Fitbit sync is subtracting calories from my daily allowance on MFP.

eva99654
eva99654 Posts: 3 Member
in Getting Started
How can that be right? I’d understand if I were a bed-bound invalid on a feeding tube, but how can 1500 steps a day subtract 200-plus calories from my daily allotment of 1200? At first, I had enabled negative calorie adjustment, thinking logically, it would offset my caloric intake with steps. Instead, it further reduced my caloric allotment. So I disabled the negative calorie adjustment, and now there is no adjustment of calories either way. It doesn’t even register my steps as positive or negative. There doesn’t appear to be any syncing going on now.

Replies

  • eva99654
    eva99654 Posts: 3 Member
    To clarify, the more I walked, the more Fitbit and MFP subtracted calories from my allotment.
  • eva99654
    eva99654 Posts: 3 Member
    I just need someone to explain to me the digital reasoning. So now I’ve managed to sync, and now it’s not deleting calories from my daily allotment, but it isn’t giving me credit for steps. How many steps does it take to burn a calorie? Apparently, 1500 steps equals ZERO!
  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,094 Member
    edited April 2021
    Your adjustment doesn't give you calories for activity, it gives you extra calories for activity above your selected activity level on MFP.
    I don't know what activity level you have selected, but 1500 steps isn't even above sedentary, the threshold is probably around 3000 steps (it can vary).
    Your Fitbit sends over your total calorie burn and MFP compares that to how many calories you would have burned at your selected activity level. If you've burned more, you'll get a positive adjustment, if you've burned less you'll get a negative adjustment (or no adjustment, if negative adjustments are disabled).
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    Depending on what you set your activity level at, I wouldn't expect much of an adjustment -- if any - for 1,500 steps. Remember, MFP assumes you'll be moving SOME during the day. It isn't assuming that you'll walk zero steps. You only begin to see adjustments once you've moved more than your MFP activity level would have predicted.
  • nanastaci2020
    nanastaci2020 Posts: 1,072 Member
    What is your height/weight/gender/age? Or if you've looked it up - what is your BMR? What did you set your activity level to in MFP?

    MFP estimates what you will burn in a day *not counting exercise* based on stats, activity level.
    Fitbit estimates what you are burning in a day based on stats & movement.

    When MFP gets Fitbit's reported # of calories burned, it compares to its own projection. The difference is your calorie adjustment.

    For sake of an example lets assume your BMR is 1800 daily and you've entered the lowest activity level, so MFP expects you to burn 2160 daily. If you select a 1 pound weight loss goal, MFP will assign you to eat 1660. 2160/24 is 90 - so MFP expects you to burn 90 calories every hour.

    But Fitbit sees that you're not moving (much?) when you're asleep. You wake up at 6:00am, and Fitbit ways you've burned 470 which is pretty much your BMR, rounded up. At 6am, MFP expected you would have burned 90 x 6 or 540. 470-540 = -70, so you'll see a -70 adjustment if negatives are enabled. OTherwise, 0.

    Then you do some morning routines, errands, maybe walk the dog and such between 6am-9am. As of 9am Fitbit reports that you've burned a total of 875. MFP expected you to be at 90 x 9 or 810, so you're +65. Let's say at the end of the day you've walked/exercised/been generally active on your feet and at 9PM Fitbit reports you've burned 2200 total. MFP expected 90 x 21 = 1890. 2200-1890 = 310, so this is now your adjustment. But you're going to bed soon, won't move around much more. So at midight according to Fitbit you've burned 2440. The full day projection from MFP was 2160. Now your completed adjustment is 280. It went down which it often does (slightly) once you're done moving around for the day.


    If you select a higher activity level, you'll have a higher # of calories to start with and should see lower adjustments. Like if MFP expected you to burn 2300 daily (because of a higher activity level) in the prior example, you end of day adjustment would be 2440-2330 = 110. But you would have started with a calorie goal of 1830. 1830 + 110 = 1940, and 1660 + 280 = 1940. Same end result.

    ~~~~~~~~

    If you are very active in the morning, it would be normal to start with a big calorie adjustment. Then if you're not active at all during the day, the adjustment would decrease gradually.

    If you're not active in the morning, but are very active in the evening, it would be normal to see a negative adjustment early in the day then change to even or positive after your activity.
  • nanastaci2020
    nanastaci2020 Posts: 1,072 Member
    At the point you're seeing 1500 steps taken, you have not moved enough YET to meet your MFP stated activity level. Go for a walk. Sync again. See how it changes...
    eva99654 wrote: »
    How can that be right? I’d understand if I were a bed-bound invalid on a feeding tube, but how can 1500 steps a day subtract 200-plus calories from my daily allotment of 1200? At first, I had enabled negative calorie adjustment, thinking logically, it would offset my caloric intake with steps. Instead, it further reduced my caloric allotment. So I disabled the negative calorie adjustment, and now there is no adjustment of calories either way. It doesn’t even register my steps as positive or negative. There doesn’t appear to be any syncing going on now.

  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,547 Member
    1500 or 15000.

    The first should probably be a negative adjustment as MFP sedentary envisions somewhere around 2-3500 steps worth of activity as part of daily self care.

    The total matters at midnight so partial numbers during the day are incomplete information.

    The second should definitely be a large positive adjustment and if it is isn't is a strong indication that something is either not setup or not working right!
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    edited April 2021
    I gotta get around 4K to start moving out of sedentary - depending on the distance of those steps.

    I am surprised that the Negative adjustment caused MFP to go below 1200.
    Because it'll say 0 and then state on the details screen (press and hold on the line about Fitbit Adj) it could not lower due to limitations.

    Did you manually log your walk on MFP since Fitbit sends no workouts over?
    Then you would receive a subtract there so as not to have it double-counted.
    Don't log it on MFP if you did - not helpful in the least.

    ETA:
    Are your meal calorie totals showing up in Fitbit?
    That means you have accounts linked, and what many of us are saying is true.

    If not, and you only selected in your MFP app settings for Step Source the Fitbit option - then things work a tad differently.
    Still shouldn't go below 1200.
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,627 Member
    1500 is below sedentary. thats why it is 'taking away' calories.
  • ashley_rayne
    ashley_rayne Posts: 1 Member
    I'm having trouble with MFP and FB syncing. It doesn't automatically credit me for steps walked. It actually says 0 steps on my homepage of my app. Is anyone else having this problem? It has been like this for months! I can usually disconnect the apps and then reconnect them and it shows up, but today I've tried that like 10 times and it still shows 0 steps when I've actually walked 11,000 steps.
  • hardingjg
    hardingjg Posts: 1 Member
    I'm having the same trouble. I went through the delinking/relinking steps several days ago and it worked that day. Since then it quit recording steps. When I went through the delinking/relinking step today, it still isn't updating. I recognize that MyFitnessPal/Fitbit admit there is an issue which will take a long time to sort out. In the meantime, can anyone tell me what data I can manually input the data into MyFitnessPal to get the additional calories allowed based on the activity shown on my Fitbit. Not ideal, but something I can live with until they ultimately resolve the issue.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,547 Member
    Don't enter any data as it will screw up the data in the future when they eventually connect.

    You can manually estimate what the figures are.

    Fitbit gives you your total daily burn (TDEE).

    MFP estimates that based on the activity level you preselected. If you click on the little "i" for information it will tell you the calories that MFP estimates that you will burn for the day (it is a figure that doesn't change unless you manually add exercise).

    At midnight your final exercise adjustment for the day is whatever add/subtract would make the two figures the same.

    MFP guess: 2100, Fitbit estimate 2300, exercise adjustment = +200
    MFP guess: 2100, Fitbit estimate 2050, exercise adjustment = -50

    If you're looking at your figures before midnight and want to calculate the equivalent MFP adjustment you would have received at that point of time if integration were working properly, compare the MFP figure to midnight to the current Fitbit figure + BMR*1.25 per minute to midnight (or 1.4; 1.6, 1.8 depending on your MFP activity setting)

    Example:
    I am set as not very active (aka sedentary) on MFP.
    My daily calories to maintain per MFP are 1800
    Since MFP sedentary is BMR*1.25, this tells me that my BMR is 1440.
    Since by total happenstance a day has 1440 minutes, this means my BMR is 1 Cal per minute :wink:

    Fitbit says at 21:00 (9pm) when I normally head to bed that I have burned 2000 Cal.
    My MFP adjustment at 21:00 is.
    180 minutes to midnight * 1.25 = 225 Cal MFP has pre-assigned between 21:00 and midnight.
    2000 Cal that Fitbit says I have burned to 21:00,
    ergo estimated burn to midnight = 2225
    MFP estimate per my settings = 1800
    means the adjustment at 21:00 is = 425 Cal.

    This will change of course... because I went to bed!

    Fitbit will detect no movement between 21:00 and 24:00, and so the 2000 Cal burn at 21:00 will increase slowly by BMR*1.0 given no activity detection.... and only add BMR * 1.0 = 180 Cal to midnight.

    So at midnight the Fitbit TDEE estimate figure will be at 2180 Cal.
    MFP estimate per original setup was 1800
    so the new adjustment is now 380 Cal and I've lost a few calories.

    Between 21:00 and 24:00 I lose 45 Cal, or 0.25 Cal a minute.... i.e. BMR * 0.25 (or BMR * 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 depending on activity setting)

  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    @ashley_rayne & @hardingjg

    Didn't want this topic to turn to troubleshooting since that wasn't the purpose of it - you'll find many of those started frequently. You'll also find those that give a reason.

    For your issues.

    Get the word out.

    https://support.myfitnesspal.com/hc/en-us/articles/360056777832-2021-Messaging-Regarding-the-Status-of-our-Fitbit-Integration

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