Charge 3 calories not accurate

[Dave_M_G]

Since 2015, I have owned a Fitbit Charge, Charge 2, and I now currently own a Charge 3.

With the Charge 1 and Charge 2, I found the calorie burn rates were in line with my expectations. I keep meticulous records of my calorie intake, and record my results with the help of a body fat % measurement machine at my gym. With the help of my Charge 1 and Charge 2, I was able to meet my goals pretty much exactly on target.

Since getting my Charge 3 about a month ago, almost right away I could tell something was off. My exercises were showing high calorie burn results. Then I found that I was gaining weight.

I still had my Charge 2, so I tried wearing both for a while, and discovered that the Charge 3 is reporting around 10% more calories burned than the Charge 2, as can be seen in the pictures below.

While it would be nice to think that the Charge 3 is now more accurate, meaning that I've been burning more calories than I've thought for the last few years, that just doesn't seem to be the case. My record keeping since before owning any any Fitbit, and through owning the Charge and Charge 2, has been consistent, and the Charge and Charge 2 provided predictable and consistent results. The outlier is the Charge 3. For the Charge 3 to be accurate, it would mean everything else I've ever done is wrong, which is not impossible, but a strong case would have to be made for where I'm going awry.

Is there any way the Charge 3 can be calibrated to lower the burn rate? Is there a flaw in the way it is calculating calories? What are the options for dealing with this?

Moderator edit: updated subject for clarity

[StillExercising]

Hi Carol First Steps! I think most of the people on this thread (including
me) have had the opposite problem--the Charge 3 actually *overcounts* the
calories. So you might look around for another thread with the same problem
you're having.

However, someone earlier in this thread suggested that changing your heart
rate zones might work to move your calorie count up or down. That didn't
work for me, but it might be worth a try. You could try this link:
https://blog.fitbit.com/max-heart-rate/#:~:text=On%20the%20Fitbit%20app%20dashboard,zones%20based%20....

Also, sorry I can't help you re: crosstraining, as I don't do it.

Good Luck!!

[ATLJCJ]

my charge 3 keeps claiming I am.burning 8000 + calories a day and I have reset it to factory settings and done the upgrade to the software. anyone else having issues like this where it's not just a 100 or so difference but THOUSANDS? My peloton bike is connected to my fitbit its the only thing that has changed 

[MissNeuman]

This is my first experience with a Fitbit.  Since day one I also find my fit3 says I burn way more calories. I’ve only done 6578 steps yet I’ve burned 1072 calories???  Seems excessive.  

[M_Kolo]

I recently started wearing a Fitbit Charge 4 after wearing a Garmin fitness band for many years.  I immediately noticed the calorie burn estimates from my Charge 4 were much higher than what I had been getting from the Garmin.  I started wearing both devices to compare.  I keep them on the same wrist but switch which one is worn lower/higher on the wrist to eliminate differences that can come from placement. 

For about 4 months I tracked my calories in through a calorie counting app and calories burned through the Garmin.  I compared the net calories to my weight loss during that time and found that my daily net calorie counts were about 100 calories too high.  Either the Garmin was underestimating calories burned (I was really burning more) or I was overestimating calories consumed (I was actually eating less - not likely) or some combination.  But with average daily calories burned during that time of 2,440 and average daily calories consumed of 2,280 an error of 100 calories/day is only 4% so close enough and as close as I would hope to get.  Calories in and out are good things to track but in the end it's what the scale says that is the best measure.

With my Fitbit Charge 4 my calories burned have jumped to 3,050/day.  No way this is right.  My activity hasn't changed that dramatically, if at all.  And my weight continues to align to the calories burned estimated by the Garmin.  My step counts with the Fitbit Charge 4 are also higher than with the Garmin.

There is definitely a problem with how the Charge 4 estimates calories burned.  I checked in with Support but all they gave me was standard product info and told me there is no way to adjust how the Charge estimates calories.  I will adjust down my Fitbit numbers by 20% to get a better estimate and I will continue to wear both devices for a while and see if the 20% rule holds up.  I like some of the features of the Fitbit but better accuracy is more important to me, so my best solution may be to get another Garmin.

[StillExercising]

Hey M_Kolo!

Wow sounds like your experience was just like mine, including the numbers: with the Charge, your recorded daily expenditure jumped from 2400 to 3000+. Mine went from 2700 to 3200. Same error. And I received the same not-very-helpful replies from the company. Oh well.

BTW, I spent my whole career in health/weight loss psychology plus tracking my own intake/output and I can tell you, an error of 4% daily calories is as close as anyone can get! Congrats!

[M_Kolo]

Thanks for your comments.  It was your original post that made me want to share my experience and yes, very similar to yours. 

I have worn my old Garmin Vivosmart HR+ along with my Fitbit Charge 4 for long enough now to stop the experiment.  The difference in calorie tracking between the two varies from one day to another but on average I have to reduce the Fitbit calories by 20% to get to the Garmin calories.  I continued to track my calories consumed while wearing both and if the Fitbit calorie count was correct I would have lost at least 3 pounds since I started using it but my weight has been stable.  The Garmin calorie count is consistent with my weight staying the same. 

I have not been able to figure out any connection to my activity level and the difference in calorie count between the Garmin and Fitbit.  I have noticed that the Fitbit reports a much higher step count.  Almost 25% higher on average.  The step count while actually walking is very similar between the two.  The Fitbit seems to be interpreting other activity as steps while the Garmin does not.  I'm not sure which is more accurate but I would guess the higher step count isn't right and it is contributing to the higher calorie burn numbers.

[FitnessPunk]

Why do the Fitbit forum moderators constantly blame user error in the face of so many reports that the algorithm is seriously flawed? The first step to fixing a problem is admitting that it exists! 

[StillExercising]

Yep, looks like you'll have to stick with the Garmin and I'll have to leave the heart rate monitor on my Charge 3 turned off to get the calorie report correct. Total bummer and FitnessPunk is correct--it's a flawed algorithm.

[StillExercising]

I.m sure you're correct, it's a flawed algorithm. I tried to explain that to them but got nowhere. Dang.