Can someone explain the point of logging exercise into fitbit?

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  • scolaris
    scolaris Posts: 2,145 Member
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    rabbitjb wrote: »
    You're welcome

    Good luck

    ...it takes a few weeks to settle down ..don't forget it extrapolates to end of day based on activity already undertaken ...this can skew extrapolated estimates at the start particularly if you're active in the morning. It does learn over time though

    Oh thank you!! I eat what it tells me I can eat & a couple of times I ate the full amount and then it put me in the red naughty zone :#
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    LessthanKris wrote: »
    I have had my Fitbit for a few weeks now. It seems like when I log my exercise into MFP it still adds steps for that time frame. I got up to work out at six this morning and by the end of my 30 minute workout I had about 1300 steps. My calorie adjustment for Fitbit was still zero. Is there something I could be missing?

    I don't start getting positive adjustments until I hit around 3,000 steps, even more if your set to lightly active.
  • LessthanKris
    LessthanKris Posts: 607 Member
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    But it should not be counting any steps during my exercise time right?
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    LessthanKris wrote: »
    But it should not be counting any steps during my exercise time right?

    Do you enter a start and stop time when you exercise? I've only got a fitbit zip, I whack it on in the morning and let it do it's thing, set and forget.
  • LessthanKris
    LessthanKris Posts: 607 Member
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    I put the start time into MFP. Today I used the exercise tracker on the Fitbit and it still added steps. I am thinking maybe it just gives steps that equate to the calorie burn of the exercise. It definitely is giving me something during that time.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    LessthanKris wrote: »
    I put the start time into MFP. Today I used the exercise tracker on the Fitbit and it still added steps. I am thinking maybe it just gives steps that equate to the calorie burn of the exercise. It definitely is giving me something during that time.

    You should check out the FAQ section in the fitbit group. Every question and answer you could possibly think of is there.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1290-fitbit-users
  • BJerzy
    BJerzy Posts: 1,843 Member
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    I got my 10000 steps today, but mfp only credited me 23 cals. I swam for 45 minutes and put that into MFP, so did fitbit create a number of steps for that?
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
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    You get a Fitbit adjustment if Fitbit reports you burning more calories (total for the whole day) than MFP expected. I'll try to explain.

    When you setup MFP, based on height-weight-activity level-gender-age, MFP estimates how many you'll burn in a day. Lets assume 2400, its an easy number to work with for this example. MFP then assumes you burn 100 cals per hour. Because the software can't really comprehend how you burn different amounts at different periods of the day.

    Part 1:

    When you connect Fitbit, it estimates your calories burned also. But it uses your actual activity level, not a stated activity level. So lets say your BMR is 75 per hour. And you wake up at 6am. From midnight to 6am, you burned BMR only while you slept, so Fitbit shows you've burned 450. If you sync, MFP takes that data, and says you are now on course to burn 450 (actual so far) + 100/hour for the remaining 18 hours of the day. So you're behind by 150. You're only destined to hit 2250. But then you go for a run, and Fitbit shows you burn an additional 420 from 6am-7am so now you're at 870 total. At 7am, MFP expected you to be at 700, so you're ahead by 170. Every time you sync, MFP does these calculations. And changes your adjustment accordingly.


    Part 2:

    So what happens when you enter exercise into MFP? It ADDS those exercise calories to what it expects you to burn today. Say you log a 30 minute swim from 11:30am-noon, and it was 200 calories. MFP adds those calories to the 2400 it expected you to burn, so now it expects you to burn 2600 total for the day. So now if Fitbit shows you've burned 1200 so far as of noon, and MFP expects you to burn 1200 from noon til midnight, you'll actually be behind by 200. Because you're on course to hit 2400 today, and MFP expects 2600. If you log the exercise into Fitbit instead of MFP, then it does not increase the # that MFP expects you to burn.

    Note: no matter where you log the activity, your total burn for the day should come out to be the same. If log in MFP and end the day with 2450 cals burned, MFP will show a -150 for Fitbit adjustment. If you end the day with 2450 burned and logged it in Fitbit, you'll have a +50 Fitbit adjustment. But you still burned 2450.
    brynncody09 wrote: »
    I got my 10000 steps today, but mfp only credited me 23 cals. I swam for 45 minutes and put that into MFP, so did fitbit create a number of steps for that?

  • Hoopster011
    Hoopster011 Posts: 1 Member
    edited February 2016
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    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Fitbit tracks step based exercise ...you log other types of exercise like swimming or cycling which it can't log ...I log my gym workouts on MFP, estimated by HRM

    Normally log on MFP so that it overwrites any steps during those time periods ...make sure your goals, time zones are the same on both apps

    It works for me

    I have 2 questions:
    1) What do you mean overwrite the steps? Do you mean you can enter an exercise and Fitbit will associate steps with that exercise?
    2) I just read on another forum that by logging in MFP, MFP ends up counting exercises twice if you sync with Fitbit?

  • hazleyes81
    hazleyes81 Posts: 296 Member
    edited February 2016
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    I log mine in Fitbit AND mfp including step based. My workouts don't usually match what Fitbit or mfp credits me, especially biking. I use a Garmin HRM. My cycling is generally higher and running is lower. The only real I log them in mfp is because I like that little announcement lol
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,739 Member
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    Hoopster011 wrote: »
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Fitbit tracks step based exercise ...you log other types of exercise like swimming or cycling which it can't log ...I log my gym workouts on MFP, estimated by HRM
    Normally log on MFP so that it overwrites any steps during those time periods ...make sure your goals, time zones are the same on both apps
    It works for me
    I have 2 questions:
    1) What do you mean overwrite the steps? Do you mean you can enter an exercise and Fitbit will associate steps with that exercise?
    2) I just read on another forum that by logging in MFP, MFP ends up counting exercises twice if you sync with Fitbit?

    As @StaciMarie1974 explained further up, integration ensures that at midnight you get an accounting adjustment such that your calories out equal what Fitbit thinks you've spent.

    When you send an exercise from MFP to Fitbit you are NOT counting it twice.

    It is precisely in order to avoid counting it twice that you sometimes get the weird result of adding a 1 hour exercise on MFP and getting a negative Fitbit adjustment as a result. This is integration in action ensuring that you don't end up double counting stuff.

    However, when you do send an exercise from MFP to Fitbit you are telling Fitbit to ignore what it measured during the time period of the exercise and to replace that measurement with what you are sending to it.

    This could result on more or less calories. In any case it is taking the calculation of the calories away from Fitbit and giving it to MFP.

    Of course, you CAN go into your Fitbit Dashboard and delete this imported exercise. This restores the Fitbit calculation while still leaving your exercise posted on MFP. Again, integration takes care of the caloric adjustments.

    or you can make a status post of your own describing your Fitbit exercise.
  • charlieandcarol
    charlieandcarol Posts: 302 Member
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    hazleyes81 wrote: »
    I log mine in Fitbit AND mfp including step based. My workouts don't usually match what Fitbit or mfp credits me, especially biking. I use a Garmin HRM. My cycling is generally higher and running is lower. The only real I log them in mfp is because I like that little announcement lol

    I think in this case that you will end up double dipping so to speak on your exercise calorie credit...
  • singletrackmtbr
    singletrackmtbr Posts: 644 Member
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    I understand how the caloric adjustments are made, but why can't MFP automatically import workouts recorded from a Fitbit HR? It seems strange to have actual data from a my Fitbit that gets overwritten in MFP by a manual entry.
  • Merkavar
    Merkavar Posts: 3,082 Member
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    The only time I log exercise in mfp is when I can't wear my Fitbit, like paintball or kick boxing.

    Apart from that I just let the Fitbit send its exercise adjustment over to mfp.

    When I go for a run etc I track that on my Fitbit, so it separates out my run from the rest of the day, so I can see exercise specific stats like how far, how many steps, heart rate, map my route etc
  • Merkavar
    Merkavar Posts: 3,082 Member
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    Hoopster011 wrote: »
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Fitbit tracks step based exercise ...you log other types of exercise like swimming or cycling which it can't log ...I log my gym workouts on MFP, estimated by HRM

    Normally log on MFP so that it overwrites any steps during those time periods ...make sure your goals, time zones are the same on both apps

    It works for me

    I have 2 questions:
    1) What do you mean overwrite the steps? Do you mean you can enter an exercise and Fitbit will associate steps with that exercise?
    2) I just read on another forum that by logging in MFP, MFP ends up counting exercises twice if you sync with Fitbit?

    From what I see what you log in mfp overwrites what is in Fitbit, that's why times are important.

    So say your not wearing your Fitbit it seems to assume your resting and your burning say 20 calories every 15 mins.

    Then you log an exercise in mfp and say you burned 50 calories ever 15 mins.

    When you sync, the Fitbit will now say you burned 50 cals instead of 20.

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