fitbit calorie burn accuracy

I just got one yesterday and i have to say i thought it was high especially for steps calories. That said i have been using a Microsoft band for 18 months and did my first weights workout using the Charge 2 yesterday, the kcals burned was comparable.
Ultimately if you work out your TDEE using the Katch McCardle method, factor in your exercise/activity levels via the right profile and eat in a defecit you will lose weight.
I use my trackers as guides only as one thing they do not do is factor in lean body mass.

I'm surprised. I did a 21km hike today and my daily total was a calorie burn of 2662 A 29km bike ride gave me 627 calories. Your 2150 without exercise seems too high I have a Fitbit Charge 2 HR

I've noticed that people logging exercise via Fitbit have burn estimated much greater than database entries for similar exercises (walking, running).

I've always found my fitbit burn estimates to be high, so I adjust half of the daily burn back by putting a 'fitbit adjust' entry into my food logs (it's in the database already). That gives a healthy margin of error.

It's a known issue with the Fitbit Charge 2/HR. It looks at your HR constantly and calculates calories burned based on that. When my HR rises for whatever reason, even if I'm just sitting down, it'll show as more calories burned.

I've had mine since september and my conclusion is: When using it for exercises with HR the calorie count is pretty accurate - about the same as on numerous other websites (paired with HR monitor) and my Apple Watch. But normal daily activity gets overestimated. So if I have a day with a lot of steps rather than actual workouts my calories burned will be way higher than they should be. Kind of a shame, since this never happened with a non-HR device. The only fix I've found is turning off the HR function, but this kind of defeats the purpose of the Fitbit...

I think I'm going back to my Apple Watch. It's kind of useless now since the whole point of it was to get a good view of my overal calories burned.

KinoM wrote: »

I've always found my fitbit burn estimates to be high, so I adjust half of the daily burn back by putting a 'fitbit adjust' entry into my food logs (it's in the database already). That gives a healthy margin of error.

Please can you explain where this Fitbit adjust is - I think I'd like to copy your approach

That doesn't sound high to me at all considering your height, weight, and activity level. I'm 5'3", 113 pounds, and my TDEE via Fitbit is 2100 to 2400 calories per day, so it's very close to you. Let's just call it 2200. Based on that TDEE, to lose a pound per week, we'd eat 1700 calories per day; to lose two pounds per week, we'd eat 1200 calories per day. That's actually pretty spot on when you look the numbers, no?

I've been using the Charge HR since July 2015 when I started at 139 pounds. I upgraded to the Charge 2 when it was released. If anything mine slightly underestimates my TDEE. If you're concerned, follow the advice of @PAV8888 or just eat a portion of your calories back and see if your rate of loss matches up with your Fitbit after a few weeks.

MFP Sedentary is not basically BMR. My BMR is around 1550, but sedentary for me on here is 1885. With those low numbers, 335 is a big difference. But that doesn't really matter either way, since Fitbit overwrites whatever you input on MFP.

But it's great that you've been able to use it to maintain for so long. I guess it does work for some people, it just doesn't work for me. If I eat what Fitbit tells me to I'll maintain, might even gain some weight, instead of the loss it projects. It's a big difference with my previous activity monitors that were pretty spot on.

Fitbit burns have always seemed accurate for me.

I'm 5'6", and weigh 137 lbs, and over the holidays I decided to maintain instead of lose. I don't currently have an activity tracker, but for three weeks I maintained at 137 lbs while netting about 2100 calories a day. So I would say your numbers don't sound too far off. I was surprised I could maintain at that high number of calories, but I guess I do move a lot--3 kids, housework, stairs at home, etc.

My stats: 5'5.5", 42, female. So similar. WIthout making an effort I'd only burn 1500 or so per day. With some effort I hit 1800-1900. I don't consider myself to have an active lifestyle. I sit at a desk or in a car/commuting 10 hours most days.

With the HR function turned on, the fitbit calorie burn is notoriously too high. Use it as a guide, but I suggest calculating your TDEE using one of the many calculators out there. I prefer this one: https://www.muscleforlife.com/macronutrient-calculator/

The HR burns work well for steady state cardio. Please don't mistake Your TDEE (which is your total Fitbit burn) for exercise calories burned.

It would probably be really informative for you, OP, to do some reading in the Fitbit users group so that you can understand how you device works, reports, and integrates with MFP so that you can get the most out of it.

Fitbits are not notoriously inaccurate. People are notoriously inaccurate in misinterpreting the data Fitbits give them.

WilsonFilson wrote: »

With the HR function turned on, the fitbit calorie burn is notoriously too high. Use it as a guide, but I suggest calculating your TDEE using one of the many calculators out there. I prefer this one: https://www.muscleforlife.com/macronutrient-calculator/

Not necessarily, unless you're using it to gauge something that's not steady state cardio.

The newer devices even have programmed exercises you can choose from that aren't necessarily steady state cardio, and the burns aren't all that ridiculous for something like strength training (I get around 200 gross calories for 60 minutes of lifting -- I don't think that's all that out of line). Bear in mind that's not the adjustment that Fitbit sends to MFP with my BMR deducted.

Interestingly, my Fitbit TDEE and most TDEE calculators pretty much agree.