MFP giving too many calories for steps
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FatBicycler
Posts: 21 Member
You can see here not only is MFP giving way too many calories for steps but it doesn’t take into consideration the amount of steps you used while doing exercises imported in with Runkeeper or similar apps. If you eat all the calories MFP tells you that you have earned you will not lose weight. Please fix this soon.
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Replies
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You've probably got some double exercise logging there as well. Fitbit is still counting your biking if you wore it, even if you didn't tell it you were biking. Then, entering it manually into MFP adds those calories again.
You are double dipping, friend.2 -
BecomingBane wrote: »You've probably got some double exercise logging there as well. Fitbit is still counting your biking if you wore it, even if you didn't tell it you were biking. Then, entering it manually into MFP adds those calories again.
You are double dipping, friend.
^ this! I had this problem first starting out with my Fitbit.0 -
BecomingBane wrote: »You've probably got some double exercise logging there as well. Fitbit is still counting your biking if you wore it, even if you didn't tell it you were biking. Then, entering it manually into MFP adds those calories again.
You are double dipping, friend.
It isn't. Logging it in MFP will overwrite that exact time on Fitbit so there is no double dipping.
OP, why do you assume it's overestimating? What is your activity level set to?0 -
BecomingBane wrote: »You've probably got some double exercise logging there as well. Fitbit is still counting your biking if you wore it, even if you didn't tell it you were biking. Then, entering it manually into MFP adds those calories again.
You are double dipping, friend.
I did say it was counting the biking twice.
Im not logging the biking MFP is automatically importing it from Runkeeper0 -
It isn't. Logging it in MFP will overwrite that exact time on Fitbit so there is no double dipping.
OP, why do you assume it's overestimating? What is your activity level set to?
Because 12000 steps for a 240pound man should give you about 800-900 calories.
Activity level is set to the lowest and negitive adjustments are on.0 -
FatBicycler wrote: »
It isn't. Logging it in MFP will overwrite that exact time on Fitbit so there is no double dipping.
OP, why do you assume it's overestimating? What is your activity level set to?
Because 12000 steps for a 240pound man should give you about 800-900 calories.
Activity level is set to the lowest and negitive adjustments are on.
Just keep in mind that that's an estimation as of your most recent sync. That amount should go down the rest of the day if you don't remain as active.0 -
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I don’t think the step adjustment seems terribly out of line. I get about 800 for a similar number of steps and I’m a 160 lb woman.
For the bike ride, does it show on the Fitbit app for yesterday? If so, does it reflect the correct time (start time specifically). I have had a Fitbit linked to MFP for years. I briefly also had runkeeper connected but it didn’t work well at all. It was quite some time ago, but I want to say it was something about the time zones of the runkeeper and MFP servers so things weren’t jiving properly-but I really don’t remember. Check to see how (or if) the runkeeper cycling activity shows in fitbit.
But also-any exercise you log in mfp (or presumably is linked to MFP from another app) is sent over to fitbit and overwrites whatever calories/info Fitbit recorded for that same time period. If you’ve recorded the bike ride on your fitbit and then it gets another bike workout from Mfp for the exact same time-Fitbit might be confused.
Personally, I would disconnect runkeeper from Mfp. You Fitbit is recording your activity 24/7 and adjusting your calorie goal accordingly. The runkeeper input is redundant at best.0 -
Duck_Puddle wrote: »I don’t think the step adjustment seems terribly out of line. I get about 800 for a similar number of steps and I’m a 160 lb woman.
For the bike ride, does it show on the Fitbit app for yesterday? If so, does it reflect the correct time (start time specifically).
Personally, I would disconnect runkeeper from Mfp. You Fitbit is recording your activity 24/7 and adjusting your calorie goal accordingly. The runkeeper input is redundant at best.
For a 160lb woman 12000 steps = 522calories. So it’s off for everyone. Here is a reference site.
https://www.verywellfit.com/pedometer-steps-to-calories-converter-3882595
To your other questions yes it shows on fitbit with thd correct start time.0 -
Also today i did roughly the same amount of steps and exercise and the calorie count is completely different for steps
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FatBicycler wrote: »Duck_Puddle wrote: »I don’t think the step adjustment seems terribly out of line. I get about 800 for a similar number of steps and I’m a 160 lb woman.
For the bike ride, does it show on the Fitbit app for yesterday? If so, does it reflect the correct time (start time specifically).
Personally, I would disconnect runkeeper from Mfp. You Fitbit is recording your activity 24/7 and adjusting your calorie goal accordingly. The runkeeper input is redundant at best.
For a 160lb woman 12000 steps = 522calories. So it’s off for everyone. Here is a reference site.
https://www.verywellfit.com/pedometer-steps-to-calories-converter-3882595
To your other questions yes it shows on fitbit with thd correct start time.
Those charts assume all steps are done walking at a pace of 2-4mph. Mine are not. Sure, some are. Many are not. My Fitbit is attached to me and has a better idea of my actual movement pattern and whether or not I’m walking (and how fast), running, going up and down stairs, doing other movements, jumping, etc.
I’ve had my Fitbit tied to my account for about 5 years and my weight change has been right in line with eating according to my Fitbit adjustments.
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This probably isn't helpful since I don't have a fitbit but just for a comparison, yesterday I took 10,000 in the morning & my phone gave me 368 ACTIVE cal for the day. It records all my steps but only give calories for the active ones0
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FatBicycler wrote: »Also today i did roughly the same amount of steps and exercise and the calorie count is completely different for steps
Yes-because the “step” adjustment is the difference between what Fitbit says you burned (or an estimate of your full day if it’s not over yet) and what MFP thinks you’ll burn in day. You won’t get exactly the same adjustment for the same number of steps every time because Fitbit doesn’t just clock a certain number of calories per step. It’s using all those movement sensors to determine what you’re doing (walking, running, jumping, climbing stairs) and rates your calorie burn accordingly. And the adjustment amount is based on your calories burned not the number of steps.
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And if the MFP cycling activity is showing in your fitbit app, are both there (the Fitbit cycling and the MFP cycling-assuming you tracked it as cycling on your fitbit)?0
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Duck_Puddle wrote: »FatBicycler wrote: »Also today i did roughly the same amount of steps and exercise and the calorie count is completely different for steps
Yes-because the “step” adjustment is the difference between what Fitbit says you burned (or an estimate of your full day if it’s not over yet) and what MFP thinks you’ll burn in day. You won’t get exactly the same adjustment for the same number of steps every time because Fitbit doesn’t just clock a certain number of calories per step. It’s using all those movement sensors to determine what you’re doing (walking, running, jumping, climbing stairs) and rates your calorie burn accordingly. And the adjustment amount is based on your calories burned not the number of steps.
This. You should click on the adjustment to see how its calculated. It has little to do with steps.1 -
Duck_Puddle wrote: »
Yes-because the “step” adjustment is the difference between what Fitbit says you burned (or an estimate of your full day if it’s not over yet) and what MFP thinks you’ll burn in day. You won’t get exactly the same adjustment for the same number of steps every time because Fitbit doesn’t just clock a certain number of calories per step. It’s using all those movement sensors to determine what you’re doing (walking, running, jumping, climbing stairs) and rates your calorie burn accordingly. And the adjustment amount is based on your calories burned not the number of steps.
You give Fitbit too much credit it’s not that smart it can’t tell the difference between running biking climbing etc. you have to tell it what you are doing.
When you said most of your steps are not in the 2-4 mph range, are you saying most are faster or slower?
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All of my steps are just normal walking around (ie going to the bathroom, shopping in stores, etc.) except the hour of biking I do each day, which means im not even moving 2-4 mph, so the cal count should be even less then the link i sent states0
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This. You should click on the adjustment to see how its calculated. It has little to do with steps.
I just did and you are right the problem is with Fitbit not MFP. I personally hate fitbit it is incredibly inaccurate (my 73yo mom crochets and it was telling her she was walking 20000 steps a day lol) I mostly only use it for the rough estimate of a heartbeat it gives you with the charge hr.
Thank you 😊!
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I am curious if there are two cycling activities on your fitbit app/account.
You’re an active guy (12k+ steps is very active when it comes to activity levels), and doing biking on top of that. And you weigh 240 lbs. i would expect a high TDEE and very large adjustment with MFP. If your runkeeper activity is ending up on your fitbit, in addition to the Fitbit activity, then your super-redundant-synced apps are inflating your burn with Fitbit.
And my steps are a combination of life, walking, running and other workouts. I don’t get steps for biking though? I, and many others, have done quite well using our Fitbit’s for calorie burn estimates and lost (maintained or gained) as intended. It is an estimate though and may be low or high for you (I have many trackers by many companies and some are low, some are a bit high).
The best option is to determine if it’s set up properly (meaning is your runkeeper app data ending double-counting your biking on Fitbit-which then inflates the amount sent over as your adjustment). Decide to try it in good faith for 4-6 weeks and see where you end up. It might be more right than you think (or might be a little high or a little low). Actual results make that determination.
Also understand that these are devices to estimate calorie burn. They do know when you are walking vs running vs jumping vs going up/down stairs, etc. They are not infallible. In addition to my fitbit, I also wear a $$$ Garmin Fenix 5s - which determined that I was on an elliptical for 17 minutes while I was sitting on my bed sorting my prescriptions and things for the coming week. Fitbit didn’t think I was doing anything active.
Everything is an estimate that is best taken knowing that it’s a consumer device that will not be lab accurate, but given the chance, it will be reasonably consistent and likely in the ballpark for your TDEE.
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