WTH: Apple Watch workouts and negative step calorie adjustments

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bcnbuda
bcnbuda Posts: 8 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I see this after each workout recorded through my AW. The calories get added into my diary same as reflected in the AW BUT my exercise diary also shows -470 calories for a step calorie adjustment more than wiping out the workout calories I just “earned” even though my step goal as noted in MFP is 5000 and my exercise ring is closed and my move ring is about 2/3 closed after my workout.

Now, eventually after waiting for an undetermined amount of town the negative calorie adjustment will change to like -65 which “gives back” most but not all of my calories “earned”. What I have observed is that from that point on if I continue getting steps for the day the negative calorie adjustment keeps getting smaller and even will eventually go positive sometimes.

I’m just trying to understand this behavior, especially the temporary -470 calorie step adjustment. Also, is it the movement ring being closed that gets me back those remaining 65 or do caloruez from the step adjustment?

Replies

  • laurenebargar
    laurenebargar Posts: 3,081 Member
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    Whats your activity level set to on MFP?
  • bcnbuda
    bcnbuda Posts: 8 Member
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    Lightly active/sedentary. I have a desk job but trying to exercise at least 30 - 45 minutes 5 times a week and do 5-7,000 steps per day. The AW closes my Move ring at about 6,000 steps. I have my Move calorie goal set to 600 and in MFP I have my step goal set to 5000. Not sure if that effects anything. I set that goal based on my average steps per day from prior months from the Apple Health app. So I’m paying closer attention now to my steps because they are displayed in MFP and trying to increase those but didn’t want to set too ambitious of a goal starting out.
  • bcnbuda
    bcnbuda Posts: 8 Member
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    Sorry...Activity level - Not very active, in other words the lowest level of activity. I called it the wrong thing but the one that equates to sedentary
  • edlanglais5
    edlanglais5 Posts: 172 Member
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    You may consider increasing hr activity level on MFP. Some of the higher levels won’t give you step credit but give you a slightly higher calorie allotment. You may want to try experimenting with a deferent one each day and see which one works.

    Another Eason I suggest this is, even though you have a desk job, the simple fact hat you are attempting to log workouts with a fitness tracker suggests that you are more than sedentary.
  • ryenday
    ryenday Posts: 1,540 Member
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    Yep it’s been screwed up ever since I did the latest Apple Watch update. Nothing like swimming for a couple of hours and seeing a + 750 calorie adjustment for swimming and a -970 adjustment on my steps.

    Not currently a problem for me as I’m trying to lose weight so the Apple Watch/MFP steps disconnect is fine for netting me some invisible deficit, but I’m getting closer to maintenance so I’m trying out some other calorie count/syncs to Apple Watch solutions because MFP and Apple Watch dis synchronization won’t work for me with 300 to 700 calorie discrepancies!!!
  • MelanieCN77
    MelanieCN77 Posts: 4,047 Member
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    Set to sedentary and disable negative calorie adjustments. Allow the AW to pass workout cals through.
  • ryenday
    ryenday Posts: 1,540 Member
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    MelanieCN77 wrote: »
    Set to sedentary and disable negative calorie adjustments. Allow the AW to pass workout cals through.
    Yeah that is what I started doing while I’m losing weight. But once I’m on maintenance that syncs set up totally ignores step calories if you record a workout so it won’t get close to accuracy. Heck guessing my calories would be as useful.

  • MelanieCN77
    MelanieCN77 Posts: 4,047 Member
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    There's a bug in it somewhere. It counts steps and offers a few calories for them until a workout is pushed through and then it dumps those. I'm not particularly active outside of my workouts on any given day so it works for me. It's not perfect but workable. Maybe I burn an extra 40 calories in a day that's not counted? I don't really think 10k steps over a whole day really counts for anything worth eating back though.
  • bcnbuda
    bcnbuda Posts: 8 Member
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    Thanks for the replies. Glad it’s not just me. After submitting this post I did an elliptical workout and I didn’t see the same weird 470 negative calorie adjustment. I still lost 35 or 40 calories at the time of the workout but gained most of them back during the course of the day as my Move ring closed. Since the huge negative deduction “self-corrects” over time I think I’ll remain at sedentary with the negative calorie adjustments because that is the most aggressive “plan” and for the most part I can stay within my net calorie budget that makes me more conscious of my Move goal because I can’t stand to lose any calories ;-)

    Good news is for the most part MFP really helps lose the weight in combination with exercise. 30 or 50 calorie deductions here and there are not that significant. It’s just the -470 calorie adjustments I’m trying to fathom. Since they seem temporary I’m just going to keep telling myself that it will self-correct and not obsess over it. For the most part it’s cool how the AW syncs with MFP.
  • bcnbuda
    bcnbuda Posts: 8 Member
    edited December 2017
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    See, here’s what drives me crazy. I just finished a 30 minute elliptical workout and “earned” 260 calories but what MFP giveth it also taketh away and then some. See the screen shot, but +260 and -470 for a net negative of 210 calories. Now later at some point that -470 will change to some much lesser unknown number of negative or positive step calories such that I get at least most of my workout calories back. But I just wish it wouldn’t do that obviously weird adjustment even temporarily. It should be closer to 1192 Remaining calories instead of 722

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  • edlanglais5
    edlanglais5 Posts: 172 Member
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    ryenday wrote: »
    Yep it’s been screwed up ever since I did the latest Apple Watch update. Nothing like swimming for a couple of hours and seeing a + 750 calorie adjustment for swimming and a -970 adjustment on my steps.

    Not currently a problem for me as I’m trying to lose weight so the Apple Watch/MFP steps disconnect is fine for netting me some invisible deficit, but I’m getting closer to maintenance so I’m trying out some other calorie count/syncs to Apple Watch solutions because MFP and Apple Watch dis synchronization won’t work for me with 300 to 700 calorie discrepancies!!!

    See, I only haven’t done this myself because I don’t want it to log steps during a workout, creating way too may step calories during a 3 mile run. Or does it not log steps when the workout app is on?

  • Michie112g
    Michie112g Posts: 49 Member
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    Same here it got worst with the last AW update
  • MegaMooseEsq
    MegaMooseEsq Posts: 3,118 Member
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    bcnbuda wrote: »
    Thanks for the replies. Glad it’s not just me. After submitting this post I did an elliptical workout and I didn’t see the same weird 470 negative calorie adjustment. I still lost 35 or 40 calories at the time of the workout but gained most of them back during the course of the day as my Move ring closed. Since the huge negative deduction “self-corrects” over time I think I’ll remain at sedentary with the negative calorie adjustments because that is the most aggressive “plan” and for the most part I can stay within my net calorie budget that makes me more conscious of my Move goal because I can’t stand to lose any calories ;-)

    Good news is for the most part MFP really helps lose the weight in combination with exercise. 30 or 50 calorie deductions here and there are not that significant. It’s just the -470 calorie adjustments I’m trying to fathom. Since they seem temporary I’m just going to keep telling myself that it will self-correct and not obsess over it. For the most part it’s cool how the AW syncs with MFP.

    Yeah, I've been experiencing the same "self-correcting" (maybe?) situation probably for a month now, but only when I log a HIIT workout, which I have to enter manually because it doesn't sync (I've been using that for circuit training, probably inaccurately). When I use the run, walk, or indoor bike workouts they sync correctly and I don't get the big negative deduction starting off the day. I remain happy with my overall rate of loss, though, so I try not to stress about it.
  • nowine4me
    nowine4me Posts: 3,985 Member
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    1) Disable negative calories adjustments 2) make sure your MFP activity level is sedentary 3) set your MFP step goal to 5000 ( if that’s your goal)

    The move ring closes at 30 mins, the activity ring closes when you’ve hit your calorie goal. MFP and AW do not play well together.
  • MelanieCN77
    MelanieCN77 Posts: 4,047 Member
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    Set to sedentary, disable negative calorie adjustments, log all workouts. Like I said, you'll probably only be shorted a few dozen cals any given day.
  • citygator
    citygator Posts: 10 Member
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    I really have had almost no issues with the apple watch and MFP. A random day here and there MFP doesnt get my workout from Nike Run Club app or even MapMyHike but that is rare. I almost always run with my phone though and not the watch stand alone.

    I am on sedentary (office job), disabled negative calorie adjustment, log all workouts like Melanie mentioned above. I dont use the net calorie tracking option on MFP though and just do the math in my head throughout the day since I am still trying to lose some weight.
  • MelanieCN77
    MelanieCN77 Posts: 4,047 Member
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    I've had my watch/mfp set like this for 18 months and I achieved my weight loss goal and am maintaining going on 9 months. They are a good combo, and the bugs are not big enough to be a true problem.

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