Negative Calorie Adjustment

newwed412
newwed412 Posts: 68 Member
edited November 19 in Health and Weight Loss
For those of you that wear fitness watches, do you change your settings to allow for negative calorie adjustments?

Replies

  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    Yes, because there are days where I am lazy and would be overeating if I were to eat to my set activity level
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    Yes. If I spend a day being much less active than usual, I want my calorie goal to adjust downward to reflect that.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    Yes...
  • MoveitlikeManda
    MoveitlikeManda Posts: 846 Member
    yep
  • Rammer123
    Rammer123 Posts: 679 Member
    Isn't the negative calorie adjustment for when you have a certain amount of calories burned based on your fitbit for instance and then it reduces the amount of calories it is listed as?

    My example is that I would sometimes get a hugeeee exercise calorie amount of 2,000-2,300 and then by the next morning if I look back, it will have been reduced to 1,500-1,800. Is that what you guys are talking about? And if so does anyone know why it does that? Does it just assume that you are sustaining a higher activity level based on your earlier activity and estimates what you'll burn the rest of the day and then when it realizes that you're going to bed at 10pm and not doing anything for 2 hours, it lowers?
  • laurenebargar
    laurenebargar Posts: 3,081 Member
    Yes but I've never actually seen that adjustment happen even on non active days.
  • papercut2k
    papercut2k Posts: 83 Member
    Interesting. I've never bothered. I'd forced myself to eat less or just deal with the little red overeating indicators .
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    laurenebargar wrote: »
    Yes but I've never actually seen that adjustment happen even on non active days.

    If you're on 1200 calories already it won't drop past that number
  • RAinWA
    RAinWA Posts: 1,980 Member
    Yes because it motivates me to get into positive adjustments.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    RAD_Fitness wrote: »
    Isn't the negative calorie adjustment for when you have a certain amount of calories burned based on your fitbit for instance and then it reduces the amount of calories it is listed as?

    My example is that I would sometimes get a hugeeee exercise calorie amount of 2,000-2,300 and then by the next morning if I look back, it will have been reduced to 1,500-1,800. Is that what you guys are talking about? And if so does anyone know why it does that? Does it just assume that you are sustaining a higher activity level based on your earlier activity and estimates what you'll burn the rest of the day and then when it realizes that you're going to bed at 10pm and not doing anything for 2 hours, it lowers?

    A negative calorie adjustment is made when the data from your synced device (like a Fitbit) indicates that you have moved *less* than your MFP activity level would have estimated. Your calorie needs are less in this case, so your goal is adjusted downward.

    What you're talking about is adjustments happening throughout the day because one is more active in the morning and less active in the afternoon but always showing some sort of upward adjustment -- this is a normal part of the sync and it doesn't require negative adjustments in order to change throughout the day.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    laurenebargar wrote: »
    Yes but I've never actually seen that adjustment happen even on non active days.

    I've only seen it on mine twice and both were times that I was ill and literally spent almost all day in bed.
  • laurenebargar
    laurenebargar Posts: 3,081 Member
    malibu927 wrote: »
    laurenebargar wrote: »
    Yes but I've never actually seen that adjustment happen even on non active days.

    If you're on 1200 calories already it won't drop past that number

    I'm a little above at 1,300 but even with that, im getting semi large adjustments from fitbit which I've found over the course of the past month have actually been pretty accurate, The calorie goal from MFP may have originally been a little off.
  • julesEMS2016
    julesEMS2016 Posts: 44 Member
    I do, though for a different reason than most. If I notice that my energy level isn't quite where it normally is, I use the adjustment that Fitbit gives to see whether I'm eating enough or not.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    RAD_Fitness wrote: »
    Isn't the negative calorie adjustment for when you have a certain amount of calories burned based on your fitbit for instance and then it reduces the amount of calories it is listed as?

    My example is that I would sometimes get a hugeeee exercise calorie amount of 2,000-2,300 and then by the next morning if I look back, it will have been reduced to 1,500-1,800. Is that what you guys are talking about? And if so does anyone know why it does that? Does it just assume that you are sustaining a higher activity level based on your earlier activity and estimates what you'll burn the rest of the day and then when it realizes that you're going to bed at 10pm and not doing anything for 2 hours, it lowers?

    A negative calorie adjustment is made when the data from your synced device (like a Fitbit) indicates that you have moved *less* than your MFP activity level would have estimated. Your calorie needs are less in this case, so your goal is adjusted downward.

    What you're talking about is adjustments happening throughout the day because one is more active in the morning and less active in the afternoon but always showing some sort of upward adjustment -- this is a normal part of the sync and it doesn't require negative adjustments in order to change throughout the day.

    Yep - pretty much this.

    OP - yes, I have negative calorie adjustments enabled with my FitBit. I am set to active for my activity level in MFP, since I average 15K or so steps/day, so MFP is expecting me to burn 1850 cals or so without any purposeful exercise. It's rare, but if I am ill, or on a road trip, or having long international flights where I'm sitting - then there would be a negative adjustment to suggest that I shouldn't eat the 1850 cals that MFP is saying for my baseline.

    It's a great safety net, in my opinion.
  • wsandy8512
    wsandy8512 Posts: 1,897 Member
    edited June 2017
    I have my phone and watch synced with MFP, however, it only recognizes my steps and not my workout. For instance, today I burned 243 calories doing Jari Love: Get Ripped to the Core, I added it to MFP manually... but it was reduced to just 189. I only just put my settings to the Negative Calorie Adjustment this morning and after my workout though. Could that be the reason?

    Edited to add: I've worn my watch all day and it still shows me at 189, though my watch and phone show I have 424 active calories burned. So now it's not even accounting for my active calories. It's stalled or something. :-/

    **Iphone 6S plus/Apple Watch
  • CassondraKennedy
    CassondraKennedy Posts: 229 Member
    I really like the negative adjustments. They motivate me to get up and do something. I love watching it change from a negative adjustment to a positive one!
  • beaglady
    beaglady Posts: 1,362 Member
    I do. I work in an office, and some days, I have a reason to walk around a lot. If I am busy and stay at my desk, I lose calories unless I hit the treadmill at lunch time. It has motivated me to make the treadmill a habit.
  • tomteboda
    tomteboda Posts: 2,171 Member
    No, because SHealth manages to screw it up every time. If I wind up exercising MORE than MFP thinks I will, and I have negative calorie adjustments enabled, SHealth takes away calories. Every. Single. Time.
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
    RAD_Fitness wrote: »
    Isn't the negative calorie adjustment for when you have a certain amount of calories burned based on your fitbit for instance and then it reduces the amount of calories it is listed as?

    My example is that I would sometimes get a hugeeee exercise calorie amount of 2,000-2,300 and then by the next morning if I look back, it will have been reduced to 1,500-1,800. Is that what you guys are talking about? And if so does anyone know why it does that? Does it just assume that you are sustaining a higher activity level based on your earlier activity and estimates what you'll burn the rest of the day and then when it realizes that you're going to bed at 10pm and not doing anything for 2 hours, it lowers?

    A negative adjustment is for when you are less active than mFP expects. Say MFP thinks I will burn 1800 calories a day based on lightly active. But tomorrow I'm a couch bum and only burn 1550 according to my Fitibit. With negative adjustments, MFP would tell me to eat 1550. (I'm in maintenance.) WIthout negative adjustments, MFP would say to still eat 1800.

    Your adjustment goes down overnight because MFP cannot process that you are less active overnight.

    Example of how they work together:

    MFP expects me to burn 1800/day which is an average of 75 per hour. Fitbit tracks actual burn base on movement, so some hours are more than others. My BMR is 50 per hour.

    If I wake at 6am then MFP assumes I should have burned 75 x 6 but Fitbit says I've burned 305. So instead of 450, I'm at 305 and that is -145. Perhaps I get ready for my day and get in an hour run. By 8am, Fitbit says I have burned 800. MFP expected me to be at 8 x 75 or 600, so now its +200. Each time you sync, MFP does these calculations. LEts say I sync at 9pm and go to bed. Fitbit says I have burned 1900, and at 9pm MFP would have predicted 75x21 or 1575. So MFP shows me at +325. But MFP expects me to burn 75/hour until midnight, and I won't. I'll perhaps burn 155, just barely above BMR. So as of midnight Fitbit says my full day stats are 2055. When I sync in the morning, MFP updates 'yesterday' to be +255.

    Unless you sync at/almost midnight you are going to see some of your adjustment go away. Its the difference between what MFP expects you to burn per hour, based on your activity level setting, and your actual burn rate after syncing. Unless you are very active at night, of course.
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
    I think this is a different scenario.

    Refer to my example above, but with this added detail:

    MFP expects me to burn 1800 per day. BUT if I log exercise in MFP, that changes the MFP expectation. Lets say I log a 150 calorie workout. Now MFP expects my total burn to be 1800 + 150. So if Fitbit is showing I burned 2055 total, my Fitbit adjustment is now only +105. Fitbit still shows I burned a total of 2055. MFP would show 1800 + 255 from exercise, with 155 of that being the logged activity and 105 being Fitibit adjustment.
    wsandy8512 wrote: »
    I have my phone and watch synced with MFP, however, it only recognizes my steps and not my workout. For instance, today I burned 243 calories doing Jari Love: Get Ripped to the Core, I added it to MFP manually... but it was reduced to just 189. I only just put my settings to the Negative Calorie Adjustment this morning and after my workout though. Could that be the reason?

    Edited to add: I've worn my watch all day and it still shows me at 189, though my watch and phone show I have 424 active calories burned. So now it's not even accounting for my active calories. It's stalled or something. :-/

    **Iphone 6S plus/Apple Watch

  • wsandy8512
    wsandy8512 Posts: 1,897 Member
    edited June 2017
    StaciMarie1974 wrote: »
    I think this is a different scenario.

    Refer to my example above, but with this added detail:

    MFP expects me to burn 1800 per day. BUT if I log exercise in MFP, that changes the MFP expectation. Lets say I log a 150 calorie workout. Now MFP expects my total burn to be 1800 + 150. So if Fitbit is showing I burned 2055 total, my Fitbit adjustment is now only +105. Fitbit still shows I burned a total of 2055. MFP would show 1800 + 255 from exercise, with 155 of that being the logged activity and 105 being Fitibit adjustment.

    I understand, and thank you for your patience and outstanding explanation. I also didn't have it synced, nor did I have MFP interacting with my watch, just my phone. I read that MFP and HealthKit do not play nice if you use "Other" for your workout. What you wrote makes sense so I will continue to use the Negative Calorie Adjustment.

  • Psychgrrl
    Psychgrrl Posts: 3,177 Member
    Yep. But I am set to sedentary due to my desk job, though I get a lot of intentional steps.
  • SusanMFindlay
    SusanMFindlay Posts: 1,804 Member
    CassondraKennedy wrote: »
    I really like the negative adjustments. They motivate me to get up and do something. I love watching it change from a negative adjustment to a positive one!

    This. I don't think I've ever ended a day with a negative calorie adjustment, but "chasing" the switch from negative to positive adjustments is motivating for me. I don't think it would be as motivating to have it just sit on 0 until I reached the expected activity level because I wouldn't be able to see how close I was.
  • ladyhusker39
    ladyhusker39 Posts: 1,406 Member
    I have negative adjustments turned off.

    When I first started tracking I had it turned on but found when I would exercise in the evening it caused me too much stress to see such low numbers. It was totally a mental thing, I'll be the first to admit.
  • cgrout78
    cgrout78 Posts: 1,628 Member
    I have it on, but I'm set to sedentary and only start with 1240 calories a day, so I've never been less than that
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