Seemingly too many calories to eat back
lkn42
Posts: 37 Member
I’m puzzled about how the calculation works. Seems strange that MFP gives me over 700 calories to eat back for a measly 5000 steps. That can’t be right can it? Am I doing something wrong?
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Replies
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i dont eat back my exercise calories
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Have you done any other kind of exercise today? Fitbit, as I understand it, doesn't transfer activities to be listed on your MFP diary, but it will transfer the estimated calorie burn (which might not show up as steps. The steps themselves are not the only contribution to the calories burned number.)4
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Can't agree. Even for a small person, eating 1800 calories in a day should be super easy.
Add some more oil and fat to your cooking.5 -
I’m puzzled about how the calculation works. Seems strange that MFP gives me over 700 calories to eat back for a measly 5000 steps. That can’t be right can it? Am I doing something wrong?
Your base eating goal if you were exactly as active as the level you selected on MFP setup (which contains no exercise expected), minus the deficit you selected, would be 1480. (perhaps 500 deficit for 1 lb weekly)
You have eaten 421 so far.
Fitbit told MFP that you burned more calories than MFP estimated at your selected activity level by 741 calories.
That 741 could have been exercise, or being more active than that activity level - or likely a combo of both.
That means to keep that 500 cal deficit, you have 1800 more to eat for the day.
Now I'm assuming you have accounts linked, MFP and Fitbit. If so what I described is correct.
Are meal total calories showing up on Fitbit?
If you are merely using Fitbit as a step tracker by the MFP app but not accounts linked (through App store) - then it is not Fitbit giving MFP a calorie burn for the day, but MFP giving a really rough estimate of how many calories to those steps with no knowledge of the distance they took you - which is really required for decent estimate of calories.
If you do have accounts linked, then it's up to the Fitbit for calorie estimate, which includes exercise.
Did you have a non-step based workout in there, perhaps with high HR like Spin class or intervals (incorrectly called HIIT). That could give a lot of calories without many steps, and could be very appropriate.
Also, if you are within the first 2 weeks of using a HR-based Fitbit - it's still trying to learn some figures to better estimate workouts.
If that was no workout but just daily walking around - your stride-length setting may be way off, and you got much more distance than reality, with associated calorie burn.
Yes, 700 for that many steps is tad high, unless you went for a run and that was morning figures or after the run whenever.
If you can answer the questions above, I can give some further tweaks.
Please ignore people that will parrot the advice to eat 1/2 your exercise calories - they don't understand the recommendation, nor what is happening with linked accounts, nor the fact those maybe aren't even exercise calories, nor when the advice applies. Don't trust parrots.
Also ignore those that say to ignore the exercise calories, again not understanding what's happening.
If you happened to have selected on MFP exactly the right Activity level from the 1000's Fitbit has available - you'd be receiving no adjustments or exercise calories - and this question wouldn't even come up.7 -
Yeah I too think this is correct, the linked accounts are adding this up!0
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IF you only have your fitbit linked to MFP, then indeed 700 kcal is high unless you have had high peaks in your heart rate that Fitbit recognizes as some form of exercise or maybe you are a very big guy who will burn more cals when stepping around 5.000 steps.
I'm a 160 lbs-ish woman and I got 228 kcals for 6.500 steps yesterday.
Maybe you are also syncing with Strava or Garmin? That would accumulate the expenditure.
And I concur that if you are using your fitbit only recently, it still needs to adjust to your personal settings.1 -
Antiopelle wrote: »IF you only have your fitbit linked to MFP, then indeed 700 kcal is high unless you have had high peaks in your heart rate that Fitbit recognizes as some form of exercise or maybe you are a very big guy who will burn more cals when stepping around 5.000 steps.
I'm a 160 lbs-ish woman and I got 228 kcals for 6.500 steps yesterday.
Maybe you are also syncing with Strava or Garmin? That would accumulate the expenditure.
And I concur that if you are using your fitbit only recently, it still needs to adjust to your personal settings.
It also depends on what activity level you selected in MFP though. If Sedentary and your actual day to day is more along lightly active or active then that will result in a much larger calorie add on from FitBit.3 -
If you only have MFP linked, then 741 would be really high, only under the exception that you’re extremely big. I’m on the smaller side, but I only burn around 30 calories from 2000 steps, so I doubt anyone regardless of their size would burn that much.0
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jungkooksdonut17 wrote: »If you only have MFP linked, then 741 would be really high, only under the exception that you’re extremely big. I’m on the smaller side, but I only burn around 30 calories from 2000 steps, so I doubt anyone regardless of their size would burn that much.
The thing is: Fitbit only sends over total calorie burn to MFP, so workouts aren't shown in the exercise diary (but they're still counted in the calories). 741 extra calories for only taking 5000 steps (around 2000 steps above sedentary) is high, yes and would lead me to think Fitbit is overestimating calorie burn. But if the OP also did a workout that day, it might be a perfectly reasonable number (depending on the workout).1 -
i dont eat back my exercise calories
If you use MFP to set your calorie goal, exercise, but don't eat back any exercise calories, you are not using MFP the way it was designed.
https://support.myfitnesspal.com/hc/en-us/articles/360032625391-How-does-MyFitnessPal-calculate-my-initial-goals-
Unlike other sites which use TDEE calculators, MFP uses the NEAT method (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis), and as such this system is designed for exercise calories to be eaten back. However, many consider the burns given by MFP to be inflated for them and only eat a percentage, such as 50%, back. Others, however, are able to lose weight while eating 100% of their exercise calories.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/818082/exercise-calories-again-wtf/p15 -
I am using fitbit only as a step tracker. I'm not even wearing it on my wrist to obtain my heart rate. The wrist band irritates me so I removed the band and simply walk around with the fitbit in my pocket. I believe I chose the sedentary setting in MFP because that's where I was when I first began with MFP (many days only 2000 to 3000 steps). I'm now getting a minimum of 6000 steps and most days 8000 steps with a few 10,000 steps obtained here and there. I'm doing no other exercise yet but I plan to begin soon.0
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I am using fitbit only as a step tracker. I'm not even wearing it on my wrist to obtain my heart rate. The wrist band irritates me so I removed the band and simply walk around with the fitbit in my pocket. I believe I chose the sedentary setting in MFP because that's where I was when I first began with MFP (many days only 2000 to 3000 steps). I'm now getting a minimum of 6000 steps and most days 8000 steps with a few 10,000 steps obtained here and there. I'm doing no other exercise yet but I plan to begin soon.
You might find some of the nice alternate holders, many don't like wearing on their wrist.
But bouncing around in pocket can easily ruin a good estimate for distance walked and therefore calories burned.
Actually it doesn't matter how you are using the device - your method actually has some benefits for accuracy.
It matters if you have accounts linked. So no ability to add some info to your original question yet.
So got the answer to no exercise on that day that might have had high HR but few steps.
Do you have MFP Meal total calories showing up in Fitbit?
That says if you have accounts linked.
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I am using fitbit only as a step tracker. I'm not even wearing it on my wrist to obtain my heart rate. The wrist band irritates me so I removed the band and simply walk around with the fitbit in my pocket. I believe I chose the sedentary setting in MFP because that's where I was when I first began with MFP (many days only 2000 to 3000 steps). I'm now getting a minimum of 6000 steps and most days 8000 steps with a few 10,000 steps obtained here and there. I'm doing no other exercise yet but I plan to begin soon.
You might find some of the nice alternate holders, many don't like wearing on their wrist.
But bouncing around in pocket can easily ruin a good estimate for distance walked and therefore calories burned.
Actually it doesn't matter how you are using the device - your method actually has some benefits for accuracy.
It matters if you have accounts linked. So no ability to add some info to your original question yet.
So got the answer to no exercise on that day that might have had high HR but few steps.
Do you have MFP Meal total calories showing up in Fitbit?
That says if you have accounts linked.
Thanks for your help in understanding. I do not have the accounts linked.0 -
I am using fitbit only as a step tracker. I'm not even wearing it on my wrist to obtain my heart rate. The wrist band irritates me so I removed the band and simply walk around with the fitbit in my pocket. I believe I chose the sedentary setting in MFP because that's where I was when I first began with MFP (many days only 2000 to 3000 steps). I'm now getting a minimum of 6000 steps and most days 8000 steps with a few 10,000 steps obtained here and there. I'm doing no other exercise yet but I plan to begin soon.
You might find some of the nice alternate holders, many don't like wearing on their wrist.
But bouncing around in pocket can easily ruin a good estimate for distance walked and therefore calories burned.
Actually it doesn't matter how you are using the device - your method actually has some benefits for accuracy.
It matters if you have accounts linked. So no ability to add some info to your original question yet.
So got the answer to no exercise on that day that might have had high HR but few steps.
Do you have MFP Meal total calories showing up in Fitbit?
That says if you have accounts linked.
Thanks for your help in understanding. I do not have the accounts linked.
In that case MFP has no idea what distance those steps took you (required info for good calorie burn estimate), nor if you start exercising how many of them would occur at the same time as a logged workout.
So it is making some super rough estimates of calorie burn, and that's what the adjustment is for. And as you have shown - not a good estimate in your case.
When you log a workout it will have no idea if those extra steps & calories is related to the workout or not - so it removes it from the workout calories in essence to prevent potentially double counting them.
But that isn't true - you could have an intense spin bike class with barely any steps seen but big calorie burn, and then a big busy day with lots of walking around.
And MFP in that case will remove credit for your active day to some large extent.
Frankly the ability for MFP to just use a device (Fitbit, your phone, smart watches, ect) as a mere step counter is in my opinion pretty worthless and fraught with error.
If walking was your only thing, and it got good estimates, and you were more active than your activity level - possibly useful.
I'd suggest you turn that setting off, and actually link accounts and benefit from better Fitbit estimate of calorie burn.
It can be tweaked too for improved estimates if you do things that can cause bad data, but off the start it has much better chance I think.2 -
Turning the setting off and linking accounts sounds like a better plan. Thanks!1
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Turning the setting off and linking accounts sounds like a better plan. Thanks!
I'd suggest update this thread when you start working out, with what is being done.
Some workouts can have good estimates, some can have bad ones.
But in the scheme of things, a workout that is even perhaps 100% inflated calorie burn, but it's only 15 min 3x weekly, and you are very active otherwise - big whoop, your food logging is more inaccurate than that.
On the other hand, you could remain very sedentary outside of workouts (me!), workouts which could end up being frequent and long, and then a say 25% inflated calorie burn matters.
Or you end up getting up to 15K steps daily - now distance accuracy on the device matters for best estimated calorie burn.
Just update your topic here when those things happen and we'll see it.3 -
Turning the setting off and linking accounts sounds like a better plan. Thanks!
I'd suggest update this thread when you start working out, with what is being done.
Some workouts can have good estimates, some can have bad ones.
But in the scheme of things, a workout that is even perhaps 100% inflated calorie burn, but it's only 15 min 3x weekly, and you are very active otherwise - big whoop, your food logging is more inaccurate than that.
On the other hand, you could remain very sedentary outside of workouts (me!), workouts which could end up being frequent and long, and then a say 25% inflated calorie burn matters.
Or you end up getting up to 15K steps daily - now distance accuracy on the device matters for best estimated calorie burn.
Just update your topic here when those things happen and we'll see it.
I think I might learn a lot from you.
I start a much more active job next week. I'll be on my feet for 8 hours per day and will be lifting boxes of up to 25 pounds frequently. I also bought a pair of rollerskates (something I used to love doing when I was a teen). So I will update as my activity increases.3 -
Is it really on your feet though, if wearing roller skates? ;-)
I'm imagining you'll get underestimated extra calorie burns at work.
Standing but no steps is given sleeping calorie burn rate (BMR), if lifting moving upper body, even more actually burned you'll probably see no credit for.
Something new in movement - may get sore and gain water weight - be ready.
To be patient and do nothing new but eat more for doing more.0
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