Why does my tracker already show calories burned?

[jennifer73]

i just got my fitbit zip and i havnt walked at all and it already says ive burned like 100 calories! how do i clear data?? ive tried restarting it, it doesnt work 😛

Moderator edit: subject updated for clarity

[Shauna23]

What is Bmr

[Rich_Laue]

Basic metabolism rate. Or they calories your body burns to keep it alive when your sitting in a chair and doing nothing. 

[SunsetRunner]

Hello, i was wondering if you could help me.. my Fitbit is saying I have burned 4,000 calories just today alone. I have only walked 8,000 steps maybe a bit more and it says my distance is 3.3 miles. I am just confused on why it shows my calorie burn so high. 

[Rich_Laue]

@SunsetRunner have you read @WendyB 's answer above? 

[SunsetRunner]

No I cannot see the reply. Can someone help me?

[Rich_Laue]

Her answer is on the top of the first page of this thread. I also posted a link that when tapped will take you directly to it. 

As for an answer, she says what I would say. 

[SunsetRunner]

So is it normal for me to be burning 4,000 calories in just a day?

Sent from my iPhone

[SunsetRunner]

So it’s normal for me to be burning 4,000 calories a day?

[Rich_Laue]

Can't say, I know nothing about your body, your activity, or fitness Have you tried an online BMR calculator? These only treat the user as an average person, so may not be perfect, or even agree with Fitbit but should be close enough. 

I just tried 3 and got 3 different readings. 

Fitbit figures out the basic BMR with math., then adds the calories burnt from daily activity with more math and your heart rate. 

Check your personal settings making sure your bodies stats has been properly been entered. 

[Angiet77]

Same got mines on 10th December and once set up it was like a over a 1000 calories burnt with out wearing

[Rich_Laue]

Even without wearing, Fitbit will calculate the calories needed to keep you above the ground. This is your BMR (Goggle it). 

For days before the Fitbit account was created, Fitbit simply will tell you the bodies BMR, since this is only what Fitbit is aware off for these days. 

[SunsetRunner]

I’ve just come across this thread, having got a Fitbit Charge 4 today and asked similar questions on the calorie count on that device’s thread.

So this helps to explain what’s going on. But - I’m not interested in the calories I expend just to stay alive. I’m interested in the calories I burn whilst active. It seems that others feel the same as I do, but that Fitbit has ignored requests to have the facility to turn off BMR calore count.

I think Fitbit’s approach is highly dangerous and misleading. If I want or need to lose weight, I need to burn more calories than I consume. Including BMR gives a totally false picture of calories consumed, relevant to weight control. This is ridiculous.

[Rich_Laue]

Your making no sense, if you want to lose weight, you need to know what is going out as much as what comes in.. If you only eat, based on what gets burnt during the 60 minute run, you will quickly run out of fuel fitting the other. 23 hours. 

The problem is, when it comes to weight management, all calories need to be counted. 

Sorry but calories or calories and it really does not matter when they are burnt. You still are burning them. People want Fitbit to help manage weight and this is part of the equation. 

Besides your exercises do show how many calories are burnt during this time. 

Let's look at it from the other end. I only want to record the calories I eat during meals, I don't care about the calories from the pound of candy I eat throughout the day.