Does my exercise/calories seem correct?

Options
leeanneeamer
leeanneeamer Posts: 10 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hey everyone! Just looking for some input if this makes sense... Or do I need to adjust my settings. I just recently synced my fitbit to the MFP to help with tracking exercise. I feel like I am getting way to many calories back. So I am curious if I may need to adjust something.... I do tend to have a higher heart rate even when walking averages around 110. I have only been walking for exercise and of course calorie counting. For example : I can have 1200 cal per day. I walked 18,060 steps for the day. MFP gave me back 1790 in the exercise section. Am I missing something? Does that not seem like alot of calories to get back for only waking 18 thousand steps. Sorry any suggestions or input welcome. I am new the MFP. Thank you!
«1

Replies

  • Leannep2201
    Leannep2201 Posts: 441 Member
    Options
    I’ve had the same issue! I’ve only just bought a fitbit and synced it to MFP, and I regularly get back 600-1,200 calories (steps average anywhere between 8k-14k per day).
    I’m not too sure what to do either... someone suggested giving my Fitbit time to “learn” about me (a couple of weeks or so), so I’m doing that. In the meantime, I’m not eating the extra calories, or only eating 1-200 of them on the occasional day, and watching the scale to see what happens.
  • Redordeadhead
    Redordeadhead Posts: 1,188 Member
    Options
    How tall are you and what is your current weight? Which activity level did you select on MFP (sedentary, lightly active etc.)?
  • kpsyche
    kpsyche Posts: 345 Member
    Options
    I log my fitbit calories manually because I don't trust it :D First, fitbit reports gross calories burned and not net calories. So, for example, if I did 1 hour of exercise the fitbit records the calories I'd have burnt doing nothing (BMR) plus the calories attributable to just the exercise. So, I manually subtract my BMR/minute from whatever fitbit says I burnt and manually enter that into MFP. It's a PITA that could be fixed with a fitbit setting to get it to show net calories instead of gross calories.

    Maybe syncing with MFP it takes away the BMR but I don't know (if they cannot be bothered with a simple option to show net calories vs gross calories then I don't trust them to sync properly either. Fitbit also won't add the simple option of showing energy in international units either -- i.e. kilojoules -- so I think their programmers are just lazy).

    Google for gross vs net calories
  • leeanneeamer
    leeanneeamer Posts: 10 Member
    Options
    Leannep2201 wrote: »
    I’ve had the same issue! I’ve only just bought a fitbit and synced it to MFP, and I regularly get back 600-1,200 calories (steps average anywhere between 8k-14k per day).
    I’m not too sure what to do either... someone suggested giving my Fitbit time to “learn” about me (a couple of weeks or so), so I’m doing that. In the meantime, I’m not eating the extra calories, or only eating 1-200 of them on the occasional day, and watching the scale to see what happens.

    I am the exact same way. Because I am unsure if it is right. I just don't touch the calories given back lol. I have used a fitbit for over a year now. So it should know me lol. But maybe now that I synced the two it will take some time. My husband lost soooooop much weight (55lbs) and he stopped losing for awhile to find out he wasn't eating enough. So I just want to make sure I am not doing something wrong. Lol
  • leeanneeamer
    leeanneeamer Posts: 10 Member
    Options
    Redordeadhead wrote: »
    How tall are you and what is your current weight? Which activity level did you select on MFP (sedentary, lightly active etc.)?
    Thank you so much h for your help. I am 5'1 and weigh 199!! Hence why I am working on losing weight. My exercise is set to lightly active in MFP. I do walk everyday and my heart rate is very high usually peaks sometimes 120 or so with walking 3km. So maybe that is why I get so many calories back for walking due to burning more calories from heart rate etc... Maybe it will go down as I get more fit and lose weight.
    I never eat over my 1200 allowed calories for the day and do walk everyday.. I just don't want to under eat. So trying to figure out. I have read s so much about it and it seems everyone or mostly everyone says MFP is a complex system and is accurate... But I am getting back like 1600 calories for walking only 18000 steps..... And my daily allowance is only 1200 without exercise so I am just so confused lol.
  • dondotwinks
    dondotwinks Posts: 93 Member
    Options
    The count does sound quite high. I would eat back at least 500-600 of those, for a few weeks and then evaluate. I'm 51, 5ft 1 and 143lbs for 18k steps i get a little over 600 added from my Apple watch.You are younger & heavier so would burn more than i do.
  • Jadub729
    Jadub729 Posts: 135 Member
    Options
    I wouldn't consider 18k steps a day as lightly active, I'd say at the very least moderately active. Sedentary and light active would be closer to 5k per day or certainly under 10k
  • Jadub729
    Jadub729 Posts: 135 Member
    Options
    at 17k steps I got 1100 exercise calories + my 1200. so 2300 total. I ate 1525 so still had 792 remaining. I am 170lbs 5'2
  • PiperGirl08
    PiperGirl08 Posts: 134 Member
    Options
    leeanneeamer wrote: »
    Hey everyone! Just looking for some input if this makes sense... Or do I need to adjust my settings. I just recently synced my fitbit to the MFP to help with tracking exercise. I feel like I am getting way to many calories back. So I am curious if I may need to adjust something.... I do tend to have a higher heart rate even when walking averages around 110. I have only been walking for exercise and of course calorie counting. For example : I can have 1200 cal per day. I walked 18,060 steps for the day. MFP gave me back 1790 in the exercise section. Am I missing something? Does that not seem like alot of calories to get back for only waking 18 thousand steps. Sorry any suggestions or input welcome. I am new the MFP. Thank you!

    Fitbit did this with me, too. It’s wrong by a long shot. Polar and garmin are more reasonable.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,345 Member
    Options
    leeanneeamer wrote: »
    Redordeadhead wrote: »
    How tall are you and what is your current weight? Which activity level did you select on MFP (sedentary, lightly active etc.)?
    Thank you so much h for your help. I am 5'1 and weigh 199!! Hence why I am working on losing weight. My exercise is set to lightly active in MFP. I do walk everyday and my heart rate is very high usually peaks sometimes 120 or so with walking 3km. So maybe that is why I get so many calories back for walking due to burning more calories from heart rate etc... Maybe it will go down as I get more fit and lose weight.
    I never eat over my 1200 allowed calories for the day and do walk everyday.. I just don't want to under eat. So trying to figure out. I have read s so much about it and it seems everyone or mostly everyone says MFP is a complex system and is accurate... But I am getting back like 1600 calories for walking only 18000 steps..... And my daily allowance is only 1200 without exercise so I am just so confused lol.

    So are you saying you're being given 1200 + 1600 cals? 2600 cals total?
    You need to eat some exercise calories back or you will crash and burn. This is how MFP works, you get extra cals to eat when you workout because they have already figured out your cals to lose without exercise.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,345 Member
    Options
    Jadub729 wrote: »
    at 17k steps I got 1100 exercise calories + my 1200. so 2300 total. I ate 1525 so still had 792 remaining. I am 170lbs 5'2

    At your weight its still a reasonable number and probably you could lose eating most of that. You'll know after a few weeks with how your loss is going if you can trust the numbers. I know I always could trust the fitbit numbers and lost accordingly.
  • Sassafras106
    Sassafras106 Posts: 73 Member
    Options
    I started at almost the exact same stats as you and I eat back almost all of what my Fitbit gives me. You should be fine eating your extra calories
  • leeanneeamer
    leeanneeamer Posts: 10 Member
    Options
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    leeanneeamer wrote: »
    Hey everyone! Just looking for some input if this makes sense... Or do I need to adjust my settings. I just recently synced my fitbit to the MFP to help with tracking exercise. I feel like I am getting way to many calories back. So I am curious if I may need to adjust something.... I do tend to have a higher heart rate even when walking averages around 110. I have only been walking for exercise and of course calorie counting. For example : I can have 1200 cal per day. I walked 18,060 steps for the day. MFP gave me back 1790 in the exercise section. Am I missing something? Does that not seem like alot of calories to get back for only waking 18 thousand steps. Sorry any suggestions or input welcome. I am new the MFP. Thank you!

    "only walking 18K steps" is close to about 10 miles of walking...I wouldn't call it "only." 18K steps is highly active.

    https://www.10000steps.org.au/articles/counting-steps/

    Is it giving you 1790 over your 1200 or is your new calorie target 1790? If it's the latter, that seems totally reasonable to me.

    Ohhhhhhh you know what. That is soooo helpful. I put my active level to the lowest in MFP because I sit at a desk all day. BUT I do walk a ton especially recently so maybe I should increase my setting to more active?
  • leeanneeamer
    leeanneeamer Posts: 10 Member
    Options
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    leeanneeamer wrote: »
    Redordeadhead wrote: »
    How tall are you and what is your current weight? Which activity level did you select on MFP (sedentary, lightly active etc.)?
    Thank you so much h for your help. I am 5'1 and weigh 199!! Hence why I am working on losing weight. My exercise is set to lightly active in MFP. I do walk everyday and my heart rate is very high usually peaks sometimes 120 or so with walking 3km. So maybe that is why I get so many calories back for walking due to burning more calories from heart rate etc... Maybe it will go down as I get more fit and lose weight.
    I never eat over my 1200 allowed calories for the day and do walk everyday.. I just don't want to under eat. So trying to figure out. I have read s so much about it and it seems everyone or mostly everyone says MFP is a complex system and is accurate... But I am getting back like 1600 calories for walking only 18000 steps..... And my daily allowance is only 1200 without exercise so I am just so confused lol.

    Something to keep in mind here...this is one of the pitfalls of a HRM to estimate energy expenditure. HRMs assume an average/reasonable level of fitness...if your HR is higher than average, you're going to get inflated numbers...if it's lower than average, you're going to get deflated numbers.

    Your HR is only loosely correlated with your energy expenditure and in a HRM, it's used as a proxy to estimate what level of VO2 max you are working. As your HR comes down and normalizes to be more average, you will get less calories expended on your device...but at the same weight, you're actually burning the same calories...but your lower HR will be a better estimate considering that's what a HRM is going to assume in it's algorithm.

    Just as an example, if I have a couple cups of coffee before a morning ride, my HR will be near 150...I do that exact same ride later in the day and my HR is around 135-140. My bike computer will give me more calories burned after the coffee because my HR was higher...in reality I didn't actually burn more calories though.

    THIS WAS SOOOOOOOOOOOO HELPFUL. Thank you soooo much!!!!!!! That makes perfect sense and it's clearly accurate as I successfully lost 5.6lbs thus week
  • leeanneeamer
    leeanneeamer Posts: 10 Member
    Options
    Leannep2201 wrote: »
    I’ve had the same issue! I’ve only just bought a fitbit and synced it to MFP, and I regularly get back 600-1,200 calories (steps average anywhere between 8k-14k per day).
    I’m not too sure what to do either... someone suggested giving my Fitbit time to “learn” about me (a couple of weeks or so), so I’m doing that. In the meantime, I’m not eating the extra calories, or only eating 1-200 of them on the occasional day, and watching the scale to see what happens.

    Good news!!!! I have not eaten my calories burned... Just the 1200 alloted and successfully lost 5.6 lbs this week
  • leeanneeamer
    leeanneeamer Posts: 10 Member
    Options
    Jadub729 wrote: »
    I wouldn't consider 18k steps a day as lightly active, I'd say at the very least moderately active. Sedentary and light active would be closer to 5k per day or certainly under 10k

    You are so right... I put lightly because I work at a desk all day.... Giving about my average day. So now that I am walking every night about 5km or so... I just decibels change to at least moderate active. I never thought I'd this until a few people suggested it... Everyone had been so so helpful. So appreciative
  • leeanneeamer
    leeanneeamer Posts: 10 Member
    Options
    LivingtheLeanDream wrote: »
    Jadub729 wrote: »
    at 17k steps I got 1100 exercise calories + my 1200. so 2300 total. I ate 1525 so still had 792 remaining. I am 170lbs 5'2

    At your weight its still a reasonable number and probably you could lose eating most of that. You'll know after a few weeks with how your loss is going if you can trust the numbers. I know I always could trust the fitbit numbers and lost accordingly.

    Thank you so much. You are 100% right. And I did just that and lost 5.6 lbs this week!!!!!!
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    Options
    leeanneeamer wrote: »
    Leannep2201 wrote: »
    I’ve had the same issue! I’ve only just bought a fitbit and synced it to MFP, and I regularly get back 600-1,200 calories (steps average anywhere between 8k-14k per day).
    I’m not too sure what to do either... someone suggested giving my Fitbit time to “learn” about me (a couple of weeks or so), so I’m doing that. In the meantime, I’m not eating the extra calories, or only eating 1-200 of them on the occasional day, and watching the scale to see what happens.

    I am the exact same way. Because I am unsure if it is right. I just don't touch the calories given back lol. I have used a fitbit for over a year now. So it should know me lol. But maybe now that I synced the two it will take some time. My husband lost soooooop much weight (55lbs) and he stopped losing for awhile to find out he wasn't eating enough. So I just want to make sure I am not doing something wrong. Lol

    not eating enough is not going to stop weight loss. if that were the case anorexics and those starving in third world countries wouldnt continue to lose.

Categories