Fitbit Tracker calorie adjustment

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K9Drea
K9Drea Posts: 2 Member
in Getting Started
Could someone please explain this to me in simple terms for the hard of thinking?

I have my Fitbit connected to my MFP account and log my food and exercise in there diligently.

Today for example, I have burned 896 calories from workouts, consumed 1529 (over my 1400 allowance) and I'm showing a Fitbit calorie adjustment of 416 calories. What do I do with them? Just ignore them?

Many thanks

Replies

  • hipari
    hipari Posts: 1,367 Member
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    If you have Fitbit synced and follow the calorie adjustment, stop logging exercise in MFP immediately. Alternatively, if you want to keep an exercise diary there, set calories for those logs at zero. This is because your Fitbit already calculates those exercise calories into your adjustment, and you’re double logging them if you also log them to MFP, leading to eating too much.

    I have Fitbit and MFP linked as well, and find it easier to follow my calories in vs out through the Fitbit app. It syncs calorie amounts per meal from MFP and shows calories in vs out, plain and simple. Here’s what my yesterday looks like in the Fitbit app vs in MFP. This is a personal preference, but I prefer going by the totals instead of seeing just the MFP recommendations.
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  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    hipari wrote: »
    If you have Fitbit synced and follow the calorie adjustment, stop logging exercise in MFP immediately. Alternatively, if you want to keep an exercise diary there, set calories for those logs at zero. This is because your Fitbit already calculates those exercise calories into your adjustment, and you’re double logging them if you also log them to MFP, leading to eating too much.

    I have Fitbit and MFP linked as well, and find it easier to follow my calories in vs out through the Fitbit app. It syncs calorie amounts per meal from MFP and shows calories in vs out, plain and simple. Here’s what my yesterday looks like in the Fitbit app vs in MFP. This is a personal preference, but I prefer going by the totals instead of seeing just the MFP recommendations.

    The bolded is not correct info.

    Fitbit is a replace-only system.

    If you create a workout on MFP just to log it with 0 calories - that workout will sync over and make that chunk of time 0 calories. Talk about wrong and bad effect.
    I agree though, MFP exercise diary not nearly as nice as Fitbit's is - so don't even log a workout - just make a wall post on MFP to share with friend's list.

    But that also means there is no double-logging that can occur, unless you screw up am/pm and receive same calories for different chunk of time.

    Worse effect is causing 2 extra syncs to have to occur - with issue around syncing - that's a bad bet to add more of them.

    Since MFP always subtracts from the math any workouts it knows about - no double-logging on it's side either if you did happen to log workouts here. Just not preferred. Despite MFP recommending it upon syncing accounts.

    Also, MFP is creating that Fitbit Adjustment by receiving just 2 pieces of info - Total Daily Calories Burned and timestamp.
  • hipari
    hipari Posts: 1,367 Member
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    @heybales - do you know if it has always been this way, or was the system changed recently? I'm intrigued, because I have been told by multiple people it works the way I described. Interesting to find out the general consensus I've learned here on the forums would be incorrect.

    Still, I agree with you, Fitbit exercise diary is nicer than MFP's.
  • K9Drea
    K9Drea Posts: 2 Member
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    Thank you all SO much, this makes much more sense than the info on the relevant sites. I'll just stick with my Fitbit info then :)
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    edited May 2020
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    hipari wrote: »
    @heybales - do you know if it has always been this way, or was the system changed recently? I'm intrigued, because I have been told by multiple people it works the way I described. Interesting to find out the general consensus I've learned here on the forums would be incorrect.

    Still, I agree with you, Fitbit exercise diary is nicer than MFP's.

    It's never been a double-dipping issue but indeed that is mentioned as a reason to not log on MFP.
    Another reason to manually log anything needed (like Weights) on Fitbit - they use the same MET's database for calorie burn as MFP and many others - but it's used correctly by BMR, not weight like MFP and others made it.

    Now, I know cases where someone had the timezone set wrong between accounts, so logging 4 pm here for 1 hr made a workout on Fitbit at 5 pm - and indeed double the calories for the workout in the day.
    Or did am/pm wrong and got double.
    People see those and assume double calorie counting.

    I know on Fitbit people can see what appears to be 2 workouts sitting there and assume that means the calories are added to the daily total again.
    But that's really an Activity Record - which is a snapshot of the stats Fitbit had in that chunk of time. (sleep time is this) It can't add any info - merely shows it. This is what is created when you start a workout or it auto-starts one.
    And a Workout Record - which replaces whatever stats were in that chunk of time. This is manually logged after the fact.
    But if the snapshot was there first - a picture of what was is still a picture of what was, even though it's changed now.

    If you look at your Fitbit daily burn, add a MFP workout for same calorie burn and time/duration as existing record shows on Fitbit already - you'll find the Fitbit daily burn doesn't go up.

    MFP side won't even be messed up, because as soon as it knows of a workout it removes it from it's estimate of daily burn before doing math for your adjustment.

    No - the whole things works pretty well depending on syncs working well, and people logging correct start/duration times. (which is another reason to not manually log on MFP, just introduces more opportunity for screwup)

    ETA - it's those testing workouts on MFP that you may discover, MFP isn't always great about adjusting the figures back down when you delete workouts, even though it may delete on Fitbit even. May take awhile for MFP to get the math straight again.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    K9Drea wrote: »
    Thank you all SO much, this makes much more sense than the info on the relevant sites. I'll just stick with my Fitbit info then :)

    Does make it easier.

    For example on the stats you gave in OP, that MFP adjustment showed that while you may have had exercise calories for 896, you lost calories for the day in general because of possibly moving less from being tired from the workout.
    Many with a hard workout find that can occur.

    896 - 416 = 480 less calories to your daily activity burn than MFP was expecting.

    That's a rather major amount though - so I'm thinking you have MFP setup with a high activity level setting - so MFP was expecting you to burn a lot already, and you didn't reach that level outside your workout.

    Compare that to another day where you could have no workout, but are very busy with daily activity stuff - and you get an adjustment of say 200 calories.

    Here's the problem with setting a high activity level though, and if you don't set MFP Food Diary setting for Negative Adjustment to enabled.
    On days you aren't as active, and no workouts - your eating goal won't go down to keep the same deficit.
    Maybe that's fine and the way you want it.
    Maybe your eating goal is normally say 1500, and you know you don't want to go lower just because you had a slow day - you'll just accept you got less deficit that day.
  • stormy_destiny
    stormy_destiny Posts: 15 Member
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    k6xzyiq9i8il.png


    So what do I do about this? I’m sorry if this is redundant I’m just trying to understand and not overstate my calorie burn/consumption. I try not eat back anything I’ve burned but I feel like I’m doing something wrong on days like this. Please advise
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,679 Member
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    hipari wrote: »
    was the system changed recently? I'm intrigued, because I have been told by multiple people it works the way I described. Interesting to find out the general consensus I've learned here on the forums would be incorrect.

    The situation has been as @heybales described it since BEFORE I first connected a Fitbit to MFP in early 2015.

    What you described WOULD work, without *substantially* polluting your Fitbit data if in addition to making the activity worth BMR*MFP activity factor calories per minute, you also made it a 1 minute activity.

    Or... just don't do it, it's easier! :lol:

    @stormy_destiny your issue is that you logged your exercise in MFP.

    Assuming the account times are synchronized, the exercises you logged in MFP have now REPLACED whatever your Fitbit detected during that same time period.

    So... if your information about your burn is more accurate than what Fitbit detected... you did good!
  • Lillymoo01
    Lillymoo01 Posts: 2,865 Member
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    stormy_destiny wrote: »
    k6xzyiq9i8il.png


    So what do I do about this? I’m sorry if this is redundant I’m just trying to understand and not overstate my calorie burn/consumption. I try not eat back anything I’ve burned but I feel like I’m doing something wrong on days like this. Please advise

    For better accuracy log all of your exercises into your Fitbit rather than MFP but log all of your food into MFP rather than the Fitbit. The Fitbit will take your heart rate and the steps that are taken while adding additional exercise into consideration and MFP has a much better database for food. MFP isn't known for being accurate with calories burned with exercise either.
  • stormy_destiny
    stormy_destiny Posts: 15 Member
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    Oh I see. Thank you all for responding in layman’s terms I’m new to this and frankly it makes my head spin. This does make more sense though, and seems like a much easier method. Thank you!
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    @stormy_destiny

    I will say there is no way in the world you burned that many calories on the elliptical. Maybe - but hugely unlikely.
    Same with basketball and Zumba. 1000 cal/hr is a massive burn rate - not usually reachable unless truly brief periods of time.

    That is where Fitbit's HR-based calorie burn is going to be better than database calculation that has no intensity level at all mentioned.

    You should be able to delete that in MFP and it will delete in Fitbit, bringing back Fitbit's original calorie burn for that chunk of time.

    If you manually entered that based on what Fitbit said the workout burned - then your HR-based is way off too for some reason.

    If the MFP workout doesn't delete on Fitbit's side correctly - just confirm you are deleting the MFP entry - which will only show calorie burn, no steps, distance, or HR.
  • stormy_destiny
    stormy_destiny Posts: 15 Member
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    @haybales

    It seemed highly unlikely to me too, that’s the major reason I’m questioning it. I want to be true to myself and my log. I just didn’t know how to fix it, or even what I was doing wrong in the first place. thanks for responding though I’m trying to just log activity on Fitbit now for the sake of accuracy.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    stormy_destiny wrote: »
    @haybales

    It seemed highly unlikely to me too, that’s the major reason I’m questioning it. I want to be true to myself and my log. I just didn’t know how to fix it, or even what I was doing wrong in the first place. thanks for responding though I’m trying to just log activity on Fitbit now for the sake of accuracy.

    Why are you manually logging them though?

    I take that as meaning after the fact - you create workout, search for the activity, input stats it may ask about like speed or pace, and even let you enter the calorie burn.

    That's still using database entries. That's fine for Weight lifting, or if you did walking/jogging intervals and the HR on either is inflated.

    Can't you not just start a workout when you do it - let it log it when done?

    Maybe you mean something different by just logging activity on the Fitbit.
    Perhaps you are not manually logging a workout.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,420 Member
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    Another question: What was the workout for over 800 calories? That's an awful lot! Did you work out for hours or was it a shorter thing? There might be two things going on:
    a) Fitbit can overestimate workouts substantially in some people. Mostly those that have a high natural heartrate. Generally, workout calories aren't in the 800s for most people unless they are busy for hours.
    b) the number fitbit displays under the workout tab are gross calories. Calories for workouts (and everything else) consist of base metabolic rate, which is the calories your body burns just to stay alive. Think organs, brains, digestions, etc. And then there's everything you do on top. These are gross calories while just the workout without the BMR are the net calories. Fitbit displays the gross calories under the workout tab, but the data transferred to MFP are of course the net calories, thus the ones only for the workout. MFP already estimates BMR for you, thus transfering those again would be double dipping.

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