Fitbit overestimate of calories used that feeds through to MFP

[Portsian]

Hi there

Anyone else noticing that there is big overestimate of exercise calories that the Charge 2 is making? This feeds in to myfitnesspal app, so shows 'extra' calories I could eat. If I followed this I would be gaining weigtt. I have just updated from Fitbit to Charge 2, and the old Fitbit was much more conservative in its calorie estimate. If is is really overestimating then I don't want to use it

Moderator edit: Clarified subject

[AJanice]

I know its easy to think I can eat more calories when I exersize more and my apps are allowing more calories. But, I do best when I stick to the amount of calories I allow myself regardless of what exersize calories I burn. I have not tried the Charge 2. I use the Fitbit One. So I can't say one is better than the other. However, I assume the Charge 2 is tracking more excersize than some of the other Fitbits. That may be why it's giving you different calorie burn amounts.

[leroypeters]

You are right.
The fit bit charger to over estimate calories too much.

I know that it can not be 100% accurate, but it is over estimating too much.

example. on my fitbit blaze and my runkeeper app. it tells me i burned 150 calories.
on my fibitcharge 2 ti will tell me that i burned around 320 calories. a 200% diffrence is just too much.

It does it with steps too.

and i have no use for a fitness tracker that overestimates that much.

I called fitbit support. But they where not helpfull at all.

i will call back tomorrow to see if i get another person.

[christopher1337]

I have the exact same problem. 4200 calories in a day with 7500 steps and just walking at the mall for 1 hour. Just insane. Have had this issues with charge hr, surge and now the charge 2. If there isnt a fix the next coming day I will switch to another brand

[christopher1337]

My BMR is 1993 calories. So I doubt the 7500 steps and some walking is 2000+ calories

[Sjb2102]

I've disconnected my fitbit from MyFitnessPal because of this. I struggled to keep from of how is was doing in relation to my BMR so just decided to ignore the extra from fitbit.

[christopher1337]

We are talking about the calorie burn within the fitbit app

[christopher1337]

Sorry misstyped. I am talking about the fitbit app

[gibbit]

I've found this to be true as well.  I switched from fitbit One to Charge 2 a few weeks ago and the difference is massive.  WIth the One, I rarely burned over 3000 calories. Now with Charge HR 2, I am getting daily burn in the 3600 to 4000 range.

I've had to quit relying on that calorie burn for how much I can eat.  My Charge 2 is now just a step counter, and I'm giving myself a strict calorie limit that I cannot go over regardless of how active I am.

[DavideFitbit]

Welcome to the forums @Portsian, @AJanice, @leroypeters, @gibbit. @christopher1337, @Sjb2102, remember that your basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the rate at which you burn calories to maintain vital body functions, this usually accounts for at least half of the calories you burn in a day, and to calculate this amount of calories burnt the tracker uses information from your profile data such as age, height, weight etc, so it's worth double checking that all this information is correct in your account settings. 

Also in your account settings, under the devices tab, I would recommend that you check the dominant hand setting is correct: 

• The dominant wrist setting decreases the sensitivity of step counting and should reduce any over counting of steps when your body is not moving.
• The non-dominant wrist setting increases the sensitivity of step counting and should reduce any under counting of steps. Non-dominant is the default.

If you continue to feel the amount of calories burnt is incorrect, try to restart the tracker at least a couple of times and if you continue to experience any trouble, get in touch with the Customer Support team for further assistance with this, they will let you know how to proceed. 

I hope this helps. 

[Jkuczek]

The issue isn't that we don't understand the role of bmr in calorie count. The issue is that the device chronically overestimates BMR and calories burned, and the net result is that many users trusting the fitbit will gain weight, or fail to lose it. And since there is no way to manually adjust the BMR, at the end of the day, you just have to ignore the device because you can't trust it and can't fix it. This seems a lot like a purposeful limitation to me, designed to artificially inflated the users sense of achievement. Unfortunately, when the end result is weight gain, this becomes a very frustrating marketing strategy. If this problem is not addressed, i gaurantee that the next fitness product i buy will NOT be a fitbit. I could guess my calorie burn and be more accurate. I expected a lot more from this device.

[CarlosMo]

Hi @Jkuczek it is nice to have you in the Fitbit community with us. 

I understand your frustration. I encourage you to share your remarks in the feature suggestion board. Your comments are important to us. 

Let us know if you need anything else. 

[LLFit]

Just got the fitbit2 and totally agree. Shocked at the crazy amount of calories it says I'm losing each day. It would mean I could double what I eat, which I know is wrong because I've been counting calories and estimating losing a pound a week for 2 years which has worked.

And, yes, all my settings have my correct height, weights, dominant hand, etc.

If I "listened" to the fitbit, I'd be gaining weight for sure. So now I have this device, but have to ignore its readings? That is ridiculous and defeats the whole purpose. I am really disappointed in FitBit. And clearly MANY are having the same issue. This needs to be addressed. 

[Rich_Laue]

---

@Portsian wrote:
Hi there

Anyone else noticing that there is big overestimate of exercise calories that the Charge 2 is making? This feeds in to myfitnesspal app 

---

@Portsian have you taken a look at this post. 

[MichelleLeeL]

I just got a Charge HR2 and noticed this as well - was a solution ever found?

[gibbit]

For what it's worth, I found that if I turn off the heart rate monitor and just estimate calories burned by step count alone, it is closer to what I used to get with my Fitbit One.  It's a shame to lose a major feature but that's what I did.

[CardioMonkey]

Having this issue also. This is my first and last Fitbit. This thing operates on junk science as evidenced by the class action lawsuits against the company. 

The answers we get here are canned replies that originate in the Fitbit echo chamber.

Will be returning the unit and going with another brand. Very disappointed with this device.

[JayWalker23]

I concur with gross overstatement of calories. I also have mine linked to MyFitnessPal, and as other users have reported, I just adhere to my daily calorie limit for weight loss.  In very rough terms I'd say my Charge 2 doubles the number of calories I believe I actually consume by my exercise, which includes walking, treadmill, and running.

This to me is not a deal-breaker since I only paid about $80 for my Charge 2 and it serves a valuable purpose for me otherwise, but as other users say, the Charge 2 would be far more valuable for weight loss/maintenance if it were a lot more accurate on calorie burn than it is.  As it stands, I view the Charge 2 as a "starter" activity tracker, and if I get more serious about accuracy then I'll look for something with better ratings and reputation.

[BrezSC]

I have the same problem,  why can't they just allow a manual offset in the app so each person can fine tune their device.  

[RonJones]

I have been tinkering with this issue for six months or so, since I replaced the charge HR with the charge 2.

What I came up with may seem clunky, but it works for me:

I developed a spreadsheet that tracks weight, body fat, and a few other metrics that support my goal of fat loss on a ketogenic diet (Aria overestimates as well, so I average it with the USN measurement method).

I then use the Katch McCardle formula to estimate BMR.

I then take last week's average TDEE calorie figures from my Fitbit dashboard, and subtract 40% of the activity calories:

(((FB est TDEE) - BMR) * .6) + BMR

I Find this number tracks more closely with reality in my case.