentary, and my "goal" is to lose 1lb/week.

    All I know is, that eating less than 1600cals/day, while also running 5 miles a day is not healthy nor sustainable and I miss the way FitBit used to account for that. I can't figure out why it's not adjusting properly.

    How many calories did you burn the rest of your day (not counting the run)? I can run, burn a ton of calories, and still have a low burn day overall if I'm not moving very much (um, not that I'd ever do that!)
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
    Is your height and stride set in FitBit? The website shows me a chart of how many calories and steps it's giving me per every 15 minutes. During your run, how many calories was it charting per 15 minutes?
  • magiross
    magiross Posts: 13 Member
    If my caloric goal in MFP already includes a 500cal/day deficit, (as I said, 1375c/day is justtttt above my Basal Metabolic Rate) how do I fix this? I think I'm basically double dipping now in terms of deficits.
  • magiross
    magiross Posts: 13 Member
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    magiross wrote: »
    How many calories did you burn the rest of your day (not counting the run)? I can run, burn a ton of calories, and still have a low burn day overall if I'm not moving very much (um, not that I'd ever do that!)

    My TOTAL tdee was 2200, my run accounts for roughly 600 of that, meaning that I burnt an additional 1600cals throughout the day.
  • magiross
    magiross Posts: 13 Member
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    magiross wrote: »
    How many calories did you burn the rest of your day (not counting the run)? I can run, burn a ton of calories, and still have a low burn day overall if I'm not moving very much (um, not that I'd ever do that!)

    My TOTAL tdee was 2200, my run accounts for roughly 600 of that, meaning that I burnt an additional 1600cals throughout the day.
  • acheben
    acheben Posts: 476 Member
    magiross wrote: »
    If my caloric goal in MFP already includes a 500cal/day deficit, (as I said, 1375c/day is justtttt above my Basal Metabolic Rate) how do I fix this? I think I'm basically double dipping now in terms of deficits.
    You're not doubling your deficit. FitBit said your TDEE was 2200 calories, a 500(ish) cal deficit was subtracted, and your goal was adjusted to 1673 calories.
  • magiross
    magiross Posts: 13 Member
    If my goal on MFP includes a deficit already, then before I ever had the FitBit, when I would run, and enter my workouts into MFP, it added all those calories to "what I had left" to "eat" for the day.. Now, I'm "getting" about 1/3 of them, and I don't know what to do. Something's not right.
  • slinke2014
    slinke2014 Posts: 149 Member
    in the last few months the way MFP tracked the fitbit adjustment changed. They take into account current burn and expected burn. The outcome was that calorie adjustments went down A LOT. I think they did this because before the calorie adjustment given by fitbit was too high.
  • acheben
    acheben Posts: 476 Member
    edited August 2015
    magiross wrote: »
    If my goal on MFP includes a deficit already, then before I ever had the FitBit, when I would run, and enter my workouts into MFP, it added all those calories to "what I had left" to "eat" for the day.. Now, I'm "getting" about 1/3 of them, and I don't know what to do. Something's not right.
    Before, MFP assumed that you were burning enough calories throughout the day to be considered "sedentary." Now you know that you're not.

    Yesterday you only burned 1600 calories without your run. Without your FitBit, you were assuming you burned 1870 calories per day with no exercise.

    ETA: Also, do you have negative adjustments enabled? This will help show you how your actual TDEE is comparing with your MFP calculated TDEE throughout the day.
  • magiross
    magiross Posts: 13 Member
    Something has definitely changed. My caloric intake setting on MFP already has a large deficit calculated into it, therefore ALL exercise calories should be able to be eaten back. I have used this method before and lost 20+lbs, no problem. I thought having a FitBit again would simplify things, and instead it leaves me feeling mentally defeated and hungry :(
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    magiross wrote: »
    Hey, I used to have a FitBit in 2014, and wore it for around 8 months. If I ran approx 5 miles, and the treadmill showed that I had burnt roughly "600" calories, then my MFP calorie adjustment when it synced with my FitBit was also around "600" calories.

    I've used Fitbit + MFP since 2013, and it's never worked like that. Your Fitbit burn is TDEE, and adjustments are the difference between your Fitbit burn and your MFP activity level (sedentary, lightly active, etc.).

    Connect your accounts at http://www.myfitnesspal.com/fitbit

    Set your goal to .5 lb. for every 25 lbs. you're overweight: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/change_goals_guided

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

    Ignore your Fitbit calorie goal and follow MFP's, eating back your adjustments. No need to log any step-based activity—your Fitbit is tracking it for you. Log non-step exercise (like swimming or biking) either in Fitbit or in MFP—never both. Exercise logged in MFP overwrites your Fitbit burn during that time.

    You can learn more in the Fitbit Users group: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1290-fitbit-users
  • magiross
    magiross Posts: 13 Member
    Thanks for your help everyone. I still haven't figured any of this out. And I'm still hungry. And I still run 5+ miles a day. And my BMR is still 1575/day. And FitBit still recommends that after running 5+ miles, I only eat 1600cals/day.. Neat.
  • slinke2014
    slinke2014 Posts: 149 Member
    Adjustment your deficit then. I used to have my loss set at 2 lbs a week and it was restricting my calories waaaaay too much. I have it now for .5 and I can eat enough where I am not starving all the time.
  • acheben
    acheben Posts: 476 Member
    magiross wrote: »
    Thanks for your help everyone. I still haven't figured any of this out. And I'm still hungry. And I still run 5+ miles a day. And my BMR is still 1575/day. And FitBit still recommends that after running 5+ miles, I only eat 1600cals/day.. Neat.
    Change your weight loss to .5lb/week instead of 1lb/week. You'll have an extra 250 calories to eat per day.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    magiross wrote: »
    FitBit still recommends that after running 5+ miles, I only eat 1600cals/day.

    Fitbit prorates your calories by time of day—and goes below 1,200. As I said above, ignore it and follow your MFP calorie goal.

    If (and only if) you enable negative calorie adjustments, you'll be eating TDEE minus deficit.
  • magiross
    magiross Posts: 13 Member
    I have mine manually set at 1375. I have a BMR of 1575, which means if I laid in bed all day and did NOTHING, I would burn 1575cals.

    I NEVER use MFP's recommendation for 1.5lb/week or 2lb/week because I feel that 1200cal/day isn't healthy for ANYONE.

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