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Slightly disappointed..

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pokerjohn15
pokerjohn15 Posts: 7 Member
in Social Groups
I just bought the charge HR. I have worn it a couple days and I cannot say I'm impressed AT ALL. I specifically bought this one because I wanted a more accurate number of my calories burned. So far Fitbit has missed the mark there BIG TIME. I went to sleep around 11pm. Woke up at 430am. Apparently I burned 400+ calories while sleeping. I walk about 5 miles a day at work and don't burn that much. This watch is wildly inaccurate!

Is it even possible that I burned this many calories in my sleep? Does anyone else find this item to be completely wrong? Any way to fix it?

At this rate I should have kept my money and just used the motion sensor on my iPhone. At least that one didn't say I had a major workout while I was dead asleep.

Replies

  • WranglerMichelle
    WranglerMichelle Posts: 529 Member
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    Yes, it's possible. Your body burns calories every minute of every day to keep vital processes going. You could easily burn 400 calories while sleeping, simply by having a heart that beats and lungs that breathe and so on.
  • pokerjohn15
    pokerjohn15 Posts: 7 Member
    edited January 2016
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    Ok, that makes some sense. It just seems like a lot. Do you burn a few hundred calories while sleeping a full night too? I should also note, my heart rate never got above 60 while I was asleep. Not sure if that's important or not.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    Fitbit calculates your total calories burned throughout the day...not just walking and working out, but through running the essential processes needed to keep you alive. While you sleep, it's mostly your BMR that will be recorded. If you use an online calculator to figure out your BMR, it should run closely to it.
  • ki4eld
    ki4eld Posts: 1,215 Member
    edited January 2016
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    I'm 5' tall and 159lbs and I burn about 400 sleeping. I wake at 5a having done nothing but breath and have 400 calories to eat. By the time I'm done with a morning workout, I have 1400 calories or so to eat and all I did was walk 3 miles. You burn calories by simply being alive. So yeah, it's accurate.

    Also, you need to wear it a good 2 weeks, my doctor recommended 30 days, before it's giving you accurate numbers you can take to the bank.
  • WranglerMichelle
    WranglerMichelle Posts: 529 Member
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    Yep, I do. I usually get around 7 hours of sleep, and I'll burn around 400-500 calories in that timeframe. It threw me off a little the first few times I saw I had burned several hundred calories in my sleep until I remembered Fitbit tracks BMR as well. Just gotta keep in mind that exercise isn't the only thing that burns calories!
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
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    As others have said, your body burns calories just by being alive. Even if you were in a coma, you'd still consume a certain number of calories each day. That's called your BMR. Mine at 5'1" / 107 is just under 1200, so if I sleep for 8 hours I will "burn" 400 calories from sleeping.

    The total amount of calories you burn every day is from a combination of just being alive and breathing (BMR), doing normal everyday activities, and exercising. Your TDEE, which is what Fitbit is calculating, is an estmate of thoe total of all those three things. So yes, inactive time counts.
  • d_thomas02
    d_thomas02 Posts: 9,048 Member
    edited January 2016
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    pokerjohn15 wrote: »
    Do you burn a few hundred calories while sleeping a full night too? I should also note, my heart rate never got above 60 while I was asleep. Not sure if that's important or not.

    My BMR (rate at which I burn calories while in a coma) is 1900 a day. Divide by 24 gives 79 cal an hour. Multiple by hours slept, which for my is about 7, gives an estimated 554 cal burned while I slept. My FitBit Charge HR may adjust that up or down based on heart rate.

    Your's probably needs a few days to "get to know you", so don't throw in the towel on it just yet.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    I burn roughly 320 calories overnight while I'm sleeping. I'm 5"8, 150lbs
  • alwinkler
    alwinkler Posts: 5 Member
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    Lower HR while sleeping is very normal. Mine is usually about 52-54. An adequate amount of sleep is very much needed as well for muscles to recover, etc. which also explains the sleeping calorie burn. I find that I hit a weightloss plateau due to lack of sleep. Side note: it can misread if it's worn too tight or too loose.

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