Fitbit calorie adjustment

Dreysander
Dreysander Posts: 294 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm just curious as to whether or not people take the fitbit calorie adjustment into account. Sometimes it seems overly high for me. Like for today it's already - 155. Some days I have over 600, 700 calories burned because of the Fitbit.
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Replies

  • molepigeon
    molepigeon Posts: 22 Member
    edited January 2016
    I'm not sure how accurate it is. Mine sometimes adds over 1,000 calories if I've been really active. Today I'm on 355 already.
  • missblondi2u
    missblondi2u Posts: 851 Member
    The size of your fitbit adjustment will depend on the activity level you set in MFP. I'm fairly active, but I set my activity level to sedentary because I like seeing the big adjustments when I'm active. It motivates me.

    I eat most or all of my fitbit adjustment, and it seems pretty accurate for me based on rate of loss over the last few months.
  • Dreysander
    Dreysander Posts: 294 Member
    Yeah I set my level to sedentary as well even though I'm anything but.
  • rissasu
    rissasu Posts: 19 Member
    The value that you see on your tracker when you wake up in the morning is your estimated calorie burn for the day so far. You still burn calories even if you are sedentary or sleeping. We estimate your calorie burn based on your age, gender, height, and weight. If your tracker measures heart rate, the calorie burn estimate also takes heart rate into account.

    Your tracker may register movements or restlessness as steps when you're wearing it while you sleep. The number of steps typically measured during these periods is minimal, and should not offset your overall fitness progress. Any steps taken to and from other rooms during the night will also be tracked.
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
    The size of the adjustment really depends on how accurate you were in selecting your activity level.

    I've been in maintenance for a while now. I have found my Fitbit data to be fairly accurate. As in, if I eat less than my daily burn according to Fitbit, over time, my weight drops.
  • rissasu
    rissasu Posts: 19 Member


    The activity record from the device button press is merely to allow viewing those stats for that block of time, you can manually make an activity record too for same purpose. Not logging those calories, merely viewing what Fitbit came up with already.
    If you know you'll manually log a workout to input more accurate calorie burn, the activity record does make it easier to see when the start time was, and figure out duration, and allow seeing the Fitbit stats for that time, rather than buried in the daily stats.

    If you log workout with an existing activity record, it does NOT replace the calorie burn in the record, just the daily stats. If you create activity record manually after logging workout, calorie burn is whatever you entered, though the other stats will be shown for steps & distance.
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
    So you should expect decent adjustments. An active you burns more calories per day than a sedentary you. :)
    Dreysander wrote: »
    Yeah I set my level to sedentary as well even though I'm anything but.

  • rissasu
    rissasu Posts: 19 Member
    Hope this helps...
  • rissasu
    rissasu Posts: 19 Member
    Also, a tip from a Dr was while you are trying to lose weight you do not eat your extra calories burned off. Only stick to you calorie goal for the day. Once you hit the goal weight, then you can eat your extra calories to maintain. :smile:
  • Dreysander
    Dreysander Posts: 294 Member
    It does. I'm in the process is of raising my cals to maintenance and do so with trepidation.
  • missblondi2u
    missblondi2u Posts: 851 Member
    rissasu wrote: »
    Also, a tip from a Dr was while you are trying to lose weight you do not eat your extra calories burned off. Only stick to you calorie goal for the day. Once you hit the goal weight, then you can eat your extra calories to maintain. :smile:

    I do not agree with this. You have to fuel your exercise! I eat back my calories and have lost well over a pound a week for the past 6 months. Doctors often have no clue about nutrition.
  • shrcpr
    shrcpr Posts: 885 Member
    I've been tracking for about 4 months both in MFP and spreadsheet and found my weight loss is tracking almost exactly what it should figuring in my MFP deficit + all Fitbit calories burned. So fairly accurate for me as well.
  • prettysoul1908
    prettysoul1908 Posts: 200 Member
    Great info and experience in this thread. Thanks! I am set at sedentary on MFP so I often get adjustments upwards of 700-800 calories from my Fitbit. Glad to hear people trust their Fitbit and that it has proven accurate. I'm still in the testing phase with mine.
  • smotheredincheese
    smotheredincheese Posts: 559 Member
    Do you all eat all of your fitbit adjustment calories, or just some of them? I always eat a few hundred back but am wary about eating the whack in case it's overestimating.
  • Clobern80
    Clobern80 Posts: 714 Member
    In my opinion, you should ALWAYS set your activity level on MFP to sedentary if you are using a device that syncs up and adds your exercise. The FitBit will include any movement (walking to the fridge, walking to the bathroom, walking around the building, etc.) as exercise. If you set your level to lightly active or active or anything else, you are double-dipping on those "normal" activity calories.

    Also, make sure allow negative adjustments is checked in your settings. This way, it will remove calories on days you may not be as active.

    Finally, as far as eating your exercise calories back... you should. That is what MFP is all about. However, since no device is 100% accurate at determining exactly how many calories you burn, you may have to adjust. Since this is a lifestyle change and not a quick fix, I would eat all of your exercise calories back to start and check your weight weekly. If - after a few weeks - you are gaining weight or maintaining weight, then adjust accordingly. But not eating your exercise calories back (at least some of them) is not the correct way to do it. If you eat only 1,200 calories in a day but you exercise really hard and burn 900 calories, you are netting only 300 calories which is NOT safe.
  • missblondi2u
    missblondi2u Posts: 851 Member
    clobern80 wrote: »
    In my opinion, you should ALWAYS set your activity level on MFP to sedentary if you are using a device that syncs up and adds your exercise. The FitBit will include any movement (walking to the fridge, walking to the bathroom, walking around the building, etc.) as exercise. If you set your level to lightly active or active or anything else, you are double-dipping on those "normal" activity calories.

    Also, make sure allow negative adjustments is checked in your settings. This way, it will remove calories on days you may not be as active.

    Finally, as far as eating your exercise calories back... you should. That is what MFP is all about. However, since no device is 100% accurate at determining exactly how many calories you burn, you may have to adjust. Since this is a lifestyle change and not a quick fix, I would eat all of your exercise calories back to start and check your weight weekly. If - after a few weeks - you are gaining weight or maintaining weight, then adjust accordingly. But not eating your exercise calories back (at least some of them) is not the correct way to do it. If you eat only 1,200 calories in a day but you exercise really hard and burn 900 calories, you are netting only 300 calories which is NOT safe.

    The bolded part is not accurate. If you set your activity level to something other than sedentary, you're not "double-dipping," you'll just get a lower fitbit adjustment (or a negative adjustment). It really depends on your preference.
  • maxit
    maxit Posts: 880 Member
    I set MFP for sedentary and took the FB calorie adjustments and found that even at "maintenance" I was still losing about a pound a month.
  • Clobern80
    Clobern80 Posts: 714 Member
    missblondi2u wrote: »
    clobern80 wrote: »
    In my opinion, you should ALWAYS set your activity level on MFP to sedentary if you are using a device that syncs up and adds your exercise. The FitBit will include any movement (walking to the fridge, walking to the bathroom, walking around the building, etc.) as exercise. If you set your level to lightly active or active or anything else, you are double-dipping on those "normal" activity calories.

    Also, make sure allow negative adjustments is checked in your settings. This way, it will remove calories on days you may not be as active.

    Finally, as far as eating your exercise calories back... you should. That is what MFP is all about. However, since no device is 100% accurate at determining exactly how many calories you burn, you may have to adjust. Since this is a lifestyle change and not a quick fix, I would eat all of your exercise calories back to start and check your weight weekly. If - after a few weeks - you are gaining weight or maintaining weight, then adjust accordingly. But not eating your exercise calories back (at least some of them) is not the correct way to do it. If you eat only 1,200 calories in a day but you exercise really hard and burn 900 calories, you are netting only 300 calories which is NOT safe.

    The bolded part is not accurate. If you set your activity level to something other than sedentary, you're not "double-dipping," you'll just get a lower fitbit adjustment (or a negative adjustment). It really depends on your preference.

    My bad, good to know. Who knew technology was so technologically advanced.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    Yeah eat them all

    But remember fitbit extrapolates to end of the day based on what you've done...so if it's 10am and you've just done a 5 mile run it will assume that level of activity will continue till midnight ...and each time you synch it will readjust

    Over time it learns your activity rates and the differences are smaller...but at the start you could end the day with 100 cals spare and synch the next morning and realise that you actually overate by 150 the previous day

    So always synch as late as possible and leave a bit spare for readjustments next day
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    rissasu wrote: »
    Also, a tip from a Dr was while you are trying to lose weight you do not eat your extra calories burned off. Only stick to you calorie goal for the day. Once you hit the goal weight, then you can eat your extra calories to maintain. :smile:

    That depends on what method you are using. Unlike other methods, MFP does not factor intentional exercise into your calorie allotment. Yesterday I walked/hiked for 65 minutes, practiced yoga for 75 minutes, and went to the gym and lifted weights. I absolutely need to eat extra to fuel that.
  • erinc5
    erinc5 Posts: 329 Member
    I will use/eat them if I am hungry. If I am not hungry, then I ignore all or most of the extra and use as a bonus. That means, I usually end up eating about half of them back.
  • DrifterBear
    DrifterBear Posts: 265 Member
    It's already been said, but set it to sedentary and use SOME of the increase based on your goals. Also watch out for double counting! I track my runs with a Garmin but wear my fitbit when I run. So the run may say 600 cal but the fitbit is also giving a few hundred for the steps. I want to track both but on running days know that the calorie adjustment is WAY over what it should be.
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
    that depends on your settings. Fitbit has two options, which you can change if you login (website, not app) and go to Log and click the Gear icon on the upper right of the food logging area.

    Personalized: uses your past daily activity to estimate your daily burn. If you move less than usual, your burn will ultimately be adjusted downward

    Sedentary: Fitbit uses actual data as of your last sync, and assumes BMR only for the rest of the day. So to get more calories earned, you need to move more.
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Yeah eat them all

    But remember fitbit extrapolates to end of the day based on what you've done...so if it's 10am and you've just done a 5 mile run it will assume that level of activity will continue till midnight ...and each time you synch it will readjust

  • machelle04
    machelle04 Posts: 690 Member
    lbctfs wrote: »
    It's already been said, but set it to sedentary and use SOME of the increase based on your goals. Also watch out for double counting! I track my runs with a Garmin but wear my fitbit when I run. So the run may say 600 cal but the fitbit is also giving a few hundred for the steps. I want to track both but on running days know that the calorie adjustment is WAY over what it should be.

    I stopped logging my walks/runs and let Fitbit add the adjustment. Last night my fitbit adjustment was 1015 for 41k plus steps/run. I only log yoga and weight training now. So far no issues everything has been spot on.
  • ashleyShades
    ashleyShades Posts: 375 Member
    Mine is broken and won't track sleep or sync with MFP now for this option =(
  • captmiddy
    captmiddy Posts: 147 Member
    Each person will need to make their own determination as to how accurate the calorie numbers on both MFP and FitBit are for them. For instance, when I follow MFP and FitBit I go up. I have gone up about 5 pounds over the last 6 months while accurately recording my meals and exercise activity. I know for me, I have to stay about 2 to 3 hundred calories under the estimate or I slowly increase, I didn't do this for the last 6 months. For me the numbers provide a clear guidance and I have to adjust from there. I still consider that to be maintenance though as I gave myself a 5 pound range to live within and now I am at the top of it, and will adjust until I am near the bottom again.

    Remember, not everyone's works exactly the same way, some of us are slow burners :smiley:
  • dujyandco
    dujyandco Posts: 90 Member
    edited January 2016
    I put mine to sedentary, too, and a 2lb/week deficit, but I intentionally burn an extra 1,000 to 1,300 calories a day exercising (aerobics and walking) -- plus the 'regular' daily activity. There is no way I'd have energy to walk 12 miles a day if I stayed under 1200 calories!!

    Oh--and I have the Charge HR.

    Edited again, to add: And I keep a close eye on the daily calories left between both -fitbit and MFP-, and they seem pretty close in number. Usually like 5-15 calories difference. I guess that'd matter to some, but I usually have 500-900 calories left over, so it doesn't matter to me.
  • DrifterBear
    DrifterBear Posts: 265 Member
    machelle04 wrote: »
    I stopped logging my walks/runs and let Fitbit add the adjustment. Last night my fitbit adjustment was 1015 for 41k plus steps/run. I only log yoga and weight training now. So far no issues everything has been spot on.

    I use the Garmin to track my running progress to measure improvement. But maybe I need to turn off the feed to MFP. I like seeing it there but the calorie adjustment is unnecessary. I also do Crossfit which doesn't give many steps so maybe I should keep logging that manually.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    StaciMarie1974 wrote: »
    that depends on your settings. Fitbit has two options, which you can change if you login (website, not app) and go to Log and click the Gear icon on the upper right of the food logging area.

    Personalized: uses your past daily activity to estimate your daily burn. If you move less than usual, your burn will ultimately be adjusted downward

    Sedentary: Fitbit uses actual data as of your last sync, and assumes BMR only for the rest of the day. So to get more calories earned, you need to move more.
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Yeah eat them all

    But remember fitbit extrapolates to end of the day based on what you've done...so if it's 10am and you've just done a 5 mile run it will assume that level of activity will continue till midnight ...and each time you synch it will readjust

    Ahhhh...new fangled

  • machelle04
    machelle04 Posts: 690 Member
    lbctfs wrote: »
    machelle04 wrote: »
    I stopped logging my walks/runs and let Fitbit add the adjustment. Last night my fitbit adjustment was 1015 for 41k plus steps/run. I only log yoga and weight training now. So far no issues everything has been spot on.

    I use the Garmin to track my running progress to measure improvement. But maybe I need to turn off the feed to MFP. I like seeing it there but the calorie adjustment is unnecessary. I also do Crossfit which doesn't give many steps so maybe I should keep logging that manually.

    I have been logging my cross fit and weight training on Body Space. MFP doesnt really have accurate stats for me to log my cross fit there. I mainly use the MFP for the calorie intake.

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