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Charge 2 calories burned too high

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‎09-12-2016 00:38 - last edited on ‎01-26-2021 06:23 by Fitbit Moderator

‎09-12-2016 00:38 - last edited on ‎01-26-2021 06:23 by Fitbit Moderator

I just got my new Charge 2 on saturday so I've not tested it very long, but the calorie count on it seems WAY off. The BMR on it seems correct for my height/weight (1555) but then the calories burned when simply walking a bit are way too high.

Saturday, I went shopping for a few hours that got me around 10k steps in total. I also did a kickboxing workout (268 cals) and went biking (219 cals) and Fitbit calculated 3000 (!!!) calories burned that day. That just can't be right, when my BMR is only 1555 I should've burned 1445 cals with exercise according to Fitbit. Subtract the kickboxing and biking (which is way higher intensity than the walking, calories for that seem correct) from that and that leaves 958 calories burned for walking +/- 10.000 steps.

Has anyone else had this problem? I've Googled for a bit and it seems it was a problem back when the first Charge HR was released too, but I couldn't find a solution. I love the Fitbit and the app but it seems when it takes the constant HR into account when you're not very fit it just overestimates by a WAY too high number. If I ate what Fitbit is telling me I can eat, I'd gain an incredible amount of weight in a very short time.

 

The numbers I got when I was just counting steps without heart rate (using my phone, before I got my Fitibit) was way closer to the actual number I should be getting for something as easy-going as walking while shopping.

 

 

Moderator edit: format

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168 REPLIES 168

‎01-05-2017 06:25

In response to Cortic

‎01-05-2017 06:25

Thanks for the update! Seems to be my experience as well.
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‎01-11-2017 21:55

In response to Cortic

‎01-11-2017 21:55

I don't think Fitbit give a toss about the inaccurate calorie count. As long as they're making money...

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‎01-15-2017 03:06 - edited ‎01-15-2017 05:37

‎01-15-2017 03:06 - edited ‎01-15-2017 05:37

Feeling a bit robbed here. Would've got the Alta if I knew HRM needs to be disabled for accurate calorie burn. 

 

I have made some adjustments to my settings which gives me a lower calorie burn:

 

I set my profile to female (I am male) with same height and weight. I then measured and input my stride lengths. Finally adjusted my max custom heart rate to 210 so that fat burn kicks in at 105bpm.

 

This gives me a calorie burn that is ~400 lower than with default settings. I don't  know if it is accurate but now after running 5k, walking 10,000 steps (14,000 total with the run)  but otherwise being fairly sedentary I get a burn of around 2500. I'm male, 31, 170cm, 68kg btw. Of course if you're already female then you're mileage will vary. 

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‎01-20-2017 07:56

In response to curxxx

‎01-20-2017 07:56

This still seems way too high. If I bunred 5100 cals a day and aonly ate around 2K-2500, I'd be losing a lot of weight. Hasn't happened yet...

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‎02-06-2017 00:24

In response to SRD524

‎02-06-2017 00:24

I am following this post with interest. I have had a Fitbit Charge HR for one year now but wanted to upgrade it to Charge 2. I have experienced no problems with it and the calories burned seems very precise. I certainly hope I won't upgrade to a less accurate model. 

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‎02-06-2017 06:19

In response to ska45

‎02-06-2017 06:19

FYI I am a female, 163 cm tall and 88 kg. I walk 11.000 steps/day. Charge HR tells me I'm burning app 2300 kcal / day.

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‎02-06-2017 07:36 - last edited on ‎01-25-2021 17:48 by

In response to ska45

‎02-06-2017 07:36 - last edited on ‎01-25-2021 17:48 by

Do you always use the HR function?


 

Moderator edit: personal info removed

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‎02-06-2017 08:12

In response to KarinaMD

‎02-06-2017 08:12

Yes. I always use it with the HR function. Seems somewhat odd to me that
they get it right with the Fitbit Charge HR, but not with the brand new
charge 2.
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‎02-24-2017 11:49

‎02-24-2017 11:49

Yeah, I think I have the same problem.  

Male,

37,

188cm,

217lb.  

BMR = 2,110

12k steps, no other exercise = 3,900 calories.

 

 

I've only had the thing a week but since I'm trying to lose weight by consuming around 1800 calories a day I'm pretty sure I'd be starving most of the time.  

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‎02-24-2017 11:59

In response to YupMeToo

‎02-24-2017 11:59

Just a quick point of advice. If your BMR is truly 2110, I wouldn't be
eating 1800 a day. I suggest figuring out your TDEE and doing a 500
calorie subtraction from that to determine how much to eat.
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‎02-26-2017 05:00

‎02-26-2017 05:00

I notice the same thing switching from an Alta to a Charge 2. My burns went up about 300 - 450 a day, with a total of about 3000 for the first week. I thought it may be the addition of the heart rate feature. I also had to switch to my dominant hand due to a minor rash I am treating, although I did change the settings for that. What I am trying now is to change my maximum heart rate setting to be what I think is more accurate. This will change the calculations slightly since I will be at a lower percentage with my heart rate. I never did trust the 220 - age formula since When I could do high impact, I often exceeded that number. Here is an article talking about it and the new formula recommended (Here’s the new formula:  211 - (0.64) x age.) 

Maximum heart rate calculation

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‎02-26-2017 11:12

In response to Laura10

‎02-26-2017 11:12

I too have tried changing the maximum heart rate, but it didn't make a big difference in the calories burned.
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‎02-26-2017 17:59

In response to SunsetRunner

‎02-26-2017 17:59

Same for me too.

 

Now I just reduce my overall calories burned by 15%, and I think I get a pretty accurate number. 

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‎03-01-2017 01:36

‎03-01-2017 01:36

After using Fitbit Charge HR for one year I upgrated to Fitbit Charge 2 midt february. I am now able to compare the performance. In my case the step count and the calories burned and the BMR have not changed. I walk about 14.000 steps a day,  and my total calories are app 2550 kcal. I weigh 88 kg (the calories burned are very much dependent on weight when walking)

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‎03-01-2017 02:06

In response to ska45

‎03-01-2017 02:06

See, I weigh 65kg, only walk around 10k per day, and average 2800 calories
burnt.
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‎03-01-2017 02:30

In response to Cortic

‎03-01-2017 02:30

That does sound very high !!! Are your pulse readings very high? You can
use the app BodyCal to calculate estimated heartrates
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‎03-01-2017 02:33

In response to ska45

‎03-01-2017 02:33

Yes, pulse rate is accurate. Currently sitting on 11k steps today and 3027
calories. Average pulse is 58
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‎03-01-2017 02:43

In response to Cortic

‎03-01-2017 02:43

Maybe you are male and have a lot of muscles - this might explain the difference . Otherwise you should contact the Fitbit support.

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‎03-09-2017 22:59

In response to LisannevdL

‎03-09-2017 22:59

Im having the same issue. Im a long term user of sport watches and used to have other activity trackers too. If i compare fitbit and other sport watch for just walking at the same intensity i get a much higher calorie burn on fitbit. On the other hand, an hour of spinning gives me almost the same calorie burn as just walking.. fitstar workouts count way more calories too. My guess why this may be so is to motivate people to simply walk more, move more and use fitstar trainer. 

 

 

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‎03-10-2017 04:34

In response to Shka

‎03-10-2017 04:34

I was able to switch back to my non-dominant hand, and my total calories burned dropped about 200, which seems more reasonable. Now the addition of heart rate tracking  in my total calories burned shows an increase of about 200 - 250 a day.

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