Charge 2 Calories burned reset?

[CheyWilkerson]

I made my fit bit account April 19 but didn't get an actual Fitbit Charge 2 and set it up until today. My calories burned since then all say I burned 1,742 calories and it said I had 800+ today after I charged it and turned it on. How do I reset that or do I have to deal with the incorrect information forever? Will it even itself out/correct itself somehow after I continue using the Fitbit? There should be an option to erase all data to avoid these issues.

[Julia_G · Accepted solution]

Hi, @CheyWilkerson, excellent question!  When you set up your Fitbit account, and enter your profile information (gender, age, height, weight) your dashboard will automatically calculate for you the minimum number of calories you must have earned, just staying alive.  These are called your BMR (basal metabolic rate) calories and are the calories burned keeping your heart pumping, your lungs expanding and contracting, your digestion moving, etc.

You will get "credit" for these calories whether or not you wear your Fitbit, and that is why you see the same number for your previous days -- your Fitbit does not know how active you were -- it only knows the minimum number of calories you burned (you would have burned these even if you lay in bed in a coma,,,!)

These BMR calories reset to zero every night at midnight.  So when you set up your Fitbit and saw 800+ calories, those were the calories since midnight.

As soon as you start wearing it, and getting active, you will get extra calorie "credit" for your activities.

I hope this makes sense and helps you understand how your Fitbit and Fitbit app work.  Pease post again whenever you have any questions or just want to share your experience.  Welcome to the Community!

[CheyWilkerson]

Ohh! I see now. That's pretty neat lol. Good to know though, thank you for the information! (:

[Julia_G]

Hi, @CheyWilkerson, I'm glad to help!  Please just ask if anything else is unclear, and enjoy your new "toy" (I love mine...!)

[RMeranus]

I am not sure I understand this answer. How do I track calories expended during exercise? 

[AlvaroFitbit]

@RMeranus Welcome to the Fitbit Community! It's great to have you here! You can use your tracker's exercise shortcuts or manually log the activity to have a calculation of the calories burned during certain activities (like running, biking, swimming, etc.). The next day you will see how many calories you burned the previous day and you can also see the different activities logged how many calories the system calculated for them.

Let me know how it goes!

[Nash4464]

Hello Julia, is there a way to delete these previous BMR data that are mentionned before the first date of use? I purchased a new Inspire HR and when set I found out that I have previous calories burned with equal amounts. I would like to delete them. Is it possible?

[dylannoonan15]

@CheyWilkerson i just bought my fitbit today and it already said i burned 2,319 calories before even owning it for everyday until 2009 

[Julia_G]

Hi, @dylannoonan15 , that is because as soon as you fill in your personal details (age, gender, height, weight) the Fitbit will calculate your BMR (basal metabolic rate) calories.  These are calories that your body burns just by being alive (heart beating, lungs expanding, stomach churning - even thinking burns calories!)

You would burn these calories even if you were in a coma.  It only stops if your body stops (you die)...

Of course it is only an average, but Fitbit starts with this average.  Your app will show these calories whether or not you wear your Fitbit.  It is the minimum calories you burned without any activity.

Once you wear your Fitbit, and it detects activity, it will show additional calories.  But it will always show at least the BMR ones.

I hope this makes sense!  Please do post again if you have any further questions or concerns.  Welcome to the Community!