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FR-945 + MyFitnessPal

Disclaimer:
AFAIK this problem is very common, I've read posts that are 5 years old, but I can't find a solution yet. I think that FR-945 is not the culprit, but the Garmin Platform is.

Abstract:
FR-945 calories measure is ok, MyFitnessPal is ok, but the information shared by Garmin with MyFitnessPal is wrong, very wrong, at different levels. Here just 2 examples:

Example1:

I stayed at home the whole day, just 1028 steps and a ride in my smart trainer (1h, base, at 150 watts, 565 cal)

This is what the watch measured: goal 2080 cal (data from MyFitnessPal) + active 665 cal (565 adjusted to that value, because the training was in the morning, the screen capture t in the evening), so far so good.

This is what MyFitnessPal received:

It received 565 cal from my bike ride and grotesque adjustment of 449 cal from just 1028 steps. 10 times the average (40 cal per 1000 steps). Why? In the Garmin App/Watch everything is OK.

Example 2:

I walked to the park (136 cal) , did some strength training there (204 cal), and ran a little (303 cal). Total = 643 cal. The picture shows 701 cal (643 were adjusted to that value, because the training was in the morning, the screen capture was in the evening). Again, so far so good.

Again, Garmin sends a wrong information to MyFitnessPal (or the later modifies the received information, I don't know). The 3 activities are there with OK values, but there is an "adjustment" related to the number of steps. Why? Walk and running should include "steps" in their calories calculation. In my opinion Garmin is sending duplicate information to MyFitnessPal. Also, as noted in the 1st example, the calories for the 8080 steps are very high.

Does anyone know if Garmin/MyFitnessPal are aware of these problems?

0 kerlaz over 4 years ago

As far as in know, MFP does an estimation to the end of the day based upon information at a particular point, so if you do lots of exercise in the morning, MFP to a degree assumes an elevated calorie burn will continue though the day, this is corrected periodically with actual calorie burn with each sync through the day and both MFP and Garmin will show the same values as time progresses through the day.

0 BrightScully over 4 years ago in reply to kerlaz

Your understanding seems to be correct. I was digging into MyPalFitness options, and I was able to get this report for the adjustment showed in the 2nd example:

As you said, the adjustment was "adjusted" by the end of the day, 463 cal -> 453 cal. So far so good, but the original Garmin adjustment is still really big, or the final correction is really small. I always end up my day in MyPalFitness app with more o less 400 calories that I have not eaten. The truth is that I am very satisfied, I don't want to eat anything else at night. On the other hand, the Calories In/Out in Garmin Connect app shows a "remaining" counter nearly to zero every night. The question is: who is wrong? (Garmin transferring the wrong adjustment or MyPalFitness misinterpreting the information).

I will try to contact the developers of MyFitnessPal.

0 BrightScully over 4 years ago in reply to BrightScully

MyFitnessPal support solved the issue. My problem was that my time zone was no set in MyFitnessPal app, so my day (at Garmin level) was different from MyFitnessPal's one. By default the zone was set to PST at MyFitnessPal on-boarding, my zone is UTC-3. That's why the adjustment was almost constant through the day.

The problem with MyFitnessPal is that they calculate the time zone based on zip code (which is optional, and it makes no sense for non American users). It would be nice if the time zone will be calculated based on IP address instead of an optional field.