Steps/calorie questions

There are several questions about this in the Help/FAQ section. I believe the change happened in version 7.5 which came out about a week ago. It may be limited to users with IOS (Apple) devices for step counting. After originally saying it was a mistake, the MyFitnessPal people are now saying the old calculation was in error and the new way is more correct. I think they still have an error. The new way does not produce numbers that agree with any reference I've found. I'm getting reductions similar to gunnipm.

I have had this issue since updating MFP to version 7.5 on November 11. I contacted MFP Support and received this reply:

Thank you very much for your patience while we reviewed your concern and consulted with our engineering colleagues to understand the change you’ve reported.

After updating to version 7.5 of the MyFitnessPal app for iOS, some users who track their step count with the iPhone’s motion sensor, or with Apple Watch, noticed a decrease in the calorie adjustment earned from their steps. This change is the result of an improvement in our step tracking process and is a more accurate depiction of the estimated calorie burn than in previous MyFitnessPal versions.

Please let us know if you have further questions, or if we can support you in any way.

All the best,
Hank
MyFitnessPal Staff

Today I have 20,432 steps and MFP is giving me 140 calories earned. Before the update when I had a similar number of steps, I earned nearly 650 calories. You may want to track your exercise and steps in a different program/app if you want credit for it.

250 cals burned for 20k steps today for a 166lb man is not accurate and demotivating. I found the old method of calculating cals to stack up with the actual weight lost each week. Wish they'd just go back to the old way....

A trainer at my gym told me that counting daily steps via MFP is double-counting earned exercise calories. Here's why: When you sign up you choose your activity level (not active, moderately active, very active, etc.) which takes into account your basic daily activity - walking around, doing errands, cleaning, what you do for work (as well as extra activity if you have an active job like mail carrier or bike messenger). While you do these basic activities, you are taking steps BUT they have already been accounted for in the basic calorie formula. To count them again is double-dipping. Taking lots of steps is SO good for you and very healthy but, again, most of those have already been accounted for in the original MFP calorie formula. NOW, if after your basic day is done and you go on a specific fitness walk (faster pace, consistent heart rate elevation) or do the treadmill, that is extra and should be counted as an exercise session. By all means keep your goal of 10,000 steps a day - again, such a GREAT, HEALTHY goal - just don't try to credit all of that as exercise calories...count only the ones that are deliberate exercise sessions. I saw a big difference in my weekly loss when I stopped double-crediting myself for basic daily activity and only counted intentional fitness walking/exercise sessions. Hope it helps. Good luck!

QueenAnne94101 wrote: »

A trainer at my gym told me that counting daily steps via MFP is double-counting earned exercise calories. Here's why: When you sign up you choose your activity level (not active, moderately active, very active, etc.) which takes into account your basic daily activity - walking around, doing errands, cleaning, what you do for work (as well as extra activity if you have an active job like mail carrier or bike messenger). While you do these basic activities, you are taking steps BUT they have already been accounted for in the basic calorie formula. To count them again is double-dipping. Taking lots of steps is SO good for you and very healthy but, again, most of those have already been accounted for in the original MFP calorie formula. NOW, if after your basic day is done and you go on a specific fitness walk (faster pace, consistent heart rate elevation) or do the treadmill, that is extra and should be counted as an exercise session. By all means keep your goal of 10,000 steps a day - again, such a GREAT, HEALTHY goal - just don't try to credit all of that as exercise calories...count only the ones that are deliberate exercise sessions. I saw a big difference in my weekly loss when I stopped double-crediting myself for basic daily activity and only counted intentional fitness walking/exercise sessions. Hope it helps. Good luck!

This does make sense. My activity level is set to "Not very active" which should mean far less than the 10,000+ steps I am walking every day. I see no change in the value of that is being logged by MFP as my step count increases. If they really wanted to fix this "issue", wouldn't it make sense to give you zero benefit of steps until you cross you threshold as set by your activity level and then give you full credit instead of just giving you less all the time?