Help With FitBit & Calories

Liamsm0m
Liamsm0m Posts: 102 Member
edited December 20 in Getting Started
I’m not new to these boards but I thought this might be the best place to post. Sorry if anything sounds stupid - I’m really learning for the first time and trying to iron all this out.

I have a fit bit Versa. When I wear, it tracks exercise of course. But it also tracks movement when I’m cleaning, running after my toddler, etc. On days I haven’t exercised, it takes the movement and calculates here to MFP that I burned 250 calories (example) when it syncs.

- Does this mean I should be eating an extra 250 calories? (Or whatever is the number)
- Do these calories count toward the deficit I’m trying to achieve?

I have to ask b/c after a particularly roughy day - lots of running around, getting up and down, going back and forth, errands, cleaning, cooking... I’ve seen it tell me I’ve “burned” 600+ calories (not every day but it’s happened) and I don’t want to not be eating enough.

Ugh. I hope this makes sense.

Replies

  • lx1x
    lx1x Posts: 38,330 Member
    Moving around burns more calories than sitting and being still.

    If your hungry.. go eat that within your cal deficit.. Fitbit has the cico also.. look at that if your still on your goal/cal budget.
  • valerie0021
    valerie0021 Posts: 15 Member
    Some people eat back half of those numbers, some don't eat any, some eat them all. You have to figure out what works best for you.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,454 Member
    Here, visit the FitBit Group and read the FAQs in the top section

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1290-fitbit-users
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,300 Member
    Eat most of them. Connect fitbit with trendweight.com and enter your daily weigh ins. validate your calories in/out against your weight change over 4 to 6 weeks and adjust.
  • Liamsm0m
    Liamsm0m Posts: 102 Member
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    cmriverside wrote: »
    Here, visit the FitBit Group and read the FAQs in the top section

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1290-fitbit-users

    ^This, but also, in short - what a lot of people don't understand is that the numbers you are seeing in MFP aren't specifically tied to a particular "activity burn" from Fitbit. It is a reconciliation of the amount of calories MFP "thinks" you would burn, based on the stats you enter and your chosen activity level and then what FitBit records that you "actually" burn. The MFP number is supposed to be your NEAT level - your BMR plus any non-exercise activity but it's an estimate based on a multiplier of what activity level you choose (sedentary, lightly active, active, etc). Then FitBit calculates all your calories burned, which includes your BMR, non exercise activity, and exercise as well - and if that number is higher than what MFP predicts, you'll see an adjustment.

    This is why on days you do exercise, or just have a busier day, you would see a larger adjustment.

    Another helpful tip is to enable negative calorie adjustments to counteract the days where you are less active, because sick, or for whatever reason - you might see MFP take away calories based on FitBit saying you didn't even make it up to your predicted NEAT for the day. It's a good way to keep things in check.

    And for what it's worth, mine has always been very accurate for me - I always trusted and ate back calorie adjustments while losing, and now in maintenance.

    Thanks! How do I enable negative calorie adjustments? Do you mean Fit Bit or MFP?
  • Liamsm0m
    Liamsm0m Posts: 102 Member
    Thanks everyone who has replied 😊
  • Lillymoo01
    Lillymoo01 Posts: 2,865 Member
    Liamsm0m wrote: »
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    cmriverside wrote: »
    Here, visit the FitBit Group and read the FAQs in the top section

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1290-fitbit-users

    ^This, but also, in short - what a lot of people don't understand is that the numbers you are seeing in MFP aren't specifically tied to a particular "activity burn" from Fitbit. It is a reconciliation of the amount of calories MFP "thinks" you would burn, based on the stats you enter and your chosen activity level and then what FitBit records that you "actually" burn. The MFP number is supposed to be your NEAT level - your BMR plus any non-exercise activity but it's an estimate based on a multiplier of what activity level you choose (sedentary, lightly active, active, etc). Then FitBit calculates all your calories burned, which includes your BMR, non exercise activity, and exercise as well - and if that number is higher than what MFP predicts, you'll see an adjustment.

    This is why on days you do exercise, or just have a busier day, you would see a larger adjustment.

    Another helpful tip is to enable negative calorie adjustments to counteract the days where you are less active, because sick, or for whatever reason - you might see MFP take away calories based on FitBit saying you didn't even make it up to your predicted NEAT for the day. It's a good way to keep things in check.

    And for what it's worth, mine has always been very accurate for me - I always trusted and ate back calorie adjustments while losing, and now in maintenance.

    Thanks! How do I enable negative calorie adjustments? Do you mean Fit Bit or MFP?

    On MFP go to settings, then diary settings. Negative adjustments can be changed there. This is for the web version though rather than the app.
  • Liamsm0m
    Liamsm0m Posts: 102 Member
    Lillymoo01 wrote: »
    Liamsm0m wrote: »
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    cmriverside wrote: »
    Here, visit the FitBit Group and read the FAQs in the top section

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1290-fitbit-users

    ^This, but also, in short - what a lot of people don't understand is that the numbers you are seeing in MFP aren't specifically tied to a particular "activity burn" from Fitbit. It is a reconciliation of the amount of calories MFP "thinks" you would burn, based on the stats you enter and your chosen activity level and then what FitBit records that you "actually" burn. The MFP number is supposed to be your NEAT level - your BMR plus any non-exercise activity but it's an estimate based on a multiplier of what activity level you choose (sedentary, lightly active, active, etc). Then FitBit calculates all your calories burned, which includes your BMR, non exercise activity, and exercise as well - and if that number is higher than what MFP predicts, you'll see an adjustment.

    This is why on days you do exercise, or just have a busier day, you would see a larger adjustment.

    Another helpful tip is to enable negative calorie adjustments to counteract the days where you are less active, because sick, or for whatever reason - you might see MFP take away calories based on FitBit saying you didn't even make it up to your predicted NEAT for the day. It's a good way to keep things in check.

    And for what it's worth, mine has always been very accurate for me - I always trusted and ate back calorie adjustments while losing, and now in maintenance.

    Thanks! How do I enable negative calorie adjustments? Do you mean Fit Bit or MFP?

    On MFP go to settings, then diary settings. Negative adjustments can be changed there. This is for the web version though rather than the app.

    Thank you!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Fitbit isn't giving you a calorie burn for a particular activity...when Fitbit syncs with MFP, you're going to get an adjustment to your calorie target when your actual activity level is reconciled with your activity level set in MFP...so if your activity level exceeds your set activity level in MFP, you're going to get additional calories added to your target to reconcile the two.
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