Steps and calorie adjustments
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jennydelgado09
Posts: 119 Member
Do you include steps into your calorie adjustments? Mfp is connected to my garmin and it gives me calorie adjustments for steps taken plus my exercise calories. But I really don't think steps throughout the day should count.
Like yesterday I had a little under 3000 steps(don't walk much at work and didn't workout yesterday) but gave me a calorie adjustment of about 240 calories. That seems like a lot for so little walking.
So wanted to see if others count their steps. And I'm talking about so little steps, just normal walking. Not if you're going out of your way to get 10,000 steps or so. Then I get you would count that.
Like yesterday I had a little under 3000 steps(don't walk much at work and didn't workout yesterday) but gave me a calorie adjustment of about 240 calories. That seems like a lot for so little walking.
So wanted to see if others count their steps. And I'm talking about so little steps, just normal walking. Not if you're going out of your way to get 10,000 steps or so. Then I get you would count that.
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Replies
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@jennydelgado09: The question I have for you is: are you thinking of eating the calories that you earn through exercise? I, myself, don't eat the calories that I burn, so although it's nice to see the calorie adjustment, I don't do anything with them and therefore it doesn't really matter if it's accurate or not
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Your body burns calories all day long from the functions of keeping you alive, your general activity, and your purposeful exercise. All that adds up to your TDEE, and weight loss comes from consuming less calories than your TDEE.
I don't have a Garmin but I do have a FitBit and the premise of the activity tracker is that they are encouraging you to increase your activity level overall, not just though exercise but by just getting up and moving. That burns calories, and not an insignificant amount.
The syncing of the tracker works by the tracker telling MFP how active you were and how many calories you burn, and then MFP does an adjustment to account for you being more active and burning more calories than MFP estimated based on the stats and activity level you put in during set up and goal setting.
I don't know much about the accuracy of Garmin but I can tell you that I've always eaten back my FitBit calories, and I lost the weight I set out to lose and am now several years into maintenance while trusting the adjustments.14 -
@jennydelgado09: The question I have for you is: are you thinking of eating the calories that you earn through exercise? I, myself, don't eat the calories that I burn, so although it's nice to see the calorie adjustment, I don't do anything with them and therefore it doesn't really matter if it's accurate or not
Why don't you eat the calories back? MFP is designed to calculate a goal for you assuming no activity at all, so that when you do exercise, or even are just very active from daily activity, eating back at least some of those calories ensures that you don't have too large of a deficit.
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My Apple Watch is also connected but if I hit around 8000 steps I get a 55 calorie or so adjustment. I wonder why they differ so greatly.0
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Your Garmin adjustment is for the difference between your anticipated activity level and your actual activity level.
So for example I have my MFP account set to Lightly Active which accounts for around 5000 steps before I start to receive a positive calorie adjustment. Even if for some reason I don't walk to/from work, I tend to hit at least 4000 steps per day so this means my base calories are about correct even for a normal inactive day.
On an active day, I would walk 3km to work, 3 km back + approximately 4000 incidental steps for the day. Even when I don't walk at a fast pace that's about an extra 300 calories burned over my day before I go running, do some cardio or some strength training.
If I didn't eat them that would put me in an 800 calorie deficit instead of the 500 calorie deficit I want to be at, and I would be losing weight too quickly.
If you're new to syncing your Garmin for calorie adjustments, try eating 50% back for 4-6 weeks, see how your average weight loss compares to your intended weight loss and adjust as needed.
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I have a garmin as well and it syncs to mfp but it is not giving me any calorie adjustment:(0
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My Apple Watch is also connected but if I hit around 8000 steps I get a 55 calorie or so adjustment. I wonder why they differ so greatly.
What is your MFP Activity Level set at? If it is above Sedentary/Not Very Active, most of the Calories from those steps may already be accounted for in your MFP Calorie goal. Also, how aggressive is your weekly loss rate? If you chose two pounds per week, your deficit (1000 Cals/day for 2lb. loss/week) may affect the adjustment. Did you do and record purposeful exercise on your Apple Watch? If so, some of the Calories from the steps may be reduced because of the additional Calories earned from logged exercise.1 -
I just got an upgrade on my Garmin, I am getting a higher adjustment now the I have OHR but having thought about it, it probably makes sense. I vacuum every. single. day. because I live with three cats and then there's other housework stuff. On a doing stuff round the house heavy day but with few steps because I'm not striding down the street I get about 200 calories. On a lazy day with 300 steps I got about 50 calories. So to me it's looking like it might actually be sensible and would explain why I often feel lacklustre, I had reduced my NEAT because i wasn't eating quite enough.
All that said, start with eating some of those calories back and adjust as necessary.2 -
My Apple Watch is also connected but if I hit around 8000 steps I get a 55 calorie or so adjustment. I wonder why they differ so greatly.
What is your MFP Activity Level set at? If it is above Sedentary/Not Very Active, most of the Calories from those steps may already be accounted for in your MFP Calorie goal. Also, how aggressive is your weekly loss rate? If you chose two pounds per week, your deficit (1000 Cals/day for 2lb. loss/week) may affect the adjustment. Did you do and record purposeful exercise on your Apple Watch? If so, some of the Calories from the steps may be reduced because of the additional Calories earned from logged exercise.
Nope. It doesn't matter what you pick as your activity level, when MFP and Garmin talk to each other they adjust on the basis of what you've told them. And if you have negative adjustments enabled then if you're under your stated activity level it will take calories away. But really if you have a tracker you should just have it set to sedentary.1 -
My Apple Watch is also connected but if I hit around 8000 steps I get a 55 calorie or so adjustment. I wonder why they differ so greatly.
That sounds like way too few. In fact, unless you have your activity level set to active then it is definitely too few. For most people that would at least be into the 200+ calories.0 -
WinoGelato wrote: »@jennydelgado09: The question I have for you is: are you thinking of eating the calories that you earn through exercise? I, myself, don't eat the calories that I burn, so although it's nice to see the calorie adjustment, I don't do anything with them and therefore it doesn't really matter if it's accurate or not
Why don't you eat the calories back? MFP is designed to calculate a goal for you assuming no activity at all, so that when you do exercise, or even are just very active from daily activity, eating back at least some of those calories ensures that you don't have too large of a deficit.
I'm currently working with a dietician and she created a food plan based on 1700-1800 cals. When I noticed that MFP was making a calorie adjustment based on my daily activity, I asked her if I should be eating these extra calories either in part or all. She told me that I didn't need to eat those calories, but if I felt I needed the calories after exercise, I could take an extra snack of 100-200 cals.1 -
I have a fitbit. My active on MFP is set to sedentary due to a desk job. Usually it takes about 3,500 steps to get any calories added to my MFP. The only time I eat any exercise calories back is if I am hungry otherwise I leave them there. I found that I need those calorie for 2 days after weight lifting. I am starving. I recently just started and I hope the day 2 hunger goes away.0
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WinoGelato wrote: »@jennydelgado09: The question I have for you is: are you thinking of eating the calories that you earn through exercise? I, myself, don't eat the calories that I burn, so although it's nice to see the calorie adjustment, I don't do anything with them and therefore it doesn't really matter if it's accurate or not
Why don't you eat the calories back? MFP is designed to calculate a goal for you assuming no activity at all, so that when you do exercise, or even are just very active from daily activity, eating back at least some of those calories ensures that you don't have too large of a deficit.
I'm currently working with a dietician and she created a food plan based on 1700-1800 cals. When I noticed that MFP was making a calorie adjustment based on my daily activity, I asked her if I should be eating these extra calories either in part or all. She told me that I didn't need to eat those calories, but if I felt I needed the calories after exercise, I could take an extra snack of 100-200 cals.
Aahhh - you are using an outside source for your calorie allotment. That's different from most MFP users. People with settings from MFP get a calorie allotment BEFORE exercise (based on activity level).......so eating back exercise calories is how this website is designed. This is why activity trackers synced to MFP give you earned calories when you go over your stated activity level.
OP - this seems generous. Sedentary is under 5,000 so you should double check the setting on your device.
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WinoGelato wrote: »@jennydelgado09: The question I have for you is: are you thinking of eating the calories that you earn through exercise? I, myself, don't eat the calories that I burn, so although it's nice to see the calorie adjustment, I don't do anything with them and therefore it doesn't really matter if it's accurate or not
Why don't you eat the calories back? MFP is designed to calculate a goal for you assuming no activity at all, so that when you do exercise, or even are just very active from daily activity, eating back at least some of those calories ensures that you don't have too large of a deficit.
I'm currently working with a dietician and she created a food plan based on 1700-1800 cals. When I noticed that MFP was making a calorie adjustment based on my daily activity, I asked her if I should be eating these extra calories either in part or all. She told me that I didn't need to eat those calories, but if I felt I needed the calories after exercise, I could take an extra snack of 100-200 cals.
Aahhh - you are using an outside source for your calorie allotment. That's different from most MFP users. People with settings from MFP get a calorie allotment BEFORE exercise (based on activity level).......so eating back exercise calories is how this website is designed. This is why activity trackers synced to MFP give you earned calories when you go over your stated activity level.
OP - this seems generous. Sedentary is under 5,000 so you should double check the setting on your device.
It is set at sedentary. Should I change my activity level? I'm on my butt the majority of the day but i workout 4 days a week and starting next week I'll be working out 7 days a week with 2x a day 4-5 days. I'm adding more weightlifting and starting yoga. (Faster Weightloss not being the focus but would be nice lol. Trying to get stronger and more flexible, i pop and crack too much lol)0 -
jennydelgado09 wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »@jennydelgado09: The question I have for you is: are you thinking of eating the calories that you earn through exercise? I, myself, don't eat the calories that I burn, so although it's nice to see the calorie adjustment, I don't do anything with them and therefore it doesn't really matter if it's accurate or not
Why don't you eat the calories back? MFP is designed to calculate a goal for you assuming no activity at all, so that when you do exercise, or even are just very active from daily activity, eating back at least some of those calories ensures that you don't have too large of a deficit.
I'm currently working with a dietician and she created a food plan based on 1700-1800 cals. When I noticed that MFP was making a calorie adjustment based on my daily activity, I asked her if I should be eating these extra calories either in part or all. She told me that I didn't need to eat those calories, but if I felt I needed the calories after exercise, I could take an extra snack of 100-200 cals.
Aahhh - you are using an outside source for your calorie allotment. That's different from most MFP users. People with settings from MFP get a calorie allotment BEFORE exercise (based on activity level).......so eating back exercise calories is how this website is designed. This is why activity trackers synced to MFP give you earned calories when you go over your stated activity level.
OP - this seems generous. Sedentary is under 5,000 so you should double check the setting on your device.
It is set at sedentary. Should I change my activity level? I'm on my butt the majority of the day but i workout 4 days a week and starting next week I'll be working out 7 days a week with 2x a day 4-5 days. I'm adding more weightlifting and starting yoga. (Faster Weightloss not being the focus but would be nice lol. Trying to get stronger and more flexible, i pop and crack too much lol)
Workouts are a separate thing from activity level (in MFP). If you are set at sedentary, doing workouts (but not logging them).....then the additional calories make sense. If you bump your activity level up you will get more calories (and adjustments will be smaller).0 -
I absolutely do. I did 19,000 steps yesterday and was starving at dinnertime. Those extra calories come in handy.2
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VintageFeline wrote: »My Apple Watch is also connected but if I hit around 8000 steps I get a 55 calorie or so adjustment. I wonder why they differ so greatly.
What is your MFP Activity Level set at? If it is above Sedentary/Not Very Active, most of the Calories from those steps may already be accounted for in your MFP Calorie goal. Also, how aggressive is your weekly loss rate? If you chose two pounds per week, your deficit (1000 Cals/day for 2lb. loss/week) may affect the adjustment. Did you do and record purposeful exercise on your Apple Watch? If so, some of the Calories from the steps may be reduced because of the additional Calories earned from logged exercise.
Nope. It doesn't matter what you pick as your activity level, when MFP and Garmin talk to each other they adjust on the basis of what you've told them. And if you have negative adjustments enabled then if you're under your stated activity level it will take calories away. But really if you have a tracker you should just have it set to sedentary.
While it doesn't matter, he is saying it will impact the calorie adjustment, which is why individuals may differ. If you are set at sedentary and have an active day, you will get a large adjustment. But if you are already set at active, your adjustment will be much smaller. So two people on here can't really compare their adjustments without considering activity level, because that may be a big part of the difference. I think that is what he is trying to convey.2 -
gracejks01 wrote: »I have a garmin as well and it syncs to mfp but it is not giving me any calorie adjustment:(
i HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM! AH! its driving me crazy... i have even uninstalled, disconnected, restarted and nothing is showing my burned calories anymore wont even register steps... i am so peeved because it worked perfect for 2 straight days. Anyone know how to fix this step by step?
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jennydelgado09 wrote: »Do you include steps into your calorie adjustments? Mfp is connected to my garmin and it gives me calorie adjustments for steps taken plus my exercise calories. But I really don't think steps throughout the day should count.
Like yesterday I had a little under 3000 steps(don't walk much at work and didn't workout yesterday) but gave me a calorie adjustment of about 240 calories. That seems like a lot for so little walking.
So wanted to see if others count their steps. And I'm talking about so little steps, just normal walking. Not if you're going out of your way to get 10,000 steps or so. Then I get you would count that.
Even with activity level setting of 'sedentary' that no of 240 for 3000 steps seems very wrong. I had a similar issue when i synced google fit steps with mfp. So i removed the sync.
Clearly, your activity is just being logged as exercise without taking activity level into account at all. To confirm this, change mfp activity level to the highest setting and walk very few steps tomorrow as well. If you still see a similar number (instead of a big negative), something is wrong.0 -
VintageFeline wrote: »My Apple Watch is also connected but if I hit around 8000 steps I get a 55 calorie or so adjustment. I wonder why they differ so greatly.
That sounds like way too few. In fact, unless you have your activity level set to active then it is definitely too few. For most people that would at least be into the 200+ calories.
If her MFP activity level is lightly active or active, that would account for the difference. My adjustment from Garmin is much bigger when I’m set to sedentary than when I’m set to active. Though my active calorie goal is higher as well.
For me, I’m consistent with my activity and between the two, it’s a wash—they’re pretty much the same. Active with higher starting calorie goal and less adjustment for my steps or sedentary with a lower starting calorie goal and more adjustment for my steps. I also have negative calorie adjustments enabled, just in case.0
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