Fit bit calorie adjustmend.

phoenixmed
phoenixmed Posts: 114 Member
in Getting Started
The weirsest thing is happening to my kcal adjustments. On any given day the calorie ajdustment for my steps seems excessive 850 kcals for 10 000 steps . But the day after if i go back to see the diary for the previous day the calorie adjustment changes and goes to about 56r k cals for 10 000 steps which seems more realistic. Why is the calorie adjustment changing and wrong the current day ? Does anybody also have that probem? Thank you

Replies

  • rachelr1116
    rachelr1116 Posts: 334 Member
    If you get most of your steps early in the day Fitbit will assume that you are going to continue to be that active and estimate your total calorie burn for the day will be higher, resulting in a higher adjustment. By the next day it will show the adjustment based on your actual burn. Also, I think both MFP and Fitbit ask for your time zone. You might want to check and make sure they are both set to the same time zone so that Fitbit isn't getting confused and thinking you are being really active earlier in the day than you actually are.
  • lx1x
    lx1x Posts: 38,310 Member
    Depends on what kind of steps you doing

    Regular steps vs inclined does make a difference. If you're using a tracker with HR monitor.. it reads both hr and step to adjust cal burn.
  • Kathryn247
    Kathryn247 Posts: 570 Member
    Yep, mine changes overnight sometimes, too. It will say I have 300-400 for the day in the evening, but sometimes when I look the next day it dropped it to 200 or less. I can't figure out why it does that. About half of my steps are in the evening, walking the dog.
    On Monday I got over 8,000 steps, which would usually get me about 400 calories for the day, which is what it said in the evening. The next morning it had dropped to 83.
    (850 for 10,000 steps does seem excessive, unless you're running, maybe.)
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    edited March 2019
    rachelr1116 wrote: »
    If you get most of your steps early in the day Fitbit will assume that you are going to continue to be that active and estimate your total calorie burn for the day will be higher, resulting in a higher adjustment. By the next day it will show the adjustment based on your actual burn. Also, I think both MFP and Fitbit ask for your time zone. You might want to check and make sure they are both set to the same time zone so that Fitbit isn't getting confused and thinking you are being really active earlier in the day than you actually are.

    Actually this is not how it works for estimating rest of the day for either Fitbit or MFP.
    Just want to correct some bad misunderstandings.

    Fitbit (if you even use their eating goal) estimates rest of the day at either a sedentary setting that is barely above BMR sleeping level, or based on historical data for week days or week ends.
    What you did that morning has no bearing on either of those estimates yet.

    And what Fitbit is estimating for total daily burn is not sent to MFP to even see.

    MFP only receives daily burn up to the point of the sync - rest of the day is estimated at whatever your activity level is on MFP.

    The Cal Adj is only based on Fitbit daily minus MFP estimated up to that point - if you did more than expected then extra, if less than expected then less (if Neg Adj is enabled).

    Everyone that sleeps until morning and has an initial sync should have a negative adjustment at first.
    Because MFP is accounting for BMR x 1.25 at Sedentary, 1.4 at Lightly Active, ect.
    But Fitbit is going to report to MFP that actual rate of burn was BMR.

    As long as your device is syncing with phone on regular basis, your Fitbit account is syncing to MFP whenever the daily burn goes up 100 higher than prior sync - there is no need to wait until the next day to discover this.

    Well - unless syncing issues.

    And time zone is good point because it can cause those too.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    OP - the amount of correction depends on your MFP activity level, and when you hit the couch and go to bed in the evening.

    MFP is estimating a per min calorie burn based on your selection of Activity Level.
    But when you hit the couch at say 8 pm, and bed at 10 pm - you have say 4 hrs at BMR level rate of burn (according to Fitbit not seeing any steps).

    And depending on when you see the last calorie estimate from when the last sync happens, this effect can be made worse by up to almost 100 calories.

    Fitbit the next day will report to MFP your actual rate of burn was only BMR level.

    So MFP corrects that. (if sync issues going on, because of the good point about time zones, that can cause a delay too)

    So if you have a higher activity level set, and you hit the couch and go to bed early - the bigger the adjustment the next day.

    Sedentary minimizes that effect - but either way you can either calculate what it will be, or just observe the amount of change, and remember to leave about that much in the green for your eating goal.
    Knowing by the next morning on update you'll have nailed it.

    If any really want to understand the math behind it, read the 2nd section here a couple times.
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10098937/faq-syncing-logging-food-exercise-calorie-adjustments-activity-levels-accuracy

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