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]

This is a really old post. I currently am using Versa. I never went with the Charge 2. As far as calories, I don’t consider calories burned by exercise necessarily calories I can eat.

Sent from my iPhone

[LanuzaFitbit]

Hello @AJanice.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

While I can see your point and how it can be useful for lots of reasons, there is also the other side of the coin where a specific deficit can still help you to lose weight and thus doing more exercise can be seen as a way to enable that extra bite. Not saying that any of those options are wrong though, just that they are both different ways of looking at it.

Let me know if there is anything else that I can help you with.

[Dulce9]

I know this thread is ancient.  But this really helped.  Thanks!

[LanuzaFitbit]

Hello @Dulce9.

Glad to read that you did find the thread useful! 

If you have the time, maybe you could visit one of our Discussion boards. Lots of different topics to talk about with other users. 

Let me know if you have any further questions.

[Freshness]

What a surprise, absolutely nothing done about this, still.

It is deliberately disingenuous

[DomenicD]

3 years later and the Versa is overestimating calories. I loved Fitbit but have had to disconnect it from MyFitnessPal. I will not be purchasing another one unless this is fixed, so sad.

[Rich_Laue]

And this post doesn't help out! 

Please also see this post. 

[AlphaState]

I found an exceptional material about Fitbit calories algorithm here:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10098937/faq-syncing-logging-food-amp-exercise-calo...

(especially the section Reasons for Fitbit estimating better calorie burn on manual logging than MFP).

Short story, the Fitbit uses another algorithm for "non-steps trackers" (with HR) than "HR trackers". The user can decide when to apply one algorithm over the other and reach the max accuracy.

[MonsieurDS]

After reading this entire forum along with others on Fitbit, here are several straightforward observations:

- nearly everyone who brings some form of legitimate complaint is provided with either rehashed "solutions" or some form of lipservice by moderators. In sum, noone is provided with any real working solution.

- all moderators who respond provide the same ostensible canned response, which consists of some overly cheery "welcome to the forums!" response that does little to actually deal with the matter at hand. The consistency and frequency of these responses makes me think that being a moderator on fitbit forums must mean that you follow a canned response that placates people. Know that at first, it seems superficially nice, but in the end, after 4-5 pages on the forum, these responses are actually insulting given you not only sound like a robot, but treat people in a patronizing sense. Many of these people complaining have been on the forums for years, so your "welcome!" bit is frankly irrelevant.

-some moderators derail issues by deflecting them with other posts or by not replying directly to them.

I have had a Fitbit Blaze for years now. I use it daily to keep track of my sleep habits, calories burned, steps taken, etc.

I have tied it in to my MFP account, only to be provided with insanely high numbers of calories burned. 

I will also use the 'exercise' function, go for a walk/jog for around 1hr30 min, wrap it up and be told that I spent over 1000 calories walking. At first I was super excited and motivated, but after diligently following my MFP tracking routine with my fitbit activity connected, it is clear that Fitbit's mechanism of estimating calories burned is laughably broken. Using other websites to calculate the estimated number of calories burned on my walks gives me figures that are HALF of Fitbit's estimated calories burned (500 calories vs. over 1000).

I have removed my Fitbit from my MFP profile. I will also no longer buy a fitbit product given the wildly inaccurate figures provided. 

[MonsieurDS]

As well, as a follow-up to my post, 

I have tinkered with ALL of the settings in my profile, and with MFP, for caloric adjustments, etc. 

In the end, irrespective of these anodyne solutions, when I go out for a walk/jog with my fitbit blaze, using the exercise function to calculate my calories burned, the numbers are stratospheric and laughable. It seems clear that the root cause of this comes from the fibit itself.

[MonsieurDS]

Additional food for thought:

I have been using my fitbit blaze to keep track of calories burned along with time of execise, linked previously to my MFP account. I was on a calorie deficit and eating back some of the calories that Fitbit said I "gained". Some days, according to my Blaze, the deficit was in the thousands of calories. According to my Blaze, a brisk walk with some interspersed jogging, for 88 minutes, at 11min/km pace, was worth nearly 1100 calories. Other websites gave me between 500-600 calories.

I delinked my fitbit account with my MFP, kept my activity level to "lightly active", did not eat back my calories, and did not track my calories burned. This week I am down 2 pounds. 

I am also reading up on articles coming out saying all the same - that Fitbit is one of the least accurate trackers out there, even paling in comparison with trackers that are dirt cheap. 

I have used my Blaze for a good number of years with over 6 million steps. I will no longer buy one in the future.

[MonsieurDS]

Look at the stats below. I used my fitbit's exercise function and chose the walk setting today. I let it run while I did very brisk walking with alternate jogging sessions of no more than a minute.

It says I burned nearly 900 calories in an hour - this is a wildly INACCURATE estimate.

Two other online sites give me around 600 calories respectively. MFP gives me around 450 calories.

Even when you take into account the interval splits I did, why does Fitbit give me a 900 calorie deficit?

---

[LiliyaFitbit]

Hi @MonsieurDS, it's nice to see you again in our Community Forums. I am sorry for the delayed response. 

I appreciate your participation in the Forums and sharing your experience and feedback. Our team is always working on improving our devices and user experiences, and your comments are always welcome. I'm sorry to hear about your disappointment, I totally understand how you are feeling. 

Thank you for providing screenshots. When your account is connected to MyFitnessPal, you will also see a calorie adjustment from Fitbit. Whenever MyFitnessPal receives calorie burn data from your Fitbit Tracker, it compares that to the projected calorie burn for your account and adjusts your calorie goal accordingly. Keep in mind that if you sync your Fitbit at 11:00 AM, MyFitnessPal will only have information about your Fitbit calorie burn data through 11:00 AM that day. If only a partial day's worth of data is available, MyFitnessPal will combine the actual data from your Fitbit with an estimate of your calorie burn for the remainder of the day based on the daily activity level you selected when creating your MyFitnessPal account. This allows MyFitnessPal to create a more accurate estimate for your daily calorie burn based on the best data they have available from your Fitbit tracker at that time.

Calorie burn is based on two factors: your basal metabolic rate (or BMR) and activity tracked by your device. For more information, see How does Fitbit estimate how many calories I've burned? I also recommend confirming that your personal details are correct. For more information, see How do I manage my Fitbit profile?

I'll be around if you need further assistance. 

[AJanice]

My comments on this were made years ago.

[SunsetRunner]

I've made 10,000 steps a day regularly, which it claims takes me to 2,800kCal expended. I use another app to log my food, and very consistently consume a bit under 2,000kCal daily. If FitBit were correct, I would have an 800kCal daily deficit, or 5,600kCal weekly - equivalent to entirely fasting for 2-3 days a week. I'd be dropping weight like a stone. 

This is a well-known issue which has been independently verified.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-47013454

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/fitbit-and-jawbone-are-accurately-tracking-steps-b...

Since it consistently overestimates by 50%, it'd be a simple matter to code, just put in a "*2/3" next to the calculation and it'll come good, apparently this is too complex for some coders, though. 

[mattdi2000]

I actually tracked my food for a whole year. And corresponded it to my fitbit activity and weight.

I lost 17lb over the year. Based on a rough 3500kc/lb, I found that the algorithm overestimates my calorie expenditure. To fudge the figures, I use a x0.9 factor. And it makes it right.

Sent from my iPhone

[Rich_Laue]

@SunsetRunner neither article mentions nonething about calories passed on to MFP. Fitbit passes on an adjustment, not calories,

and MFP's response to a user. 

Have you looked at MyFitnessPal's advice. 

Has these instructions on how to correct help anyone? 

[AJanice]

This is a really old post. No an issue for me.

[SunsetRunner]

@Kiashu neither article mentions nonething about calories passed on to MFP. Fitbit passes on anadjustment, not calories,

I didn't mention MFP. 

Within the fitbit app, it vastly overestimates calories expended through walking. I do not burn 500kCal an hour of walking, nobody does unless they've grossly obese or carrying another person, in which case very few would be able to walk for an hour anyway. 

[Rich_Laue]

@SunsetRunner the confusion comes when someone hijacked a thread. 

We are in the third party board in a thread about Fitbit/MFP, our answers will reflect the subject of the thread. 

If your not asking about MFP, please post on the appropriate board which will help with getting an appropriate answer.