Calorie counter - feedback

[iatheia]

The fact that calorie counter changes throughout the day just from breathing is the single most annoying feature about fitbit. It can estimate the "base" intake throughout the day - why not actually include that "base" as the start of the day, not setting it at 0? Sure, exercise and everything else add to it, but because it keeps incrementally changing throughout the day all the way up to midnight even just from sitting on the sofa, makes it rather annoying planning dinners, having to do additional mental gymnastics of "well, how much is it going to increase the allowance by the end of the day?"

Also, the "calories left" between the dashboard and the food tab are inconsistent, at least on the android, because the latter somehow doesn't update the allowance as frequently as the dashboard does? Every once in a while they sync up, but it takes forever, and essentially impossible to trigger manually. This has been an issue for years, and it is annoying to see that this never got fixed.

Moderator edit: Updated subject for clarity 

[SilviaFitbit]

Welcome to the Community @iatheia. Thanks for taking the time to share your feedback. 

Sorry to hear that you found difficult this calorie function. You can try setting your own calorie goal and this will let you eat calories intake as much as you burn. 

To do so:

- Go to the Dashboard 

- Click on the food tile 

- Scroll down to the Plan Summary 

- Finally tap on Set a new goal 

Let me know how it goes. I'll be around if you need further assistance. 

[iatheia]

That is decisively not what I was complaining about. Please read my initial post again.

[gtg947h · Accepted solution]

Take a look over here as for why the "calories left" on the dashboard vs. the food tab don't match: https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Android-App/Calories-left-VS-left-in-budget/m-p/3535410/highlight/tr...

One thing I have noticed is that the dashboard calorie counter won't update unless you (a) sync, then (b) open the food tab for a bit (give it 10-20 seconds to update).  Only then will the "calories left" number update with respect to what you've actually burned.  The iOS app is different, it "refreshes" immediately when opening the app and immediately upon syncing. 

Last, regarding calories burned, the calories counter shows the best estimate of what you've actually burned that day up to that point.  Are you saying you want that to show your total predicted calorie burn for the entire day so you can plan food?  The food tracker can (sort of) do that, if you have it set to "personalized".  Just make sure you go by the number on the dashboard, not the one in the food tab (see my link above).  Also be aware that if you go to bed any significant time before midnight, it'll over-estimate a bit because Fitbit assumes you'll maintain your average activity level until midnight.  I have to take 200-250 off that number because I usually go to bed around 2100.

@SilviaFitbitYeah, that's not what OP was talking about at all...

[iatheia]

@gtg947h Thanks, I suppose that makes sense, if one squints, even though it doesn't seem to be the the most sensible way to go about it.