How much to trust Fitbit adjustment?

dwulet130
dwulet130 Posts: 108 Member
in Getting Started
I've only been tracking for two weeks - one week to see what I eat, one week reduced calories - and I keep overeating an average of 100 extra calories a day. My fitbit says I'm burning an extra 300-400, but that doesn't seem accurate (I get 12,000 steps, but my only real exercise is a 4 mile walk per day).

I'm 5'7", 142 lbs. MFP says maintenance is 1750 calories, so I'm aiming for 1500 and eating 1600. I know the 100 calories won't kill me, but 1/2 lb/week is so slow I don't want to make it any worse.

Thanks for any input!

Replies

  • fuzzylop72
    fuzzylop72 Posts: 651 Member
    I'd trust it until you have 4-6 weeks of data to know if you need to adjust.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    MFP is adjusting it's estimate of daily burn - which is based on your guess of 4 rough levels for daily non-exercise activity level.

    Did you put down Sedentary?

    If so, that tops out at about 4000 steps - so you are obviously way above Sedentary - so that adjustment seems correct.

    Only improvement would be confirming the distance Fitbit says those steps caused - since Fitbit is using distance and time to calculate calorie burn.

    Walk a known distance (1 mile) at average daily pace (not grocery store shuffle, not exercise pace), and see what Fitbit reports.
    May have to do math to change stride length setting to improve it.

  • dwulet130
    dwulet130 Posts: 108 Member
    When I had sedentary it was a 500-600 calorie adjustment, so I changed to lightly active since I at least try to get up from my desk periodically. I have measured my steps/mile so at least that should be fairly accurate.

    I guess I'll just continue ignoring the negative calories and see what happened.

    Thanks again!
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    edited April 2018
    So you mean you get 12K steps from normal daily activity - and then you get in a 4 mile walk?

    Or the 4 miles is part of the 12K steps?

    If the latter is the case - it's adjusting for both daily activity and exercise.

    Take the calories, as it's not a likely inflated database entry.

    You aren't logging the walking on MFP right, since already logged more accurately by Fitbit?

    I'd suggest not ignoring a tool trying to help you.

    MFP is trying to teach a lesson regarding weight control.
    You do more you eat more.
    You do less you eat less.

    In a diet a tad less in either case.

    It covers that resulting math just fine.
  • mutantspicy
    mutantspicy Posts: 624 Member
    Just out of curiosity does anyone know the step threshold for Lightly active. How many steps before its supposed to give you make up calories?
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Seems to be in the 6K-8K range that you start getting adjustments up to match the increased burn.

    I've read the reports of the light nursing folks (office nurses) being around 8.
    The hospital ER nursing around 6.

    YMMV - literally in this sense, ha!
  • mutantspicy
    mutantspicy Posts: 624 Member
    heybales wrote: »
    Seems to be in the 6K-8K range that you start getting adjustments up to match the increased burn.

    I've read the reports of the light nursing folks (office nurses) being around 8.
    The hospital ER nursing around 6.

    YMMV - literally in this sense, ha!

    Thanks I was thinking it should be in this range. This tells my S Health isn't totally working correctly. It basically starts giving me steps right from the very beginning. At lunch I was 5000 steps or so, it was already giving me a little over 200 workout cals. I don't know if this is specific to the S health import, or what. I wonder if I need to turn negative adjustments on? Would this make a difference?
  • bfanny
    bfanny Posts: 440 Member
    If you choose Sedentary and the lowest amount of cals to consume (1,200) does it make sense to trust the difference and be able to eat more of what you earn???
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
    bfanny wrote: »
    If you choose Sedentary and the lowest amount of cals to consume (1,200) does it make sense to trust the difference and be able to eat more of what you earn???

    It all should even out in the end - but I would question if you really are Sedentary, and if the lowest amount of cals to consume is actually an appropriate goal for the amount of weight you have to lose.

    Often people choose the extremes thinking faster is better - but it may not always work out for the best.

    Additionally, if you choose Sedentary when you really aren't, the exercise adjustments tend to be larger and people have an inherent tendency to distrust the data. I find that choosing an activity level that is more representative of my actual activity, which for me averaging 12K steps per day is Active, gives me a higher baseline of calories to begin with and the adjustments are more consistent with my purposeful exercise. Enabling negative calorie adjustments also helps keep things in check, on days where I really am more sedentary (Illness, long road trips, all day meetings, etc). However if you've chosen a calorie target of 1200, the negative calorie adjustments won't do you much good.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    mutantspicy wrote: »
    heybales wrote: »
    Seems to be in the 6K-8K range that you start getting adjustments up to match the increased burn.

    I've read the reports of the light nursing folks (office nurses) being around 8.
    The hospital ER nursing around 6.

    YMMV - literally in this sense, ha!

    Thanks I was thinking it should be in this range. This tells my S Health isn't totally working correctly. It basically starts giving me steps right from the very beginning. At lunch I was 5000 steps or so, it was already giving me a little over 200 workout cals. I don't know if this is specific to the S health import, or what. I wonder if I need to turn negative adjustments on? Would this make a difference?

    Negative only has an effect when the 3rd party system sends in a daily calorie burn lower than MFP thought it would be.

    Now, upon waking up this normally should happen.

    Device has you burning at BMR rate and on first sync device tells that account, and that account tells MFP.
    But MFP has you at BMR x 1.25 or 1.4 or higher activity level.
    So negative calories should occur.

    200 sounds about right for me hitting 5000 steps, except my sedentary desk job means it's later in the day.
    And when I hit it, it ain't from shuffle steps with barely any distance around an office, but some purposeful walking out and about.
  • bfanny
    bfanny Posts: 440 Member
    edited April 2018

    It all should even out in the end - but I would question if you really are Sedentary, and if the lowest amount of cals to consume is actually an appropriate goal for the amount of weight you have to lose.

    Often people choose the extremes thinking faster is better - but it may not always work out for the best.

    Additionally, if you choose Sedentary when you really aren't, the exercise adjustments tend to be larger and people have an inherent tendency to distrust the data. I find that choosing an activity level that is more representative of my actual activity, which for me averaging 12K steps per day is Active, gives me a higher baseline of calories to begin with and the adjustments are more consistent with my purposeful exercise. Enabling negative calorie adjustments also helps keep things in check, on days where I really am more sedentary (Illness, long road trips, all day meetings, etc). However if you've chosen a calorie target of 1200, the negative calorie adjustments won't do you much good.[/quote]

    That makes sense, no wonder my Fitbit gives me less daily cals than MFP at Sedentary...My steps are 12k + every day...
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    mutantspicy wrote: »
    Just out of curiosity does anyone know the step threshold for Lightly active. How many steps before its supposed to give you make up calories?

    Its around 7k steps
  • Jessiedawn3
    Jessiedawn3 Posts: 38 Member
    I have mine set to lightly active and I will start seeing a positive adjustment right around 5k steps.

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