Fitbit calories

Does anyone actually eat the calories that Fitbit tells you to eat? I mean if I did, there is no way I'd lose weight. In fact, I would gain.

Replies

  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    edited February 2019
    How do you have things set up? If you tell MFP you want to lose weight and you sync your FitBit to MFP it compares your stated (MFP) activity to your actual activity and gives you earned calories when you are more active. If you enable negative adjustments, you could have calories taken when you aren't as active as planned.

    FitBit works for a great many people. Check this thread for more information...…….https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10098937/faq-syncing-logging-food-amp-exercise-calorie-adjustments-activity-levels-accuracy/p1

    That said a Fitbit is a tool to help you estimate your calories out. Your calories in is also an estimate. Do you use a digital food scale? They are much more accurate than measuring cups.

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1

  • SRJ5820
    SRJ5820 Posts: 63 Member
    I'm set up to lose 2 pounds per week. I weigh 300 pounds. I have it set at sedentary lifestyle. MFP has me at 1880 calories. I walk about 10000 steps a day, and Fitbit gives me about 1200 EXTRA calories to eat a day. No way would that work.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Use the thread above to check your settings, especially your stride length. After checking everything, disconnect & reconnect. The site can be glitchy from time to time.
  • witchaywoman81
    witchaywoman81 Posts: 280 Member
    SRJ5820 wrote: »
    I'm set up to lose 2 pounds per week. I weigh 300 pounds. I have it set at sedentary lifestyle. MFP has me at 1880 calories. I walk about 10000 steps a day, and Fitbit gives me about 1200 EXTRA calories to eat a day. No way would that work.

    If you get 10,000 steps in on the average day, you aren’t sedentary. You’re at least active if not very active. Do you have negative calorie adjustments enabled?
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    SRJ5820 wrote: »
    I'm set up to lose 2 pounds per week. I weigh 300 pounds. I have it set at sedentary lifestyle. MFP has me at 1880 calories. I walk about 10000 steps a day, and Fitbit gives me about 1200 EXTRA calories to eat a day. No way would that work.

    Sedentary is 3000-5000 steps a day or less.

    10000 steps a day is Active.

    If you increased your activity level on MFP you wouldn’t be seeing such a large adjustment. The fact that you have yourself set as inactive when you are not is why your adjustment is so large.

    Yes I ate all the calories I was given when my Fitbit was linked. Zip, Flex, and Flex2 underestimated my calorie expenditure by about 200 calories a day. Surge, Blaze, and Ionic had me losing/maintaining/gaining as expected based on its burn (still slightly underestimating, because I get away with not logging some things).
  • SRJ5820
    SRJ5820 Posts: 63 Member
    TeaBea wrote: »
    Use the thread above to check your settings, especially your stride length. After checking everything, disconnect & reconnect. The site can be glitchy from time to time.

    I will do that, thanks!
  • SRJ5820
    SRJ5820 Posts: 63 Member
    SRJ5820 wrote: »
    I'm set up to lose 2 pounds per week. I weigh 300 pounds. I have it set at sedentary lifestyle. MFP has me at 1880 calories. I walk about 10000 steps a day, and Fitbit gives me about 1200 EXTRA calories to eat a day. No way would that work.

    If you get 10,000 steps in on the average day, you aren’t sedentary. You’re at least active if not very active. Do you have negative calorie adjustments enabled?

    I do have neg cals enabled. I could write a whole book here, but this is my second time around losing weight. First time the weight just fell off. Now, not so much. If I eat the 1800 cals a day, I lose about 1.5 a week. If I eat more cals then I'd probably lose less, that is why I still have it as sedentary.
  • SRJ5820
    SRJ5820 Posts: 63 Member
    SRJ5820 wrote: »
    I'm set up to lose 2 pounds per week. I weigh 300 pounds. I have it set at sedentary lifestyle. MFP has me at 1880 calories. I walk about 10000 steps a day, and Fitbit gives me about 1200 EXTRA calories to eat a day. No way would that work.

    Sedentary is 3000-5000 steps a day or less.

    10000 steps a day is Active.

    If you increased your activity level on MFP you wouldn’t be seeing such a large adjustment. The fact that you have yourself set as inactive when you are not is why your adjustment is so large.

    Yes I ate all the calories I was given when my Fitbit was linked. Zip, Flex, and Flex2 underestimated my calorie expenditure by about 200 calories a day. Surge, Blaze, and Ionic had me losing/maintaining/gaining as expected based on its burn (still slightly underestimating, because I get away with not logging some things).

    See above response. I eat 1800 cals a day, and lose 1.5 pounds a week. If I were to eat more cals, surely I would lose less. I do eat back my exercise cals (minus 15%) when I go on the elliptical.