FAQ - Syncing, logging food & exercise, calorie adjustments, activity levels, accuracy
Replies
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First, thanks for the FAQ, it really helps a lot. I just got a Charge HR today as a birthday present for myself.
I've read through this whole thread and have one more clarification question. Most of my exercise is running or walking. I get that I should push the button on the Charge HR before I start, and then again when I'm finished; apparently that helps with the accuracty of the reading. What I'm not clear about is whether I need to go into the app to do something afterwards. And if so, which app, Fitbit or MFP? I am a former Jawbone UP24 user and I never did anything except wear it and it would count my activity and then give me more calories if I earned them; I'm not familiar with pushing the buttons then having to go into the app to do something else.
Don't have to do anything.
The button starts an activity record in case you would care to review your workouts down the road. To confirm you are actually improving. If you don't then something isn't being done right, especially if weight is lost.
The button also start per second HR logging, possibly giving a better calorie burn estimate.1 -
Awesome thanks for the reply! I just got a fitbit 3 days ago. My "calories adjust" is about 300-500 so I'll just adjust my overall fitness level if it con this way. Thank you!0 -
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To maintain my weight I would need to eat 2000 cals.
To lose the 2lbs a week I want, I need to eat 1330 cals a day.
I ate 1235 cals today.
My exercise burned 1161 cals, leaving a remaining 1256 cals.
Do I need to eat the remaining cals to keep my cal deficient number, which should be 670, where I wont put my body in starvation mode,instead of burning fat mode.
Or am I just thinking way into this.0 -
LadyZombieLeia wrote: »To maintain my weight I would need to eat 2000 cals.
To lose the 2lbs a week I want, I need to eat 1330 cals a day.
I ate 1235 cals today.
My exercise burned 1161 cals, leaving a remaining 1256 cals.
Do I need to eat the remaining cals to keep my cal deficient number, which should be 670, where I wont put my body in starvation mode,instead of burning fat mode.
Or am I just thinking way into this.
You are putting thinking in to it that is needed.
First, you'd need a full 1000 cal deficit for 2 lbs weekly loss. The fact your daily burn figure is that low indicates you likely don't have enough weight or activity to be attempting that as a reasonable weight loss goal.
If you have over 60 lbs to lose sure, otherwise, not.
Second, your exercise burned 1161 just by itself, or that was the Fitbit adjustment because exercise and daily life is more active than you selected in MFP?
Third, you were willing to eat to the 1330 calories without understanding where that came from. Why aren't you willing to eat the additional 1256 calories without understanding where they came from?
A goal is something to reach, right, like goal weight. Are you willing to miss goal weight by say 50% and say close enough?
Then don't do it to your daily eating goal.0 -
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How do I adjust my stride length for more accurate calorie burn?
Treadmill is best so you can have set pace and known distance. For running you want average running pace, not the sprinting pace, not the recovery pace. For walking you want purposeful pace, not high exercise level, not slowest shopping level. You want between so the device can adjust as needed both directions. So if normal exercise walking pace is 3.8 mph, and store strolling is 1 mph, then 2.4 is average to use for test.
1) Set pace, and walk/run normal stride until 0.4 miles is displayed.
2) Now count every right foot impact until 0.5 miles is displayed.
3) Double the foot count for total steps.
4) 528 ft / Steps = decimal feet.inches per step stride length.
5) Feet is used in MFP setting under View Settings - Settings - Stride Length.
6) take 0.inches x 12 = decimal inches to use in that setting.
(for example 2.85 becomes 2 ft., and 0.85 x 12 = 10.2 in.)
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Thank you for the detailed instructions on how to calculate stride length. Your instructions in #5 state how to change stride length in MFP. Could you verify how to do this as I'm not finding Stride Length in any of the Settings options of MFP?
Thanks.0 -
MFP has none. That is in Fitbit web account.
That was a mistake in the instructions I didn't catch and wish I could have corrected prior to being made a sticky.
You should get a reward, as I think first person to either notice or at least mention it.0 -
I just got the fitbit charge HR. I didn't realize it was going to be as complicated as it seems it is, from reading these posts. However, every time somebody posts a valid question, they're told to go repost elsewhere because supposedly, it won't be seen here. When I try to search on where to go to find answers, I can only find discussions about MFP. Where exactly are we supposed to go to find answers?0
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i just got a fitbit charge yesterday and am very close to returning the thing out of sheer frustration and the inability to find answers anywhere. So, wondering if any of you who have one, can help. I did no exercise today at all, and I made sure I didn't wear the thing because i didn't want to risk that it would put calories into mfp that i didn't burn. It actually put 151 calories into mfp as exercise that I didn't do and is now saying I can eat that many more calories! I can't figure out how to delete them off the thing. Anyone else have this trouble?0
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When viewing the stickies, you scroll down to section below of normal topics - and take option to create a new one.
And ask your questions, or look at titles of existing ones in the list - you may be surprised how many already contain your questions, and answers.
As to not posting issues and general questions here - that's just good forum behavior - that should never be done in the FAQ's unless about a question/clarification of what is in the FAQ.
Plus it makes sense - few read the stickies when they already have. So you post just won't be seen.
And also - if the questions are about the Fitbit specifically - you do realize this is MFP, which happens to sync with Fitbit - this isn't Fitbit's forums where they have their own issues raised and questions answered.0 -
Please bare with me. Where are the "stickies"? I've also tried the search feature. I do realize this is MFP but thought it was ok to ask questions here, according to the title of this discussion thread. So are you saying it would just be better to search the regular non-fitbit forums on MFP to post a question there? I have spent about two hours trying to figure out where to post what and trying to search for answers to my fitbit questions.0
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you have this special group for fitbit questions that doesn't make it easy to search for answers on and your rules for what to post/not to post, are not clear. I can't figure out how you decide what's an ok question, vs. what is not. I just went into general discussions and typed in "fitbit" and it seems there are a lot of people asking questions there, so what's the point of having a group like this anyway? color me BAFFLED. leaving this silly & useless group.0
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Ok, you are just confused over the whole group. Stickies are what you are posting these comments in to right now - they are always at the top of a groups normal topics - they stick there despite not being the most recent post - like the other topic posts below are. Hence the reason vast majority never look at them after viewed once.
I suggested if questions on Fitbit specifically - you should post on Fitbit's site - not the general MFP site.
And yes, the searching may not be great - hence the reason why I said scroll down and view the recent topic subjects.
So - from this point right here in your web browser - do NOT comment. Just go back 1 page. Backspace key, or hit your back arrow, ect.
Now scroll down past all the stickies about "Charge HR users" and "Zip users" ect, keep scrolling.
Now you'll see the normal topics that are sorted by most recently commented on.
Read the subject lines, click on one that is about your device, and read it.
You can keep doing that and probably find your questions, or notice at the bottom of the posts (not the bottom of the stickies) a link to create your own topic posting.
Do that.
And yes, just because there is a group doesn't mean people are willing to look for one and discover it exists.
Do you imagine we are on the main forums looking for every single post about Fitbit's and telling them to come here?
Now there's a silly idea.
Suggest you learn to use the tools - if you give up that early and easy - you'll never make progress in life.0 -
I feel silly asking this, especially after reading the FAQ'S but I need clarification. I have the fitbit One and I walk 3-4x a week for 45-60 minutes. I have a desk job so my activity is set as sedentary with 1lb a week weightloss. Do I need to log in my walking activity? I've been doing this and notice I get more calories on the days I walk. the other days not so much because I'm a little more inactive.0
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Exactly correct on difference in calorie adjustment.
No need to log walking, unless you did a couple hours fast pace at a steep incline, where the Fitbit has no idea of the incline and would miss out on bigger calorie burn actually happening.
You might want to create an activity record for the walks so you can compare stats down the road for the workout, confirm you are getting faster, or whatever to compare.
Button press on device starts activity record.
That is a snapshot of the stats for that time, that's all.0 -
Thank you for taking the time to post this. Very helpful.1
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Thank you so much for this post. I have read through it and I am still a little confused. When I use my stepmill, I get that I need to start the activity and end the activity on my fitbit charge HR. I also get that I need to update the info because it doesn't accurately count the steps and calories. When I go into the fitbit app, do I:
1. log it as stairclimber and it will adjust the calories (name the activity as stairclimber)? or
2. manually add the activity as stairclimber and it overrides the activity?
Does the same go for weights? Press the activity button on fitbit and then go into app later and manually log weightlifting?
I seem to have stairclimber showing up twice somehow on my dashboard.
I am logging food with MFP and understand from this thread that I should track exercise with fitbit.
Thanks in advance for any help. I seem to be overwhelmed with all the info. 0 -
Thank you so much for this post. I have read through it and I am still a little confused. When I use my stepmill, I get that I need to start the activity and end the activity on my fitbit charge HR. I also get that I need to update the info because it doesn't accurately count the steps and calories. When I go into the fitbit app, do I:
1. log it as stairclimber and it will adjust the calories (name the activity as stairclimber)? or
2. manually add the activity as stairclimber and it overrides the activity?
Does the same go for weights? Press the activity button on fitbit and then go into app later and manually log weightlifting?
I seem to have stairclimber showing up twice somehow on my dashboard.
I am logging food with MFP and understand from this thread that I should track exercise with fitbit.
Thanks in advance for any help. I seem to be overwhelmed with all the info.
Why wouldn't it have good calorie estimate for HR-based device?
Might reread through the first few questions - you missed a couple points to answer all your questions. But this time you know what applies so can take it slower.
You can't correct steps anyway.0 -
Sorry my questions were so muddled. Let me try to clarify.
When I exercise on the stepmill (the kind that is like a treadmill only stairs , so i actually climb the steps) I have noticed that the Fitbit calorie burn is a lot less than the machines total calories burned and the results I get when using my chest strap (Fitbit 197, machine 238, chest strap 334). I have also noticed that even with the Fitbit HRM set to on (vs auto) it spends a lot of time searching for a heart rate - probably because of how I hold my wrists on the machine - I am trying different positions to correct this.
In the meantime, is the Fitbit calories burned a number I should override? And what's the best way to do that? Through logging an exercise on Fitbit or in mfp?
Is that a little more clear and enough info?
The weight lifting question was a confirmation to make sure I understand: when weight lifting I should start the activity on the Fitbit and then later go in and manually log weightlifting?
Thanks again for any help. I seem to be a little slow on the uptake here. Must be the calorie deficit 0 -
So you answered my question of why wouldn't it have a good calorie estimate for HR-based device?
Because it's not accurate on the HR for you and your workout as you've confirmed.
Therefore neither could calorie burn possibly be as good an estimate as it could be, and should be replaced with a better estimate if you have one.
I'd still suggest you reread the FAQ though - or you'd be able to answer the question as to where to log it - Fitbit.
Starting an activity record does indeed make it mighty easy to later manually log a workout to replace that calorie burn, because then you have good start/duration time to use.
You actually aren't joking on the side-effects of a big deficit, thinking can be impaired, because hormones can be messed up too. So do indeed pay attention if you notice some things are harder than they used to be - it could be true for a known reason.0 -
Thank you heybales, I appreciate your time and response. I was getting tracking an activity and logging an activity confused and when I read back through the FAQs I do see it says (a few times) track food in mfp and exercise in Fitbit. Now that I've logged a few activities correctly I see that it replaces it and doesn't actually duplicate it. I was also looking for confirmation on the calorie burn issue - so thanks for that too.
Thanks again for your help. And I will keep an eye on the deficit side effects - I'm in the last five pounds of a 35 pound loss. I appreciate how hard that can be on mind and body 0 -
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editorgrrl wrote: »
Thanks so much. Patience is a virtue - you're so right!!0 -
anybody else getting "Walking, 12.5 mins per km..." automatically added to diary?0
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Ok I'm either a big dummy or I just don't have the patience to learn how to keep MFP interacting with my recently purchased Fitbit (accurately). Based on my job and activity level, when I first started MFP 4 months back, I chose "sedentary" lifestyle. My question is: if I use Fitbit just for tracking steps <initially> ...and stick to MFP plan of 1660 calories or less...is that ok? Even if I start doing 10000 steps a day? Or would that be "too much" of a calorie deficit? Any thoughts/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!
Thanks,
~Chad0 -
What I can't understand is why I can't get credit for walking 10000 steps and doing a workout. I know folks have tried to explain it but I must be dense. They are two discrete activities, I should get credit for both.0
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What I can't understand is why I can't get credit for walking 10000 steps and doing a workout. I know folks have tried to explain it but I must be dense. They are two discrete activities, I should get credit for both.
If the activity level that YOU selected on MFP already was a big enough daily burn, it could already have 10K step calories included in it - so you getting the calories from 10K steps is merely accomplishing what MFP figured you'd do anyway.
No adjustment needed.
Reread the 2nd half of the FAQ - you missed some points and overall theory of what's going on here.
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chadisallin70 wrote: »Ok I'm either a big dummy or I just don't have the patience to learn how to keep MFP interacting with my recently purchased Fitbit (accurately). Based on my job and activity level, when I first started MFP 4 months back, I chose "sedentary" lifestyle. My question is: if I use Fitbit just for tracking steps <initially> ...and stick to MFP plan of 1660 calories or less...is that ok? Even if I start doing 10000 steps a day? Or would that be "too much" of a calorie deficit? Any thoughts/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!
Thanks,
~Chad
Why are you trusting MFP's estimate of your daily burn based on your guess of activity level, and from that your eating level?
Why are you not willing to trust MFP correcting itself for daily burn based on what you actually do, and from that your eating level?
Bigger deficit is not better - you could already have an unreasonable deficit and some of your weight loss is already muscle mass.0
