Gaining weight since using fitbit charge 2

mariaeli93
mariaeli93 Posts: 42 Member
edited November 18 in Health and Weight Loss
Helloo!
Okay, so I was using the polar loop for a while and fully trusting the calories it gave me at the end of the day and losing weight or maintaining (whatever I decided was better at the time)
Now, my polar loop died (R.I.P. little guy) and I got a fitbit charge 2 with an on going heart rate sensor and thought it would be more accurate. I kept working out as usual, and following the calories it told me (keeping a 500 calorie or more deficit as always) and started packing on the weight. Ive gained around 3-4 kilos since getting this fitbit (about 6 months now). Im wondering. Has anyone experienced something similar?
Literally nothing much has changed except for the fact that I changed my fitness tracker. Thoughts? Experiences?
Thanks!

Replies

  • VanVanDiane
    VanVanDiane Posts: 1,402 Member
    I've been using a Fitbit Alta for nearly a year and it's pretty accurate. No heart rate monitor on it though - maybe that's where the inaccuracy lies?
  • bomftdrum
    bomftdrum Posts: 270 Member
    I tried the fitbit charge hr for about year. I had the exact same thing happen. I have read that people started deducting 10% from the daily calorie burn. IMO depending on what I was doing, it would either be close to accurate to giving me more than I actually burned. I still wear my charge but I turned off it syncing to MFP and went back to just using MFP.
  • nuttyfamily
    nuttyfamily Posts: 3,394 Member
    I only use my fitbit to gauge how active I am and not for how many calories to eat.

    I go by the goals set by MFP for that.
  • NextPage
    NextPage Posts: 609 Member
    I have a Fitbit Charge and also find it pretty accurate and similar to other devices I have tried. I like the HR feature since I think it makes me push a little harder (improving cardio fitness rather than a big weight loss change), I don't eat back all my calories (maybe half) no matter what device and program I am using.
  • Seffell
    Seffell Posts: 2,244 Member
    I have Fitbit Charge HR and it overestimates my expenditure (from walking as this is all I do) by 250 to 400cal per day. A useless bit of plastic :)
  • Theo166
    Theo166 Posts: 2,564 Member
    edited April 2017
    If you are stable in activity and knew the right calories before, why decide to start eating more calories?

    Obviously the FB is overestimating your burn, use your experience under the polar and figure out what is a safe % to eat back with your fitbit.
  • SusanMFindlay
    SusanMFindlay Posts: 1,804 Member
    edited April 2017
    mariaeli93 wrote: »
    Helloo!
    Okay, so I was using the polar loop for a while and fully trusting the calories it gave me at the end of the day and losing weight or maintaining (whatever I decided was better at the time)
    Now, my polar loop died (R.I.P. little guy) and I got a fitbit charge 2 with an on going heart rate sensor and thought it would be more accurate. I kept working out as usual, and following the calories it told me (keeping a 500 calorie or more deficit as always) and started packing on the weight. Ive gained around 3-4 kilos since getting this fitbit (about 6 months now). Im wondering. Has anyone experienced something similar?
    Literally nothing much has changed except for the fact that I changed my fitness tracker. Thoughts? Experiences?
    Thanks!

    My Charge 2 is perfectly accurate for me, but metabolic rates follow a normal distribution so not everybody is going to be the perfect "average" person that the calculations describe.

    I'm assuming your activity level hasn't changed significantly since you switched trackers. (If it has, that makes it more difficult.) So, how many calories were you averaging before? How many calories are you averaging now? If your calories consumed have increased dramatically then that's why you're losing weight and it's clear that you will need to subtract some percentage from what the Charge 2 is telling you to identify the right amount to eat.

    FTR, the problem may or may not be with the device itself. Simple troubleshooting:
    • Check that your height, weight, age and gender have been entered correctly.
    • Check that your stride length is accurate. The easiest way to do this is to count the steps it takes to walk around a 200 m or 400 m track (or along a 100 m length) and convert that information to stride length.

    If either of those factors is off, it's almost certain that the FitBit numbers will be wrong.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,242 Member
    First of all connect trendweight.com to fitbit.com and to look at your weight trend these past few months.

    If indeed you are increasing in weight over a long period of time then you're body thinks that you're over-eating based on your activity... regardless of what your logs think.

    While I personally would want to figure out whether my food intake or activity logs are the ones that are "off', It really does not matter how or why you're not on track.

    What matters is figuring how much you should adjust!

    So plonk down the calories you think you've eaten (from MFP) and the calories that Fitbit thinks you've spent (from Fitbit.com) and compare.

    Then adjust...

    I use my own overly complicated spreadsheet for all that: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14k_zGWeklpl05lNqSWN_SK1XzuwnmVHtUfW8Eao5kIE/edit?usp=sharing
  • genpopadopolous
    genpopadopolous Posts: 411 Member
    Mine overestimates my burn.

    I want to lose .5lbs a week and have it set to 1.5 and it works out great.

    I mean- it's been six months. If you are tracking your calories, exercise and weight why weren't you adjusting 4-5 months ago?
  • JessicaMcB
    JessicaMcB Posts: 1,503 Member
    My fitbit lowballs me and I lose faster than their calorie count would forecast. As a result I don't live by the fitbit number
  • SCoil123
    SCoil123 Posts: 2,111 Member
    I still have a flex and find it very accurate.
  • svel713
    svel713 Posts: 141 Member
    Mine overestimates. I set mine to lose 0.5lbs a week to maintain and leave around 30-50 cals in the green. (Charge HR)
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,224 Member
    How many more calories are you eating now with the Fitbit than you were with the Polar?
  • lemonychild
    lemonychild Posts: 654 Member
    no, my charge 2 is spot on give or take 100 cals
  • Nony_Mouse
    Nony_Mouse Posts: 5,646 Member
    Alatariel75 wrote: »
    How many more calories are you eating now with the Fitbit than you were with the Polar?

    ^^This. Because if you were losing fine previously, and increased your calories to match what Fitbit gives you, there's your answer.

    Basically, you're eating around 100 cals above maintenance to have gained 3 kg in 6 months.
  • MiniMexxxxx
    MiniMexxxxx Posts: 43 Member
    Have you got negative calorie adjustments enabled on MFP?
  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
    Nony_Mouse wrote: »
    Alatariel75 wrote: »
    How many more calories are you eating now with the Fitbit than you were with the Polar?

    ^^This. Because if you were losing fine previously, and increased your calories to match what Fitbit gives you, there's your answer.

    Basically, you're eating around 100 cals above maintenance to have gained 3 kg in 6 months.

    It can also indicate innacurate logging (not weighing and logging everything).
  • Theo166
    Theo166 Posts: 2,564 Member
    edited May 2017
    deleted
  • newheavensearth
    newheavensearth Posts: 870 Member
    I use a Charge HR2 and rarely eat back all of my exercise calories to account for things like this. But I do believe my stride length is off because the mileage on a treadmill never matches the mileage on the Fitbit at the end of a run. Never calibrated stride length. Will do that.
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