Bring back Calories Left estimate on new Fitbit app

[Lindsey1981]

Please can we have the actual, numerical estimate of calories remaining back on the app please? I have been following a sedentary calorie deficit plan since mid August and have lost over half a stone. I was very dependent on this metric to plan my food. Now I'm too scared to have a yoghurt in-case it tips my little pointer into the pink zone!

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[ellenannmary]

I've seen that you are getting rid of the web app, with the built in kcals left to eat feature. Why? It was already annoying when you removed it from the app and left us to guess our remaining kcals for the rest of the day!

[Karriday]

@Kristyi22   All of those food tracking apps do that, I think,  I’ve tested Cronometer, MyFitnessPal, Loseit, MyNetDiary (which is what I am using now exclusively) and many many others.  They all work the same way, but never matching the way Fitbit does it.

The adjustment Fitbit makes to account for the calories you will still be burning until midnight is unique to Fitbit.  I have never been able to get an app that gives me the same numbers.  I played around with most of those apps and the numbers never quite lined up.  

While I did have do a tweak in Fitbit to make myself a foot shorter to account for Fitbit's overestimation in exercise calories, I ended up having to do a lot more manipulation in the food tracking apps to get somewhat close to an accurate number.  I would use them side by side with Fitbit and Fitbit’s number always led to the expected weight loss.   So, yes, the food tracking apps are great, but the mechanics they use are not a true replacement right out of the box.  

[Grammy2stasia]

I agree the calories eaten and average calories burned on the app aren't accurate. The web interface is my go to for both. These two pics were taken this morning. For me to get an accurate average calories burned I have to remember to check at the end of the day. The app is useful for some items but it's missing key features. Losing the web app is the final straw for me. I'm leaving fitbit.

[Jenergized]

So, for the math people out there, I figured out how many calories Fitbit is adding to come up with that Calories Left To Eat on the website…and it is accurate within 10 calories or so.  So until they give it back to us in the app (wishful thinking) I will just do the math.

For those interested, you need to find out your hourly calorie burn at rest, according to Fitbit.  I did this by checking the calories burned when I woke up. For example, I woke up at 8am and the app said my Energy Burned was around 368…that means Fitbit is adding 46 calories an hour.

So at 5PM, I will have about 322 more calories to burn.  (At 5PM, there are 7 more hours in the day.  7x46=322)   I then take that number (322) and add it to the “left for the day” number we see in the food section of the app (see below). I have tested this for the past three days against the web dashboard number and it’s usually within 10 calories. (It’s easier when you check on the hour or half hour.). It’s also easier if you make a chart with the numbers left to burn from midnight to midnight.

They are truly a bunch of fibbers telling us that everything on the web can be found in the app.  Adding this simple calculation back in the Food tile seriously won’t ruin the aesthetic.  C’mon Google!  Do better!

[coleking21]

I will never understand how they just don’t care…

[SunsetRunner]

@Jenergized That is a workaround. I already purchased a subscription to another tracker app, which when combined with Apple health is all I need for now. I am frustrated BEYOND BELIEF that they are unwilling to fix the code. It works perfectly on Android platform (big surprise) and the fact that there IS data there and it IS wrong proves that this is a BUG, not a dropped feature. I've asked @LizzyFit to address this AS A BUG in another thread and no response. It's not a wish, not an add, IT'S A BUG.

[Jenergized]

@SunsetRunner Yep, it’s definitely a workaround, as I described it.  As for calling it a bug, I’m not sure.  They purposely redesigned the look of the tiles on the main screen to a more minimalistic look and they removed the blurb on the main Food tile showing how many calories are left.

That blurb contained the number that matches the number on the web site.  It’s missing on the iOS app now.  Maybe it only went missing on the iOS app?  I don’t know.  Do you think it was a bug that they removed it?  I didn't think so because  it happened with a deliberate design change.

We just want that to come back. The secondary screen (where we see the list of our daily meals) always had the less accurate calories remaining number. That part never changed.  It’s the blurb on the front tile that we are missing.  You can see it on the old screenshot below.  That number was the accurate one that matches the web site number.  It’s missing now.  To me, that is a dropped feature. But, hey, if calling it a bug will help, I’m all for it. 👍

[SunsetRunner]

@Jenergized   I just did a quick search and found this conversation from 2017 (where the Fitbit rep says both apps are supposed to be the same). https://community.fitbit.com/t5/iOS-App/Confused-between-android-and-ios-app/td-p/2203296

Like you said, the secondary screen has been an issue for a while, and I vaguely remember just relying on the app tile or the web dashboard due to that. 

It's 10:30am where I live. I entered a protein bar for a meal just to see what it does to the numbers. Before the entry, it reads:

TODAY - IN THE ZONE 0 calories in - 536 Cal out. You've reached your goal for the day. 

After the entry, it reads:

TODAY - OVER TARGET  280 Cal in - 536 out.  244 Cal over for the day 

Bug, dropped feature, bad programming, whatever... After they dropped the number from the food tile, it's useless without having to do "the math" myself. I don't want to. It's not what I paid for. 

Not that it matters at this point. Google isn't listening and it's not bound to get better. I've moved to a new app and when the new hardware is released that feeds my Apple Health (and it won't be a Google device), my Versa 4 will be retired.

[dianewordsmith]

Like @SunsetRunner, I too have moved on. New watch, new app. Highly recommend Lifesum. I'm using the free version, but the paid version allows you to create custom meals. So far, I'm making do fairly well without custom meals (the app intuitively asks if I want to log breakfast "same as yesterday," and I can favorite foods I eat a lot so that they're easily found in the list). AND IT GIVES ME THE TOTAL CALORIES REMAINING FOR THE DAY! Might go with paid version eventually. 

[SunsetRunner]

@dianewordsmith i subscribed for a year at the introductory price. I REALLY like putting my recipes in for the nutritional info I get and repeatability. It’s easy to scale to the serving size I’m eating, no guesswork. I was never a “meal” person with Fitbit, but I’m trying it out now and like it. 

And I LOVE the home screen widget! Genius!!!

Is it pairing with AH the way you expect? Does it seem stable? I think I’m headed to the new device in the fall. 

[dianewordsmith]

@SunsetRunner The integration with Health and Fitness on my AW is seamless. Works like a charm and updates quickly! It's honestly faster than my Versa was when autotracking. I would have to wait 20 to 30 minutes for the calories/info for an autotracked workout to show up in the Fitbit app. Just watched an LS video on creating custom meals; I'm probably gonna go ahead and take the plunge for LS Premium. And LOVE my AW. (wink, wink)

[Jenergized]

@SunsetRunner  Oh, you don’t have to convince me about the secondary screen or show me proof of numbers.  I already acknowledged that that screen is useless for our purposes and has been that way for a while. If they want to fix that “bugged” number, that would be great, but I don’t think that’s what this thread was about.  We are talking about the dropped feature on the main food tile. That’s all I was saying.  

Glad you found a new app, though, and are prepped to eventually retire your device. 👍  My AW is gathering dust in the corner.  The thing was useless for steps and activity tracking and for my specific needs.  MNDiary is my go-to meal tracking app.  It has all the bells and whistles, integrates with Fitbit, and it’s an Apple Family Share app, so I can share the subscription with my household.  As for my Fitbit, I’m happy doing the numbers until I am ready to move on.  I’m a charts and numbers gal, so that delights my soul 😍

[BeckySam]

Another Vote for this - it's THE one and only reason I chose Fitbit!

[coleking21]

I heard previously that Google bought Fitbit and, with Google having its
own products, those products are their focus, but I held out hope this
wasn’t true. I reached out to the company directly (as hard as they make
that to do) and was told the feature wouldn’t likely be brought back.
I’ve, along with toms of others, have reached out via the community forum.
I then went to Facebook and Fitbit is ignoring me there. And, it looks
like they are ignoring other Fitbit customers, too, on various topics,
chiming in on positive comments but not responding to questions or
concerns. I think it’s pretty clear at this point that with Google in
charge, their care factor for Fitbit user concerns is officially zero. What
a shame. This feature was amazing, Fitbit used to be amazing, and if Google
thinks any Fitbit user who is upset about this issue or their lack
of concern for their customers are going to convert any of us to Google
watches, they are sadly mistaken.

[SunsetRunner]

Thanks for the recommendation but I’m not interested in adding another app to bandaid Google Fitbit’s poor programming. It works in Android, it worked in iOS before the redesign. They just don’t care. 

I’ve moved on. New device came yesterday, new nutrition app installed. 

[Optimus239]

Ooh what device and nutrition app did you pick?

[Healeygal]

Yes I’m interested too — so disgusted with Fitbit and Google. And not in that order. Clearly Google is calling the shots. 

[coleking21]

I reached out (again) to Fitbit, this time through the Messenger app. They
had me convert my Fitbit user account to Google so they could access it and
see what’s going on, as if it was a fixable bug. Collected my user name,
location, iOS version. And then said the app is the same on Android and iOS
and gave me a link to set up a meal plan. Complete waste of time. If anyone
knows of an app that works with either Fitbit or Apple Watches that has the
same ability to enter food items and has an estimated calories left, please
share!! I know there’s been a lot of talk here about workarounds and
bandaids, but if there’s one that mirrors this, I’ll gladly use it!!

[LizzyFitbit]

Hi @ellenannmary, thanks for sharing this suggestion about bringing back the calories left value to the Fitbit app with us. This idea was already requested in this board, so I’ve moved your post here. This will help us to keep the forums organized and make sure the suggestions don't get confused, or split a popular vote. Please click on the thumbs-up to show your support and keep adding your suggestions!

[Jubles]

It's just not the same only on the app. I relied on the how many calories I have left for the rest of the day to stick to my diet and now it is not on the app. This is a terrible mistake.

[Odyssey13]

@Jubles    Fitbit's announcement about the dashboard 

[Sjkski]

And now the web dashboard is gone, so users can't even refer to it to get the information that has always been in the app until the atrocious v.4.  Why is this not coming back?  Why remove a popular and apparently unique feature that distinguished you from the competition?  Puzzling.  Anyway, this is just one more reason to leave Fitbit (their trackers routinely not lasting more than 14 months - just outside of the warranty period! - being the main one).

[Oispakaljaa]

Same as me. 

[FitCharlotte]

Estimate of sedentary or active daily remaining calories is important to me. Also, the Learn More article linked to the Food Under Budget chart still describes what I can do and see on the dashboard. Please update your help and information articles to reflect the fact that the dashboard is gone. It is confusing, frustrating, and a waste of time to read about something that is not available to me!

[aesmaier]

And now that the dashboard via website is gone there is no way to get actual number of calories remaining   
very upsetting Fitbit/google.