Apple Watch question

“Launch the MyFitnessPal iPhone app, and visit More > Steps. Select "Apple Watch" as your step source. This choice will use data from both the Apple Watch and the M7/M8 chip in the iPhone through HealthKit to track your steps.”


However, if you log an exercise, your calories for steps will go back to zero. I’ve seen an explanation but still couldn’t comprehend why. MyFitnessPal will track my steps and give me a calorie count... as soon as I log a workout the calories for the steps reset to 0.

Yeah that explanation makes no sense to me. If my watch logs 15,000 steps on Monday I get about 150 calories from MFP/Apple watch sync. If I swim laps for 20 minutes (~150 cals) AND log 15,000 steps on Tuesday I get 150 calories from MFP/Apple Watch sync. If I turn on negative adjustments and swim + steps on Wednesday I get around 60 calories from MFP/Apple Watch sync. (+ 150 for swim and -90 for steps)

Does not compute. I have to use a different app to calculate my calories (FITIV) and don’t bother with MFP for anything other than exporting my calories consumed to that app because the Apple Watch/ MFP sync is a joke.

I gave up on using MFP as designed with my Apple Watch. I use MFP to track my food intake, but I have a spreadsheet that I input my Resting and Active Calories from Apple Health, along with my daily calories eaten to see what my deficit actually is.

I actually think it is a bug with MFP and how it doesn't quite grasp that Apple Watch tracks your daily calorie burn differently than just "steps". I only technically get about 5000-6000 steps most days, but my Move goal is 610 now, but I typically exceed that between intentional exercise and just how I go about my day. Not all of my active calories are going to come from actual "steps" taken. I'm naturally fidgety and any things like cooking in a small kitchen don't get calculated as steps, but I'm moving and burning slightly more calories than sitting like a lump barely moving on the couch. I've found the combination of active and resting calories in Apple Health to be quite accurate for my total caloric burn each day.

flagrantavidity wrote: »

“However, if you log an exercise, your calories for steps will go back to zero.

My question would be...how is that exercise being logged? Directly via MFP or as an exercise on the Apple Watch?

The presumption I have is manually entered exercises made in MFP would override what the Watch is pumping into MFP. For all intents and purpose, I input my workouts solely on the watch and let it go from there.

What snemberton said. This same thing happens to me as well. Apple Watch also shows me using much more calories than MFP calculates - adding together resting and active energy from Apple Watch is about 200 calories higher. I know Apple Watch is not perfect, but I am inclined to believe it more since it’s actively looking at my heart rate and activities.

I have been looking into other apps that better sync with Apple Watch because of this. There are some issues I have run into, and find myself coming back to MFP.

Does this counting problem happen with other fitness trackers?

sktx wrote: »

Does this counting problem happen with other fitness trackers?

Not that I've heard of yet.

Apple is the only one that sends the info differently.

Probably because MFP was excited that Apple spent any resources on their end getting the sync going - and didn't want to inform them they were doing it wrong.
Because of course MFP users were clamoring for it - not realizing MFP doesn't do the work for the other side - they merely test and confirm what's coming in, and going out.

Or as the way Apple many times does things - this is the way we do it, deal with it.
And MFP wasn't going to spend extra resources creating a whole different way of doing syncs from every other 3rd party site out there.

The only required info from the 3rd party account is a time stamp of the sync, and total calories burned to that point.

Sending a workout is optional.
And it's assumed that when a workout is synced over, it's already contained within the daily calorie burn up to that point. Which seems logical.

But Apple doesn't do that method, they keep workouts out of the daily total. They also seem to include a certain level of movement within the daily expected activity, but more than is considered extra.
Which of course results in some bad math on MFP.
Other trackers do this method - but they don't sync with MFP either.

Some have found an Apple app that sees that different way of doing it so Apple Health syncs to that, and that app can sync with MFP with correct expected figures.
Then MFP does the math right.


Apple seems to be as prone as others to general sync problems - info likely is sent, MFP overburdened servers lose it before it logs it to your account - or it's so backed up confusion results from time stamps.

Another issue I found; I allow Apple to read MFP nutrition info, and there are often double entries.

On my iPhone I go to: Health>Sources>My Fitness Pal>Data

Tons of double entries, I’m not sure who’s to “blame” for this, MFP or Apple or perhaps a combination of the two.

Reading in the support threads it looks like Fitbit syncing is also broken again.
No idea what MFP are playing at but they really need to fix syncing of fitness trackers once and for all.

Hello all, the issues with Apple Watch and MFP Are truly maddening. I have actually pulled out my fit bit and thought about wearing both. Thinking of just wearing the watch for other uses and my old fit bit for the steps. 10,000 steps on the fit bit will give me 300+ cal adjustment and the same number of steps will give me 30 or 40 cal adjustment on the watch. It makes absolutely no sense. I do like using MFP for my diary. Maybe someday they will get this issue ironed out.