What is the Calorie Adjustment in my Exercise Diary?

What partner apps will work?

Total energy partners that are selected as your primary step source will produce a calorie adjustment. Go here to view a list of our current partners.

How do I view the calorie adjustment breakdown

Website

• Log into your account online at https://www.myfitnesspal.com/
• Select the exercise tab
• Tap the “i” next to the adjustment

Apps

• Go to the diary page
• Tap the adjustment (Fig 1)
• Tap Extra Calories Earned (Fig 2)

Fig 1

Fig 2

How do I understand the calorie adjustment breakdown?

MyFitnessPal pulls your calorie burn directly from our total daily calorie App Gallery partners. Since partner devices track minute to minute, and our program views the entire day as a whole, we then project forward to the end of the day based on your calorie burn so far. When viewing your adjustment, you should see a number directly under the partner, which represents the instant sync (Fig 3, a), and a number to the right of the partner which represents our projection for the day based on your current sync (Fig 3, b).

Because the adjustment value is recalculated every time your device uploads new data, you should expect this value to change over the course of the day. It is also necessary to make sure your partner device and MyFitnessPal are set to the same time zones (time zones can be updated in the main settings). At midnight, the projected sync and your actual sync should then match exactly. Depending on when you last sync, there may be a slight variation between one day and the next as the two values catch up to each other.

On the calculation page, under the partner totals, you should then see your MyFitnessPal total (Fig 3, c). The MyFitnessPal total includes not only your daily goals, but also the calories needed to reach the goals you have set within the program, such as lose 1 pound, (we originally deduct these calories when providing your daily goals on MyFitnessPal, they then must be added back in when comparing against your actual total burn from your partner device). Since our program instantly awards calories to your day when exercises are added into the cardiovascular section, to avoid double credit, we also add your cardiovascular totals in with your MyFitnessPal total (Fig 3, d). Therefore, you will see your total calories burned from individual exercises added to your diary there.

Fig 3

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How do I receive a positive calorie adjustment?

When your device partner projected total is Greater than your MyFitnessPal total, you will then see a positive adjustment of the difference added to your MyFitnessPal account. If your device partner projected total is Less than your MyFitnessPal total, you will then either see a 0, or if you have opted to turn on Negative adjustments, you will see a deduction of calories (see next section). Because the adjustment value is recalculated every time your device uploads new data, you should expect this value to change over the course of the day.

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Why are my calories deducted from goals?

If you have opted to turn on Negative adjustments, you will see a deduction of calories. If the adjustment is negative this indicates the partner's reported calorie burn is lower than what MyFitnessPal’s has already provided for you. By default, MyFitnessPal will show you only positive calorie adjustments. To permit negative adjustments, log in to the full MyFitnessPal site at www.MyFitnessPal.com and click the main "Settings" tab, then "Diary Settings." Check the box for "Enable Negative Adjustments" then click "Save Changes.” If you are typically unable to sync your device until late in the day, you may wish to leave negative adjustments "off." More information about whether you should enable negative adjustments is available here.

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Why is my "Based on" number so low?

If you're using Google Fit, Samsung Health, or iPhone/Apple Watch to track your steps, there is currently a bug  causing the "Based on" calorie number to display incorrectly. The total projection will still be accurate.