Calorie counter gives weird results

[FatStarter_27]

Hi all,

Just got my Charge HR and have been wearing it for a few days, and I'm getting strangely high results, calorie-wise.

For instance, it's lunchtime on a Sunday; I've done very little today other than make breakfast earlier. The app suggests I've burned over 1,500 calories, which can't possibly be true. It also says I've walked a thousand steps, though I know pedometers have a big margin of error, and I've typed, made food, gone up and down the stairs a few times etc. so that's probably reasonable.

Yesterday though, it says 3300 cals. I'm not a soldier or polar explorer! All I did was walk to the launderette with some bags of clothes.

This might be because the calorie count is based on an estimate due to weight/heart rate, and I'm very unfit. For example, my weight is around 120kgs and a heart rate in the mid 90s (I'm particularly unfit - my resting heart rate is around 70 but I only really hit that whilst asleep).

It seems odd than an office worker like me - even an overweight one - is getting calorie usage figures of 3000+.

Anyone know what the deal is with this?

[mallory8]

I know this might not be much help, but in the morning right when I wake up I'm at about 1,000 calories burned. I think that is just weird. I'm not a restless sleeper or anything. I really don't rely on my Charge HR for calories burned because of this. My steps and things all work fine but it's just the calories that don't work. Sorry I'm not much help!

[FatStarter_27]

Thanks, but I don't think that's it.

I think it's because I'm very overweight, my FitBit is giving me a calorie count from heartbeats-per-minute that would make more sense if I was very muscular as opposed to fat.

[MarreFitbit]

Welcome to the Fitbit Community guys @FatStarter_27 @mallory8, it's great to see you around! 

Fitbit trackers have a finely tuned algorithm for step counting. The algorithm is designed to look for intensity and motion patterns that are most indicative of people walking and running.  When working at a desk, cooking, or doing other arm movements, the tracker can pick up some extra steps if it thinks you are walking. Many of these situations—such as working or cooking—do include a few steps in-between stationary periods so the tracker tries to give you credit for those steps. For the vast majority of customers, the amount of stray steps accumulated is negligible when compared to the entire day.

For wrist-based trackers, its important to specify whether you wear the tracker on your dominant or non-dominant wrist:

• The dominant wrist setting decreases the sensitivity of step counting and should reduce any over counting of steps when your body is not moving.
• The non-dominant wrist setting increases the sensitivity of step counting and should reduce any under counting of steps. Non-dominant is the default.

To change your settings, in the Fitbit app go to Account tab and choose your tracker at the top of the screen.

If you feel that your step count and distance are inaccurate, first make sure the wrist placement settings are correct. You may also want to manually adjust the stride length that we calculated automatically based on your height and gender. For more information, see How do I measure and adjust my stride length?

If after taking these factors into account you still think your tracker is significantly undercounting or overcounting steps, please try a step test:

1. Put your wrist-based tracker on your wrist or put your clip-on tracker on your hip or torso.
2. Walk 100 steps, making sure to count a step each time one of your feet hits the ground.
3. Pause, then check your tracker to see your step count.

In regards to the calories, your basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the rate at which you burn calories at rest just to maintain vital body functions like breathing, heartbeat, and brain activity. Your BMR usually accounts for at least half of the calories you burn in a day and is estimated based on the physical data you entered when you set up your account: gender, age, height, and weight.

The calorie burn estimate that Fitbit provides takes into account your BMR, the activity recorded by your tracker, and any activities you log manually.

Your tracker's calorie count will reset each night at midnight and begin counting immediately thereafter. BMR is the reason your tracker starts the day with calories already burned—you've still burned calories even if you haven't gotten out of bed yet.

Have a nice day guys!

[The_training_jo]

I have a similar issue but with the food tracker. I have a high calorie goal per day (2400) as I am fifteen. However, the calorie counter says that I have overdone my calorie consumption  whenever I eat more calories than burned, even if the total calories I’ve eaten is less than my goal.

[The_training_jo]

Spoiler

[The_training_jo]

I forgot to mention my Fitbit is a Charge 3. This post is the closest I could find to my issue.