not tracking calories

[DrNana]

Anyone having an issue with calories burned not recording? Also number of active minutes? 14,000 steps today but per fitbit, no calories burned and zero active minutes. Obviously an error.

[mom23rn1t]

from what I understand active min are diffrent than regular steps you have to have at least 30 min of an avtivity like running or biking to count as active time. 

[Dominique]

Active minutes are split into three different levels: moderately active, fairly active and very active. Walking should get you into one of these, but for the most intense activity level, you need to walk fast enough. For me, it's at least 4.2 mph.

As to calories, you should burn them all the time, even if you don't get off your couch.

[Dominique]

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@mom23rn1t wrote:

from what I understand active min are diffrent than regular steps you have to have at least 30 min of an avtivity like running or biking to count as active time. 

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Actually, no, Fitbit records your activity on a minute-by-minute basis. You will get very active minutes (VAMs) even for just two minutes of activity, provided it was intense enough.

Biking is the kind of activity Fitbit devices can't track properly, since it's not step-based:

https://help.fitbit.com/customer/portal/articles/413311-how-do-i-log-or-record-an-activity-

Running, on the other hand, is an activity for which you will (or at least should) definitely earn VAMs, except perhaps if you were running on the moon (the number of steps per minute would be too low).

[slysam]

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@Dominique wrote:

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@mom23rn1t wrote:

from what I understand active min are diffrent than regular steps you have to have at least 30 min of an avtivity like running or biking to count as active time. 

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Actually, no, Fitbit records your activity on a minute-by-minute basis. You will get very active minutes (VAMs) even for just two minutes of activity, provided it was intense enough.

Biking is the kind of activity Fitbit devices can't track properly, since it's not step-based:

https://help.fitbit.com/customer/portal/articles/413311-how-do-i-log-or-record-an-activity-

Running, on the other hand, is an activity for which you will (or at least should) definitely earn VAMs, except perhaps if you were running on the moon (the number of steps per minute would be too low).

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I wonder whether this poster was referring to manually logged activity. If so, manually logged activity tends to be all or nothing for the duration of the workout. And it is strictly based on average calorie burn per minite for the logged workout. So if someone logs cycling for 30 minutes but the speed/calorie burn logged wasn't at the very active calorie burn threshold, they wouldn't get any VAM minutes (likely moderately active), but on another day when they cycled faster they may see 28 or 30 VAM for their logged workout. (I say 28 because with logged activity the total calorie burn is evenly divided among the workout duration minutes, sometimes it doesn't neatly divide so the first and last minutes may be fewer calories than the middle minutes). For fitbit tracked activity, it is minute by minute.

[slysam]

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@DrNana wrote:

Anyone having an issue with calories burned not recording? Also number of active minutes? 14,000 steps today but per fitbit, no calories burned and zero active minutes. Obviously an error.

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Where are you seeing zero calories burned? I have never seen a zero calorie burning day on my fitbit in the three years + that I had a fitbit. I have disabled "calorie estimation" (which estimates an activity burn on days when the fitbit isn't worn or there is no activity) and if I leave my fitbit on a table all day it will still have a calorie burn of my BMR (basal metabolism rate). That is the lowest I have ever seen on my fitbit and you should never end up lower than that for a full 24 hour day. So if you really have zero calories burned for the day--that does sound like a problem. About 14,000 steps with no very active minutes--that is possible. Very active minutes have little to do with total step count--it is more the speed of the steps per minute in the day though there are other factors like impact. Walking, I need to exceed 4mph to start seeing VAM steps. I see it at a lower speed for impact activity like running and jumping rope.

[DrNana]

I reset my fitbit to factory settings and looks like the problem is solved. I appreciate that one can have 14K steps without any active minutes, but my husband and I fast-paced walked a good deal of distance yesterday, something that previously recorded as very active minutes (previous day, pretty much same walk and recorded > 60 active minutes), hence my question. Odd thing, the calories estimation came back once I reset but not the active minutes. Thank you for your feedback.

Dr. Margaret Fitzgerald,
DNP, FNP-BC, NP-C, FAANP, CSP, FAAN, DCC
President, Fitzgerald Health Education Associates, Inc.
North Andover, MA www.fhea.com 978.794.8366
Family NP, Greater Lawrence (MA) Family Health Center