Woah, why is Fitbit calorie adjustment so high ?

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RedheadedPrincess14
RedheadedPrincess14 Posts: 415 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
On my garmin devic, about 3k steps relatively quickly would give me about 60 calories whereas with my new Fitbit charge I'm getting 180 for the same number of steps. That must be off. Does this have something to do with the heart rate monitor? I have been cooking all day and it's been saying "fat burning mode," even though I really haven't gotten that many steps
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  • RedheadedPrincess14
    RedheadedPrincess14 Posts: 415 Member
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    CyberTone wrote: »
    When the Fitbit is a new account, it will use variables for a general population with your stats. As the days and weeks progress, Fitbit algorithms will start using running averages for your specific account, so in effect it "learns" about you and your habits so the estimated Calorie burn will become a better estimate.

    And yes, Fitbit accelerometers and heart rate monitors factor into the Calorie estimate. I log food accurately in MFP and eat back 100% of my Fitbit Calorie adjustment and have had no trouble losing and maintaining.

    I'm really not entirely sure what you mean by the variables but thanks! I'm glad it will get better :)
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    Cooking can be misleading though, you can get steps and an elevated heart rate for stirring something vigorously or grating cheese and your calorie burn will get all messed up for it.

    I try to use the hand my fitbit isn't on to do that stuff, or I take it off. Yesterday I was baking for 3 hours and somehow got 2000 steps, which seems pretty excessive.
  • RedheadedPrincess14
    RedheadedPrincess14 Posts: 415 Member
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    Francl27 wrote: »
    Cooking can be misleading though, you can get steps and an elevated heart rate for stirring something vigorously or grating cheese and your calorie burn will get all messed up for it.

    I try to use the hand my fitbit isn't on to do that stuff, or I take it off. Yesterday I was baking for 3 hours and somehow got 2000 steps, which seems pretty excessive.

    It wasn't giving me steps because I wear it on my non dominant hand but I think it ups calories for just heart rate because I only did a couple light walks. It gave me 7000k steps (which makes sense) but the calorie burn was like 600. Never seen that on my garmin
  • Lesscookies1
    Lesscookies1 Posts: 250 Member
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    The burns does seem awfully high I've noticed that on my Fitbit as well. I think of it more as an estimate versus actual real calorie burns.
  • ladyhusker39
    ladyhusker39 Posts: 1,406 Member
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    I had a Charge HR and it was very accurate. I got a new Alta HR and it's very high on both steps and calories. I've had it for about 3 months and it hasn't gotten any more accurate. No idea why. I've been on an extended diet break, but I'm starting back after the first of the year to work on a few more pounds. I'll switch back to my old Charge HR when I do that. My Alta HR is basically an expensive plastic watch.
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,728 Member
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    Both the Garmin and Fitbit algorithms overweight HR in daily calorie allowance(for many people)
  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
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    stanmann571 wrote: »
    Both the Garmin and Fitbit algorithms overweight HR in daily calorie allowance(for many people)
    Myself included! If I ate what my device said I burned each day I'd probably be gaining weight at around a lb a week.
  • jeichelb83
    jeichelb83 Posts: 172 Member
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    Same here. That's why I don't sync it to MFP (well that and because it drops all the time). I only use my Fitbit during dedicated exercise workouts and only log half of the calorie burn it gives me.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    I hear that Fitbit can take a while to adjust to you as well, so I'd give it some time and make sure all your stats are accurate in the app.

    For 7000 steps I usually get a 200-300 adjustment (from sedentary). I have the charge HR and it's been pretty accurate to me (if anything, I should have gained more weight back than I did if I believed the numbers!).
  • TorStar80
    TorStar80 Posts: 252 Member
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    I got 11 steps in while sleeping! Yay me ;) Fitbit Alta HR here.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    Francl27 wrote: »

    For 7000 steps I usually get a 200-300 adjustment (from sedentary). I have the charge HR and it's been pretty accurate to me (if anything, I should have gained more weight back than I did if I believed the numbers!).

    Same numbers here, so far today I'm at 7,318 steps and have had an extra 248 calories imported over. Also set at sedentary.

    I have the fitbit Charge2, upgraded from the regular Alta (no HR monitor) a couple of months ago, and my TDEE and calorie adjustments remained the same. I didn't see any upswings or downswings in numbers when changing trackers. I was expecting massive calorie adjustments for the first couple weeks, while the charge2 was "adjusting", but it never happened.

  • Morrighan_632017
    Morrighan_632017 Posts: 77 Member
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    I'm actually considering whether it's worth upgrading my Fitbit One to an HR model but from the comments I'm wondering if it's actually worth it if the information HR modles give isn't accurate or reliable. Would any of you recommend someone get a Charge HR/ Alta HR?
  • RedheadedPrincess14
    RedheadedPrincess14 Posts: 415 Member
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    Christine_72 wrote: »
    Francl27 wrote: »

    For 7000 steps I usually get a 200-300 adjustment (from sedentary). I have the charge HR and it's been pretty accurate to me (if anything, I should have gained more weight back than I did if I believed the numbers!).

    Same numbers here, so far today I'm at 7,318 steps and have had an extra 248 calories imported over. Also set at sedentary.

    I have the fitbit Charge2, upgraded from the regular Alta (no HR monitor) a couple of months ago, and my TDEE and calorie adjustments remained the same. I didn't see any upswings or downswings in numbers when changing trackers. I was expecting massive calorie adjustments for the first couple weeks, while the charge2 was "adjusting", but it never happened.
    I got 17k steps today and it says a burn of 800 calories. That seems insane
  • emjay6x3
    emjay6x3 Posts: 213 Member
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    TorStar80 wrote: »
    I got 11 steps in while sleeping! Yay me ;) Fitbit Alta HR here.

    I love when I wake up and I've already taken steps overnight! LOL.
  • emjay6x3
    emjay6x3 Posts: 213 Member
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    My FitBit tells me I've burned less calories than my Polar HR monitor did when I was working out. It also tells me my heart rate is lower while working out than the Polar did. It's interesting to me to see the amount of calories I burn "just being alive," however it threw me off the first week or so. I finally just decided to unsync (is that a word?) MFP and FitBit...
  • Raven_Hawk
    Raven_Hawk Posts: 22 Member
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    Yup it definitely takes into account HR. If I get a fright I get credit for exercise. :D As much as I enjoy seeing that credit amount I never call upon it to consume more. I tend to do roughly the same type & amount of exercise per day so I just eat the amount of carbs/calories that I have set as my target.
  • ashharris424
    ashharris424 Posts: 68 Member
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    Your Fitbit will take a while to figure out what your real "zones" are. Once it knows what your average resting rate is, it will factor your "zones" more accurately. Right now it's basing it strictly off the average for your height and weight. And Fitbit doesn't take your BMR into account. It estimates how many actual calories you burn in a day, not just from exercise. You could literally lie in bed all day with your Fitbit on and it will still say you burned "x" amount of calories. For instance, I've worn mine for about half the day today while lying on the couch with the flu. It has only counted 300 steps but gave me a 1500 calorie burn. Give it about 3-4 weeks and it should be way more accurate.

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