How accurate are the calories burned?

[JennyRebecca]

I'm using my Charge 2 with the calories counting app My Net Diary.  They are linked together.  So far I'm averaging almost 2 pounds per week.  I couldn't be happier about that.  It's going really well and I feel amazing!

At the end of the week, My Net Diary tells me based on what I've eaten and what I've burned, what I should have lost that week.  It's always a lot higher that what I actually loose.  I should add, I'm honest about the food I log.  I only answering to myself so why lie to myself.  lol

So does that mean I'm buring less calories than my Fitbit says?

[TammyBoBammy]

sjmdesigns, I just adjusted my weight in the app to 33% less to try this out.  I immediately got an email congratulating me on my 95 lb weight loss!  LMAO!!! I replied, but I know no one will read it so I'll post it here: 

#1, if I really lost 95 lbs in one day, that would be cause for concern, not celebration.

#2, do you really believe just because I entered some digits in the app that I actually lost 95 lbs?

#3, I'm having to enter my weight as 33% less than it really is so that *your* device will give me a more accurate estimate of how many calories I burn every day. 

I wish I could just track my actual weight so I can see my actual progress and celebrate my (real) small victories. But no. I have to sacrifice that feature of the app so the device works like it should. 

According to my intake and fitness tracking on Fitbit, I've maintained a calorie deficit of ~600/day on average for the last 8 months. Based on 3,500 cal/lb, I should've lost almost 40 lbs. I've only lost 20. Now I have to say I weigh 130 when I really weigh 190 just to get Fitbit to give me an accurate read on my calories burned. 

(My starting weight was 230, so that's what the "95 lb loss" is based on. If true, would really be 100 lb loss.  But it's not true, so whatever.  Also, I started losing weight on my own a year and 3 months before I got my first Fitbit and starting tracking food with the Fitbit app and calories burned with the device.  Went from 230 to 210 on my own, then 210 to 190 with Fitbit.  But based on my stats in the app, I should have gone from 210 to 170 since I started tracking with Fitbit 8 months ago.) 

[SunsetRunner]

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@TammyBoBammy wrote:

sjmdesigns, I just adjusted my weight in the app to 33% less to try this out.  I immediately got an email congratulating me on my 95 lb weight loss!  LMAO!!! I replied, but I know no one will read it so I'll post it here: 

#1, if I really lost 95 lbs in one day, that would be cause for concern, not celebration.

#2, do you really believe just because I entered some digits in the app that I actually lost 95 lbs?

#3, I'm having to enter my weight as 33% less than it really is so that *your* device will give me a more accurate estimate of how many calories I burn every day. 

I wish I could just track my actual weight so I can see my actual progress and celebrate my (real) small victories. But no. I have to sacrifice that feature of the app so the device works like it should. 

According to my intake and fitness tracking on Fitbit, I've maintained a calorie deficit of ~600/day on average for the last 8 months. Based on 3,500 cal/lb, I should've lost almost 40 lbs. I've only lost 20. Now I have to say I weigh 130 when I really weigh 190 just to get Fitbit to give me an accurate read on my calories burned. 

(My starting weight was 230, so that's what the "95 lb loss" is based on. If true, would really be 100 lb loss.  But it's not true, so whatever.  Also, I started losing weight on my own a year and 3 months before I got my first Fitbit and starting tracking food with the Fitbit app and calories burned with the device.  Went from 230 to 210 on my own, then 210 to 190 with Fitbit.  But based on my stats in the app, I should have gone from 210 to 170 since I started tracking with Fitbit 8 months ago.) 

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I did 33% based on my doctors input, but you might not have to do a 33% decrease. She based that on my situation.

Now that I am a "197 lb" person in my fitbit, on days I don't workout, I burn a total of 2100-2300 daily calories. On days I workout (5 days a week), my daily calorie burn is in the 3100-3300 range.

Also, as I stated before, in my food tracker app, I keep my normal weight loaded there (284).

[TammyBoBammy]

In my app, there is only one place to input weight, in the weight log.
There is no place in the food log to input weight, or in the calories
burned or heart rate tracking tiles.

Weighing 190-210, my calories burned has always been between 2100 and 2600
per day, depending on daily activity levels. But I'm only consuming
1600-2000 calories a day and maintaining an average deficit of 600 calories
a day, based on the stats from my device and my (religious) food intake
tracking. I should have lost almost twice as much weight as I have in the
last 8 months based on the numbers. If the device is likely 27%
inaccurate, that has to be part of the problem. Otherwise I'm at a
loss....

[Anodyne2k]

The Fitbit calories burned calculator is always inaccurate and has been said to average up to 25% over what you’re actually burning, so you need to subtract that if you want something that’s going to be very accurate. I personally take away 20% because there are times where the Fitbit under-estimates calorie burn but it’s usually exaggerating some or quite a bit (almost all trackers will).

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[TammyBoBammy]

Lol also, I'm now "average-good" on the cardio fitness scale, instead of just "fair," just because I lowered my reported weight. Same resting heart rate, same body fat percentage.... Simply lowering my weight will affect my overall health that much with no other measurable changes.... Yeah. 

[SunsetRunner]

Not sure about the accuracy.  It's still, IMHO, motivating and helpful to see that calorie burn goal hit on successful days, as is the case with reaching daily step goals.  Am happy to have this feature, and figure it is preferable to not having it. Shows me I'm heading in the right direction. 🙂 

And when you think about it, aren't the amount of calories in meals estimated, or at least, not exact?  There are always variables with figuring out the calories in what we are eating as well (the calories of a meal listed on a restaurant menu for example), but we still see it as a useful guide.  

[Maaron8]

The rules for protein and food intake should be based off your lean mass... I mean, sure, it does take extra energy to carry the extra weight around, but the number you plug in for BF% is much more important than your BMI.

If you're honest with your body fat %, I don't see why you'd need to alter your input on weight... unless there is an issue with Fitbit's formula. Lean mass ratio should be all the info it needs, right?

[iamgine]

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@SunsetRunner wrote:

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@Anodyne2k wrote:

Your 33% is aggressive but if you still find motivation from that then do it.

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I went by my weight loss doctors recommendation. She's pretty up on all these trackers and how cardio machines calculate calorie burn.

Plus, She did an extensive "run of the numbers" on my log from the month of April 2018. This log consisted of my daily calories and my exercise info through the whole month. With my recent loss of 136 pounds since January 2017, she did some math and some educated guess work (her being a professional, and bariatric surgeon), she came to the conclusion that even though I am currently 284 pounds, my body is probably at the metabolism level of a 190 pound person.

So, with taking off .33% of 284, I came to 197, which is about what she says I'm at metabolism-wise. And, the fact that everything she has guided me on over the last 15 months has worked for me, I think she's been pretty accurate.

There is just no way I burned 1400-1600 calories during a 1.5 hour training session of weight lifting and cardio being at 284 pounds that my fitbit says I do. And I work pretty intensely too, but it seems hard to believe that is an accurate number.

I'll stick with her recommendation. 

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Why is it hard to believe that's an accurate number?

Your weight is 284. You worked out vigorously for 1.5 hours. It seems very believable that you burned 1400 calories even just counting it manually. 

[Anodyne2k]

I agree that burning over 1,000 calories isn't crazy if you're really getting after it for 90 minutes and aren't a light person. When I was 372 lbs at 23 yrs old I ended up burning close to 800 calories in an hour just doing above average speed walking and mixing in 1 minute of jogging every 9 minutes. Though exercise equipment isn't perfectly accurate I've seen well over 1,000 calories using an elliptical for an hour straight. 1400 calories seems plausible but very exhausting for a workout. But still, not every doctor is up to speed on tech and the data. Not saying yours isn't but we as non doctors tend to assume everything they say is gospel without taking into consideration that a surgeon knows little about medicine and vice versa, which is why specialists are required for numerous fields.

I can only assume the doc was right but still others have reported 20-25% variance in calorie burn and that variance was larger when high heart rate activity was performed and the Fitbit was assuming more calories burn than reality. The error margin shrinks when you're just walking and standing throughout the day. Everyone is also different, so if you've got a slower metabolism that might make sense to take 33% away - a lower body weight metabolism would suggest you're not burning as many calories vs. the average metabolism. In the end it's a tool to approximate but it would be nice to see these devices get better than 90% accuracy over time.

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[iamgine]

Maybe the doc was right for his metabolism but then he would be a very special case and not representing the general population. My problem lies with the astonishment that at 284 Lbs doing 1.5 hours of vigorous weightlifting and cardio, 1400 calories is so unbelievable, regardless of it being accurate or not. Not only plausible, it should be in that range at his weight if he really did vigorous exercise. 

[AmySterling]

You guys are making me so happy!! I'm so glad for both of you. I wondered about the same question and will give this time ...

[SunsetRunner]

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@iamgine wrote:

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@SunsetRunner wrote:

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@Anodyne2k wrote:

Your 33% is aggressive but if you still find motivation from that then do it.

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I went by my weight loss doctors recommendation. She's pretty up on all these trackers and how cardio machines calculate calorie burn.

Plus, She did an extensive "run of the numbers" on my log from the month of April 2018. This log consisted of my daily calories and my exercise info through the whole month. With my recent loss of 136 pounds since January 2017, she did some math and some educated guess work (her being a professional, and bariatric surgeon), she came to the conclusion that even though I am currently 284 pounds, my body is probably at the metabolism level of a 190 pound person.

So, with taking off .33% of 284, I came to 197, which is about what she says I'm at metabolism-wise. And, the fact that everything she has guided me on over the last 15 months has worked for me, I think she's been pretty accurate.

There is just no way I burned 1400-1600 calories during a 1.5 hour training session of weight lifting and cardio being at 284 pounds that my fitbit says I do. And I work pretty intensely too, but it seems hard to believe that is an accurate number.

I'll stick with her recommendation. 

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Why is it hard to believe that's an accurate number?

Your weight is 284. You worked out vigorously for 1.5 hours. It seems very believable that you burned 1400 calories even just counting it manually. 

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My routine is this:

I do 5 weight lifting exercises. 3 sets to failure with drop sets and rest-pause techniques (it's more like 9 sets if you include the drop sets and rest-pause).

In between each weight set, I do a 1000 meter sprint on the concept2 rower (takes about 4-4:30 minutes depending on how hard I row).

So, five lifts, five rows. Takes just under 1.5 hours.

Still, no way I am burning 1400 calories per workout. I just do not believe it, and neither does my doctor.

[SWVsings]

So Mr. Anodyne and others, for those of us who don’t wish to put in a false weight in our Fitbit numbers, and who understand or agree with you and others that the Fitbit calories shown not only seem inflated, but are too high by 20-33% (depending on all sorts of things), I will ask you this since I’m not a big fan of the math or science of weight loss and how our Fitbits work. 

Instead of messing with our actual weights to get the calorie calorie count to be more accurate, would it be useful for weight loss if, in addition to doing the food logging/calorie counting and the exercise we thing we need, we put in to the Fitbit app a “calories burned goal” that is 20-33% higher than we think we actually need? That way we will be able to tell where we stand on any given day? I was using the calorie counter and food logging in Fitbit but find it easier to link my account to My Fitness Pal and do it there instead. 

Thank you in advance for your opinions on this, and three cheers for you in your progress.  I made weight loss progress a few years ago (55 pounds) then events since then and my own focus elsewhere have resulted in all of those lost pounds finding their way back “home”. Sigh. Oh well, a new year and a renewed focus, and a self love that will endure no matter my size and shape. Here’s to all of us aiming for good or better health. 

[GritsnGravy]

3) Don't bother adjusting weight, just do math. I personally wrote out a simple Excel spreadsheet that I use to see what my history is with calorie deficits, daily weight loss (in pounds), with a monthly and all-time overview (for the year anyway). I take away 20% now instead of 11-13% because I knew I may not be losing .6 lbs most days and averaging 2.8-3.5 lbs. per week because I'm not doing a lot of intense exercise and weight lifting. I'm just getting my steps in through more walking and some mild jogging here and there. Since 20% is the average calorie miscalculation I can just take Fitbit's calorie burn and multiply it by 0.8 and I get my realistic calorie burn. It's important to note that people that are heavier may be closer to the true number because their bodies are working quite hard to exercise and most of these error tests that are available online are done on fairly healthy people so there's no telling whether Fitbit's algorithms work better for very overweight people or if it's consistent regardless of body weight/shape.

Thanks for the great tip! I've just made my own spreadsheet after reading your message because I have assumed that my calories burned are being over estimated. 

I have just simply set up a calories consumed, fitbit reported calories and taking off 20% and then having the deficit display from that. I can adjust in the future to suit. 

I'm going to buy a Aria 2 to weigh myself each day to see how it tracks. Though it's a little hard to know if you are adding some muscle if you are going to gym but overtime hopefully we'll find a trend. 

Thanks again for the good tip. 

[PaulGreatrex]

I have the fitbit Aria 2 and am experiencing the same issues with over estimated calories.

The problem is i was following it because i was weight training and found i was gaining weight.

My average day calorie burn is ~3000 and my average food intake was ~2400 and i still gained weight.

And not much muscle either - mostly fat. And i was following IIFYM 20%fat 44% carbs 36% protein.

At 23% fat and 15st 9 6ft 3" ...something is not adding up.

I got stronger by about 20% on big lifts but the Aria told me the same thing as almost 2 months ago.

[LilianQuijano]

REWHAT A GREAT COMEBACK!

[Kris111]

I think the only important thing here is listen to your  body and portion.

If you are still super hungry or dont feel that slimming feeling after your portion allow yourself another but wait 20 minutes or so. 

Fitbits are great but you have to remember to listen to your body before your Fitbit. Just because fit it says you burned way over is not an excuse to have another (fitbit isnt always accurate 100 percent but some days it is pretty good).  Some days I have the same problem listening to fitbit before my body ..not alwaysa good thing to have a tracker.

[Atuljk]

I think your observation is correct. As per Fitbit I burn 600 calories an hour for normal walk, where as the other apps suggest that I should burn 360 calories an hour for my body weight and fat percentage. I really don’t know what to believe. 

[Heybales]

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@Atuljk wrote:

I think your observation is correct. As per Fitbit I burn 600 calories an hour for normal walk, where as the other apps suggest that I should burn 360 calories an hour for my body weight and fat percentage. I really don’t know what to believe. 

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Compare and confirm.

This is very accurate, more than a HR-based calorie burn. Which frankly is going to be inflated anyway, because the bottom of the aerobic range, and the top actually, is inflated compared to the calc's for the middle of the range.

https://exrx.net/Calculators/WalkRunMETs

Use the Gross value and compare to the stats Fitbit is showing for time and distance.

Yes 600 does seem high, but without knowing weight and distance one cannot really comment on it. If really moving a lot of mass fast - that could easily be possible.

Fat % doesn't really matter, it's just part of the mass that is moving - so curious what you are using that is including that in the calculation.

[SunsetRunner]

This topic is important to me and just recently I've taken to wearing 2 devices and using a third party website to calculate "EE" (energy expenditures)

I have a FitBit Charge 3, a Wahoo Tickr (HR monitor with chest strap) and I use this site to calculate my caloric burn: http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/calculators/heart-rate-based-calorie-burn-calculator.shtm...

It's been a fave site of mine for a few years and what makes it a fave is that I can see my gross calories burned and my NET calories burned...it deducts your calories you would normally burn if you weren't exercising - I've been tracking food and exercise for over a decade having used a couple of different Polar devices which I abandoned as they were too unreliable...for example I'd be walking at a 4.0 mph rate and it would show my heart rate at 184....or 201 or some crazy number...anyway I started to use a spreadsheet to compare readings and I'll report back after I get 4-5 weeks of data.  Thanks for the question!