confused

cortezwifey08
cortezwifey08 Posts: 7 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I have a question that maybe no one will be able to answer...but I will ask it anyway...if not I will go to the blogs...my fitbit charge hr is linked with my fitness pal..so when I workout my fitness pal automatically tracks my exercise calories thru out the day...so should I log my activity or not?...like as of now my exercise calories are 1,295...but my burn at the gym this morning was 988...but of course my body will still burn after...I'm confused...

Replies

  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    You can learn more in the Fitbit Users group: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1290-fitbit-users

    Your Fitbit burn is TDEE—the number of calories needed to maintain your current weight. No need to log any step-based activity—your Fitbit is tracking it for you. Log non-step exercise (like swimming or biking) either in Fitbit or in MFP—never both.
  • cortezwifey08
    cortezwifey08 Posts: 7 Member
    OK..so when I do cardio like the elliptical and lift weights..I'm suppose to log that activity..even tho my fitbit and mfp..shows exercise calories differently..so are you also saying that my step calories are what it's showing credit for?
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    Its personal preference. Some people like to log all their non-step activity and get more calories to eat back. Others like to let FitBit just do its thing - knowing that you'll be eating less calories. Personally I'd be in the 2nd category. And truthfully I unlinked mine because eating back so many fitbit calories wasn't helping me lose any weight.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    Ready2Rock206 wrote: »
    Its personal preference. Some people like to log all their non-step activity and get more calories to eat back. Others like to let FitBit just do its thing - knowing that you'll be eating less calories. Personally I'd be in the 2nd category. And truthfully I unlinked mine because eating back so many fitbit calories wasn't helping me lose any weight.

    Your Fitbit burn is TDEE—the number of calories needed just to maintain your current weight.

    If (and only if) you enable negative calorie adjustments, then eating back your Fitbit adjustments means you're eating TDEE minus deficit.

    Your diary is private, but there are other possible causes of your problems. For example, are you logging everything you eat & drink accurately & honestly? Is your goal set to .5 lb. per week for every 25 lbs. you're overweight? Did you enable negative calorie adjustments? Do you log your exercise in Fitbit rather than MFP?

    I lost the weight & have maintained for eleven months thanks to MFP + Fitbit.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    cortezwifey08 wrote: »
    OK..so when I do cardio like the elliptical and lift weights I'm supposed to log that activity even tho my fitbit and mfp shows exercise calories differently.

    Activity trackers (like Fitbit) track step-based activity. Elliptical is step-based, so it's a matter of personal preference whether to log it or not. And it's personal preference whether to log exercise in Fitbit (that's what I do) or in MFP. Exercise logged in MFP overwrites your Fitbit burn during that time.

    I personally do not log weights. I consider my burn extra "insurance" that I'm actually eating at a deficit. YMMV.

    It'll take trial & error to find what works for you.
  • SusanKing1981
    SusanKing1981 Posts: 257 Member
    I thought the charge hr tracked your heart rate, so you shouldn't need to track any exercise separately?
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    faeriesue1 wrote: »
    I thought the charge hr tracked your heart rate, so you shouldn't need to track any exercise separately?

    It's entirely a matter of personal preference. Tracking your exercise takes a "snapshot" of your data during your workout: http://help.fitbit.com/articles/en_US/Help_article/How-do-I-log-or-record-exercise-automatically
  • thankyou4thevenom
    thankyou4thevenom Posts: 1,581 Member
    The charge HR does track your heart rate I'm not sure that you'd need to log it. The burns on MFP have been known to be too high. I'd not trust those. However your Fitbit will adjust my calories to match what it thinks your TDEE is regardless of what you log as long as you've got negative adjustments enabled.
  • cortezwifey08
    cortezwifey08 Posts: 7 Member
    Ready2Rock206 wrote: »
    Its personal preference. Some people like to log all their non-step activity and get more calories to eat back. Others like to let FitBit just do its thing - knowing that you'll be eating less calories. Personally I'd be in the 2nd category. And truthfully I unlinked mine because eating back so many fitbit calories wasn't helping me lose any weight.

  • cortezwifey08
    cortezwifey08 Posts: 7 Member
    edited May 2015
    I actually don't eat back my calories all the time..it may say I have an extra 600 and I may use a hundred of that sometimes
  • cortezwifey08
    cortezwifey08 Posts: 7 Member
    editorgrrl wrote: »
    Ready2Rock206 wrote: »
    Its personal preference. Some people like to log all their non-step activity and get more calories to eat back. Others like to let FitBit just do its thing - knowing that you'll be eating less calories. Personally I'd be in the 2nd category. And truthfully I unlinked mine because eating back so many fitbit calories wasn't helping me lose any weight.

    Your Fitbit burn is TDEE—the number of calories needed just to maintain your current weight.

    If (and only if) you enable negative calorie adjustments, then eating back your Fitbit adjustments means you're eating TDEE minus deficit.

    Your diary is private, but there are other possible causes of your problems. For example, are you logging everything you eat & drink accurately & honestly? Is your goal set to .5 lb. per week for every 25 lbs. you're overweight? Did you enable negative calorie adjustments? Do you log your exercise in Fitbit rather than MFP?

    I lost the weight & have maintained for eleven months thanks to MFP + Fitbit.

  • cortezwifey08
    cortezwifey08 Posts: 7 Member
    OK..yes I do log everything even if it's bad...and I'm set to 1lb a week and yes negative calorie adjustments are on...I also use a polar with a heart rate chest strap and when I'm in the gym I turn it on when I start and turn it off before I walk out the door of the gym..so I was logging only what it shows I burned.. is that something I should or should not do because of my tracking on the fitbit linked with mfp
  • DesertGunR
    DesertGunR Posts: 187 Member
    @cotezwifey08 I started with FitBit first and logged everything there. Since I have designed and I am on my own recovery plan I decided that I would use MFP more since it links better with Garmin and Strava. I am slowly getting used to logging everything here and just leave sleep, water and daily steps to FitBit.

    In time you will find what works best for you in the logging/tracking of what you do.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    cortezwifey08 wrote: »
    I also use a polar with a heart rate chest strap and when I'm in the gym I turn it on when I start and turn it off before I walk out the door of the gym..so I was logging only what it shows I burned.. is that something I should or should not do because of my tracking on the fitbit linked with mfp

    Exercise logged in MFP overwrites your Fitbit burn during that time, so you're never "double dipping" your calories. Leave your Fitbit on.

    If your Polar HRM syncs with Fitbit, then connect your accounts. If not, you can log your HRM burns in MFP.
  • cortezwifey08
    cortezwifey08 Posts: 7 Member
    Thank you

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