Garmin Vivoactive, Calorie adjustment, somethings gotta be wrong with it

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coachzulu
coachzulu Posts: 8 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hoping someone here has an answer for me, because I'm slowly loosing my mind over this

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  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
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    Click on the adjustment to see the math MFP used to calculate it. MFP projects that at 11:59 p.m. you will have burned 473 calories less than your MFP activity level (sedentary, lightly active, etc.).

    I have a Fitbit, and I never log any step-based activity. Why did you log your run if you're using Garmin Connect?
  • coachzulu
    coachzulu Posts: 8 Member
    edited August 2015
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    AArrgghhh where's all the stuff I just wrote?

    Okay, once more into the breach...


    I use a Garmin Vivoactive fitness watch, with a build in step counter.

    For some reason MFP gives me negative calories burned for the steps I took today.

    I usually take around 17-20000 steps a day.

    Today I also went for a 5K run adding 481 calories to the calories burned column.

    Apparently the steps I took today gives me a negative 473??? That doesn't make any sense?


    This ends up with me being 91 calories over budget, so to speak today.

    I also use Lifesum, a competitor to Myfitnesspal, and it has me with around a thousand calories left for today.


    Can any explain what I'm seeing here?
  • coachzulu
    coachzulu Posts: 8 Member
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    editorgrrl wrote: »
    Click on the adjustment to see the math MFP used to calculate it. MFP projects that at 11:59 p.m. you will have burned 473 calories less than your MFP activity level (sedentary, lightly active, etc.).

    I have a Fitbit, and I never log any step-based activity. Why did you log your run if you're using Garmin Connect?

    Garmin Connect automatically logs my runs, I didn't set it up to do so?

  • coachzulu
    coachzulu Posts: 8 Member
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    This is from my Garmin Connect app..

    Again in Danish, but you get the gist of it...

    40ny9rfws3qz.png

    This shows more of what I would expect to see.. Me having around a thousand calories left...

    I'm sure there's just something I don't quite understand when looking at the MFP app. Should I just ignore it, and only use it for adding food items?
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    edited August 2015
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    As I said above, click on the Garmin adjustment in your diary. Then click at the top (not the blue button at the bottom). It will show you the math.

    If I were you, I would delete the exercise that's logged above your adjustment. Your default goal is activity level minus deficit. Adjustments are the difference between your Garmin burn & your MFP activity level.

    If I'm not explaining it well, try reading this article in the Help section:
    http://myfitnesspal.desk.com/customer/portal/articles/1084232-what-is-the-calorie-adjustment-in-my-exercise-diary-
  • coachzulu
    coachzulu Posts: 8 Member
    edited September 2015
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    Assume that I'm a little kid here and explain to me why 50+K of fast road cycling (109 minutes) plus 15000 steps during a days work only results in a total of 181 calories burned... I usually work out a lot, but today was way harder than usual, so why would I get negative 1230 calories??

    9v1tl01j9o30.png


  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
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    If you click on the adjustment, you will see the math MFP used to calculate it.
  • coachzulu
    coachzulu Posts: 8 Member
    edited September 2015
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    I get that... Maybe I should ask it like this why would you want to have negative calories?
    What's the point of adjusting the calories?
  • allonsy_sweetie
    allonsy_sweetie Posts: 8 Member
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    This is in the settings. You can turn off negative adjustments.

    Change Handling of Partner Adjustments
    If you have linked your MyFitnessPal account to a device or app that measures your total calorie burn (Fitbit, Bodymedia, etc.), check this box to allow negative calorie adjustments from that partner to appear on your exercise diary. Otherwise, only positive adjustments will be allowed.
    Changes to this setting will be in effect only for adjustments received from that point on (past adjustments will not be restated).

    A negative adjustment means that your projected calorie burn for the day from the partner is below MyFitnessPal's initial estimate. If you are unable to sync your tracking device until late in the day, or if you don't consistently use your tracking device, you may prefer not to enable negative adjustments.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    coachzulu wrote: »
    I get that... Maybe I should ask it like this why would you want to have negative calories?
    What's the point of adjusting the calories?

    It mitigates for double accounting where you have a step count and an exercise activity count.

    I'd disagree with the suggestion above around using step count to estimate running calories, as the MET for running is around double that for walking. I'd also note that cadence should remain broadly the same regardless of pace so a fixed step length isn't going to give a representative number.

    The point of negative adjustments is that where you have a step count during the same period as a run then the step count is discounted. What can be a complicating factor is a difference in times between synchronising step count and a run. I have seen that, where I've run say 14 or 15 miles and my step counter synchs, so giving me a large calorie expenditure, then later I synch my GPS so the Garmin and MFP hand offs go through a period of WTF while they each work out what's happened. A 14 mile run will give me about 1600 cals, so whilst the reconciliation goes on I'd get 3000 exercise calories, and in time that'll settle down.

    In theory it shouldn't take time, in practice it does, which is probably down to refresh cycles between Garmin and MFP.

  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    edited September 2015
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    coachzulu wrote: »
    Why would you want to have negative calories? What's the point of adjusting the calories?

    Adjustments are the difference between your TDEE and your MFP activity level. A negative adjustment means you're burning fewer calories than your activity level (sedentary, lightly active, etc.).
  • karenrich77
    karenrich77 Posts: 292 Member
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    Are you entering it into MFP as well as letting it make the adjustment. Looks to me like you have manually entered it and it's going OK well if you already added it, I will take away my adjustment
  • coachzulu
    coachzulu Posts: 8 Member
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    I do not add anything manually everything is done by the software...


    Okay, so a negative number means I'm burning less than what MFP would expect?

    I just walked 15000 steps and afterwards raced my nike for almost two hours.. In MFP opinion that's just above "light active work" (I'm a teacher)?...

    Wonder how much it wants me to workout to burn more than normal amounts of calories...

  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
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    coachzulu wrote: »
    I just walked 15000 steps and afterwards raced my nike for almost two hours.. In MFP opinion that's just above "light active work" (I'm a teacher)?...

    Wonder how much it wants me to workout to burn more than normal amounts of calories.

    This question can be easily answered! If you click on the adjustment, you will see the math. It will say something like this:

    Garmin calories burned: 2,000
    Full-day projection based on 1,000 calories burned as of 11:59 a.m.

    MyFitnessPalCalories burned: 3,000
    [This is your activity level minus your deficit.]

    Garmin calorie adjustment: -1,000
  • coachzulu
    coachzulu Posts: 8 Member
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    But the end result is that the app says I have significantly fewer calories available for eating than other apps.

    It's like it doesn't matter if I workout or not. I would presume that the more I worked out, the more additional calories I would be allowed to eat.
    But the calorie adjustment just increases the negative number, basically eating almost all the calories I just worked so hard for..


    In addition with using MFP I also use the app Lifesum which works more or less in the same way as MFP. It also adds additional calories from workouts I've done.
    Yesterday I burned around 1500 calories, from biking and walking. Together with my minimum calories (1760) to be eaten that totals 3260 calories.


    MFP for some reason says I only "earned" 281 extra calories for the same day.

    Lifesum and MFP are 1200 calories apart... For the same day!
  • debrag12
    debrag12 Posts: 1,071 Member
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    editorgrrl wrote: »
    Click on the adjustment to see the math MFP used to calculate it. MFP projects that at 11:59 p.m. you will have burned 473 calories less than your MFP activity level (sedentary, lightly active, etc.).

    I have a Fitbit, and I never log any step-based activity. Why did you log your run if you're using Garmin Connect?

    When I sync my garmin I always get a step adjustment but also a 'run' for any activity I have done (gym session/run etc) for that day.

  • TheBSting
    TheBSting Posts: 1 Member
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    Did you ever find a suitable answer to your question? This same question vexes me, as well. I still don't understand how I can burn over 1,000 calories working out twice, today, and yet I have only "earned" about 200 extra calories (because of the adjustment function). I can't get my head around it. And don't tell me to "look at the math", cuz when I do, I stare blankly.

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