Calories left to eat discrepancy in the Food plan tile

[Ron_N]

There seems to be an inconsistency in the way calories left to eat are reported in the Food Plan tile on the Dashboard page compared with the Food Plan section of the Food Log page. It seems to happen when I am near or below my current weight goal. The tile on the Dashboard reports as if I want to continue the same deficit I chose in my plan, i.e. it seems to subtract the chosen deficit from the estimated total calories I will burn for the day. The Food Plan section of the Food Log page seems to add the chosen deficit to my estimated total burn (as seen by hovering over the magnifying glass icon), and then subtracts the deficit again, so that the calories amount left to eat is larger by the amount of the deficit than the value reported on the Dashboard.

I realize there might be some ambiguity about what I might want to do when I reach a weight goal, but it seems wrong to add the selected deficit to my estimated burn - if that is what is actually happening. It is also quite confusing, since I have to keep going back and forth between the two screens to remember what is happening.

Thanks.

Moderator edit: subject for clarity

[WilsonFitbit]

Hello @Ron_N, welcome to the community forums! Thank you very much for the information! 

To further take a look into this, is there any chance you can send screenshots showing the discrepancies? This way I can see what could be happening and report it if necessary. 

I look forward to your response. 

[Ron_N]

This is from the Food Plan tile on the Dashboard page:

This is from the Food Plan section of the Food tab of the Log page:

As I said, this only seems to happen when I have met my current weight goal, when I might actually want to eat more (but not because the website estimates I will burn extra calories). But it is nevertheless a little bit confusing, and I appreciate you looking into it.

Hope this helps. Thanks.

[WilsonFitbit]

@Ron_N, thank you very much for the reply and for the screenshots! 

I'd like to mention that in order to help you gauge whether you’re on track to hit your calorie deficit, Fitbit also provides a Calories In vs. Calories Out meter. This real-time calculation takes the following information into account: your calorie deficit, how many calories you’ve eaten, how many calories you’ve burned, and the time of day. You will be considered in your goal zone as long as you are within 50 calories of your deficit goal for the current time of day.

This is where people can get confused. Because Fitbit is using information in real time to predict whether you will hit your calorie deficit by midnight, it’s possible to see something like this:

At first glance, these stats seem to be contradicting each other. You’re over your calorie target but still have 406 calories left to eat? But what the meter on the left is telling you is that based on your current activity level and the time of day, you’re not on track to hit your calorie deficit. Using the example above, if you eat your remaining 406 calories, your daily total would be 2,137 calories. Even if you end up burning 2,500 calories which is still great since it’s more than you ate, it’s not enough to hit your 500 calorie daily deficit goal.

If you’re not into that system, there’s one change you can make to your settings. Click the food tile on your Fitbit.com dashboard and then “See More.” In the Food Plan section, click the gear icon. This is where you can change your Daily Calorie Estimate setting from “Personalized” to “Sedentary.” The sedentary setting starts you out with a low calorie estimate and lets you “earn” more calories by being active throughout the day.

To confirm this information and get more details about this, I recommend checking this link. 

Hope this helps! 

[dhimes]

Hi Wilson M.

I'm so glad you re-posted this help article because it's exactly what I have a question on.  If I understand correctly, then the "meter" icon tells us what we need to do to stay "on track" for our diets.  But what does the "406" actually mean, then?  What is meant by "left to eat" if not "calories remaining to eat today on your diet?"  I would have expected the two of those, taken together, would mean "you are over because you are eating at a faster pace compared to your estimated burn, but if you only eat 406 calories for the rest of the day you'll be ok."

For example, my screenshots from my phone are below.  Note:  I am being aggressive at 1000 cal/day deficit, but the difference between the two numbers isn't 1000 cal.  Thanks!

Best,

Dan