Apple Watch Calories Support

Stevie1050
Stevie1050 Posts: 8 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi everyone,

Sorry if this is the wrong place to post—I’ve never actually posted in the forums here before, but frustration with Apple Watch/MFP syncing has finally driven me to it lol.

I’ve been guess logging calories eaten/burned on MFP for around three years now, I think? I’ve lost around 40 pounds just doing this, but now that I’ve plateaued, I’m trying to be more accurate with my logging.

For the past few years, MFP has only awarded me some ridiculously low number for walking, like 10 calories per mile. I got an Apple Watch to try and correct this adjustment, and now the calories it’s giving me are waaaay too high. For example, I’ve walked half a mile and vacuumed today, and it said that earned me 490 calories.

I turned on negative adjustments based on online FAQs, but this hasn’t helped. I’ve also attached the readings from my Fitness iPhone app here (which says I’ve burned a much more reasonable amount).

Am I misunderstanding MFP/Apple Watch’s calorie adjustments in some way? Sorry if these have obvious answers, but I’m a bit stumped!

-Stevie

Replies

  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,888 Member
    edited July 2021
    From what I've read, Apple doesn't 'play nicely' with MFP for some people, sending over wrong numbers.

    Something you can try is to sync MFP with the Pacer app and the Pacer app with Apple (so using Pacer as an intermediary instead of syncing directly).

    PS in your screenshot, you haven't earned 490 calories, you've lost them! At what activity level are you set on MFP?
  • Stevie1050
    Stevie1050 Posts: 8 Member
    edited July 2021
    Thanks for the response! I’m on the least active level, because I prefer to log all exercises manually. And yeah, after looking up more FAQs, it seems like I might be better off just using the two tools separately, adding Fitness calories to MFP totals. I’ll look into Pacer as well though!
  • Stevie1050
    Stevie1050 Posts: 8 Member
    And huh, you’re right, I don’t know why it’s saying I did negative exercise lol
  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,888 Member
    edited July 2021
    If you tap on the calorie adjustment in your diary, you can see what number Apple is sending over and whether or not it corresponds with the number in the Apple app (total calorie burn for the day).

    A 490 calorie negative adjustment when you're sedentary definitely seems off to me. (although I'd also add that it's better to look at a complete day, looking at an incomplete day can skew the numbers)
    I mean, your step count was definitely low (under sedentary level) but a 490 calorie negative adjustment' seems like a lot.
  • Stevie1050
    Stevie1050 Posts: 8 Member
    Yeah, I thought 1700 was maintenance, assuming I did absolutely no exercise—so I figured it should only go up from there…I had no idea the app ever subtracted from sedentary values
  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,888 Member
    Even sedentary includes a certain amount of activity. For me it's around 2000-3000 steps before I get a positive adjustment.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    edited July 2021
    Activity tracker is SUPPOSED to send a Daily Calorie burn value - everything.

    Apple sends a figure that is about equal to MFP's sedentary setting for daily burn.

    So for example Apple 2000 - 2000 MFP = 0 adjustment.

    Base Eating goal say 1500 has no increase. 500 deficit.

    If MFP knows about a workout because it's logged (or synced across like Apple sends), it figures the tracker sent daily burn already contains it, so to avoid double counting it subtracts it.

    So Apple 2000 - 2000 MFP - 300 workout = neg 300 adjustment

    Base goal 1500 - 300 adjustment + 300 workout = 1500. 1800 deficit now.

    Notice there is nothing even being noted if you are in fact over sedentary in your daily activity - all those Active calories don't even come into play because Apple doesn't include them in what is sent.

    Totally hosed up - when you are doing more you are given a bigger deficit - totally axxbackwards.

    Ditto to pacer req - Pacer will pull all 3 values and present to MFP correctly as other trackers do.

    ETA:
    In MFP app, Exercise Diary, the line about the Apple Adjustment - can you press and hold to see more details, and include that screen shot?

    The wording on couple things is making me think you don't have accounts linked, mere telling MFP to use Apple watch for a step count figure, and MFP is doing super rough math to get calories from that.
    It leads to some funkiness too when you log workouts, because MFP has no idea if the steps were or were not part of the workout logged, so it subtracts the calories just to make sure no double counting.
    If walking was only workout - no big whoop. If you did other more intense things - could be big whoop as the steps could have been increasing daily activity and for sure count, but then workout was spin bike or weight lifting or swimming and counts too.

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