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Calorie Burn Overestimating?

‎09-15-2023 16:07

‎09-15-2023 16:07

Hi, so I just got a Fitbit Charge HR and put it on this morning, I worn a landscaping construction job, today was mostly laying sod (rolls of grass). I started around 10am and went pretty normal pace, then I had a break from about 13:00 - 14:00 and at 14:00 I started to go crazy, it logged my heart rate at about 120 - 130bpm and I did that for 1 hour, then I drove home, according to the app I’ve gotten 17,500 steps and burned 3256 calories, that seems way to high. It’s only 4pm and I burned 3300 calories? My info will be down below but does anyone know if that’s too many or the right amount? I figured I only burned around 2500 a day total.

Age: 18
Weight: 184lbs/84kg
Height: 5’8/172cm
I did a body fat percentage calculator machine at the gym and it said 25%
Not super strong but I can bench 195 for 1 and deadlift 315 for one

Best Answer
3 REPLIES 3

‎09-15-2023 19:40 - edited ‎09-15-2023 19:41

‎09-15-2023 19:40 - edited ‎09-15-2023 19:41

Some people are surprised by how many calories the fitbit shows they burn until they realize it includes their BMR calorie burn, likely more than half the daily calorie burn.

From How does my Fitbit device calculate my daily activity? 

JohnnyRow_0-1694831876605.png

It also would have included your BMR calorie burn since midnight, even though you didn't put it on until 10 AM.

 

Before posting, re-read to see if it would make sense to someone else not looking at your Fitbit or phone.

Best Answer

‎09-20-2023 05:04

‎09-20-2023 05:04

@SebastianDeli wrote:

Hi, so I just got a Fitbit Charge HR and put it on this morning, I worn a landscaping construction job, today was mostly laying sod (rolls of grass). I started around 10am and went pretty normal pace, then I had a break from about 13:00 - 14:00 and at 14:00 I started to go crazy, it logged my heart rate at about 120 - 130bpm and I did that for 1 hour, then I drove home, according to the app I’ve gotten 17,500 steps and burned 3256 calories, that seems way to high. It’s only 4pm and I burned 3300 calories? My info will be down below but does anyone know if that’s too many or the right amount? I figured I only burned around 2500 a day total.

Age: 18
Weight: 184lbs/84kg
Height: 5’8/172cm
I did a body fat percentage calculator machine at the gym and it said 25%
Not super strong but I can bench 195 for 1 and deadlift 315 for one

In your case, considering your landscaping construction job involves laborious physical work, it's plausible that you burned a significant number of calories. Laying sod, especially with vigorous movement, can be a strenuous activity.

The high heart rate you experienced during your activity could indeed contribute to the elevated calorie burn estimate. Heart rate is a major factor in these calculations, and a sustained elevated heart rate indicates high activity levels.

Best Answer

‎09-24-2023 08:10

In response to BellaEloise

‎09-24-2023 08:10

I've seen it be way way way off.  I use MyFitnessPal targeted at 2lb loss per week and my rate over 3 months was 2.1 lb loss.  Now fitbit comes in and tries to tell me to eat thousands more calories and tell me I'd still be in a 1000 calorie deficit if I did.  I had to disconnect it from MFP so I wouldn't end up over-eating.

The very thing it shouldn't do, as a weight loss mechanism, is wildly over-estimate the calories you're burning.  It bothers me so much that this neat little tool is unusable because they can't be bothered to add a simple adjustable factor we can use to bring the numbers in line with reality.  It seems there are lots of complaints and understanding that Fitbit wildly over-estimates so why not build in a simple fix for people so they can use it and be happy with it?

Best Answer