Variant activity level through the week, how to log?
Options
Replies
-
Go into the website desk top version. Create a negative calorie food and call it "work day". Make it -250 calories. Add it to your diary on days you work. It will deduct 250 from what you log. Then you can keep your activity level, and only add how much you eat on days you work.
In 6 weeks, assess progress. Losing as expected? Perfect! Too fast? Make it -400 and check again in 6 weeks. Losing to slow? Stop logging it, and just eat your sedentary calorie goal and *kitten* in 6 weeks.
ETA: I jumped a head, and then after I posted went back and read that this was pretty much already resolved. Is it Friday yet?1 -
Oh, sends as a workout - that's not good.
Ya, unsynced is best then.
But what you do then is use the device's weekly reports for avg daily calorie burn.
If you have a workout that is not step based, manually log it on their app. Like lifting, swimming, elliptical, ect.
Then just get a 3 week rolling avg (only include avg weeks, not sick in bed, not super busy spring cleaning weeks) of your avg daily burn.
Subtract 20% - that's your eating goal.
Set MFP to maintenance, when it brings you to goals page, Edit and change the eating goal to the number you came up with.
Eat to the same goal every day.
Or on sedentary days, know you could lose 200 cal easily, and eat the extra 200 on busy days, as long as you match them up.
At least that gives you a decent start, and allows changing nature of weeks to influence a new eating level if your avg daily burn changes enough to matter.
I was re-visiting this thread because it has a lot of helpful info like this (thank you!).
I ended up losing much faster than my goal and have been experiencing some hair loss that might be attributed to the rate of loss, which has been about 1.8lb/week as best we can figure given my uncertain starting weight.
I have been increasing my calories, but I'm not easily figuring out a good level to be eating at. (And the process of increasing them has led to more just completely-over days than on-goal now
)
I've also been investigating possibly getting a better activity tracker that would actually sync properly and maybe track my activity more accurately, maybe one of the HRM ones. Because my math skills are bad and I just feel confused by what's written above. My current tracker doesn't give me any weekly averages, so trying to calculate it by adding up totals for every day in the week, etc is just...a Lot for my non-mathematical self.
Edited to add: Okay, there IS a weekly report, but it's done all in "points" that confuse me and mean nothing to me. I did the addition and division, and w1: 15560cal total, w2: 14660, w3: 15258, so I divided it by (7x3 = 21) for a daily average, and I got 2165. So by the Misfit app, I'm burning on average (by being alive and doing my stuff) 2165cal/day. So my deficit before of like 1420cal/day was a cut of about 745cal/day, which maybe accounts for the overshooting? Which might suggest that the Misfit is accurate? idk.
Thoughts & suggestions are appreciated, I'm not sure whether it's silly and a waste of money to purchase one of those more expensive trackers but I also really really don't know what I'm doing and I feel like they might be able to help? Also my current one was $20 back in 2016 or so, so I can justify a new one. It just still works, but maybe just not enough for what I'm trying to figure out.0 -
I'm confused... why can't you just log walking as exercise?
Because I’m not walking at a pace of 2.0mph for 4h. I’m standing, walking a few paces, picking something up, squatting down to get something, pushing some things, walking a few paces, etc. If I logged that, I’m sure it would massively overestimate what I’m burning.
I don't think it's telling MFP that you burned 1900 calories in exercise...it sounds like it's just adjusting your goal to 1900 calories because you are moving more than what you have your MFP activity level set to because you're not sedentary with a job that requires you to be on your feet. Activity trackers are taking everything into account, not just your exercise...0 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »I'm confused... why can't you just log walking as exercise?
Because I’m not walking at a pace of 2.0mph for 4h. I’m standing, walking a few paces, picking something up, squatting down to get something, pushing some things, walking a few paces, etc. If I logged that, I’m sure it would massively overestimate what I’m burning.
I don't think it's telling MFP that you burned 1900 calories in exercise...it sounds like it's just adjusting your goal to 1900 calories because you are moving more than what you have your MFP activity level set to because you're not sedentary with a job that requires you to be on your feet. Activity trackers are taking everything into account, not just your exercise...
Sorry, when I had them synced that's what it seemed like it was doing. Giving me a 1900cal "from exercise" which I knew was wrong and weird. it was like [MFP daily cal goal] + [1900 from exercise] = [ridiculously large total cal goal]. But maybe I should sync them up again and see if that's what it's still doing?0 -
Considering that even Apple with it's considerable funds isn't willing to go back and correct what they send to MFP (they send the workouts by themselves, and then a daily calorie burn MFP is expecting, but it's not truly daily because it doesn't include the workouts, so the math MFP does badly inflates the adjustment),
I'm doubting little MisFit did.
Then again - check for one day - if they are sending the daily burn as a workout again - easy to tell in the Exercise Diary, just look at the More info on any Adjustment entry for the time of sync and calories at that time - look at device - is it close?
If no adjustment but just a workout of the total on the device - wrong there too.
Oh - you did the math right on, and that appears to be totally useful report for you.
I'm sure if you did a ton of workouts that it was just terrible at estimating calorie burn on you could have some issues - but for your stated workouts - close enough to get an idea that can float around as seasons or weekly activity changes.
I'd have to get mine back out - trying to recall if there was setting for avg stride length to improve that distance from steps that are seen.0 -
Considering that even Apple with it's considerable funds isn't willing to go back and correct what they send to MFP (they send the workouts by themselves, and then a daily calorie burn MFP is expecting, but it's not truly daily because it doesn't include the workouts, so the math MFP does badly inflates the adjustment),
I'm doubting little MisFit did.
Then again - check for one day - if they are sending the daily burn as a workout again - easy to tell in the Exercise Diary, just look at the More info on any Adjustment entry for the time of sync and calories at that time - look at device - is it close?
If no adjustment but just a workout of the total on the device - wrong there too.
Oh - you did the math right on, and that appears to be totally useful report for you.
I'm sure if you did a ton of workouts that it was just terrible at estimating calorie burn on you could have some issues - but for your stated workouts - close enough to get an idea that can float around as seasons or weekly activity changes.
I'd have to get mine back out - trying to recall if there was setting for avg stride length to improve that distance from steps that are seen.
I've connected them for now.
Thanks for checking my math! Every time I sit down to try to calculate this stuff I have to go through a little wall of "aaaaahhh numbers!"
From what I would guess the Misfit is still a little off, having a deficit of ~750 is at the rate of 1.5lb/week and if I was getting more of 1.75-2lb/week a loss, then that's still off by maybe 1/4 to 1/2 a pound (that could also be my logging too). But not like 1-3/4 which is what my attempts to just log my activity were giving me. But if they can communicate correctly, maybe the adjustment will be closer and easier to work with.
I'll give having them connected again a shot, and if it works maybe I'll just keep it. If not, maybe I'll look into getting something else. I can't "wear" my phone at work etc so an app wouldn't be a good replacement.0 -
What app are you using that reads the Misfit data?
I'm starting to think I'm actually thinking of the MIO I have, so I can't confirm anything with the Misfit, but from posting of friends - it still reports the wrong info to MFP.
I believe it tries to estimate what your sedentary to it level of calorie burn would be (that could match MFP by coincidence, could be way off) - and then it reports or sends what is above that base burn.
And it sends it as a workout you've confirmed. So it's close to what MFP was going to do - but it doesn't know MFP starting values.
But I'll bet still messed up.
Do they have daily graph of calorie burn?
Could you look at a chunk of time while sleeping and no movement to see what it says you burn?
Amount of time and that burn with physical stats will give the BMR they are using, and perhaps insite to what they calculate.0 -
What app are you using that reads the Misfit data?
I'm starting to think I'm actually thinking of the MIO I have, so I can't confirm anything with the Misfit, but from posting of friends - it still reports the wrong info to MFP.
I believe it tries to estimate what your sedentary to it level of calorie burn would be (that could match MFP by coincidence, could be way off) - and then it reports or sends what is above that base burn.
And it sends it as a workout you've confirmed. So it's close to what MFP was going to do - but it doesn't know MFP starting values.
But I'll bet still messed up.
Do they have daily graph of calorie burn?
Could you look at a chunk of time while sleeping and no movement to see what it says you burn?
Amount of time and that burn with physical stats will give the BMR they are using, and perhaps insite to what they calculate.
Here is a bunch of screenshots of what the Misfit app looks like & what the info they give me is:
It's sorta hard to figure out what they think is base level. Sorry it posted 2x and in such a weird format, hopefully you can still see the pictures. It's all focusing on these "points" that are useless, and the calorie info & step info aren't as emphasized.
0 -
I don't know why it posted twice, maybe the image files are weird, but this is an Active workday vs a less-active at-home day.0 -
And this is a day I just flat out forgot to wear it at all. Which suggests to me it thinks I have a BMR of nearly 2000cal, which is too high. MFP thinks my maintenance is 1840cal, I just checked.0 -
See, that is the aspect I thought i recalled - it assumes a daily burn base, higher than just BMR though.
If you don't mind sharing - age/weight/height - or do a lookup on MFP Tools - BMR calc for what it is. Or any Mifflin BMR calc.
It's obviously some very different way of doing it that makes it basically incompatible with the way MFP was designed to work with synced activity trackers.
MFP provides the API's to any outside vendors that want to use it - and confirm connectivity and proper usage (like don't send updated sync figures every 2 min and kill the sync server) prior to going live and linking to the external site - but they appear not to confirm so well the figures as to what is sent.
On the burn graph where it shows the small chunks of time - is that 15 min chunks?
If you hover over it or attempt to highlight just one of them - does it say what the calorie burn was for just that bit?
I guess with daily value you got - it doesn't matter.0 -
See, that is the aspect I thought i recalled - it assumes a daily burn base, higher than just BMR though.
If you don't mind sharing - age/weight/height - or do a lookup on MFP Tools - BMR calc for what it is. Or any Mifflin BMR calc.
It's obviously some very different way of doing it that makes it basically incompatible with the way MFP was designed to work with synced activity trackers.
MFP provides the API's to any outside vendors that want to use it - and confirm connectivity and proper usage (like don't send updated sync figures every 2 min and kill the sync server) prior to going live and linking to the external site - but they appear not to confirm so well the figures as to what is sent.
On the burn graph where it shows the small chunks of time - is that 15 min chunks?
If you hover over it or attempt to highlight just one of them - does it say what the calorie burn was for just that bit?
I guess with daily value you got - it doesn't matter.
Ahhh that makes sense. Are other trackers better at communicating? You mentioned Apple Watch was bad.
They both have the same data from me - I'm 5'2, currently hovering around 169lbs. I'm 24 F.
The graph isn't highlightable unfortunately. If you tap it it just goes back to the circle view. The data is really not manipulatable, and this is really all I get from it. Which is part of what makes me think something like a Fitbit might be better?
What I do get is a list of these little guys:
But only if my activity is above a certain, unspecified speed. For my slow walking at work it doesn’t record anything like this. I get the above for my walks to and from the subway sometimes. I will get one for a swim also.
0 -
potatowhoruns wrote: »I would suggest adding exercise based on how many steps on recorded on your tracker (5 mins for every 1000 steps for example) whilst remaining on sedentary. Monitor for a few weeks and see whether your estimate is right for you. That will give you extra calories on the day you moved more, whilst allowing for days with minimal steps.
Thank you, that sounds like a good idea. I’ll try that. Because I am essentially walking, just really slowly lol.tinkerbellang83 wrote: »Steps are accounted for in your chosen activity level if you're doing 7500 steps at work, you're not sedentary, set it to at least Lightly Active, monitor weight loss over 4-6 weeks. If you're losing more than expected increase your activity level again.
You could also use a weight trend app that will tell you approximately how much of a deficit you're in (Happy Scale for iOS, Libra for Android, WeightGrapher for Web)
I do have happy scale. I’m only eating at a 1lb/week loss and I honestly wouldn’t mind losing a bit faster if it were just that. The issue is that I will feel hungry and go over my goal, and I’m fairly sure it’s because I’m not sedentary anymore.
I explained why I’m skeptical of putting myself as “lightly active” - because this is not every day or even 5 days a week. My shifts vary in length, and activity, and it’s typically only 2x a week unless I can catch some extra hours. I’m still sedentary + exercise on other days, so for those days I’d have to not count my exercise or something? I don’t really know.TavistockToad wrote: »link your tracker so you get more calories on days you work?
I also explained why I can’t link the tracker. It works on TDEE so it tells MFP I’ve earned “1900cals from exercise” 😒 which is unhelpful lol.
Maybe on work days just eat more without changing your settings. You could eat 200-500 calories more on just those work days.
The difference in calories for the activity level settings is about 200-300 calories I think.0 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »I'm confused... why can't you just log walking as exercise?
Because I’m not walking at a pace of 2.0mph for 4h. I’m standing, walking a few paces, picking something up, squatting down to get something, pushing some things, walking a few paces, etc. If I logged that, I’m sure it would massively overestimate what I’m burning.
I don't think it's telling MFP that you burned 1900 calories in exercise...it sounds like it's just adjusting your goal to 1900 calories because you are moving more than what you have your MFP activity level set to because you're not sedentary with a job that requires you to be on your feet. Activity trackers are taking everything into account, not just your exercise...
Sorry, when I had them synced that's what it seemed like it was doing. Giving me a 1900cal "from exercise" which I knew was wrong and weird. it was like [MFP daily cal goal] + [1900 from exercise] = [ridiculously large total cal goal]. But maybe I should sync them up again and see if that's what it's still doing?
I'm having the exact same problem with my fitbit. It logs a ridiculously high number of calories as exercise. I have no idea how to fix it though. I just use the TDEE method (track my TDEE using my fitbit, subtract my MFP-calculated intake and get my deficit), but it would be nice to be able to synk them properly to see more accurate numbers show in my diary.0 -
@heybales
So I’ve had the misfit connected today, for which I’ve been almost completely sedentary and:
I......don’t think that’s......correct......... 😐cwolfman13 wrote: »I'm confused... why can't you just log walking as exercise?
Because I’m not walking at a pace of 2.0mph for 4h. I’m standing, walking a few paces, picking something up, squatting down to get something, pushing some things, walking a few paces, etc. If I logged that, I’m sure it would massively overestimate what I’m burning.
I don't think it's telling MFP that you burned 1900 calories in exercise...it sounds like it's just adjusting your goal to 1900 calories because you are moving more than what you have your MFP activity level set to because you're not sedentary with a job that requires you to be on your feet. Activity trackers are taking everything into account, not just your exercise...
Sorry, when I had them synced that's what it seemed like it was doing. Giving me a 1900cal "from exercise" which I knew was wrong and weird. it was like [MFP daily cal goal] + [1900 from exercise] = [ridiculously large total cal goal]. But maybe I should sync them up again and see if that's what it's still doing?
I'm having the exact same problem with my fitbit. It logs a ridiculously high number of calories as exercise. I have no idea how to fix it though. I just use the TDEE method (track my TDEE using my fitbit, subtract my MFP-calculated intake and get my deficit), but it would be nice to be able to synk them properly to see more accurate numbers show in my diary.
Oh wow, that sucks. That’s really disheartening that it’s happening with Fitbit too 😐 so maybe that isn’t the answer. Let me know if you find out how to fix it?0 -
Fitbit seems to be having a bug with some users - by no means all - I'm trying to figure out which side waiting for someone to give me good solid info.
Fitbit, as well as others less frequently - will having issues with general syncing - server on MFP side gets overwhelmed, stat's get backed up, the huge quantity of users with many doing a process that makes it worse, all happen at once.
So that is interesting that you're given 326 exercise with so few steps. Doesn't seem correct since what should be a BMR level burn is 1925 by Misfit, and MFP Sedentary up around 2000 it seems.
But MFP is doing estimate to end of day - so could be correct for now and it'll keep shrinking.
What does your Exercise Diary say as far as workouts, adjustments, ect.
And tap & hold on any Adjustment line and get screen shot of the More Info details.2 -
Fitbit seems to be having a bug with some users - by no means all - I'm trying to figure out which side waiting for someone to give me good solid info.
Fitbit, as well as others less frequently - will having issues with general syncing - server on MFP side gets overwhelmed, stat's get backed up, the huge quantity of users with many doing a process that makes it worse, all happen at once.
So that is interesting that you're given 326 exercise with so few steps. Doesn't seem correct since what should be a BMR level burn is 1925 by Misfit, and MFP Sedentary up around 2000 it seems.
But MFP is doing estimate to end of day - so could be correct for now and it'll keep shrinking.
What does your Exercise Diary say as far as workouts, adjustments, ect.
And tap & hold on any Adjustment line and get screen shot of the More Info details.
These were the screenshots I got, I don’t see any more info and it doesn’t seem to be very explanatory: am I looking in the wrong spot? These are for today, which was less sedentary as I was running some errands.
0 -
At about that time of last sync 4:28 pm - how many calories did Misfit show you as burning in total?
Do you think it was close to the 1847 MFP says it got?0 -
Well, your screen shots do help me to see why people get confused and think they are getting some sort of straight calories for steps - bad combo to put on a single screen, considering that adjustment could be based on a workout logged on Misfit.
Anyway....
That 56 cal difference for 42 min between 1847 @ 4:28 and 1903 @ 5:10 exactly matches the BMR Misfit is using 1925 you got on day of not wearing it. So that is correct, must have been sitting those 42 min since same step count.
So lets check if MFP math is correct. This is why the Calorie Adjustment screen is the main useful one.
Misfit did report 1847 calories burned for the day as of 4:28 pm - or 988 min into daily 1440 min, or 31.4% left of the day.
MFP expected you to burn 1836 for the day, so for 31.4% left = 577 left to the day.
Misfit burned so far 1847 + 577 MFP rest the day = 2424 projected total day.
Projected 2424 - 1836 MFP expected = 588 adjustment.
That should be added to base eating goal.
Their math is off at 2653 projected - don't know how they could have gotten that, 229 higher is bad.
This is not from Misfit issue (it could have it's own, and 1847 was elevated for some reason anyway), this is MFP.
(extra speaking out loud, but can be ignored:
If they did the math from when you looked at 4:44, it would actually be a lower adjustment since less time to day left. But that's not how it works.
If they were having the same bug with you I just confirmed with a Fitbit user, it would be be using a calorie burn from later sync but keeping time stamp from earlier so a much bigger adjustment.
But I know there is no 4:44 sync since the calories would have to go up by at least 100 over prior sync, and 16 min isn't enough time.
Let's see 4:44 pm = 1004 leaves 436 min in 1440 = 30.3%.
1836 x 30.3% = 556
1847 + 556 = 2403
2403 - 1836 = 567 adj
Yep lower - that's not the issue.)
So I do not know why their math is screwed up - it's not from Misfit though, it is all on MFP.
That screenshot of the Calorie adjustment along with confirmation that Misfit matched at that time is enough to prove to MFP troubleshooting it's not correct.
A prior day showing end of day sync time (11:59pm) along with Misfit total daily burn would be even better - leaves most the math above out of the way.7
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.8K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 259.8K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 396 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.8K Motivation and Support
- 7.8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.3K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 967 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.3K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions