Does this seem right to you?

karirenae
karirenae Posts: 106 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Groups
My fitbit charge HR gave me 664 calories for 8k steps.. i dont exercise, these are just steps.. seems weird, but i wear my fitbit all the time, so it should know my body by now. I seem to always get high earned calories compared to some people saying they get 300 back for 8k steps, idk if it goes off my hr or what :( does this seem like it could be right?

Replies

  • coderdan82
    coderdan82 Posts: 133 Member
    Does it also show what your heart rate was throughout the day? If it was high then that supports the "going off the HR" theory.
  • karirenae
    karirenae Posts: 106 Member
    It averages 85 to 87 daily
  • karirenae
    karirenae Posts: 106 Member
    coderdan82 wrote: »
    Does it also show what your heart rate was throughout the day? If it was high then that supports the "going off the HR" theory.

  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    Calories burned walking 1 mile = 1/3 your weight in pounds. Speed only makes a small difference unless you're going really fast, it's just mass over distance.
  • coderdan82
    coderdan82 Posts: 133 Member
    Actually, looking back at my logs my step calories seem proportional to yours -- 4k steps get me about 300 calories. I'm using a Garmin device so it's not just a Fitbit thing.
  • coderdan82
    coderdan82 Posts: 133 Member
    But then on another day I got 600 calories from 12k. I dunno how this works
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    edited November 2018
    The calories you see in MFP aren’t based on your steps. It’s based on your reported calories burned from the tracker.

    The adjustment math is:

    Tracker calorie burn - MFP activity level burn = +/- adjustment

    More specifically an example breakdown is:
    Lightly Active MFP estimated burn (based on my stats): 1914

    That breaks down to:
    79.75 calories per hour
    Or
    1.329 calories per minute

    Now as of 12:30 pm my Fitbit calorie burn is 910.

    So there is 11 hrs 30 mins MFP has to estimate calories for.

    11 * 79.75 = 877.25
    30 * 1.329 = 39.87

    910 (Fitbit) + 917.12 (MFP Lightly active estimation for remainder of day) =1827.12

    So MFP is estimating that based on my current Fitbit burn and my lightly active setting on MFP that Fitbit say I burned 1827 by midnight. It uses this estimation to form an adjustment.

    1827* - 1914 = -86

    So currently I’m losing 86 calories. However after each Fitbit Sync, MFP will redo it’s math estimation for the day. It could increase or even decrease. MFP won’t stop this estimation calculation until around midnight when the Final calories burned # is sent over to MFP from Fitbit.

    The higher your activity level setting is on MFP the higher it will estimate your remaining calorie burn and the more likely you will see a huge adjustment early in the day that decreases later. On the opposite side if you are set to Sedentary, but are actually really active you will see a large adjustment by the end of the day.
    ***The spoiler is from a few days ago. Someone else asked a couple days ago and I admit to being to lazy to type it all out again with current numbers. :sleeping: ****
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
    edited November 2018
    NorthCascades wrote: »
    Calories burned walking 1 mile = 1/3 your weight in pounds. Speed only makes a small difference unless you're going really fast, it's just mass over distance.

    That doesn't seem right. Maybe I'm misinterpreting your calculation. I burn about 80-100 calories per mile, depending on speed and terrain. I'm only 132 pounds, not 300 pounds. Am I really supposedly burning only about 44 or so calories per mile? I've been maintaining for years eating back over twice as many calories as I should have? That ain't right! >:)

    ETA: By your calculation, I'm overeating literally hundreds of calories every day...yet maintaining... :o
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    edited November 2018
    jenilla1 wrote: »
    NorthCascades wrote: »
    Calories burned walking 1 mile = 1/3 your weight in pounds. Speed only makes a small difference unless you're going really fast, it's just mass over distance.

    That doesn't seem right. Maybe I'm misinterpreting your calculation. I burn about 80-100 calories per mile, depending on speed and terrain. I'm only 132 pounds, not 300 pounds. Am I really supposedly burning only about 44 or so calories per mile? I've been maintaining for years eating back over twice as many calories as I should have? That ain't right! >:)

    ETA: By your calculation, I'm overeating literally hundreds of calories every day...yet maintaining... :o

    This is a better calculation:

    calories burned = BMR x METs/24 x hour

    Example:

    1344 x 3.3/24 x 1 = 184.8
    1344 (approximately my BMR)
    3.3 = MET value for walking 3 mph
    1 = 1 hour

    So based on that I’d burn about 61 calories a mile. Definitely more than 1/3 my weight.

    Edit: correction MET value for 3 mph is 3.5 (from Harvard)
    That means based on MET I burn approximately 65 calories per mile at a 3 mph pace.


  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    edited November 2018
    shadow2soul wrote: »
    jenilla1 wrote: »
    NorthCascades wrote: »
    Calories burned walking 1 mile = 1/3 your weight in pounds. Speed only makes a small difference unless you're going really fast, it's just mass over distance.

    That doesn't seem right. Maybe I'm misinterpreting your calculation. I burn about 80-100 calories per mile, depending on speed and terrain. I'm only 132 pounds, not 300 pounds. Am I really supposedly burning only about 44 or so calories per mile? I've been maintaining for years eating back over twice as many calories as I should have? That ain't right! >:)

    ETA: By your calculation, I'm overeating literally hundreds of calories every day...yet maintaining... :o

    This is a better calculation:

    calories burned = BMR x METs/24 x hour

    Example:

    1344 x 3.3/24 x 1 = 184.8
    1344 (approximately my BMR)
    3.3 = MET value for walking 3 mph
    1 = 1 hour

    So based on that I’d burn about 61 calories a mile. Definitely more than 1/3 my weight.

    Edit: correction MET value for 3 mph is 3.5 (from Harvard)
    That means based on MET I burn approximately 65 calories per mile at a 3 mph pace.


    Is that MET value for net or gross calories though? (I suspect it is gross and you would have to take off one MET for NET calories.)

    Miles X body weight in lbs X 0.3 is a net calorie calculation. The difference between net and gross becomes significant for long duration low intensity exercise.
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    sijomial wrote: »
    shadow2soul wrote: »
    jenilla1 wrote: »
    NorthCascades wrote: »
    Calories burned walking 1 mile = 1/3 your weight in pounds. Speed only makes a small difference unless you're going really fast, it's just mass over distance.

    That doesn't seem right. Maybe I'm misinterpreting your calculation. I burn about 80-100 calories per mile, depending on speed and terrain. I'm only 132 pounds, not 300 pounds. Am I really supposedly burning only about 44 or so calories per mile? I've been maintaining for years eating back over twice as many calories as I should have? That ain't right! >:)

    ETA: By your calculation, I'm overeating literally hundreds of calories every day...yet maintaining... :o

    This is a better calculation:

    calories burned = BMR x METs/24 x hour

    Example:

    1344 x 3.3/24 x 1 = 184.8
    1344 (approximately my BMR)
    3.3 = MET value for walking 3 mph
    1 = 1 hour

    So based on that I’d burn about 61 calories a mile. Definitely more than 1/3 my weight.

    Edit: correction MET value for 3 mph is 3.5 (from Harvard)
    That means based on MET I burn approximately 65 calories per mile at a 3 mph pace.


    Is that MET value for net or gross calories though? (I suspect it is gross and you would have to take off one MET for NET calories.)

    Miles X body weight in lbs X 0.3 is a net calorie calculation. The difference between net and gross becomes significant for long duration low intensity exercise.

    I’m not sure. However the calculation comes close to what MFP would give for a 20 min walk at 3 mph. It also seems to be slightly lower than Fitbit gives me when I look at the NET. I’ve found my Fitbit to accurate enough to judge my intake by over the years (actually models without HR underestimate by an average of 200 calories a day), but it could just be balancing out by underestimating in other areas.
  • karirenae
    karirenae Posts: 106 Member
    coderdan82 wrote: »
    Actually, looking back at my logs my step calories seem proportional to yours -- 4k steps get me about 300 calories. I'm using a Garmin device so it's not just a Fitbit thing.

    So, if their proportionate, are you losing at a good pace or are you stuck if I may ask?
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    karirenae wrote: »
    Groups
    My fitbit charge HR gave me 664 calories for 8k steps.. i dont exercise, these are just steps.. seems weird, but i wear my fitbit all the time, so it should know my body by now. I seem to always get high earned calories compared to some people saying they get 300 back for 8k steps, idk if it goes off my hr or what :( does this seem like it could be right?

    Are the other people the same height, weight, age, etc., as you?
  • ahoy_m8
    ahoy_m8 Posts: 3,053 Member
    jenilla1 wrote: »
    NorthCascades wrote: »
    Calories burned walking 1 mile = 1/3 your weight in pounds. Speed only makes a small difference unless you're going really fast, it's just mass over distance.

    That doesn't seem right. Maybe I'm misinterpreting your calculation. I burn about 80-100 calories per mile, depending on speed and terrain. I'm only 132 pounds, not 300 pounds. Am I really supposedly burning only about 44 or so calories per mile? I've been maintaining for years eating back over twice as many calories as I should have? That ain't right! >:)

    ETA: By your calculation, I'm overeating literally hundreds of calories every day...yet maintaining... :o

    It’s half what I burn, too. I do agree that speed makes only a small difference. Running 4 mi in 30 min is only a few more calories for me than walking 4mi in 50 min. Fitbit acutely gives me more for going slow.
  • Adam__20000
    Adam__20000 Posts: 65 Member
    I also feel it’s quite low compared to other calculators. I’m 74kg and walked 12 miles a few days ago, burned barely 400 cals...
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  • coderdan82
    coderdan82 Posts: 133 Member
    karirenae wrote: »
    coderdan82 wrote: »
    Actually, looking back at my logs my step calories seem proportional to yours -- 4k steps get me about 300 calories. I'm using a Garmin device so it's not just a Fitbit thing.

    So, if their proportionate, are you losing at a good pace or are you stuck if I may ask?

    I'm losing between 1-2 lbs per week (unless I fall of the wagon :/ ). I typically don't walk a lot of steps though, maybe 4000-6000 per day. Most of my calorie burn is from deliberate exercise.

    If you feel it's too much, one trick you can do is to lower your calorie goal in MFP. Then the calories Fitbit posts will bring the total up to a more reasonable value and the total will still vary based on your activity levels. I've set my goal to my RMR and it's working out nicely for me.
  • PigHerder
    PigHerder Posts: 89 Member
    People, please stop starving yourselves. You might get short term losses that way, but you aren't learning anything about how to maintain your weight in the long term. You're setting yourselves up to fail, and risking physical damage to your body for good measure. Also, I imagine it's completely miserable. You are not a toddler. You shouldn't be eating like one.

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