MFP calorie recommendation vs fit bit calories burnt

Hi there. I am set to maintenance and chose lightly active as I thought that was most appropriate. MFP gave me a calorie goal of 1890. Height 5’6” weight 60kg/132lbs.
I put on my fit bit yesterday and just did a regular usual every day (nothing out of the ordinary than my normal routine) and my fit bit says i burned 2500 calories!!
Should I adjust my activity settings? Active gives me 2160 And Very active gives me 2430.
(I will also add that my fit bit is one that does not track heart rate only steps so also did not recognise the 30 min SWEAT workout I did yesterday either...)
2500 seems like a lot or calories burnt from around 16,000 steps only.
Which activity level should I adjust to? I am thinking active at 2160 so I don’t over shoot? Then see how I go? Any advice?

Replies

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,261 Member
    edited June 2020
    Kittyy1994 wrote: »
    Hi there. I am set to maintenance and chose lightly active as I thought that was most appropriate. MFP gave me a calorie goal of 1890. Height 5’6” weight 60kg/132lbs.
    I put on my fit bit yesterday and just did a regular usual every day (nothing out of the ordinary than my normal routine) and my fit bit says i burned 2500 calories!!
    Should I adjust my activity settings? Active gives me 2160 And Very active gives me 2430.
    (I will also add that my fit bit is one that does not track heart rate only steps so also did not recognise the 30 min SWEAT workout I did yesterday either...)
    2500 seems like a lot or calories burnt from around 16,000 steps only.
    Which activity level should I adjust to? I am thinking active at 2160 so I don’t over shoot? Then see how I go? Any advice?

    Are you trying to lose, maintain or gain? (You don't say, and at your current size different people might choose any one of those.)

    I think most people would say 16000 steps was "active" for MFP purposes, maybe even "very active".

    It would be possible for you to burn 2500 calories daily. (I'm about your size, 5'5", 129 pounds, but age 64, and I do it on days when I get a little more exercise than usual - talking getting 400 or so instead of a more normal 300-ish.)

    There's some kind of idea that we breathe in from popular culture or something that women are delicate little flowers who only burn tiny numbers of calories, so we need to eat tiny numbers of calories, especially if we want to lose weight. It isn't always true.

    With your tracker synched (and negative calorie adjustment turned on), then setting your activity level lower will give you bigger positive adjustments, but setting it higher will give you smaller adjustments. If you set activity level above what Fitbit actually sees, you'll get negative adjustments. Different people prefer different things, and one thing that matters is when the adjustments show up (timing-wise) vis a vis your workout times.

    As far as whether your Fitbit is accurate for you or not**, believe it for the first month or so, and see whether your weight behaves in the way you wish. If so, you're set. If not, adjust your intake. (If you're premenopausal, compare your weight at the same relative point in at least 2 different menstrual cycles, for best results.)

    ** They don't measure calories - no normal consumer device does - they just estimate in a more personalized way

    Best wishes!
  • Kittyy1994
    Kittyy1994 Posts: 108 Member
    Thanks AnnPT77 that’s very insightful. I am trying to maintain.
    Started tracking through MFP again as I have been losing a little weight of late and wanted to ensure I am eating enough!
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,261 Member
    Kittyy1994 wrote: »
    Thanks AnnPT77 that’s very insightful. I am trying to maintain.
    Started tracking through MFP again as I have been losing a little weight of late and wanted to ensure I am eating enough!

    Just keep watching your weight, and if you keep losing, eat a little more. If your Fitbit appears reasonably accurate after a month or so experience, you're all set. If it's off, there are folks around here with spreadsheets to figure out the percentage error so you know how to adjust, if you want to be data-nerd-esque about it. Or, if you keep losing, you can just observe how much you're losing and estimate how much more to eat, based on 3500 calories of cumulative deficit meaning roughly a pound of weight loss, and figure it out experientially. :)
  • nanastaci2020
    nanastaci2020 Posts: 1,072 Member
    If you have your Fitbit connected to MFP then your end result will be the same no matter what your activity level setting in MFP, because the Fitbit will report 'actual' (according to Fitbit) calories burned and this will result in your adjustment.

    Example:

    Assume that on sedentary MFP expects me to use 1600 cals per day but lightly active would be 1800 cals used per day.

    Scenario 1:
    I set to sedentary with .5 pounds loss per week goal and MFP tells me to eat 1350. Fitbit says I burned 1850 so I have a +250 adjustment. 1350 + 250 = 1600

    Scenario 2:
    I set to lightly active with .5 pounds loss per week goal and MFP tells me to eat 1550. Fitbit says I burned 1850 so I have a +50 adjustment. 1550 + 50 = 1600

    But in general, time will tell if your cals in vs cals out data is on target for you. If you lose slower than expected over the course of a couple of months, then your cals in are higher than you think and/or your cals out is lower than you think.
  • wenrob
    wenrob Posts: 125 Member
    How long has it been since you’ve used your FitBit? I would not start adjusting things based on one day. I’d monitor for a week or two and then go from there. I’d also agree that 16,000 steps is “Active.”
  • Kittyy1994
    Kittyy1994 Posts: 108 Member
    wenrob wrote: »
    How long has it been since you’ve used your FitBit? I would not start adjusting things based on one day. I’d monitor for a week or two and then go from there. I’d also agree that 16,000 steps is “Active.”

    I’ve been wearing this whole week. Min steps was around 12000 max around 20000 depending on the day. Calories burnt are anywhere from 2300 to 2700!!
    I think I will try “active” setting for a while and see how I go. If I keep losing I might need to bump it up.

    Thanks for the advice 😀
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,260 Member
    edited June 2020
    16K steps for most people is above MFP very active. 20K is appreciably above very active

    12.5K or so should exhaust active, for most people, assuming all step generating activities are being lumped together.