Using my Charge HR and MyFitnessPal Together

[residentevil35]

I purchased a Charge HR 2 days ago and wore it to bed 2 nights ago so I'd have a full accurate day to report.
I mostly purchased this device to track how little sleep I was getting due to co-sleeping with our two year old and to get a more accurate idea of my actual calorie burn during aerobic exercise. I do YouTube videos like Jessicasmithtv and sometime the intensity varies greatly or I have to do the modified version or a longer cooldown than the video intends and I didn't like logging it as "aerobics-general" or "High intensity" and putting a timed amount.

Anyways, I set up my device and set it up on myfitnesspal and have everything working seamlessly. I even checked the negative calorie adjustment b/c myfitnesspal said I should if I was to be constantly wearing the device and having it sync throughout the day.

I am 5' 5" 164 lbs and trying to lose 30lbs. My calorie limit for the day is 1360 and I usually do an aerobic workout once a day with some light strength training which is around 160-200 calories burned that I eat half back of. Usually a scoop of protein powder and fruit or some greek yogurt or something.

Yesterday fitbit recorded me doing 12,000 steps and that seemed excessive since I walk at a leisurely pace around the house. I'm a "stay at home mom" that cleans the house and plays with my toddler. By the end of the day yesterday it gave me 1,136 calories of exercise added to my account and 125g of protein. I'm used to 60-70g, even after exercise.
I ate some of it back which brought me down to 870 left that I could have eaten last night, but I felt full and didn't feel like I needed another 800 calories.

I logged my actual workout by holding down the button until it became a stopwatch to calculate my actual HR and so I could have a log of it and then let that workout be automatically logged in MFP. Said I burned 204 calories for a 20 min workout. That reading felt accurate. My hand weights were 34 calories burned.

My question is: Do I really need an extra 1,000 calories a day from an aerobic workout and walking around the house?

Are my settings on the device correct?

Should I just disconnect fitbit from myfitnesspal and manually log exercise in myfitnesspal using the HR reading from fitbit? (Ex. Fitbit says 200 calories so I go into myfitnesspal and click whatever exercise and adjust the time until it says what fitbit says.)

1,000 calories and an extra 55g of protein seems unusually high since I have lost weight in previous years without a fitbit. I have currently lost 4 inches around my stomach so progress is there, but I have fallen off the wagon some. (easter)

I have read multiple threads in this group and the main syncing thread and the responses with the overwhelming amount of math have still left my brain tired and clueless on how to make this device work the best for me. I am 2 years into a lifestyle change and have learned so much about eating, myths about food, protein, workouts...but I feel as if I have a long way to go.

[RobertoME]

Hello @residentevil35, welcome aboard to the Fitbit Community and nice username you got by the way.

When it comes about how many calories you are consuming  vs the calories burned. Or if you have the correct settings on your Fitbit account, the questions is pretty open since it will depend on each persons metabolism and what are the goals you are trying to achieve.

Fitbit or MFP will provide you only an insight of your calories intake against your exercise activities. to control the calories surplus if you are trying to loose weight; although if you don't feel the need to consume those extra calories it's okay too, since is not mandatory from what your accounts are telling.

I'm wondering where you seeing the extra calories, it was on your Fitbit account or in your MFP account?

In addition, how you logged the exercise it wont have a greater impact on the calories you burned. Although taking the example you mentioned that you stay at home cleaning and playing with your toddler, note that certain movements with your hands might give you some extra credit with your steps. In the most basic form, your tracker is a movement sensor that will detect all your activity. This might produce an increase on your overall calories, giving you some extra calories allowance.

If you are using the Food plan feature on your Fitbit account, remember these tools update based on your foods logged and activities recorded by your tracker. So the more you exercise throughout the day, the greater your calorie allowance will be.

If you are seeing the increase in MyFitnessPal, perhaps the following post might provide you more information to adjust any calorie fluctuation: MyFitnessPal: How to correct calorie discrepancy from MFP to Fitbit.

As with any fitness program, I recommend speaking with a doctor before starting your new plan to know what is the best for you. 

For anything else you have me here, so if you still have questions just keep me posted.