I am so lost!!!! Please help me!! These numbers are so different

2

Replies

  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    brentsgurl wrote: »
    As u can see I only ate 1157 but it's telling me I'm over 321 calories for the day

    Call Fitbit. They have awesome customer support.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    brentsgurl wrote: »
    ergdhwlkc6h1.png

    Try looking at it right before bed.

    Like other users told you fitbit starts you at 0 and ads calories as time goes on. MFP give you all your cals up front (except exercise cals)
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    brentsgurl wrote: »
    As u can see I only ate 1157 but it's telling me I'm over 321 calories for the day

    Your day isn't over yet.... You still have hours and hours that your fitbit will keep adding burned calories to your day.
  • hollen_carol
    hollen_carol Posts: 121 Member
    I believe it is because FitBit will end up giving you more calories as the day goes on and after you exercise, etc. See if that is what happens for you. When I was wearing one that is what was happening for me. I'd eat breakfast and already be over in calories (cause I usually eat alot in the AM vs the PM....just the way I naturally am these days).
  • brentsgurl
    brentsgurl Posts: 40 Member
    brentsgurl wrote: »
    I am 5'2" 154 currently. I am losing less then .5 pounds a week. I've been eating between 1100-1200 calories a day. I weigh and measure everything too. The reason I am trying to figure out my actual burn calories a day is because I'd like to up my exercise but I will have no way to figure out what my deficit is because my fitbit is giving me such strange numbers. I can't earn any calories because MFP has me burning 1673 a day set at sedentary...and FITBIT has me only burning 1314. So anything up to 1673 I won't get credit for. Meaning I would need to burn 360 calories to even get me to what MFP has me burning....I don't understand why fitbit and MFP have such differences in numbers when they are set the same.

    I just explained why they are different. MFP gives you the calories upfront, the FitBit makes you earn them before it will show them to you.

    Use MFP. Ignore FitBit. Calm down. MFP's numbers are well proven. If you input your correct height, weight, and activity level, you can trust the number. Use the FitBit to track your activity, not your food.

    I won't get any credit for activity......this is why i'm concerned.....if MFP tells me i'm burning 1700 and fitbit 1300 I will have to do at least 400 calories of exercise before I get credit. I'm not confused and I get your point...but the numbers won't allow me to earn anything extra....if anything it will tell me i'm in the negative with exercise...even though i'm not! make sense?
  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
    erickirb wrote: »
    brentsgurl wrote: »
    As u can see I only ate 1157 but it's telling me I'm over 321 calories for the day

    Your day isn't over yet.... You still have hours and hours that your fitbit will keep adding burned calories to your day.

    That picture was from yesterday.

  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    erickirb wrote: »
    brentsgurl wrote: »
    As u can see I only ate 1157 but it's telling me I'm over 321 calories for the day

    Your day isn't over yet.... You still have hours and hours that your fitbit will keep adding burned calories to your day.

    That picture was from yesterday.

    at 2:18 pm in the afternoon. she would have burned cals between 2:18 and bedtime, I would assume.
  • brentsgurl
    brentsgurl Posts: 40 Member
    okay...so fitbit said i was over 321 calories yesterday when i ate 1157...meaning i should have eaten 836 calories to have a 500 calorie deficit.....my BMR is 1340 and trust me I got out of bed yesterday....and walked almost 7000 steps....
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    brentsgurl wrote: »
    okay...so fitbit said i was over 321 calories yesterday when i ate 1157...meaning i should have eaten 836 calories to have a 500 calorie deficit.....my BMR is 1340 and trust me I got out of bed yesterday....and walked almost 7000 steps....

    Why does it show 2:18 pm, did you go to bed at 3 pm? you didn't burn any cals from 2:18 until you went to bed???
  • brentsgurl
    brentsgurl Posts: 40 Member
    erickirb wrote: »
    erickirb wrote: »
    brentsgurl wrote: »
    As u can see I only ate 1157 but it's telling me I'm over 321 calories for the day

    Your day isn't over yet.... You still have hours and hours that your fitbit will keep adding burned calories to your day.

    That picture was from yesterday.

    at 2:18 pm in the afternoon. she would have burned cals between 2:18 and bedtime, I would assume.

    the pic was taken today at 2:18 of my stats from yesterday....
  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
    erickirb wrote: »
    erickirb wrote: »
    brentsgurl wrote: »
    As u can see I only ate 1157 but it's telling me I'm over 321 calories for the day

    Your day isn't over yet.... You still have hours and hours that your fitbit will keep adding burned calories to your day.

    That picture was from yesterday.

    at 2:18 pm in the afternoon. she would have burned cals between 2:18 and bedtime, I would assume.

    Ahh. I thought the 2:18 was the time on her phone she took the screen shot (of yesterday) today.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    brentsgurl wrote: »
    erickirb wrote: »
    erickirb wrote: »
    brentsgurl wrote: »
    As u can see I only ate 1157 but it's telling me I'm over 321 calories for the day

    Your day isn't over yet.... You still have hours and hours that your fitbit will keep adding burned calories to your day.

    That picture was from yesterday.

    at 2:18 pm in the afternoon. she would have burned cals between 2:18 and bedtime, I would assume.

    the pic was taken today at 2:18 of my stats from yesterday....

    Gotchya.... then I am assuming your weight or height is entered wrong into the fitbit
  • brentsgurl
    brentsgurl Posts: 40 Member
    okay I'm missing the point....my stats from yesterday....that i took a pic of today....said i only burned 1336 calories yesterday.....my BMR is higher then that.....just being alive....and im not super active but i walk anywhere 5-7,000 steps a day not even trying.
  • HorrorGeekLiz
    HorrorGeekLiz Posts: 195 Member
    brentsgurl wrote: »
    brentsgurl wrote: »
    I am 5'2" 154 currently. I am losing less then .5 pounds a week. I've been eating between 1100-1200 calories a day. I weigh and measure everything too. The reason I am trying to figure out my actual burn calories a day is because I'd like to up my exercise but I will have no way to figure out what my deficit is because my fitbit is giving me such strange numbers. I can't earn any calories because MFP has me burning 1673 a day set at sedentary...and FITBIT has me only burning 1314. So anything up to 1673 I won't get credit for. Meaning I would need to burn 360 calories to even get me to what MFP has me burning....I don't understand why fitbit and MFP have such differences in numbers when they are set the same.

    I just explained why they are different. MFP gives you the calories upfront, the FitBit makes you earn them before it will show them to you.

    Use MFP. Ignore FitBit. Calm down. MFP's numbers are well proven. If you input your correct height, weight, and activity level, you can trust the number. Use the FitBit to track your activity, not your food.

    I won't get any credit for activity......this is why i'm concerned.....if MFP tells me i'm burning 1700 and fitbit 1300 I will have to do at least 400 calories of exercise before I get credit. I'm not confused and I get your point...but the numbers won't allow me to earn anything extra....if anything it will tell me i'm in the negative with exercise...even though i'm not! make sense?

    Okay, first, I've been assuming you have a Charge HR or a Surge. Which FitBit do you have? If it's not one with an HR, you can pretty much ignore anything it says about your calorie burn. It's guessing as much as MFP does.

    If it is one with an HR, the only way that will happen above is if you have your MFP Activity setting way off.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    edited February 2016
    brentsgurl wrote: »
    okay...so fitbit said i was over 321 calories yesterday when i ate 1157...meaning i should have eaten 836 calories to have a 500 calorie deficit.....my BMR is 1340 and trust me I got out of bed yesterday....and walked almost 7000 steps....

    Also you want a 500 cal deficit from your TDEE not your BMR, at minimum your TDEE would be 120% of your BMR so 1608 TDEE to lose 1 lb/week you would get 1108. check and re-check your fitbit entry of your stats
  • brentsgurl
    brentsgurl Posts: 40 Member
    and 1608 is for me set at sedentary...not dead lol
    So if MFP thinks my TDEE is 1608 and fitbit says it's 1336 I won't ever get credit for any extra calories burned. I have checked all my stats on my fitbit....i'm so frustrated. grrrrr
  • dawniemate
    dawniemate Posts: 395 Member
    brentsgurl wrote: »
    As u can see I only ate 1157 but it's telling me I'm over 321 calories for the day

    I have more or less identical problems as you with my fitbit hr. .....I just use mfp for calorie intake and fitbit for exercise. ...if you figure it out please message me. ... :wink:
  • brentsgurl
    brentsgurl Posts: 40 Member
    all i'm saying is if my BMR is 1340 and fitbit says i'm burning 1336....i'm burning less then what it takes to keep me alive.....that has to be wrong.
  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
    I second the motion to contact Fitbit customer support.
  • minamina27
    minamina27 Posts: 89 Member
    I Got an error message on fitbit this morning and it's been crazy numbers ever since. I'm sure it's a glitch and once sorted and re synced should be ok.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,234 Member
    brentsgurl wrote: »
    I am 5'2" 154 currently. I am losing less then .5 pounds a week. I've been eating between 1100-1200 calories a day. I weigh and measure everything too. The reason I am trying to figure out my actual burn calories a day is because I'd like to up my exercise but I will have no way to figure out what my deficit is because my fitbit is giving me such strange numbers. I can't earn any calories because MFP has me burning 1673 a day set at sedentary...and FITBIT has me only burning 1314. So anything up to 1673 I won't get credit for. Meaning I would need to burn 360 calories to even get me to what MFP has me burning....I don't understand why fitbit and MFP have such differences in numbers when they are set the same.

    If you've been doing this for a minimum of several weeks - logging your consumption & weight loss accurately, and doing minimal exercise - you can estimate your own daily calorie burn from your data.

    It'll be (total calories eaten over the time period) plus (total calories-equivalent of weight lost over the time period); then divide that total by the number of days in the time period to get a daily estimated burn based on your own data. (Note: (calories-equivalent of weight loss) = (total pounds lost over the time period) multiplied by 3500 calories.)

    If you've done a non-trivial amount of exercise and have been logging it, add that, too, if you want an average TDEE.

    One granny-like over-reaching piece of advice from a li'l ol' lady: Don't get too bogged down in the technology's numbers, especially if they're stressing you. They're just statistically based estimates. Be patient, eat what MFP says, eat back 50% of MFP's exercise calorie estimate at first, and be consistent. Your body is the most accurate measuring instrument. If you go a month and don't lose any weight, cut 100-200 calories a day. If you lose too much, add back some calories. Along the way, learn how to eat in a way that will keep you healthy permanently.

    And the fitbit users group is here: community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1290-fitbit-users ;)
  • brentsgurl
    brentsgurl Posts: 40 Member
    Here is my issue. I would have burn at least 2-300 of exercise to even catch up to what MFP has for my full day projection. And at 1400 for full day projection that's barely over my BMR!
  • brentsgurl
    brentsgurl Posts: 40 Member
  • katej37
    katej37 Posts: 56 Member
    BMR and TDEE are 2 different numbers. BMR is what you need to do nothing except stay alive in bed all day. TDEE is what you would use getting up and doing stuff like normal. There are many calculators for these. I generally don't see activity calories on MFP until I have hit a certain amount of steps or activity minutes. Its not as many as you would think it would be either. Ignore fitbits dashboard for calories (can even remove it) and just log all food on MFP and whatever activity calories fitbit gives you will sync across. I think you are getting too hung up on the fitbit side of things (its not the same as MFP even with all the same data logged in) Track everything on here, weigh and measure and see how you go. x
  • katej37
    katej37 Posts: 56 Member
    oh and just do the exercise - fitbit will send it across unless its swimming or cycling. Don't worry about the deficit just do it!
  • slabs57
    slabs57 Posts: 3 Member
    If I'm not mistaken, Fitbit goes by 24 hour "real-time" calorie count. So if you eat 1000 calories for breakfast, and you've only burned 300 calories by 9am, Fitbit will tell you that you are way over your caloric goal. But near the end of the day, if you don't eat anything else, you'll even out because you would have burned >1000 calories.

    I suggest you just ignore the app and shoot for a daily caloric goal that makes sense for your height and daily activity. Sometimes people get too obsessed with numbers and start doing unhealthy extremes like exercising too much and not eating enough.
  • emmycantbemeeko
    emmycantbemeeko Posts: 303 Member

    Fitbit's calorie estimates are always wacky for me- very unpredictable, and I don't like that they adjust throughout the day in an unpredictable manner, sometimes bumping me from "on target" to "over target" without any additional intake. Some days with the same step counts get much more estimates burn than others. It makes me a little bit crazy at times trying to figure out their formula.

    Solution? I don't look at the Fitbit calorie estimates. I use it to track steps, and if I have a very active day and it gives me extra credit on MFP, cool. If not, I stick with my MFP goal. The weight comes off slow and steady, despite the fact that I'm frequently eating more than Fitbit projects that I've burned.

    I just don't think fitbit's calorie burn algorithm is very good, especially if you aren't steadily active at one level all day.
  • hopeandtheabsurd
    hopeandtheabsurd Posts: 265 Member
    How is your calorie burn when you look at the 15 minute breakdown? Mine has a baseline amount that I earn when I am sleeping or sitting still or forget to put it on (something like 13 calories per 15 minutes), and I can look at periods of walking or other activity and see how much extra I am earning. When you look at yours, do you see those spikes corresponding to periods of activity and is the calorie burn in those time periods reasonable looking? The number it wants you to reach for a 1 pound loss sort of looks like you are not getting credited for any steps/activity.
  • JustMissTracy
    JustMissTracy Posts: 6,338 Member
    It says you have that many left for the day, but the day isn't over yet...with Fitbit, as the day goes on, you accumulate more calories (due to your activity)...eventually you will surpass your food calories with burn calories. I always check my numbers the next day, and am usually astounded by the amount of burn that went in after I thought my day was pretty done.
  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
    How is your calorie burn when you look at the 15 minute breakdown? Mine has a baseline amount that I earn when I am sleeping or sitting still or forget to put it on (something like 13 calories per 15 minutes), and I can look at periods of walking or other activity and see how much extra I am earning. When you look at yours, do you see those spikes corresponding to periods of activity and is the calorie burn in those time periods reasonable looking? The number it wants you to reach for a 1 pound loss sort of looks like you are not getting credited for any steps/activity.

    It would be a good idea to take a look at this. Maybe that will show you if something is wrong with your Fitbit.