Fitbit calorie adjustments- yay or nay?

Syoung827
Syoung827 Posts: 3 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
I am having trouble deciding if having my Fitbit connected to MFP and adjusting my calories is good for my weight loss or not. Yesterday, I started with a goal of 1,200 calories, burned 250 in the gym according to Fitbit, but it shows up on MFP as a total calorie adjustment of 600 for the day... I don't mind eating back that 250 from the gym, but what about those calories that I burned unintentionally during the rest of the day? Should I be eating those as well?

Replies

  • glassyo
    glassyo Posts: 7,772 Member
    Unintentional calories burned means you're alive and/or mobile. I think you deserve them. :)
  • jlpeters77
    jlpeters77 Posts: 5 Member
    You can set your profile that you also get negative adjustments from you Fitbit. For example, I skipped my run yesterday and had a marathon session in the office, so MFP deducted 45 calories because my activity level was so low. I think you can take the "600" on active days, if you also take the "-45" from sluggish days!
  • kgirlhart
    kgirlhart Posts: 5,200 Member
    The fitbit adjustment won't match the calories you burned in the gym. The fitbit adjustment is the difference between what mfp expects you to burn throughout the entire day, and what fitbit shows you burned throughout the entire day. If you have mfp set to sedentary and you are in fact active then you will get a pretty high adjustment. In theory you should be eating back all of those calories. If you tell mfp you are sedentary and it expects you to burn XXXX calories per day but you actually burn YYYY then you need to account for those extra calories burned. 1200 is your calorie goal if you do no exercise at all. If you do exercise, or are more active than your stated activity level then you need to eat more than 1200 calories in order to net 1200 calories.
  • CyberTone
    CyberTone Posts: 7,337 Member
    The advice really depends on how accurate you are logging your Calorie Intake. Are you logging all bites, licks, tastes? Do you log all condiments? Do you weigh all solids and use measuring cups and measuring spoons for all liquids with Calories, such as oils? Are you verifying all MFP entries using outside sources, such as package labels, restaurant or manufacturers websites? Do you use the USDA National Nutrient Database as a source for most whole foods?

    https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/search/list

    If you are very comfortable with the accuracy of logging your Calorie Intake (I am - I have been doing all of the above for 4 plus years), then I would say eat back 90 to 100 percent of the Fitbit Calorie Adjustment; I do.

    If you are not very comfortable with the accuracy of logging your Calorie Intake, start by eating back a portion such as 50 to 75 percent of the Fitbit Calorie Adjustment and after 4 to 6 weeks, adjust your eat back percentage based on actual results.

    I would recommend reading through the first three posts in this thread on the MFP Fitbit Users group...

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10098937/faq-syncing-logging-food-exercise-calorie-adjustments-activity-levels-accuracy

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1290-fitbit-users
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    Your body doesn't know the difference between what you intentionally burned and what you unintentionally burned.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    jlpeters77 wrote: »
    You can set your profile that you also get negative adjustments from you Fitbit. For example, I skipped my run yesterday and had a marathon session in the office, so MFP deducted 45 calories because my activity level was so low. I think you can take the "600" on active days, if you also take the "-45" from sluggish days!

    While a good idea, the OP is set to 1200 calories so she would not receive a negative adjustment.

    OP, that 600 calories is what you burned over what MFP perceives to be your maintenance calories. You should be eating at least a portion of them back to fuel your body and keep your overall deficit consistent.
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