confidence check. Fitbit calories burned.

[mccjustin]

Loving my Fitbit, but I just want to ask you experienced users out there.... is the calorie burn accurate?

I ask because I work in an office and haven't yet developed great habits with walking/running.  I've watched the steps tracking and feel its pretty reasonable on tracking for the kind of activities I'm involved in.

So regarding calories, yesterday I did a lot of pacing and small walk breaks to try to increase my daily activity. Even still my intensity wasn't very high and I only had 1 "very active minute" and yet I burned 3200 calories yesterday. Is that in the right ballpark for no running or high intensity?

Honestly, the exact number doesnt matter, but the ballpark does. And I just need a confidence check on calories burned.

Would love you're feedback.

Thanks

[RobinLabelle]

Hello. I just got my fitbit charge 2 today. However, I'm concerned it may be estimating higher than it should. Previously I was using Google Fit for android. I kept my phone on me when I was walking. 

For example, Monday with Google fit: 

MINUTES

CALORIES BURNED

Walking ⊗	42	326
Biking ⊗	31	259

Create Group Copy Exercises	MINUTES	CALORIES BURNED
Daily Totals:	73	585

And today with Fitbit

DISTANCE GOAL:  Walk/Run 5 Miles per Week     view change

PROGRESS: 3.3/5 Miles

2017: 62.87 Miles

MINUTES

CALORIES BURNED

'All-Day' Activity ⊗

53

803

Create Group Copy Exercises	MINUTES	CALORIES BURNED
Daily Totals:	53	803

As you can see I did fewer minutes today, but it is estimating more calories burned. I know it's just an estimation, but this seems really off. 

[Dominique]

@RobinLabelle: you put so many numbers in your post it’s hard to see what should be compared to what. OK, you’ve got energy expenditure according to Google Fit for 42 minutes of walking and 31 minutes of biking. Have you recorded similar activities (they’re both supported by your Charge 2) as such on your Fitbit? 

When you said you did "fewer minutes" today: fewer minutes of what? Fitbit is estimating "more calories burned": at what level? For the entire day, for a given activity (which one)?

Try to include comparable items (same duration, same activities), so we can compare apples to apples and oranges to oranges.

[RobinLabelle]

@DominiqueSorry, it was confusing for you. It is comparing the same thing. It's the total amount I walked in a day. 

With google fit. 

	MINUTES	CALORIES BURNED
Daily Totals:	73	585

And with Fitbit. This number actually went up after I created this thread btw. It got up to 900 by 10pm. 

	MINUTES	CALORIES BURNED
Daily Totals:	53	803

[Demaxx1]

I know the fitbit calorie burning can be confusing. My wife had a particular hard time, because it would show calorie burn for one day, and the next day she did the same thing with totally difference results. It mostly has to do with heart rate and intensity.

The result came out as this for us. We followed the fit bit calorie burn and used the fitbit calorie intake, on every thing we ate. I lost 46 lbs and she lost 22lbs. This all in 7 months.

Good luck!

[Mukluk4]

---

@RobinLabelle wrote:

@DominiqueSorry, it was confusing for you. It is comparing the same thing. It's the total amount I walked in a day. 

With google fit. 

	MINUTES	CALORIES BURNED
Daily Totals:	73	585

And with Fitbit. This number actually went up after I created this thread btw. It got up to 900 by 10pm. 

	MINUTES	CALORIES BURNED
Daily Totals:	53	803

---

Based on what I am reading, the Google Fit is a step based app while the Charge 2 includes heart rate.  So essentially you are comparing apples to oranges here.

[DrSkeeter]

I have a versa which I have been using since Christmas.  I can't make any sense of the calories data.  I am 73 years old and weigh 170#. I walk about 7-8 miles a day for a total of 10 -14 miles a day as reported on my versa.  I do  about 1 - 3 miles jogging. Lately I have been doing intervals ( 30" on and 2' off). I find the HR makes sense and agrees with the measurements I get from my blood pressure cuff, and while on a elliptical machine. Lifting weights is what I find confusing.  I do about 10 different exercises generally 3 sets  of 10 reps. My HR seems to move up to near my max ~ 160 bpm and stays there. On my interval training it goes up to ~ 150 and decreases back to 90 or so in the rest interval--reasonable.  On a run or the elliptical machine it climbs to 145 or so and stays there- also reasonable and agrees with the HRM on the elliptical.  This seems normal except for the weights--what's going on?

The Calories info is even more perplexing.  I calculate I do about 44 kJ of work; this is about 10 kCal or 10 food calories, yet my fitbit generally reads about 800 cal.  Even more puzzling, my daily calorie expenditure is generally (according to my versa) over 4 kcal.  I have been dieting trying to lose a few pounds and have gradually decreased my food intake to under 1 kcal/day over the past 6 months.  According to what I read I shroud be losing about 3#'s a week;  instead I am holding steady at 170#.  I am reluctant to cut out eating altogether; for one thing my wife and kids are starting to get on my case.