FitnessPal and Garmin COnnect

Do not try to follow 2 roads to the same destination.
This apply to whatever tracker/MFP combo is being used.

MFP for food logging and goals.

Other, Garmin in this case, exercise only logging and goals.

Because even if you had a daily tracker that allowed that activity section to be filled in - Garmin's way of doing it does not actually work with what MFP is doing.

And it especially doesn't work when you are only getting workouts in there.

And even there - you are going to run into a problem that Garmin, Fitbit, ect are a replace-only system.

Meaning you have some base calories there either expected or from a daily tracker device, and you sync in a workout - it's going to replace the base calories already there with whatever the workout had as a total.

MFP though is an add-on system when no tracker sync is being done. Yes, they started on wrong foot and never corrected it.
Meaning it had base calories already accounted for (BMR x 1.25, or 1.4, 1.6, 1.75) you to burn.
That workout coming in added to those, it did not replace them.

If you have big long burns that are low calories (walking) - almost 1/2 the calories could be already accounted for and you are adding them again from the workout synced over.

So then do the math a few times and see if it's worth correcting the Garmin synced workout on MFP.
Your workouts may be such this doesn't matter.
It will NOT sync back to Garmin and change the original data that I've seen. Corrections on Garmin I know don't sync again to MFP.

My suggestion that will be a bit of work up front but soon can do in head.
In order to use MFP correctly, and it's life lesson it's trying to teach regarding weight control.
You do more, you eat more.
You do less, you eat less.

Anyway, if Samsung Health has some data regarding your daily burns for typical days with no workouts - get an average of 14 days.
Actually, keep an average going on non-workout days - since seasons and activity levels change and good to adjust.

Look at what MFP activity level is close to that daily burn.
BMR (under MFP calcs) x 1.25 is sedentary or not very active.
1.4 Lightly Active
1.6 Active
1.75 Very Active.

Pick that level.

Think about your workouts for time spent - even hour, 15 min increments, 30 min?
Now take that daily burn MFP is estimating, and divide by 24 for per hr, 1440 for per min, 96 per 15 min. Whatever you feel like dealing with. I get exact.
You can round that figure for easy math in your head. I use spreadsheet.

Now whenever a workout syncs over from Garmin, take the time and round to whatever block of time you used, do the math, and subtract that and correct the entry on MFP to be lower.

Done.

Now your base daily activity burn on MFP matches what you really do.
Any workouts are being added for what happened above and beyond what was already accounted for.

(and no, if you had Garmin activity tracker none of this would need to be done)

Not suggesting it - may be more than you need, and Samsung Health gives an easily enough to use daily burn.

But - it means none of my suggestions need to be done, it's all automatic (with it's own set of initial tweaks and adjusting as time goes on).

You would have to decide how useful to you to know some daily burn figures from something on you, and whatever price point that needs to be (do you need to know daily HR readings, or not useful. do you want another tracker for workouts or still use Garmin bike computer).
They have some cheaper devices that ride on the hip, to some expensive devices that basically replace your workout system (but not as readable as bike computer frankly).

Garmin is replace only system - the last, or considered more accurate, replaces other entries.

Bike computer would override tracker.

It's interesting to see how many steps the road vibrations lead to, distance, and calorie burn.
Calorie burn wiped out by the bike computer entry of course in the daily stats, and therefore what is sent to MFP.

Calories is replaced.

Bogus Steps and distance is kept as figures (not used in any math) - which could be bad if that is actually a goal, so many steps daily.

But it's nice to have a ton of steps from a ride - over 19K today, and probably less than 2K from actual steps since I was house bound besides the ride and grocery store visit.

But whatever calories was estimated on the device for what it thought was almost 9 miles - was replaced correctly.

And that daily burn 3367 was sent to MFP to do math with, to correct itself in essence, and create a deficit from that total as new eating goal.

Since I had so little movement outside exercise, I got 1425 calories for the workout, but I lost almost 200 because I didn't even reach sedentary level otherwise.

So all taken into account.

Except on Garmin's side. I understand what it's trying to do, but it doesn't make sense - so it's eating goal is still wrong to have the desired deficit.
Can't be used.

The active calories do seem excessive, yesterday I had 175 active calories for 9500 steps.

But how are you comparing MFP to Garmin's active calories? MFP's calorie adjustment is not the same as Garmin active calories. My calorie adjustment was 126 yesterday. If your setting is not sedentary/'not very active', the difference will be even bigger

I'd wait for a whole day of data. And perhaps check your settings/personal stats on both apps?

Don7773 wrote: »

I think I will go get a Garmin Watch. I also use a garmin bike computer for biking. My assumption would be that I would take the watch off when cycling to avoud duplicate entries?

No need to do that the system will avoid double counting