Fitbit Adjustment with User Entered Calorie Goal

Luke_rabbit
Luke_rabbit Posts: 1,031 Member
edited December 24 in Goal: Maintaining Weight
If I increase my calories goal from what MFP calculates, will that change the Fitbit adjustment?

MFP gives me 1410 to maintain and my average Fitbit adjustment is about 250. That's the average, but it really varies day to day.

For 2 reasons, I want to increase my base calories.

One is that I believe, based on calculations, that my TDEE is really about 50-100 calories higher than MFP+Fitbit adjustment.

The second is that with GERD, it is hard for my to eat a lot of calories on an active day, so I want to encourage myself to eat more even on less active days and those negative numbers get to me, even though I know they shouldn't.

Anyway, I don't want to change my base number and then have my Fitbit adjustment be lower, since that will defeat the purpose of creating a total higher number.

TIA for any insight.

Edit:

What I guess I am asking, is will MFP treat my change to 1500 as if (1) It had set my calories to 1500 or (2) I had changed my base activity level to "sedentary +" (it's about halfway to lightly active) and, therefore, my Fitbit adjustment should reflect a higher activity level.

Replies

  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,310 Member
    edited February 2020
    TL;dr Do it, you'll be fine!

    Your initial MFP number only affects the SIZE of the adjustment; but does not affect the final TOTAL CALORIES.

    The adjustment makes the FINAL figure *at midnight* equal between MFP and Fitbit.

    A higher MFP initial setup means that unless you are active in the early morning hours (after midnight), you will wake up to a larger negative adjustment.

    But your end of day positive adjustment will be a smaller than what you would otherwise get.

    Which is what you want!
  • Nony_Mouse
    Nony_Mouse Posts: 5,646 Member
    Your Fitbit adjustment will be lower, but just set MFP to what you believe is your average TDEE (assuming from your post and this being in the maintenance section that you are at maintenance), and turn off negative adjustments. That's how I would do it if you're confident that MFP + Fitbit is too low for you.

    So if you think your TDEE is 1710-1760 (MFP + Fitbit + 50-100), set it at that.
  • Luke_rabbit
    Luke_rabbit Posts: 1,031 Member
    Nony_Mouse wrote: »
    Your Fitbit adjustment will be lower, but just set MFP to what you believe is your average TDEE (assuming from your post and this being in the maintenance section that you are at maintenance), and turn off negative adjustments. That's how I would do it if you're confident that MFP + Fitbit is too low for you.

    So if you think your TDEE is 1710-1760 (MFP + Fitbit + 50-100), set it at that.

    Thanks.

    This is what I thought would happen.

    I wanted the Fitbit adjustment because my activity is not the same seasonally, and certainly not the same year to year.
  • Luke_rabbit
    Luke_rabbit Posts: 1,031 Member
    PAV8888 wrote: »
    TL;dr Do it, you'll be fine!

    Your initial MFP number only affects the SIZE of the adjustment; but does not affect the final TOTAL CALORIES.

    The adjustment makes the FINAL figure *at midnight* equal between MFP and Fitbit.

    A higher MFP initial setup means that unless you are active in the early morning hours (after midnight), you will wake up to a larger negative adjustment.

    But your end of day positive adjustment will be a smaller than what you would otherwise get.

    Which is what you want!

    Thanks for your answer. Bummer that I can't trick MFP into my slightly higher calorie need.

    Hmm, maybe I should change my age or height until the numbers fit better.

    Side note:

    I don't actually find that MFP and Fitbit come out even. Fitbit seems to be between zero and 50 calories more at the end of the day (looking back at previous days).
  • weemsdm
    weemsdm Posts: 14 Member
    edited February 2020
    The adjustment is based on your setup, (activity level and deficit), even if you have put in your own manual calorie goal. You can see the math by tapping the adjustment, then tapping again (on the app).

    For example, I have my set up at sedentary maintenance which is 1515 calories. I have a manual calorie goal of 1500, so at midnight, my MFP calories remaining is 15 calories less than my Fitbit calories remaining (sometimes there is a 1 or 2 calorie extra rounding difference). Meaning in reality, I have a 15 calorie deficit even if MFP says I’ve eaten all my calories.

    Putting in a manual goal above your setup goal will decrease your actual deficit, so I believe that yes, that will accomplish what you are attempting.
  • Luke_rabbit
    Luke_rabbit Posts: 1,031 Member
    But your end of day positive adjustment will be a smaller than what you would otherwise get.

    Which is what you want!
    Putting in a manual goal above your setup goal will decrease your actual deficit, so I believe that yes, that will accomplish what you are attempting

    Actually, what I want is to get MFP to believe that my sedentary maintenance calories are more than 1410 calories, because 1500 is likely more accurate. I don't want this to change what Fitbit thinks I burn or the Fitbit adjustment in MFP.

    I'd love to figure out a way to do this simply -- without having to monitor and calculate regularly even during times of greater or lesser activity. Which is why I thought maybe lying about my age or height might work.
  • weemsdm
    weemsdm Posts: 14 Member
    edited February 2020
    “Actually, what I want is to get MFP to believe that my sedentary maintenance calories are more than 1410 calories, because 1500 is likely more accurate. I don't want this to change what Fitbit thinks I burn or the Fitbit adjustment in MFP.”

    If you put a manual goal of 1500, it will not change your Fitbit adjustment; it will still be based on 1410. So at the end of the day, if you eat to MFP goal, you will be 90 calories above your Fitbit TDEE..
  • Nony_Mouse
    Nony_Mouse Posts: 5,646 Member
    Yep, try increasing your height. Should work. I know of someone else who had to do that to get Fitbit to be accurate for them.
  • beulah81
    beulah81 Posts: 168 Member
    weemsdm wrote: »
    “Actually, what I want is to get MFP to believe that my sedentary maintenance calories are more than 1410 calories, because 1500 is likely more accurate. I don't want this to change what Fitbit thinks I burn or the Fitbit adjustment in MFP.”

    If you put a manual goal of 1500, it will not change your Fitbit adjustment; it will still be based on 1410. So at the end of the day, if you eat to MFP goal, you will be 90 calories above your Fitbit TDEE..

    This^^.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,310 Member
    I would just leave mfp at maintenance and mentally note that I had an extra 100/150/whatever allotment in the red that I should be eating.

    Alternatively I would put myself at "gain 0.5lbs a week", i.e. +250 and make a mental note that I should leave a 100 to 150 (or whatever the number is) Cal uneaten.

    I would, personally, not mess with height and weight. YMMV, of course. This falls under mental hamster wrangling! :smiley:
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