Activity Logging - Calories not adding up

[hokiefit]

I've had a Fitbit One for a long time now. I use the activity logging feature quite a bit since I lift weights and swim and do other things that don't have "steps." Just recently, I've noticed that the calorie count is REALLY not accurate on the dashboad. For example, I had a calorie count of 1523 today when I logged in to log my activities. I entered 45 min of weight lifting, which Fitbit assesses as 140 calories. My total was 1526. I then logged 12 minutes of elliptical, which Fitbit assesses as 149 calories. My total was 1579. That's only 53 calories added to my total when the totals in the Fitbit Activity log are 189.

What's up Fitbit?

[RobertoME]

Hi there @hokiefit, good to see you around. I found very interesting this issue as this is the first time I saw something similar. I wonder if you are using a third party account integrated to your Fitbit account to log your exercise? I have replicate the same exercise using my Dashboard and sine I haven't synced my tracker I got only 432 calorie and after the manual activity I obtained 354 calories which gave me a total of 786 calories.

So I would like to ask you if is possible you can share some screenshots to investigate further this issue.

To upload screenshots use the toolbar of the writing screen.

Hope to hear from you soon and I'll be here.

[hokiefit]

To answer your question, no I'm not using a 3rd party.

Here are some screen shots from today. I started at 1428. Logged 45 min of weights which should have given me 140 but was at 1441. Then logged 12 min on the elliptical which should have given me 149 but was at 1501.

[RobertoME]

Thank you for letting me know more details and for sharing the screenshots @hokiefit. I was reviewing your screenshot and there is a fact that can be affecting your exercise here. Note that when you logged activities, your calories and other stats are measured in a tricky way. In other words when you manually logged an activity all steps, calories, and active minutes recorded by your tracker are overridden for the duration of a manually logged activity by the activity's entered values.  So it wont necessarily add the total amount of the calories' entry. Yesterday when I replicated your case I didn't have any exercise logged, only my BMR so this is why I have my calories in my total count. Today when I repeat the process happens the same to me and not all the calories where added and is because is overriding the existing number and compensating the missing calories to make more accurate the average of how I burned calories.

Let me know if you have doubts about this and I'll be here to assist you.

[hokiefit]

that's not the way it used to work. I'm pretty sure I burned more than 10
additional calories lifting weights for 45 minutes.

The more changes you guys make the less valuable your product becomes

[hokiefit]

That's not the way it used to work and it's not intuitive. Nor is it accurate. I'm pretty sure I burned more than 10 additional calories by lifting weights for 45 minutes instead of the step count Fitbit recorded.

The more changes you guys make the less valuable your product becomes.

Very disappointed if this is the "answer."

[RobertoME]

Hello @hokiefit, thank you so much for the insight and let me know this is not the case. I think you have provided me enough information to identify the issue, so I'm going to forward this information to our engineer team and as soon I got an update I will keep you posted. 

See you soon and let me know if you have more questions in the meantime.

[hokiefit]

Fitbit is a great pedometer. Beyond that, not much usefulness any more. When this one dies, I'll be looking at alternatives.