Calories burned data way off!?

[mastamoon]

Ive been taking all my walk data and entering it into a spreadsheet.. to compare steps, distance, stride and calories burned, to my phone while using Google Fit.

I finally checked out the difference between what the fitbit says I burned during a walk and what google fit says.  Yes, I know google fit isnt using my heart rate, and I dont always remember to put my current weight into Google Fit either... but after looking online at a few calculators on various websites, the results are interesting.

So while Fitbit currently under estimates my Distance walked by about 3.69%, under counts my steps by about 3.06% and misjudges my stride by about a quarter inch.. it OVER Estimates my calories burned per mile by 60%! 

Online calculators all give about the same results, a person my weight, height, and sex.. should burn about 80-90 calories per mile .. Google Fit currently has my average at about 80 Calories Per Mile (but all results are between 80 and 90).. Fitbit says 133 Calories Per Mile with a range between 119 and 148.  Quite a discrepancy.. Not sure how much my exact heart rate comes into play, but looking at a walk to walk comparison, fitbit is anywhere from 44% to 73% more generous.

Thats crazy to say the least.

Im starting to think this is a conspiracy.. First these trackers cant really tell you how many steps you have taken, distance you have traveled, track your heart rate consistently.. but then over estimate how many calories you are burning on top of that..  Seems like a way to keep fat people fat and money in the hands of Fitbit (and other companies trackers im sure).

[Julia_G]

Hi, @mastamoon, I read a lot of posts in the Fitbit Community, and one of the ones I answer most frequently is on the lines of "Fitbit is underestimating my calories!". 

I usually reply something like, Many people over estimate the calories burned from exercise...  etc etc.

So I would say your conspiracy theory is pretty unlikely, and also you are an exception...  

If your Fitbit is over estimating your calories, but underestimating your steps, I am guessing there is something wrong either in your profile settings or in the heartrate detection while you are walking.

I see you have posted pretty often in the Community so you probably know what you are doing, but it might be worth just double checking your profile settings, including units, to make sure they are correct.  (I briefly got all excited and happy about how many calories I was burning until I realised my Fitbit thought I weighed 125 kg instead of 125 lbs...)

It's a little more difficult to fix if your Charge 2 is consistently detecting a super high HR.  Is that what you are seeing?  It can help if during exercise you wear you wear your Fitbit a little higher and a little tighter than you would day to day.

But the ultimate test is your own body... Calories burned (and consumed) is only an estimate, and every body is unique.

[mastamoon]

Ive been through and through my settings over and over.. nothing is out of the ordinary.

The charge 2, in general, isn't a accurate tracker in any regard.  It not only doesn't track steps correctly it will also sometimes 0 as a heart beat during exercise.  No matter how tight or loose it is, which arm I wear it on, facing inside or outside.  I have never checked my pulse in another way to know if, when it does read my heart rate, if its fast or slow.

[Julia_G]

This is not my experience.

I have never seen 0 during any exercise.

For me, sometimes during intense exercise, it reads too high.

Generally speaking I would not say my calories were over estimated.  For example, for me today, it has counted 13,553 steps.  I think that is probably a small over count as I did housework today with scrubbing and vacuuming cleaning.  But it is not an outrageous number...

For my 13,553 steps, and my 20 hours of being alive (so far) it has credited me with 1670 calories... I think that is probably very accurate (sadly!)

Definitely not conspiracy levels.

As I said, if your profile setting is correct your calorie burn is likely to be fairly accurate...  Without knowing your personal details it is difficult to comment further.

[mastamoon]

Actually, you are right, mine hasn't said 0 either.. it says "--" during any sort of exercise at random times.  Plenty of heart rate charts while on the treadmill that show this drop right in the middle of a workout.. and unless my heart is some sort of magical device that can just shut off while I keep running then turn right back on again.. id say this thing doesn't always track heart rate accurately. 

But my wifes Charge HR does the same thing, so I think its more of a fitbit issue than a charge2 issue.

The fact that fitbit tells me im burning more calories walking (leisurely) than most online resources tell me I should be burning **ahem** near running, makes you wonder how their calculations work and why they aren't anywhere near the rest of the worlds figures.

But I see you are just another fitbit forum bot that has one of those magical fitbits that do no wrong so really this discussion isnt worth keeping going.

I wish they would sell the general public this Forum Bot fitbits.  Would be a lot less complaining around here.

[RK.]

Has anyone gone through and subtracted the difference between calories consumed and calories burn over time? This should equal your weight loss considering 3500 calories per pound.   If this calculation is done over time and it's matches your weight loss, and you kept careful track of intake calories consumed, then there is no more arguement.  If fit bit says you are burning a ton of calories more than your intake and you are not losing 1 pound per 3500 calories differential, then you know fit bit calories burned is way off.  I will track this over time and share with the community.

[Lillian08]

Mine is acting very weirdly. I just got mine today and it says I have already burned 933 calories, and I have just walked to my sink, and thats it! I don't know whats going on. Someone, please help me!

[chriswalker]

I wanted to add data that backs up that the FitBit is way off on calories burned.  I am part of a program that noticed the calories burn was way off.  I then downloaded 3 different apps to my phone and all three have almost the same calories burned - within 3 to 4 calorie difference.  When they say I have burned 326 calories, my Fitbit is stating that I burned 1450 calories. I have checked my settings and they are all correct.  

I believe this is an issue with the FitBit device. There is no way three other apps, plus a well known fitness company would say the calories burned is that far off.